§ 666. Tuition awards for part-time undergraduate students. 1.
Definition. For the purposes of this section (a) "part-time student"
means a student enrolled for at least three 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
degree or registered certificate program in a degree-granting
institution, and (b) "income" means that amount determined in accordance
with subdivisions one and two of section six hundred sixty-three of this
article.

2. Eligible students. Tuition awards may be made to students, who
comply with the requirements provided in subdivisions three, five and
six of section six hundred sixty-one of this article, and (i) are also
part-time students matriculated in approved undergraduate degree
programs or enrolled and accepted into registered certificate programs
and (ii) if eligible to claim dependents or to be claimed as dependents
under the tax law, whose incomes do not exceed fifty thousand five
hundred fifty dollars or if ineligible whose incomes do not exceed
thirty-four thousand two hundred fifty dollars. The continuation of
eligibility for a tuition award shall require the retention of good
academic standing, as defined by the commissioner pursuant to article
thirteen of this chapter. Prior to the approval of any additional award
pursuant to this section, participating institutions shall review the
academic standing of all recipients of awards pursuant to this section.

3. Participating institutions. Institutions which offer undergraduate
degrees and participate in the tuition assistance program are eligible
to participate in the tuition award for part-time students program,
pursuant to this section provided, however, that the tuition for the
program in which a student is enrolled totals at least one hundred
dollars a year. Eligible institutions shall apply to the corporation to
participate in such program on applications postmarked on or before the
fifteenth day of June, such applications having been postmarked by the
corporation to all eligible institutions on or before the fifteenth day
of May. The department shall provide the enrollment data upon which the
institutional allocation of funds will be based to the corporation on or
before the first day of May. The corporation shall notify participating
institutions of the institutional allocation of funds on or before the
fifteenth day of July. Notwithstanding the manner and extent in which
allocations of funds for awards are made under this subdivision to
institutions which form a part of the state university of New York or
the city university of New York, the chancellor of either such
university may reallocate and distribute any unexpended portion of the
allocation of an institution of such university to any other institution
of such university to which an allocation is made hereunder.
Notwithstanding the manner and extent in which allocations of funds for
awards are made under this subdivision to independent institutions of
higher education, the president may reallocate and distribute any
unexpended portion of the allocation of such an institution to any other
such institution to which an allocation is made hereunder. Written
notice of such reallocation and distribution shall be given to the
corporation by such chancellor or commissioner in accordance with the
rules of the board.

4. Selection of recipients. Participating institutions shall select
recipients of tuition awards for part-time students from amoung elibible
students. Participating institutions shall consider those eligible
students who demonstrate the greatest amount of financial need remaining
after all available grants have been applied to educational costs and
shall give preference, where possible, to students who would be
otherwise unable to attempt or continue post secondary education. The
total number of recipients and the amount of awards shall be limited by
the institutional allocation of funds pursuant to subdivision eight of
this section. The institution shall select recipients within forty-five
days after the date fixed by the institution for students to add or drop
courses in the semester, quarter or term for which the award is made and
each recipient shall be notified in writing of the award, its amount,
that it is effected by a waiver of tuition by the institution in such
amount, and that the award is counted toward the maximum term of
eligibility under the tuition assistance program. In the event a
recipient is determined to be ineligible for an award after such
notification is given, the institution shall advise the recipient in
writing thereof, and that its selection of such recipient and its waiver
of tuition is a nullity. If the determination of ineligiblility is made
prior to the date the institution submits its report of recipients to
the corporation, a replacement recipient may be selected, notified and
reported.

5. Amount of award. The annual award shall be for an amount up to two
thousand dollars or tuition, whichever is less. The amount of the award
shall be determined by the participating institution. Such institution
shall waive the tuition for such eligible student in the amount of such
award.

6. Limitation of amount. In no event shall the award for any year
exceed the amount by which the tuition, exclusive of educational fees,
payable by the student exceeds the total of all other state, federal or
other educational aid which the commissioner has identified by
regulation as duplicative of the purposes of tuition awards pursuant to
this section. For the purposes of this subdivision, neither United
States war orphans educational benefits nor benefits under the veterans'
readjustment act of nineteen hundred sixty-six shall be considered as
federal or other educational aid.

7. Duration. A recipient shall be eligible for a period not to exceed
eight years of part-time undergraduate study or, if the undergraduate
program normally requires five academic years of full-time study, for a
period not to exceed ten years of part-time undergraduate study.
Recipients enrolled in a program of remedial study conforming to the
provisions of this article, approved by the commissioner in a degree
granting institution, and intended to culminate in an undergraduate
degree shall be considered as enrolled in a program normally requiring
five years. Any semester, quarter or term of attendance during which a
student receives an award 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 program awards
pursuant to section six hundred sixty-seven of this chapter. The period
of eligibility shall be proportionately reduced for each semester,
quarter or term of attendance during which a student receives an award
pursuant to section six hundred sixty-seven of this article.

8. Institutional allocation of funds. The total amount of funds for
awards at a participating institution for an academic year shall be that
amount determined by multiplying the annual total appropriation for this
program by a ratio whose numerator shall be the undergraduate part-time
degree program enrollment at the institution during the preceding
academic year and whose denominator shall be the aggregate of such
enrollment at all participating institutions in such academic year.

9. Institutional reports and reimbursements. One week after the final
date recipients may be selected, each participating institution shall
report to the corporation the following: (i) the eligible students who
received an award pursuant to this section and their incomes; and (ii)
the amount of each such award. Within forty-five days of the conclusion
of each term or semester during which the awards are made pursuant to
this section, each participating institution shall certify to the
corporation whether or not each student reported received a cumulative
passing average for the semester hours undertaken pursuant to such
award. The corporation shall reimburse the participating institution for
each award made by such institution on behalf of an eligible student
provided, however, that if, during any term or semester, the value of
the awards conferred by the institution to students who fail to maintain
a cumulative passing average exceeds ten percent of the total value of
all the awards conferred by the institution, the institution shall not
be reimbursed for the value of those awards made to students who fail to
maintain a cumulative passing average which is in excess of ten percent
of the total value of all the awards conferred by the institution during
that term or semester. A recipient of such award shall not be liable
for tuition waived in the amount of the award for semester hours
undertaken pursuant to such award for which he or she did not receive a
cumulative passing average. The president may make prepayments to
institutions of their allocations of funds in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph c of subdivision three of section six hundred
sixty-five of this article, and the president may require institutional
refunds in accordance with the provisions of paragraph c of subdivision
four of section six hundred sixty-five of this article.

10. Annually prior to the first day of November the corporation shall
prepare a report to the board of regents which shall contain an
evaluation concerning the administration of the tuition award program
for part-time undergraduate students and an analysis of the information
reported pursuant to subdivision nine of this section. The board of
regents shall then prepare a report to the governor and the legislature
making appropriate recommendations annually prior to the first day of
January.

11. The state comptroller shall audit the tuition award program for
part-time undergraduate students for the period commencing July first,
nineteen hundred eighty-four and ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred
eighty-five and shall make a report, not later than October first,
nineteen hundred eighty-five, relating thereto to the governor, the
temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.