Relates to the part-time tuition assistance program; provides that the total amount of funds awarded shall not exceed the total amount available to the traditional full-time student.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6227--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 11, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. BROOKS, BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
-- recommitted to the Committee on Higher Education in accordance with
Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the part-time tuition
assistance program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 667-c of the education law, as added by section 1
2 of part N of chapter 58 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 § 667-c. Part-time tuition assistance program awards. 1. Notwith-
5 standing any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the president of
6 the higher education services corporation is authorized to make tuition
7 assistance program awards to [part-time] students [enrolled at the state
8 university, a community college, the city university of New York, and a
9 non-profit college or university incorporated by the regents or by the
10 legislature who meet all requirements for tuition assistance program
11 awards except for the students' part-time attendance] who attend a New
12 York state public institution of higher education or a non-profit
13 college or university incorporated by the regents or by the legislature
14 on a part-time basis.
15 2. [For purposes of this section, a part-time student is one who:
16 a. enrolled as a first-time freshman during the two thousand six--two
17 thousand seven academic year or thereafter at a college or university
18 within the state university, including a statutory or contract college,
19 a community college established pursuant to article one hundred twenty-
20 six of this chapter, the city university of New York, or a non-profit
21 college or university incorporated by the regents or by the legislature;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11710-04-8
S. 6227--A 2
1 b. has earned at least twelve credits in each of two consecutive
2 semesters at one of the institutions named in paragraph a of this subdi-
3 vision by the time of the awards;
4 c. is enrolled for at least six but less than twelve semester hours,
5 or the equivalent, per semester in an approved undergraduate degree
6 program; and
7 d. has a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.00] To be eligi-
8 ble, an applicant must meet the qualifications of subdivisions three and
9 five of section six hundred sixty-one of this article, enrolled in at
10 least six but less than twelve credit hours at a New York state public
11 institution of higher learning or a non-profit college or university
12 incorporated by the regents or by the legislature in the two thousand
13 seventeen--two thousand eighteen academic year, or thereafter, and main-
14 tain a grade point average of at least 2.0.
15 3. a. For part-time students defined in this section, the award shall
16 be calculated as provided in section six hundred sixty-seven of this
17 article and shall be in an amount equal to the enrollment factor percent
18 of the award the student would have been eligible for if the student
19 were enrolled full-time. The enrollment factor percent is the percentage
20 obtained by dividing the number of credits the student is enrolled in,
21 as certified by the school, by the number of credits required for full-
22 time study in the semester, quarter or term as defined by the commis-
23 sioner.
24 b. Any semester, quarter or term of attendance during which a student
25 receives an award pursuant to this section shall be counted as the
26 enrollment factor percent of a semester, quarter or term toward the
27 maximum term of eligibility for tuition assistance awards pursuant to
28 section six hundred sixty-seven of this article. [The total period of
29 study for which payment may be made shall not exceed the equivalent of
30 the maximum period authorized for that award.]
31 c. The total amount of funds awarded shall not exceed the total amount
32 available to the traditional full-time student.
33 4. Part-time students defined in this section will create, in agree-
34 ment with the college or university, an education plan allowing the
35 student to complete his or her associate's degree program in as much as
36 four and one-half years or his or her bachelor's degree program in as
37 much as nine years. The education plan will establish a schedule requir-
38 ing the student to carry a minimum of six credits each semester and a
39 minimum of twelve credits each year. The student would be required to
40 maintain continued attendance (excluding summer sessions) for the period
41 of the agreement. The college or university is authorized to grant a
42 leave period for the duration of a semester or its equivalent at its
43 discretion in the event of medical conditions, family responsibilities
44 or financial emergencies.
45 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.