2007 Minnesota Statutes

136A.121 GRANTS.
    Subdivision 1.[Repealed, 1989 c 293 s 85]
    Subd. 2. Eligibility for grants. An applicant is eligible to be considered for a grant,
regardless of the applicant's sex, creed, race, color, national origin, or ancestry, under sections
136A.095 to 136A.131 if the office finds that the applicant:
(1) is a resident of the state of Minnesota;
(2) is a graduate of a secondary school or its equivalent, or is 17 years of age or over, and
has met all requirements for admission as a student to an eligible college or technical college of
choice as defined in sections 136A.095 to 136A.131;
(3) has met the financial need criteria established in Minnesota Rules;
(4) is not in default, as defined by the office, of any federal or state student educational
loan; and
(5) is not more than 30 days in arrears in court-ordered child support that is collected or
enforced by the public authority responsible for child support enforcement or, if the applicant is
more than 30 days in arrears in court-ordered child support that is collected or enforced by the
public authority responsible for child support enforcement, but is complying with a written
payment agreement under section 518A.69 or order for arrearages.
    Subd. 3. Allocation. Grants must be awarded on a funds available basis to those applicants
who meet the office's requirements.
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1989 c 293 s 85]
    Subd. 5. Grant stipends. The grant stipend shall be based on a sharing of responsibility
for covering the recognized cost of attendance by the applicant, the applicant's family, and the
government. The amount of a financial stipend must not exceed a grant applicant's recognized
cost of attendance, as defined in subdivision 6, after deducting the following:
(1) the assigned student responsibility of at least 46 percent of the cost of attending the
institution of the applicant's choosing;
(2) the assigned family responsibility as defined in section 136A.101; and
(3) the amount of a federal Pell grant award for which the grant applicant is eligible.
The minimum financial stipend is $100 per academic year.
    Subd. 6. Cost of attendance. (a) The recognized cost of attendance consists of allowances
specified in law for living and miscellaneous expenses, and an allowance for tuition and fees
equal to the lesser of the average tuition and fees charged by the institution, or the tuition and
fee maximums established in law.
(b) For a student registering for less than full time, the office shall prorate the cost of
attendance to the actual number of credits for which the student is enrolled.
The recognized cost of attendance for a student who is confined to a Minnesota correctional
institution shall consist of the tuition and fee component in paragraph (a), with no allowance for
living and miscellaneous expenses.
For the purpose of this subdivision, "fees" include only those fees that are mandatory and
charged to full-time resident students attending the institution. Fees do not include charges for
tools, equipment, computers, or other similar materials where the student retains ownership.
Fees include charges for these materials if the institution retains ownership. Fees do not include
optional or punitive fees.
    Subd. 7. Insufficient appropriation. If the amount appropriated is determined by the
office to be insufficient to make full awards to applicants under subdivision 5, awards must
be reduced by:
(1) adding a surcharge to the applicant's assigned family responsibility, as defined in section
136A.101, subdivision 5a; and
(2) a percentage increase in the applicant's assigned student responsibility, as defined in
subdivision 5.
The reduction under clauses (1) and (2) must be equal dollar amounts.
    Subd. 7a. Surplus appropriation. If the amount appropriated is determined by the office to
be more than sufficient to fund projected grant demand in the second year of the biennium, the
office may increase the living and miscellaneous expense allowance in the second year of the
biennium by up to an amount that retains sufficient appropriations to fund the projected grant
demand. The adjustment may be made one or more times. In making the determination that there
are more than sufficient funds, the office shall balance the need for sufficient resources to meet the
projected demand for grants with the goal of fully allocating the appropriation for state grants. An
increase in the living and miscellaneous expense allowance under this subdivision does not carry
forward into a subsequent biennium. This subdivision expires June 30, 2009.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 11 s 81]
    Subd. 9. Awards. An undergraduate student who meets the office's requirements is eligible
to apply for and receive a grant in any year of undergraduate study unless the student has obtained
a baccalaureate degree or previously has been enrolled full time or the equivalent for eight
semesters or the equivalent, excluding courses taken from a Minnesota school or postsecondary
institution which is not participating in the state grant program and from which a student
transferred no credit. A student who withdraws from enrollment for active military service is
entitled to an additional semester or the equivalent of grant eligibility. A student enrolled in a
two-year program at a four-year institution is only eligible for the tuition and fee maximums
established by law for two-year institutions.
    Subd. 9a. Full-year grants. Students may receive state grants for four consecutive quarters
or three consecutive semesters during the course of a single fiscal year. In calculating a state grant
for the fourth quarter or third semester, the office must use the same calculation as it would for
any other term, except that the calculation must subtract any federal Pell grant for which a student
would be eligible even if the student has exhausted the Pell grant for that fiscal year.
    Subd. 10.[Repealed, 1Sp1993 c 2 art 2 s 26]
    Subd. 11. Renewal conditions. Each grant is renewable, contingent on continued residency
in Minnesota, satisfactory academic progress, recommendation of the eligible institution currently
attended, and evidence of continued need.
    Subd. 12. Annual application. To continue to receive a grant, the student must apply for
renewal each year.
    Subd. 13. Deadline. The deadline for the office to accept applications for state grants for
a term is 30 days after the start of that term.
    Subd. 14.[Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 11 s 81]
    Subd. 15.[Repealed, 1989 c 293 s 85]
    Subd. 16. How applied; order. Grants awarded under this section must be applied to
educational costs in the following order: tuition, fees, books, supplies, and other expenses. Unpaid
portions of the awards revert to the grant account.
    Subd. 17. Independent student information. The office shall inform students in its financial
aid publications about the definition of independent student status and appeals to the financial aid
administrator relating to the declaration of the status.
    Subd. 18. Data. (a) An eligible institution must provide to the office data on student
enrollment and federal and state financial aid.
(b) An institution or its agent must provide to the office aggregate and distributional
financial or other data as determined by the director that is directly related to the responsibilities
of the office under this chapter and chapter 141. The director may only request aggregate and
distributional data after establishing and consulting with a data advisory task force to determine
the need, content, and detail of the information. Data provided by nonpublic institutions under
this paragraph is considered nonpublic data under chapter 13.
    Subd. 19. Reporting. By November 1 and February 15, the Office of Higher Education must
provide, to the committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over higher education finance and
policy, updated state grant spending projections taking into account the most current and projected
enrollment and tuition and fee information, economic conditions, and other relevant factors.
Before submitting state grant spending projections, the Office of Higher Education must meet and
consult with representatives of public and private postsecondary institutions, the Department of
Finance, the Governor's Office, legislative staff, and financial aid administrators.
History: 1971 c 862 s 4; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1975 c 390 s 5; 1977 c 384 s 2; 1977 c 449 s 16;
1979 c 238 s 1-4; 1981 c 359 s 15,16; 1983 c 258 s 42; 1984 c 654 art 4 s 21; 1Sp1985 c 11 s
30-42; 1987 c 258 s 12; 1987 c 401 s 17,18; 1989 c 246 s 2; 1989 c 293 s 27; 1991 c 292 art 5 s
2; 1991 c 356 art 8 s 6-8; 1992 c 513 art 1 s 13; 1993 c 340 s 1; 1Sp1993 c 2 art 2 s 9,10; 1994 c
532 art 2 s 5; 1995 c 212 art 3 s 22-26,59; 1997 c 183 art 2 s 4,5; 1998 c 384 s 8; 1999 c 214 art
2 s 5; 1Sp2001 c 1 art 2 s 10,11; 2002 c 220 art 5 s 5; 2002 c 374 art 5 s 1; 2003 c 133 art 2 s
9-13; 2005 c 107 art 2 s 17-22; 2005 c 164 s 29; 1Sp2005 c 7 s 28; 2007 c 144 art 2 s 19,20

NOTE: The additional semester or the equivalent of grant eligibility under subdivision 9, as
amended by Laws 2005, chapter 107, article 2, section 20, applies to any student who withdrew
from enrollment in a postsecondary institution after December 31, 2002, because the student was
ordered to active military service as defined in section 190.05, subdivision 5b or 5c. Laws 2005,
chapter 107, article 2, section 59.