§ 116-209.91.  Administration of tuition grants.

(a) The Authority shall administer the tuition grants provided for in this Part pursuant to guidelines and procedures established by the Authority consistent with its practices for administering State-funded financial aid. The guidelines and procedures shall include an application process and schedule, notification and disbursement procedures, standards for reporting, and standards for return of tuition grants when a student withdraws. The Authority shall not approve any grant until it receives proper certification from the appropriate constituent institution that the student applying for the grant is an eligible student. Upon receipt of the certification, the Authority shall remit, at the times it prescribes, the tuition grant to the constituent institution on behalf, and to the credit, of the student. In the event a student on whose behalf a tuition grant has been paid is not enrolled in an undergraduate program and carrying a minimum academic load as of the tenth classroom day following the beginning of the school term for which the tuition grant was paid, the constituent institution shall refund the full amount of the tuition grant to the Authority.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the amount of the grant awarded to a student shall cover the tuition cost at the constituent institution in which the student is enrolled. No tuition grant awarded to a student under this section shall exceed the cost of attendance at a constituent institution for which the student is enrolled.

(c) If a student, who is eligible for a tuition grant under this section, also receives a scholarship or other grant covering the cost of attendance at the constituent institution for which the tuition grant is awarded, then the amount of the tuition grant shall be reduced by an appropriate amount determined by the Authority so that the total amount of scholarships and grants received by the student does not exceed the cost of attendance for the institution. The cost of attendance shall be determined by the Authority for each constituent institution.

(c1) The Authority shall place all funds appropriated to, or otherwise received by, the Authority for the award of tuition grants under this Part into an institutional trust fund established in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 116-36.1. All interest earned on these funds shall also be placed in the institutional trust fund established pursuant to this subsection. The monies in the institutional trust fund may be used only for the purposes set forth in this Part.

(d) In the event there are not sufficient funds to provide each eligible student who has applied in accordance with the application process and the schedule established by the Authority with a full tuition grant as provided by this Part, each eligible student shall receive a pro rata share of funds available for the academic term covered by the appropriation in the preceding fiscal year.

(e) The Authority may use up to five percent (5%) of the funds appropriated each year for tuition grants under this Part for administrative costs. (2021-180, s. 8A.1(a); 2022-74, s. 8A.2(b); 2023-134, s. 8A.3(a).)