1. (a) To receive an initial award through the TEXAS Grant Program, a student must:

   1. (1) be a resident of Texas, as evidenced by answers to the Board's core residency questions;
   2. (2) show financial need;
   3. (3) have applied for any available financial aid assistance;
   4. (4) not have been granted a baccalaureate degree;
   5. (5) be a graduate of an accredited high school in this state not earlier than the 1998 - 1999 school year;

   6. (6) have completed the Recommended or Advanced High School Program, or if a graduate of a private high school, its equivalent, unless the student:

      1. (A) graduated from a public high school that has been certified by its district not to offer all the courses necessary to complete all parts of the Recommended or Advanced High School Program, and the student has completed all courses that the high school offered toward the completion of such a curriculum; or
      2. (B) did not graduate under the Recommended or Advanced High School Program as anticipated when the award was made;
      3. (C) has received an associate degree from an eligible institution no earlier than May 1, 2001;

   7. (7) enroll in an undergraduate degree or certificate program at an approved institution on at least a three-quarter time basis:

      1. (A) not later than the end of the 16th month after high school graduation, if an entering undergraduate student; or
      2. (B) not later than the end of the 12th month after a student has received an associate degree.

2. (b) To receive a continuation award through the TEXAS Grant Program, a student must:

   1. (1) have previously received an initial award through this program;
   2. (2) show financial need;
   3. (3) be enrolled at least three-quarter time;
   4. (4) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree or certificate program at an approved institution;
   5. (5) not have been granted a baccalaureate degree; and

   6. (6) make satisfactory academic progress towards an undergraduate degree or certificate, which requires:

      1. (A) as of the end of the person's first academic year he or she meets the satisfactory academic progress requirements as indicated by the financial aid office of his or her institution.

         1. (i) If a student ends his/her first year in the program without meeting the academic progress requirements of his/her institution, he/she may not get back into the program until the institution has determined that the student has met its academic performance requirements.
         2. (ii) A grant recipient who is below program grade point average requirements as of the end of a spring term may appeal his/her grade point average calculation if he/she has taken courses previously at one or more different institutions. In the case of such an appeal, the current institution (if presented with official transcripts from the previous institutions), must calculate an overall grade point average counting all classes and grade points previously earned. If the resulting grade point average exceeds the current institution's academic progress requirement, an otherwise eligible student may receive an award in the following fall term.

      2. (B) As of the end of the second and subsequent years, the student must complete at least 75 percent of the hours attempted in his/her most recent academic year, and maintain an overall grade point average of at least 2.5 on a four point scale or its equivalent, for all coursework attempted at public or private or independent institutions of higher education.

         1. (i) The completion rate calculations may be made in keeping with institutional policies.
         2. (ii) Grade point average calculations may be made in keeping with institutional policies except that if a grant recipient's grade point average falls below program requirements and the student transfers to another institution, the receiving institution cannot make a continuation award to the transfer student until he/she provides official transcripts of previous coursework to the new institution's financial aid office and that office re-calculates an overall grade point average, including hours and grade points for courses taken at the old and new institutions that proves the student's overall grade point average now meets or exceeds program requirements.
         3. (iii) A grant recipient who is below program grade point average requirements as of the end of a spring term may appeal his/her grade point average calculation if he/she has taken courses previously at one or more different institutions. In the case of such an appeal, the current institution (if presented with transcripts from the previous institutions), must calculate an overall grade point average counting all classes and grade points previously earned. If the resulting grade point average exceeds the program's academic progress requirement, an otherwise eligible student may receive an award in the following fall term.

   7. (7) If a student's eligibility was based on the expectation that the student would complete the Recommended or Advanced High School Program, and the student failed to do so, then in order to resume eligibility such a student must:

      1. (A) receive an associate's degree;
      2. (B) meet all other qualifications for a TEXAS Grant; and
      3. (C) if required to do so by the institution through which the TEXAS Grant was made, repay the amount of the TEXAS Grant that was previously received.

3. (c) Discontinuation of Eligibility or Non-Eligibility.

   1. (1) Unless granted a hardship postponement in accordance with §22.229(c) of this title (relating to Hardship Provisions), a student's eligibility for a TEXAS Grant ends six years from the start of the semester or term in which the student received his or her first disbursement of an initial TEXAS Grant award, if the student's eligibility for a TEXAS Grant was based on the completion of the Recommended or Advanced High School Program or its equivalent in high school.
   2. (2) Unless granted a hardship postponement in accordance with §22.229(c) of this title, a student's eligibility ends four years from the date of the semester or term in which the student received his or her first disbursement of an initial TEXAS Grant award if the student's eligibility was based on receiving an associate's degree.
   3. (3) A student's eligibility ends one year from the date of the semester or term in which the student received his or her first disbursement of an initial TEXAS Grant award, if the student's eligibility was based on the expectation that the student would complete the Recommended or Advanced High School Program, but the student failed to do so. However, if such a student later receives an associate's degree and again qualifies for TEXAS Grants, he or she can receive an additional four years of eligibility.
   4. (4) A student who is eligible for a TEXAS Grant based on completion of the Recommended or Advanced High School Program or its equivalent in high school may receive a TEXAS Grant for no more than 150 semester credit hours or the equivalent
   5. (5) A student who is eligible for a TEXAS Grant based on receiving an associate's degree may receive a TEXAS Grant for no more than 90 semester credit hours.

   6. (6) A person is not eligible to receive an initial or continuation TEXAS Grant if the person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code (Texas Controlled Substances Act), or under the law of any other jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:

      1. (A) received a certificate of discharge by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or completed a period of probation ordered by a court, and at least two years have elapsed from the date of the receipt or completion; or
      2. (B) been pardoned, had the record of the offense expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from the resulting ineligibility to receive a TEXAS Grant.
   7. (7) Other than as described in §22.229 of this title, if a person fails to meet any of the requirements for receiving a continuation award as outlined in subsection (b) of this section after completion of any year, the person may not receive a TEXAS Grant until he or she completes courses while not receiving a TEXAS Grant and meets all the requirements of subsection (b) of this section as of the end of that period of enrollment.

Source Note:The provisions of this §22.228 adopted to be effective August 16, 2004, 29 TexReg 7988.