PURPOSE: The public service officer or employee’s child survivor grant program, established by section 173.260, RSMo, authorizes the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to provide educational benefits for eligible Missouri residents who are public safety officers permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty or eligible children or spouses of certain public safety officers and certain public employees killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty to attend an approved Missouri college or university. This rule sets forth qualifications required of student applicants for grant assistance and qualifications which approved colleges or universities must meet.

1. (1) Definitions.

   1. (A) Academic year or the period of the grant is the period from August 1 of any year through July 31 of the following year.
   2. (B) Applicant shall mean an eligible child, spouse or public safety officer, as defined in this rule, who applies to the coordinating board for a survivor grant.
   3. (C) Coordinating board or board is the Coordinating Board for Higher Education created by section 173.005, RSMo.
   4. (D) Eligible child is the natural, adopted or stepchild of a public safety officer or employee who is less than twenty-four (24) years of age and who is a dependent of a public safety officer or employee or was a dependent at the time of death or permanent and total disability of a public safety officer or employee.
   5. (E) Employee shall be any full-time employee of the Department of Transportation engaged in the construction or maintenance of the state’s highways, roads and bridges who is killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty.
   6. (F) Full-time student shall be an undergraduate student who is enrolled in and is carrying a sufficient number of credit hours or their equivalent (minimum twelve (12) credit hours) at an approved private or public Missouri institution to secure a degree or certificate.
   7. (G) Grant assistance or award shall be an amount of money paid to a qualified applicant pursuant to the provisions of this rule.
   8. (H) Institution of postsecondary education or approved institution shall be any private or public institution located in Missouri that meets the requirements set forth in section 173.205(2) or (3), RSMo.
   9. (I) Line of duty shall mean any action of a public safety officer, whose primary function is crime control or reduction, enforcement of the criminal law, or suppression of fires, who is authorized or obligated by law, rule, regulation or condition of employment or service to perform.
   10. (J) Permanent and total disability shall mean a disability which renders a person unable to engage in any gainful work.
   11. (K) Public safety officer shall be any firefighter, police officer, capitol police officer, parole officer, probation officer, state correctional employee, water safety officer, park ranger, conservation officer or highway patrolman employed by the state of Missouri or a political subdivision thereof who is killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty.
   12. (L) Satisfactory academic progress shall be determined by the approved institution’s policies as applied to other students at the approved institution receiving assistance under Title IV financial aid programs included in the Higher Education Act of 1965.
   13. (M) Similar program funds shall be needbased funds an applicant receives under any federal or state grant aid programs.
   14. (N) Spouse shall mean the husband, wife, widow or widower of a public safety officer or employee at the time of death or permanent and total disability of such public safety officer or employee.
   15. (O) Standard admissions policies shall be policies approved and published by the approved institution to admit students having a certificate of graduation or the equivalent of this certificate and to allow the early admission of superior high school students.
   16. (P) Survivor grant or grant shall mean the public safety officer or employee survivor grant as established by section 173.260, RSMo.
   17. (Q) Tuition or incidental fee shall be the amount charged for nondesignated and unrestricted fees by an institution of postsecondary education for an applicant to attend full-time at that institution as a resident of the state of Missouri.

2. (2) Applicant Qualifications and Responsibilities.

   1. (A) To be eligible for grant assistance under the survivor grant program, an applicant must meet the following conditions:

      1. 1. Be a citizen or permanent resident of

the United States;

1. 2. Be a resident of Missouri;
2. 3. Be an eligible child or spouse of a

public safety officer or employee who was killed or permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty; or be a public safety officer who was permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty;

1. 4. Be enrolled or accepted for enroll-

ment as a full-time undergraduate student in a course of study leading to a certificate or an associate or baccalaureate degree at an approved institution for the period of the grant;

1. 5. Maintain satisfactory academic

progress in his/her course of study, according to standards determined by the approved institution; and

1. 6. Complete an application for grant

assistance according to the provisions of this rule.

1. (B) No award shall be made under section 173.260, RSMo to any applicant who is enrolled or who intends to use the award to enroll in a course of study leading to a degree in theology or divinity.
2. (C) Grant assistance shall be allotted for one (1) academic year, but an applicant shall be eligible for renewed assistance until s/he has obtained a baccalaureate degree or, only in the case of an applicant who is an eligible child, has reached age twenty-four (24) years, whichever occurs first, except that the applicant may receive such grant assistance through the completion of the semester or similar grading period in which the eligible child reaches his/her twenty-fourth year.

1. (3) Responsibilities of Institutions of Postsecondary Education.

   1. (A) Approved institutions shall meet the following requirements:

      1. 1. Comply with the provisions of section

173.205(2) or (3), RSMo;

1. 2. Admit students based on the approved

institution’s standard admissions policies;

1. 3. Establish fair and equitable refund

policies covering tuition, fees, and where paid to the school, room and board charges. The institution’s refund policy shall be the same policy which is utilized by the institution for refunding funds under federal Title IV financial aid programs included in the Higher Education Act of 1965;

1. 4. Sign the agreement for institution of

postsecondary education participation in the survivor grant program as provided by the coordinating board; and

1. 5. Complete the institution’s section of

the survivor grant program application to verify the applicant’s eligibility for the grant program and send to the coordinating board for approval for the current academic year.

1. (B) When the approved institution receives the survivor grant program funds for the awards made by the coordinating board, the approved institution shall—

   1. 1. Determine if the applicant is enrolled

full-time and making satisfactory academic progress in his/her course of study according to standards determined by the approved institution;

1. 2. Deliver the grant program funds to

the applicant in the amount awarded to that applicant by the coordinating board, or the approved institution must obtain the applicant’s endorsement to retain the portion of the award which the applicant owes for tuition or incidental fees for the current academic year to that particular approved institution;

1. 3. Notify the coordinating board if,

prior to disbursement, the applicant to whom an award has been made has not enrolled fulltime, or has indicated that s/he does not plan to enroll full-time, and return the applicant’s check within thirty (30) days of learning these facts;

1. 4. Be responsible for the repayment of

survivor grant funds to the coordinating board if the grant funds were delivered erroneously to the applicant; and

1. 5. Determine and calculate the amount

of refunds to the coordinating board based on the refund formula of the approved institution for applicants who withdraw during the institution’s refund period.

1. (C) Repayment under paragraph (3)(B)4. of this rule shall be necessary when the—

   1. 1. Approved institution delivers funds to

an applicant not eligible under the survivor grant program;

1. 2. Award was based on erroneous,

improper or misleading information provided by the approved institution to the coordinating board; or

1. 3. Approved institution delivers the

grant funds to a person other than the one to whom the coordinating board has directed the funds be delivered.

1. (4) Application and Evaluation.

   1. (A) The coordinating board annually shall prescribe the form of, and the time and method of filing, applications under the survivor grant program.
   2. (B) An application for grant assistance under the survivor grant program shall be made annually by the applicant on the form prescribed by the coordinating board.
   3. (C) Completed applications must be received by the coordinating board to be approved for grant awards.

2. (5) Survivor Grant Program Award Limits and Criteria.

   1. (A) The maximum survivor grant program award amount for each applicant per academic year shall be the least of the actual tuition and incidental fees charged at an approved institution (maximum twelve (12) credit hours) where the applicant is enrolled or accepted for full-time enrollment; or the 6 CSR 10-2

amount of tuition and incidental fees charged a Missouri undergraduate resident enrolled full-time (maximum twelve (12) credit hours) in the same class level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) and in the same academic major of the applicant at the University of Missouri.

1. (B) The applicant’s survivor grant, when combined with similar program funds for which the applicant is eligible for and receives, shall not exceed the total cost of tuition and incidental fees charged by the approved institution for full-time enrollment.
2. (C) An applicant receiving an award under the survivor grant program shall have made satisfactory academic progress as defined by the approved institution in order to be eligible for a subsequent award under the survivor grant program.
3. (D) The award amount for any given academic year will be disbursed to the approved institution, equally, according to the number of semesters at that particular approved institution and awarded for each semester of enrollment.
4. (E) Awards will not be made for periods of enrollment during the summer term(s).
5. (F) An applicant may change his/her approved institution choice prior to the beginning of the first day of classes and may transfer between approved institutions during the academic year. The deadline for those actions is August 1 for the fall semester and January 1 for the winter or spring semester. Failure to notify the coordinating board by these dates of the change may result in loss of the award.
6. (G) Award notifications will be sent to applicants by the coordinating board once applications have been approved and the awards have been determined. Notification of awards also will be sent to the student financial aid office at the approved institution in which the applicant plans to or has enrolled.
7. (H) The applicant’s award will be sent to the approved institution to be endorsed by the applicant in accordance with the requirements of subsection (3)(B) of this rule.
8. (I) Should an applicant withdraw prior to the end of the approved institution’s refund period for the period of the award, then a refund shall be calculated and made to the coordinating board by the approved institution within forty (40) days from the day on which the applicant withdraws. The amount of the refund will be calculated by the approved institution based on the refund formula of that institution in accordance with paragraph (3)(A)3. of this rule.

AUTHORITY: section 173.260, RSMo Supp. 1998.* Original rule filed April 29, 1988, effective July 28, 1988. Amended: Filed May 27, 1999, effective Jan. 30, 2000. *Original authority: 173.260, RSMo 1987, amended 1998.