§ 610. Liberty scholarships. 1. Establishment of liberty
scholarships. The president of the higher education services
corporation shall award liberty scholarships for payment annually
beginning with the nineteen hundred ninety-one--nineteen hundred
ninety-two academic year, and in each academic year thereafter, to
students eligible pursuant to subdivision two of this section. In
administering this program, the president is hereby authorized to
exercise all powers and duties authorized under article fourteen of this
chapter.

2. Eligibility for scholarship. Liberty scholarships shall be awarded
to persons:

a. who have applied for such scholarship;

b. who have graduated from a secondary school located within New York
state or have received a high school equivalency diploma from New York
state;

c. who have not attained the age of twenty-two as of June thirtieth
prior to the academic year for which the initial award is received and
who are undergraduate students receiving aid under this chapter for the
first time during academic year nineteen hundred ninety-one--nineteen
hundred ninety-two or thereafter;

d. who have enrolled in an approved program in a degree-granting
institution located in New York state within twenty-four months of the
date that the recipient graduated from secondary school or received a
high school equivalency diploma, provided that those students who are
temporarily unable to avail themselves of the award due to illness,
military service or other causes in accordance with rules of the board
of regents prior to receipt of the first payment of an award may be
granted a leave of absence pursuant to regulations of the trustees of
the higher education services corporation;

e. who satisfy the requirements of section six hundred sixty-one of
this chapter;

f. who retain good academic standing as defined by the commissioner;
and

g. who qualify for a scholarship pursuant to subdivision six of this
section.

3. Application. Application for payment of a liberty scholarship shall
be made in conjunction with an application for tuition assistance in
accordance with rules of the board.

4. Application for other student financial assistance. a. A student
enrolled in a program of full-time study shall not be entitled to
receive a scholarship unless the recipient (1) receives a tuition
assistance award or supplemental tuition assistance award pursuant to
section six hundred sixty-seven or six hundred sixty-seven-a of this
chapter and (2) receives a Pell grant award pursuant to section one
thousand seventy-a of title twenty of the United States code.

b. A recipient enrolled in a program of part-time study shall not be
entitled to receive a scholarship unless the recipient receives a Pell
grant award pursuant to section one thousand seventy-a of title twenty
of the United States code.

5. Duration. a. Subject to the requirements of subdivision two of this
section, a recipient shall be entitled to an annual scholarship for not
more than (1) four academic years of full-time undergraduate study or
the equivalent thereof of part-time study, or (2) five academic years,
or the equivalent thereof of part-time study, if the program of study
normally requires five years, as defined by the commissioner pursuant to
article thirteen of this chapter.

b. For purposes of this subdivision and subdivision fourteen of
section six hundred five of this chapter, the term "part-time study"
means enrollment for at least six but less than twelve semester hours,
or the equivalent, per semester or at least four but less than eight
semester hours per quarter in an approved undergraduate program.

c. Any semester, quarter or term of attendance during which a student
receives an award for part-time study pursuant to this section shall be
counted as one-half of a semester, quarter or term, as the case may be,
toward the maximum term of eligibility for tuition assistance awards
pursuant to sections six hundred sixty-six and six hundred sixty-seven
of this chapter.

6. Amount. a. The president shall grant annual scholarships in the
following amounts:

(1) If the recipient attends an institution of the city university of
New York or an institution of the state university of New York other
than the statutory colleges at Cornell, the college of environmental
science and forestry at Syracuse and the college of ceramics at Alfred,
the annual scholarship award shall be an amount equal to the non-tuition
cost of attendance at such institution or college reduced by (i) the
amount of a Pell grant and (ii) the amount of such other state and
federal scholarships and grants, other than tuition assistance or
supplemental tuition assistance received under this chapter, which do
not require repayment, awarded to the recipient for the cost of
attendance at the institution being attended, as reported to the
president; provided, however, that such scholarship shall be reduced one
dollar for every three dollars of income in excess of eighteen thousand
dollars of income; or

(2) If the recipient attends any other degree-granting institution
within New York state and enrolls in a program approved by the
commissioner, the annual scholarship award shall be based upon an amount
equal to the average non-tuition cost of attendance, as determined by
the commissioner in consultation with the president and as approved by
the director of the budget, for a student at the state university of New
York or actual non-tuition cost of attendance at such institution,
whichever is less, reduced by (i) the amount of a Pell grant the
recipient would have been entitled to had the recipient attended the
state university of New York and (ii) the amount of such other state and
federal scholarships and grants, other than tuition assistance or
supplemental tuition assistance received under this chapter, which do
not require repayment, awarded to the recipient for the cost of
attendance at the institution being attended, as reported to the
president; provided, however, that such scholarships shall be reduced
one dollar for every three dollars of income in excess of eighteen
thousand dollars of income.

(3) Scholarships and grants that reduce the cost of attendance for
purposes of determining the amount of a scholarship award shall not
include supplemental financial assistance provided on a last dollar
basis pursuant to the provisions of section sixty-four hundred fifty-one
or sixty-four hundred fifty-two of this chapter.

(4) "Non-tuition cost of attendance", as used in this paragraph, shall
mean: (i) the actual amount charged by the institution for room and
board and (ii) an allowance for transportation, books and supplies as
determined by the commissioner in consultation with the president and as
approved by the director of the budget, provided that such determination
shall be made no later than December first of each year for use in the
succeeding academic year. In the event a student does not incur room or
board charges at the institution, "non-tuition cost of attendance" shall
mean an allowance for room and board as determined by the commissioner
in consultation with the president and approved by the director of the
budget. In determining allowances pursuant to this subparagraph, the
commissioner may take into consideration the allowances provided for in
the Pell grant program.

b. For the purposes of determining annual scholarships, the term
"income" shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of
section six hundred sixty-three of this chapter, except that in making
such determination, adjusted gross income, as defined in regulations of
the trustees of the corporation, shall be used instead of New York state
net taxable income.

c. In no event shall the combination of all student financial aid
received by a student exceed the recipient's total cost of attendance at
the institution being attended.

7. Ineligibility for a tuition assistance, supplemental tuition
assistance or Pell grant award in a particular academic year shall not
prevent a recipient from receiving a liberty scholarship award in any
subsequent year in which such recipient shall become eligible for a
tuition assistance, supplemental tuition assistance or Pell grant award,
provided, however, the seven-year period referred to in subdivision
seven of section six hundred sixty-five of this chapter, or an
eight-year period for part-time study, shall not have elapsed.

8. Relationship to educational opportunity programs. Liberty
scholarship recipients who qualify for admission to the educational
opportunity programs established in section sixty-four hundred fifty-one
or sixty-four hundred fifty-two of this chapter shall in no way be
precluded from participation in such programs as a result of their
status as liberty scholarship recipients. Recipients who qualify and are
selected for participation in the opportunity programs shall be eligible
to receive the same tutoring and counseling services provided to other
educational opportunity program students, and shall be eligible to
receive supplemental financial assistance through the educational
opportunity programs for any approved costs not otherwise funded under
such scholarship.

9. Notification. The superintendent of schools or other chief school
officer of each public school district and the chief school officer of
nonpublic secondary schools shall take steps to inform students and
parents about the liberty scholarship program and various types of
student financial aid that are available for their college educations.
The corporation, in cooperation with the commissioner, shall assist such
efforts by making available to school districts, nonpublic secondary
schools and students information relating to such programs and aid. In
addition, the commissioner, in cooperation with the president and school
officials shall also provide such other information as is appropriate to
encourage students to complete high school and to assist students in
preparing to attend college.

10. Regulations. All regulations of the commissioner or regulations of
the trustees of the corporation to implement the provisions of this
article shall be subject to the approval of the director of the budget.