§ 677. Regents physician loan forgiveness program. 1. Number and
certification. Eighty regents physician loan forgiveness awards shall be
awarded each year. Such awards shall be allocated as provided in article
thirteen of this chapter to eligible physicians as certified to the
president by the commissioner.

2. Calculation of award amounts. Each award shall consist of two
consecutive annual loan forgiveness payments. Each of the annual
payments shall be for an amount equal to the total of undergraduate and
medical school student loan expense or ten thousand dollars whichever is
less. The president shall be responsible for calculating the dollar
amount of each award that eligibile candidates may receive from this
program. For the purposes of this section, student loan expense shall
mean the cumulative total of the annual student loans covering the cost
of attendance at an undergraduate institution and/or medical school.
Interest paid or due on student loans that an applicant has taken out
for use in paying for such undergraduate and/or medical education shall
be considered eligible for reimbursement under this program.

3. Award disbursement. a. Annual award disbursements shall be the
responsibility of the president and shall occur prior to the beginning
of each of the required terms of service as specified in the service
contract. The board of trustees of the higher education services
corporation shall adopt rules and regulations regarding criteria for
determining successful completion of the service contract and any appeal
process that may be required to implement this paragraph upon
recommendation of the president in consultation with the commissioner.

b. The disbursement of the second annual award shall be dependent upon
successful completion of the first year requirement of the service
contract as defined by the president, as well as other criteria set
forth in this section.