(a) An applicant or recipient who is
aggrieved by a determination of the Committee on Appeals denying him
eligibility for financial assistance may file an appeal to the Board of
Directors.
(b) An appeal to the
Board shall be filed on or before the 15th day after the date on which
notification of the determination by which he is aggrieved was delivered
personally to the applicant or recipient or mailed to him at his last known
post office address.
(c) Any
written notice that may reasonably be construed as a request for an appeal,
delivered or mailed to PHEAA's Office of General Counsel within the prescribed
15-day appeal period, advising that the applicant or recipient is aggrieved and
requests a review of the determination denying him financial assistance, will
be deemed to initiate and constitute an appeal. The date of initiation of an
appeal delivered by mail will be determined from the postmark appearing upon
the envelope in which the written communication was mailed.
(d) The appeal may be heard by the Board or,
at its direction, by a hearing examiner appointed by the Chairperson of the
Board of the Agency or, in the event of the unavailability of the Chairperson,
by the Vice Chairperson of the Board of the Agency from a list maintained by
the President and Chief Executive Officer. The hearing examiner or the Board
will schedule the appeal promptly for hearing and give the applicant or
recipient at least 7 days' notice of the hearing. The notice will specify the
date, hour and place of hearing.
(e) Hearings will be held at the offices of
the Agency in Harrisburg. During the hearing, the applicant or recipient will
be given the opportunity to submit testimony or evidence, or both, in support
of his contentions. The applicant or recipient will also have the right to
present oral and written argument and to cross-examine any witnesses offered by
the Agency. This subsection supplements 1 Pa. Code §
35.126 (relating to
presentation by the parties).
(f)
Where a hearing examiner has been appointed, he shall prepare or cause the
preparation of a verbatim transcript of the hearing, develop findings of fact
and conclusions of law, and forward these directly to the Board for review and
final decision. This subsection supplements 1 Pa. Code §§
35.131 and
35.202 (relating to recording of proceedings; and proceedings in which proposed
reports are prepared).
(g) The
Board will make an order or determination as appears just and proper from the
evidence submitted.
(h) Notice of
the decision of the Board will be mailed promptly to the applicant or recipient
at his last known post office address.
(i) Where the decision of the Board is in
favor of the applicant or recipient, he shall be eligible for retroactive
financial assistance payments for the period during which such assistance was
temporarily delayed.
(j) The
decision of the Board on an appeal will become final 10 days after the date
thereof. Within 30 days after the decision of the Board becomes final, the
applicant or recipient may file an appeal therefrom with Commonwealth
Court.
Notes
The
provisions of this § 121.8 adopted March 24, 1972, effective
3/25/1972, 2 Pa.B. 506; amended
May 21, 1976, effective 5/22/1976, 6 Pa.B. 1134; amended August 25,
1978, effective 8/26/1978, 8
Pa.B. 2338; amended August 7, 1981, effective 8/8/1981, 11 Pa.B. 2760; amended February 22,
1985, effective 2/23/1985, 15
Pa.B. 670; amended August 4, 2000, effective 8/5/2000, 30 Pa.B. 3924; amended July 31, 2015,
effective 8/1/2015, 45 Pa.B.
4163.
The provisions of this § 121.8 issued under
section 4 of the act of August 7, 1963 (P. L. 549, No. 290) (24 P. S. §
5104); section 1 of the act of January 25,
1966 (P. L. 1546, No. 541) (24 P. S. §
5151); sections 3 and 4(1.2) of the act of
July 12, 1981 (P. L. 264, No. 89) (24 P. S. §§
5102.1 and
5104(1.2)); amended under
section 4 of the act of August 7, 1963 (P. L. 549, No. 290) (24 P. S. §
5104); sections 1 and 6(e) of the act of
January 25, 1966 (P. L. 1546, No. 541) (24 P. S. §§
5151 and
5156(e)); The Institutional
Assistance Grants Act (24 P. S. §§
5181-5189); the Urban and Rural
Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act (24 P. S. §§
5191-5197); and the Agriculture
Education Loan Forgiveness Act (24 P. S. §§
5198.1-5198.7).
This section cited in 22 Pa. Code §
121.4 (relating to denial of
eligibility to loan defaulters); 22 Pa. Code §
121.53 (relating to forfeiture of
award); and 22 Pa. Code §
121.151 (relating to application
of existing Agency regulations); 22 Pa. Code §
121.201 (relating to application
of existing Agency regulations); 22 Pa. Code §
121.302 (relating to application
of existing Agency regulations); and 22 Pa. Code §
121.401 (relating to application
of existing agency regulations).
