20 AAC 16.235 - Institutional eligibility and responsibilities
(a) An institution
eligible to participate in the Alaska performance scholarship program must
(1) have an authorization or exemption under AS
14.48 and 20 AAC 17;
(2) meet the
requirements of
AS
14.43.830;
(3) enter into a program participation
agreement with the commission, including the institution's agreement to
(A) verify and certify student eligibility for
scholarship awards for each term of enrollment; and
(B) allow commission staff to audit school
records related to management of scholarship money and student eligibility
determinations as determined necessary by the executive director;
(4) provide third-party
documentation of institutional financial soundness and capacity to comply with
the fiduciary responsibility for administering state scholarship money;
and
(5) provide the commission with
documentation and information the executive director considers necessary to
determine whether the school is eligible to participate, including
(A) documentation of participation in a method
of electronic funds transfer and electronic data exchange approved by the
commission;
(B) documentation of
compliance with the program participation agreement and applicable state and
federal statutes and regulations relevant to institutional financial,
administrative, and academic capacity; and
(C) periodic reports to the commission as
needed by the executive director to reconcile scholarship program data, to report
on program completion rates and other award recipient outcomes, and to obtain
information needed to meet the requirements of
AS
14.43.840.
(b) For purposes of this section, third-party
documentation of institutional soundness and capacity to comply with the
fiduciary responsibility for administering state scholarship money is
demonstrated by presenting annually
(1) a
consumer report for the institution's owner indicating an absence of negative
public records or failure to meet obligations; and
(2) institutional financial statements
(A) prepared in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles and audited by an independent public accounting
firm for the most recently completed fiscal year; and
(B) documenting access to income and working
capital sufficient to document that the institution is a going concern.
(c) An institution that
does not provide the documentation required in (b)(2) of this section may qualify
to administer scholarship money by providing educational institution surety
bonding, executed solely in favor of and filed with the commission in an amount
equal to total instructional expenses to be paid to the institution by award
recipients attending the upcoming academic year or vocational period.
(d) An institution is exempt from the
requirements of (a)(4) of this section if the institution does not demonstrate
any of the circumstances described in (e) of this section, and if the institution
(1) has an authorization under AS 14.48 and 20
AAC 17; or
(2) is accredited by a
regional or national accrediting body that the United States Secretary of
Education recognizes under 34 C.F.R. Part 602.
(e) An institution that participates in the
Alaska performance scholarship program becomes ineligible to participate in the
program upon
(1) loss of accreditation, if
applicable;
(2) failure to comply
with applicable career and technical school program requirements in 8 AAC
81;
(3) failure to submit required
reconciliation reports, outcomes reports, or related documentation to commission
staff in accordance with applicable deadlines; or
(4) a commission audit finding that the
institution lacks the financial, administrative, or academic capacity to
successfully administer the scholarship program.
(f) For purposes of this section, a commission
audit finding that an institution lacks the financial, administrative, or
academic capacity to successfully administer the Alaska performance scholarship
program includes a finding of fraud, an inability to document how scholarship
money is managed and disbursed, or a consistent and sustained failure to adhere
to law applicable to the scholarship program.
(g) Institutional staff shall certify that the
institution's records document that the applicant meets requirements for an
award, including
(1) that the applicant meets
the applicant eligibility requirements set out in
20 AAC 16.210;
(2) that the applicant has qualifying unmet
financial need in accordance with
20 AAC 16.220; and
(3) the award amount for which the applicant
qualifies, in accordance with
20 AAC 16.220.
(h) For purposes of
AS
14.43.830(a)(1) and (2), a
postsecondary education institution is physically located in the state if the
campus, teachers, classrooms, school administrators, and equipment used to
provide the education to students are physically present in the state. Use of
electronic materials by teachers in the state does not disqualify a postsecondary
institution even if the materials are generated outside the state. However, a
distance-delivered program that is administered from outside the state is not
physically located in the state even if the program is delivered by teachers or
equipment in the state.
Notes
As of Register 206 (July 2013), the regulation attorney made a technical revision under AS 44.62.125(b)(6), to 20 AAC 16.235(h).
Authority:AS 14.42.030
AS 14.43.810
AS 14.43.825
AS 14.43.830
AS 14.43.840
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