The purpose of the Jack F. Tolbert Memorial Student Grant Program (Tolbert Grant Program) is to provide financial assistance to full-time students attending an approved private career school in Maryland. Definitions. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Commission” means the Maryland Higher Education Commission. “Private career school” has the meaning stated in Education Article, §10-101, Annotated Code of Maryland. To be eligible to participate in the Tolbert Grant Program, a private career school: Shall be approved by the Commission for a minimum of 2 years to operate a private career school in Maryland; May not have any outstanding Notice of Deficiencies issued to the school by the Secretary; Shall have signed a participation agreement provided by the Commission; Shall operate solely within the State; May not have a negative final report under the State Postsecondary Review Program in accordance with 34 CFR §667.5; and May not have been referred for review under the State Postsecondary Review Program as a result of its student loan default rates in accordance with 34 CFR §667.5. To be eligible to participate in the Tolbert Grant Program, a student shall: Be enrolled in a private career school; Be enrolled full-time (a minimum of 18 clock hours of instruction per week) in an approved program which is at least 100 clock hours in length; Be a resident of the State of Maryland; Demonstrate financial need and meet any other financial requirement of this program. A Tolbert Grant award shall be $500 per student per fiscal year. A Tolbert Grant award shall be used for tuition only. A recipient of a Tolbert Grant shall also be eligible to receive a Senatorial or Delegate Scholarship. At the beginning of each fiscal year, each eligible school shall be notified of the number of grant awards that may be awarded to students attending the school during the fiscal year. Each eligible school shall be allocated a minimum of six grant awards for the fiscal year, subject to the availability of funding. Any remaining grant awards shall be allocated proportionately based on student enrollment as follows: Each eligible school’s total enrollment for all eligible programs shall be divided by the total enrollment for all eligible programs offered by all eligible schools; The percent derived from the calculation in §C(1) of this regulation shall be multiplied by the total number of awards not allocated, and the result shall be the additional allocation per school; and Calculations under this section shall be based on the enrollments reported in the most recent annual reports submitted to the Commission by eligible schools for their eligible programs. A student shall apply by submitting the following documents to the private career school the student attends: An application on a form provided by the Commission; and A Student Aid Report from a processed Free Application for Federal Student Aid. A private career school shall rank all applicants according to the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the applicant’s Student Aid Report (SAR). Each eligible applicant shall be ranked from lowest to highest based on the applicant’s reported EFC. Awards shall be given to applicants beginning with the applicant with the lowest EFC (e.g., $0) and proceeding through the rankings until all awards have been made. To be eligible for the grant program, a student shall demonstrate financial need. The EFC shall be at least $500 less than the cost of tuition annually. During the fiscal year, a school shall select candidates for awards up to the total number of awards which the school has been allocated. A school shall submit candidates to the Office of Student Financial Aid in accordance with the following: The school shall submit the names of candidates, a copy of their SAR, and verification of their selection to the Commission by the assigned deadline date provided by the Commission for each semester during summer, fall, and spring; A school must use at least 66 percent of its allocated awards by March 15; and The school shall verify in a form approved by the Commission that each student selected has met each requirement identified in Regulation .03 of this chapter and was selected in accordance with this regulation and Regulation .06 of this chapter. The Commission shall accept award candidates from each eligible school three times per year by the assigned deadline date provided by the Commission for each semester during summer, fall, and spring. The Commission shall transmit funds to a school in the amount of the grant awards following verification by the Commission that the candidates have been reviewed and selected by the school on the basis of the requirements of these regulations. A school shall credit an award to the student’s account within 5 business days of receiving the funds from the Commission. If a school fails to use 66 percent or more of its allocated awards by March 15 the remaining unused awards shall be redistributed to schools meeting the 66 percent requirement, on a pro-rata basis, unless the school losing the awards can show that it has eligible candidates to whom it will make the remaining awards. The Commission shall notify schools of any reallocation of awards made after March 15. A Tolbert Grant is renewable for a total of 2 years provided the recipient: Continues to meet all requirements for eligibility identified in Regulation .03 of this chapter; and Is making satisfactory progress towards a certificate of completion according to the approved academic and attendance standards of the private career school. All financial books, records, and documents pertaining to this program shall be opened to inspection, review, and audit at all reasonable times by the Commission, the State auditor, or their authorized representatives. A private career school shall retain all financial books, records, and documents relating to an award for 5 years after the close of the fiscal year in which the award was made. A private career school shall include this program in any independent audit conducted for the school on financial aid programs. Education Article, §§11-105(u), 18-204(c), and 18-1201—18-1207, Annotated Code of Maryland Effective date: July 18, 2016 (43:14 Md R. 779)