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H. B. No. 209 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Antonio, Foley, Driehaus, Lundy, Stinziano, Barborak, Phillips, Reece, Hagan, R., Patmon, Rosenberger, Clyde, McGregor, Fedor
A BILL
To enact sections 3333.27 and 3333.271 of the Revised
Code to create the Finish Fund and the Finish
Reserve Fund to provide grants to students who are
nearing completion of their bachelor's degrees and
display financial need or hardship and to make an
appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 3333.27 and 3333.271 of the Revised
Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 3333.27. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Eligible student" means an undergraduate student who:
(a) Is enrolled in a bachelor's degree program at a state
institution of higher education or a nonprofit institution issued
a certificate of authorization under Chapter 1713. of the Revised
Code;
(b) Is a resident of Ohio, as defined by the chancellor of
the Ohio board of regents under section 3333.31 of the Revised
Code;
(c) Is making satisfactory academic progress, as defined by
the financial aid office, or the equivalent, at the institution in
which the student is enrolled;
(d) Has attained and maintains a cumulative grade point
average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, or the equivalent;
(e) Has declared an academic major or program for which the
student earns credit;
(f)(i) If the student is enrolled in a bachelor's degree
program, would be considered a junior or senior as determined by
the credits completed by the student toward the student's declared
degree program;
(ii) If the student is enrolled in an associate degree
program, the student has completed fifty per cent or more of the
coursework required for the student's declared academic program.
(g) Displays financial need, based on the United States
department of education's method of determining financial need or
based on demonstrated financial hardship, as determined by the
chancellor.
(2) "State institution of higher education" has the same
meaning as in section 3345.011 of the Revised Code.
(B) The chancellor shall establish and administer the finish
fund to provide grants to eligible students nearing completion of
their bachelor's degrees. The chancellor shall transfer any funds
not awarded under this section in a fiscal year to the finish
reserve fund created in section 3333.271 of the Revised Code to
use for awarding grants in subsequent fiscal years.
(C) Not later than one hundred eighty days after the
effective date of this section, the chancellor shall adopt a
policy by which to solicit, accept, and review applications for
the finish fund. The policy shall include, but not be limited to,
all of the following:
(1) A method of determining the amount of each grant awarded
to an eligible student. In calculating that amount, the chancellor
shall consider the student's remaining instructional and general
charges or tuition and room and board or off-campus living
expenses, as certified or, in the case of off-campus living
expenses, as determined by the institution, after the student's
other funding sources are applied to the instructional and general
charges or tuition and room and board or off-campus living
expenses for the undergraduate program.
(2) A method for paying the grant to the eligible student
through the institution in which the student is enrolled.
(3) Notwithstanding division (C)(1) of this section, the
institution in which a student is enrolled may disburse any
surplus amount remaining in a student's account, after applying
the grant to the instructional and general charges or tuition owed
by a student, to the student to be used for books, room and board,
or any other costs related to attendance.
The chancellor may adopt additional program guidelines and
qualifications for the finish fund, so long as those guidelines
and qualifications help to identify students most at risk of
leaving an institution before completing a degree program due to
financial hardship and students most likely to complete a degree
program with additional funding.
(D) If, for any academic year, the amounts available for
support of the program are inadequate to provide grants to all
eligible students, the chancellor shall give preference in the
awarding of grants as follows:
(1) First, to eligible students who are considered seniors in
a bachelor degree program who have applied for and, if received,
used the entirety of all of the following, but are still unable to
meet the cost of attending the institution in which the student is
enrolled, including room and board or off-campus living expenses,
as determined by the institution's financial aid office:
(a) A Pell grant or any other grant awarded by the federal
government based on financial need;
(b) The Ohio college opportunity grant under section 3333.122
of the Revised Code;
(c) Any grants or scholarships awarded to the student and
disbursed by the institution of higher education in which the
student is enrolled;
(d) A federal subsidized loan.
(2) Second, to eligible students who are considered juniors
in a bachelor degree program who have applied for and, if
received, used the entirety of funding sources listed in divisions
(D)(1)(a) to (d) of this section, but are still unable to meet the
cost of attending the institution in which the student is
enrolled, including room and board, as determined by the
institution's financial aid office;
(3) Third, to eligible students who are considered seniors in
a bachelor degree program who have applied for and, if received,
used the entirety of the funding sources listed in divisions
(D)(1)(a) to (c) of this section, but are still unable to meet the
cost of attending the institution in which the student is
enrolled, including room and board, as determined by the
institution's financial aid office;
(4) Fourth, to eligible students who are considered juniors
in a bachelor degree program who have applied for and, if
received, used the entirety of the funding sources listed in
divisions (D)(1)(a) to (c) of this section, but are still unable
to meet the cost of attending the institution in which the student
is enrolled, including room and board, as determined by the
institution's financial aid office;
(5) Fifth, to eligible students who have completed fifty per
cent or more of the coursework required for the student's declared
academic program for an associate degree who have applied for and,
if received, used the entirety of the funding sources listed in
divisions (D)(1)(a) to (c) of this section, but are still unable
to meet the cost of attending the institution in which the student
is enrolled, including room and board, as determined by the
institution's financial aid office.
In prioritizing grants under this section, the chancellor
shall not reduce the dollar value of grants awarded to increase
the number of eligible students who receive a grant.
(E) The chancellor shall begin accepting and reviewing
applications and awarding grants under this section not later than
one hundred eighty days after the effective date of this section.
(F) The chancellor shall require state institutions of higher
education and nonprofit institutions issued a certificate of
authorization under Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code to report
all of the following at the end of each academic year:
(1) The number of students enrolled in the institution who
receive grants under this section;
(2) The average dollar amount of grants, and the lowest and
highest dollar amount of awards granted under this section;
(3) The number of students who receive grants under this
section who complete their academic programs;
(4) The number of students who receive a grant under this
section who fail to complete their academic programs,
disaggregated by the reason, including, but not limited to,
dropping out of school and failure;
(5) The number of students still enrolled in the institution
and taking courses, but have neither completed nor failed to earn
their degrees.
Sec. 3333.271. The finish reserve fund is hereby established
in the state treasury. After the end of each fiscal year, the
chancellor of the Ohio board of regents shall transfer any funds
remaining after awarding grants under section 3333.27 of the
Revised Code into the finish reserve fund from which the
chancellor may award future grants under that section.
Section 2. All items in this section are hereby appropriated
as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the
credit of the designated fund. For all appropriations made in this
act, those in the first column are for fiscal year 2014 and those
in the second column are for fiscal year 2015. The appropriations
made in this act are in addition to any other appropriations made
for the FY 2014-FY 2015 biennium.
BOR BOARD OF REGENTS
GRF |
2355XX |
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Finish Fund |
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$ |
10,000,000 |
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$ |
10,000,000 |
|
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TOTAL GRF General Revenue Fund
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$ |
10,000,000 |
|
$ |
10,000,000 |
|
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TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS
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$ |
10,000,000 |
|
$ |
10,000,000 |
|
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The foregoing appropriation item 2355XX, Finish Fund, shall
be used to grant financial aid awards through the Finish Fund
Program, pursuant to section 3333.27 of the Revised Code.
At the end of each fiscal year, the Chancellor of the Board
of Regents shall certify to the Director of Budget and Management
the unencumbered, unexpended balance in appropriation item 2355XX,
Finish Fund. Upon receipt of the certification, the Director of
Budget and Management shall transfer cash in an amount equal to
the amount certified from the General Revenue Fund to the Finish
Reserve Fund (Fund XXXX). The Chancellor of the Board of Regents
shall seek Controlling Board approval to authorize additional
expenditures for appropriation item 2355XX, Finish Fund. Upon
approval of the Controlling Board, the additional amounts are
hereby appropriated.
Section 3. Within the limits set forth in this act, the
Director of Budget and Management shall establish accounts
indicating the source and amount of funds for each appropriation
made in this act, and shall determine the form and manner in which
appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from
appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as
though made in the main operating appropriations act of the 130th
General Assembly.
The appropriations made in this act are subject to all
provisions of the main operating appropriations act of the 130th
General Assenmbly that are generally applicable to such
appropriations.
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