§ 667-d. Enhanced tuition awards. 1. Recipient qualifications. a.
Establishment. Enhanced tuition awards are available for students who
are enrolled in approved programs in private degree granting
institutions of higher education except those institutions set forth in
paragraph b of subdivision four of section six hundred sixty-one of this
part and who demonstrate the ability to complete such courses, in
accordance with standards established by the commissioner; provided,
that, no award shall exceed one hundred percent of the amount of tuition
charged.

b. Application for other awards. A student who would be eligible for a
tuition assistance program award pursuant to section six hundred
sixty-seven of this subpart and/or a federal Pell grant pursuant to
section one thousand seventy of title twenty of the United States code,
et. seq., is required to apply for each such award. Any award shall be
applied to tuition after the application of payments received under the
tuition assistance program pursuant to section six hundred sixty-seven
of this subpart.

c. GPA requirements. Notwithstanding paragraph c of subdivision four
of section six hundred sixty-one of this part, a school shall certify
that a recipient has achieved a grade point average necessary for
successful completion of his or her coursework to receive payment under
the award.

d. Credit requirements. An award shall be made to an applicant who:
(i) if enrolled in (A) a private degree granting institution of higher
education prior to application, has completed at least thirty combined
credits per year following the student's start date, or its equivalent,
applicable to his or her program or programs of study or (B) a public
degree granting institution of higher education prior to application,
has completed at least thirty combined credits per year following the
student's start date, or its equivalent, applicable to his or her
program or programs of study and which were accepted upon transfer to a
private degree granting institution of higher education; (ii) enrolls in
at least twelve credits per semester and completes at least thirty
combined credits per year following the student's start date, or its
equivalent, applicable to his or her program or programs of study except
in limited circumstances as prescribed by the corporation in regulation.
Notwithstanding, in the student's last semester, the student may take at
least one course needed to meet his or her graduation requirements and
enroll in and complete at least twelve credit hours or its equivalent.
For students who are disabled as defined by the Americans With
Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC 12101, the corporation shall prescribe
rules and regulations that allow applicants who are disabled to be
eligible for an award pursuant to this section based on modified
criteria.

e. Notwithstanding paragraph d of this subdivision, a student who
otherwise satisfies all of the requirements under this section but fails
to complete at least thirty combined credits, or its equivalent,
applicable to his or her program or programs of study in any year shall
be eligible to receive an award payment for the first semester of such
year, provided however, the student shall be ineligible for any further
payments under this section.

f. Additional requirements. A recipient shall agree to reside
exclusively in New York state, and shall not be employed in any other
state, for a continuous number of years equal to the duration of the
award received within six months of receipt of his or her final award
payment, and sign a contract with the corporation to have his or her
full award converted to a student loan according to a schedule to be
determined by the corporation if such student fails to fulfill this
requirement. The terms and conditions of this paragraph may, as
established by the rules and regulations of the corporation, be
deferred: (i) to complete undergraduate study; or (ii) to attend
graduate school on at least a half-time basis. Any obligation to comply
with such provisions as outlined in this paragraph may be cancelled upon
the death of the recipient. Notwithstanding any provisions of this
paragraph to the contrary, the corporation is authorized to promulgate
rules and regulations to provide for the waiver or suspension of any
financial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.

g. Failure to meet the conditions of the award shall not otherwise
disqualify a student's eligibility to receive an award under section six
hundred sixty-seven of this subpart.

2. Duration. No undergraduate shall be eligible for more than four
academic years of study, or five academic years if the program of study
normally requires five years. An undergraduate student enrolled in an
eligible two-year program approved by the commissioner shall be eligible
for no more than two academic years. Under no circumstances shall a
student receive an award for a two-year program for more than two
consecutive years of academic study or four consecutive semesters of
academic study; or at a four or five-year program, for more than four
consecutive years or eight consecutive semesters of academic study or
five consecutive years, or ten consecutive semesters of study if the
program normally requires five years. Notwithstanding, such duration may
be extended for an allowable interruption of study including, but not
limited to, death of a family member, medical leave, military service,
and parental leave, as established by the corporation in regulation.

3. Income. An award shall be made to an applicant who has an adjusted
gross income for the qualifying year, as such terms are defined in this
subdivision, equal to or less than: (i) one hundred thousand dollars for
recipients receiving an award in the two thousand seventeen--two
thousand eighteen academic year; (ii) one hundred ten thousand dollars
for recipients receiving an award in the two thousand eighteen--two
thousand nineteen academic year; and (iii) one hundred twenty-five
thousand dollars for recipients receiving an award in the two thousand
nineteen--two thousand twenty academic year and thereafter. Adjusted
gross income shall be the total of the combined adjusted gross income of
the applicant and the applicant's parents or the applicant and the
applicant's spouse, if married. Qualifying year shall be the adjusted
gross income as reported on the federal income tax return, or as
otherwise obtained by the corporation, for the calendar year coinciding
with the tax year established by the U.S. department of education to
qualify applicants for federal student financial aid programs authorized
by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of nineteen hundred sixty-five,
as amended, for the school year in which application for assistance is
made. Provided, however, if an applicant demonstrates to the corporation
that there has been a change in such applicant's adjusted gross income
in the year or years subsequent to the qualifying year which would
qualify such applicant for an award, the corporation shall review and
make a determination as to whether such applicant meets the requirement
set forth in this subdivision based on such year. Provided, further that
such change was caused by the death, permanent and total physical or
mental disability, divorce, or separation by judicial decree or pursuant
to an agreement of separation which is filed with a court of competent
jurisdiction of any person whose income was required to be used to
compute the applicant's total adjusted gross income.

4. Amount. Within the amounts appropriated therefor and based on
availability of funds, awards shall be granted beginning with the two
thousand seventeen--two thousand eighteen academic year and thereafter
to applicants that the corporation has determined are eligible to
receive such awards. Recipients of an award under this program shall
receive six thousand dollars through a combination of the enhanced
tuition award plus a student's tuition assistance program award pursuant
to section six hundred sixty-seven of this subpart plus the
institution's matching award pursuant to subdivision five of this
section. Provided, however, any institution that charges tuition that is
reduced by greater than fifteen percent from the level of tuition
charged six years prior to the academic year in which the award is to be
applied shall be exempt from the requirement to provide such match and
students attending such institutions shall receive an enhanced tuition
award without such institutional match.

5. Matching awards. Commencing with the two thousand seventeen--two
thousand eighteen academic year and thereafter, participating
institutions shall credit each recipient's remaining tuition expenses in
an amount equal to the recipient's award under this section. Provided,
however that any institution that charges tuition that is reduced by
greater than fifteen percent from the level of tuition charged six years
prior to the academic year in which the award is to be applied shall be
exempt from the requirement to provide such match, and shall remain
exempt from providing such match to such recipient in any academic year
in which such recipient receives an award under this section.

6. Tuition. The rate of tuition charged to an individual receiving an
award shall not be increased for the duration of time that such
individual receives an award.

7. College option. An institution may choose not to participate in the
program and students attending any non-participating college may still
be eligible to receive an award pursuant to section six hundred
sixty-seven of this subpart.

8. Recipient selection. The president may establish: a. an application
deadline and b. a method of selecting recipients if in any given year
there are insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the applicants
provided that priority shall be given to eligible applicants who are
currently in attendance at an institution of higher education.

9. Rules and regulations. The corporation is authorized to promulgate
rules and regulations, and may promulgate emergency regulations,
necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this section
including, but not limited to, the criteria for distributing the awards,
which may include a lottery or other form of random selection.