The purpose of the Delegate Scholarship Program is for Delegates in the Maryland General Assembly to provide financial assistance to full-time and part-time students pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or professional education. A recipient shall be enrolled in: A regular undergraduate, graduate, or professional program at an eligible institution; An associate’s degree program; or A certificate program in which the course work is acceptable for transfer credit to an accredited baccalaureate program at an eligible institution. A recipient shall attend an eligible institution for the number of credit hours for which the award was made. Full-time enrollment is defined as 12 credit hours per semester for undergraduate students and 9 credit hours per semester for graduate students. Part-time enrollment is defined as 6 to 11 credits per semester for undergraduate students and 6 to 8 hours for graduate students. A recipient shall be enrolled at least part-time. The following are eligible institutions: A Maryland public or private college or university; A private career school approved to operate in Maryland by the Maryland Higher Education Commission; An out-of-State institution that makes special provisions for a disabled student if comparable special provisions are not available to that student at a Maryland institution; and An out-of-State institution if: The out-of-State institution offers a program that is not offered at an institution in Maryland; The applicant: Submits a written request to the Director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance requesting that the out-of-State institution be deemed an eligible institution; The applicant identifies their major as one not offered at an institution in the State; The applicant attaches a copy of the relevant section of the out-of-State institution’s catalog; and The applicant provides the their full name, address, Social Security number, and State legislative district; and The Director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance approves the applicant’s request. The Director shall notify the applicant of a decision made under §A(4)(c) of this regulation within 45 days of receipt of the applicant’s request. Each Delegate shall have a choice of two methods for awarding scholarships: the tuition and mandatory fees method and the set dollar method. Each Delegate shall make an irrevocable selection of either the tuition and mandatory fees method or the set dollar method on an annual basis during each 4-year term. Tuition and Mandatory Fees Method. Each Delegate may award the equivalent of four, 4-year, full-time scholarships. A Delegate Scholarship award may not exceed the actual tuition and mandatory fees charged to the recipient as follows: A Delegate Scholarship may be awarded for a period of 1, 2, 3, or 4 years. A Delegate may award two part-time scholarships for each full-time scholarship available, provided that a part-time Delegate Award may be renewed for a maximum of 8 years and that the student is enrolled for between 6 and 11 credits each semester. A full-time tuition and mandatory fees scholarship may not exceed the maximum tuition and mandatory fees at the 4-year public institution of higher education within the University System of Maryland, other than the University of Maryland University College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, with the highest annual expenses for a full-time resident undergraduate. Mid-term increases in scholarship funds will be awarded only if sufficient funds are available in the Delegate program. A summer session shall constitute a full semester for award calculation and administration purposes. A Delegate may reserve the option not chose the two methods for awarding but elect to transfer funds to other State aid programs. Set Dollar Method. Each Delegate shall have an annual budget in the amount of four times the tuition and mandatory fees for a full-time undergraduate student enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park, for the academic year commencing in that year, other than the University of Maryland University College and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, with the highest annual expenses for a full-time resident undergraduate. The Delegate shall determine a set dollar amount to award each recipient. The minimum award shall be $200 for the academic year and the maximum shall be 50 percent of the Delegate's budget for that academic year. Unawarded funds remaining in a Delegate’s account at the end of an award year shall carry over into the following year for awarding. As an alternative to the scholarship awards authorized in regulation .04, and subject to the provisions of §B of this regulation, during each year in office each Delegate may award scholarships in a total amount equal to 4 times the tuition and mandatory fees for a full-time undergraduate student enrolled at the University of Maryland, College Park for the academic year commencing in that year. A scholarship awarded under §A of this regulation: May not be for an amount less than $200 or more than one-half of the total amount of scholarships authorized by §A of this regulation; Shall be used at an eligible institution; May be used by: A graduate, undergraduate, or professional student; or A student at a private career school within the State that is approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission and that is accredited by a national accrediting association that is approved by the United States Department of Education; and To the extent that it is not used by the student, shall be recredited to the Delegate’s scholarship account and may be awarded in the next 12 months by that Delegate to another student pursuant to this regulation. Each Delegate shall establish a written application and selection process. A Delegate’s written selection process may use any factors that the Delegate considers appropriate. The Office of Student Financial Assistance shall refer applicant inquiries directly to the appropriate Delegate. A Delegate shall inform the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) when the Delegate has selected a recipient. OSFA shall provide the Delegate with demographic student information of students assigned in their district. The Delegate is required to notify OSFA of their method of awarding and how the awards will be administered for the year. If the Delegate requests that OSFA make awards on their behalf, student awards shall be determined based on eligibility criteria outlined in Regulation .02 of this chapter. For each recipient selected, the delegate shall provide OSFA with written notification of the student’s: Full name; Social Security number; Date of birth; Address; Award amount; Name of school attending; and Enrollment status. Upon receipt of the information in §D of this regulation, OSFA shall officially notify the student of the award offer. An award recipient shall accept the Delegate award online through the Maryland College Aid Processing System (MDCAPS) within the time frame established by OSFA. An award that is cancelled due to the lack of a timely response shall be reinstated upon written request provided that funds are available. A Delegate may choose to utilize an outside organization in determining scholarship awards under the following provisions: The organization shall adhere to all pertinent statutory and regulatory provisions; OSFA shall send all information concerning applicants and the awarding of scholarship funds directly to the Delegate, who shall forward the information to the outside organization to recommend awards; The organization shall forward the names of all students recommended for an award to the Delegate’s office for approval; The Delegate shall forward all students selected for award to OSFA for processing; and The outside organization may not share any student information with any party other than the Delegate. At the beginning of each school term, institutions shall be asked to review billing rosters provided by the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) to certify that the recipient is a Maryland resident, enrolled in an eligible program for the number of credits for which the award was made, and meets satisfactory academic progress. Upon receipt of the institution's certification, OSFA shall disburse the respective funds directly to the institution to be credited to the student's account. Delegate Scholarship awards are not automatically renewed on an annual basis. Recipients must reapply to their delegate annually. A recipient shall inform the Office of Student Financial Assistance in writing of any change to the student’s name, address, institution of attendance, or enrollment status. An award shall be revoked if: The criteria in Regulations .08 and .09 of this chapter are not met; A recipient makes a change to their name, address, state of residence, institution of attendance, or enrollment status and fails promptly to inform the Office of Student Financial Assistance in writing; or Funds are no longer available. An applicant may appeal a decision of ineligibility or of the revocation of an award. An applicant may not appeal a denial of a Delegate Scholarship made for reasons other than a determination of ineligibility. An appeal shall be filed with the Director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) within 30 calendar days of the date of the notice of ineligibility or revocation. An appeal shall be in writing and detail reasons or circumstances that would justify reversal of the original decision. The Director of OSFA or designee shall review each appeal in consultation with the Delegate and issue a decision no later than 60 calendar days after receiving the appeal. All decisions of the Director or designee are final. The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) shall notify each Delegate of their scholarship funds balance. OSFA shall send an applicant roster to each Delegate at the end of April each year that lists all students who have filed a need-based application by the March 1 deadline and the award renewals. OSFA shall continue to update Delegates with applicant roster information including the names of new applicants and new awardees. OSFA may update rosters throughout the year. If a Delegate does not award all of their scholarship funds during the fiscal year, those funds shall be carried forward into the following fiscal year. Each Delegate may authorize the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) to award all or a portion of their funds to eligible recipients of a Delegate Howard P. Rawlings Educational Excellence Award who reside in the Delegate's legislative district. If the total number of eligible recipients of a Delegate Howard P. Rawlings Educational Excellence Award who reside in the Delegate's legislative district is insufficient to utilize the total amount of funds available to the Delegate for any fiscal year, OSFA may, with the consent of the Delegate, award the unused funds to other eligible recipients throughout the State. Education Article, §§11-105(u) and 18-204(c) and Title 18, Subtitle 5, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: August 28, 2017 (44:17 Md. R. 836)