2004 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  Repealed, 1989 c 293 s 85 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 for any child 
 support payments owed to a public agency responsible for child 
 support enforcement or, if the applicant is more than 30 days in 
 arrears, is complying with a written payment agreement or order 
 for arrearages.  An agreement must provide for a repayment of 
 arrearages at no less than 20 percent per month of the amount of 
 the monthly child support obligation or no less than $30 per 
 month if there is no current monthly child support obligation.  
 Compliance means that payments are made by the payment date. 

    The director and the commissioner of human services shall 
 develop procedures to implement clause (5).  

    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  Repealed, 1989 c 293 s 85 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. 

    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. 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 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 14 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. 

    HIST: 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 
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