CHAPTER 186
STATE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

      Sec. 10a-164a. Connecticut aid to public college students grant program. (a) The Board of Governors of Higher Education shall annually request an appropriation to the Department of Higher Education equal to the amount required, for the fiscal year two years prior, for tuition waivers, tuition remissions, grants for educational expenses and student employment under subsection (f) of section 10a-77, subsection (f) of section 10a-99 and subsection (g) of section 10a-105. The department shall allocate any such appropriation to The University of Connecticut, each of the Connecticut state universities and each of the regional community-technical colleges in accordance with a formula approved by the Board of Governors of Higher Education. The formula shall take into account the amount of federal student aid received by students at each institution. The amounts allocated shall be used to provide grants for educational expenses and student employment for residents of the state who demonstrate substantial financial need and are enrolled as full-time or part-time matriculated students in a degree-granting program or a precollege remedial program. For each fiscal year a minimum of ten per cent of the total amount of state student financial aid appropriated to each institution which exceeds the amount received by each institution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1987, shall be used for student financial aid for needy minority students in accordance with the board's strategic plan for racial and ethnic diversity under section 10a-11. For each fiscal year a minimum of five per cent of the total amount of state student financial aid appropriated to each institution which exceeds the amount received by each institution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1988, shall be used for on-campus or off-campus community service work-study placements. Individual awards shall not exceed a student's calculated financial need as determined on the basis of a needs analysis system approved by the United States Department of Education. Financial aid provided to Connecticut residents under this program shall be designated as a grant from the Connecticut aid to public college students grant program.

      (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section to the contrary, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1989, and June 30, 1990, no institution shall have its allocation pursuant to this section reduced for the subsequent fiscal year solely because the institution did not use, for on-campus or off-campus community service work-study placements, a minimum of five per cent of the total amount of state student financial aid appropriated to the institution which exceeds the amount received by the institution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1988.

      (c) The Board of Governors of Higher Education shall request an appropriation to the Department of Higher Education for each year of the biennium equal to the amount set aside by Charter Oak State College for fee waivers in the fiscal year two years prior to the fiscal year in which such appropriation will apply. Such amount shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the tuition and fees paid in the previous fiscal year. The Department of Higher Education shall allocate any such appropriation to Charter Oak State College to be used to provide grants for educational expenses to residents of the state who demonstrate substantial financial need and who are matriculated in a degree program at Charter Oak State College. Individual awards shall not exceed a student's calculated financial need as determined by a needs analysis system approved by the United States Department of Education.

      (P.A. 87-450, S. 1, 17; P.A. 88-252, S. 3, 6; P.A. 89-260, S. 35, 41; P.A. 90-147, S. 13, 20; P.A. 91-208, S. 9, 11; P.A. 92-126, S. 28, 48; P.A. 94-180, S. 5, 17; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7, S. 8; P.A. 08-55, S. 1; P.A. 09-159, S. 8.)

      History: P.A. 88-252 provided that for each fiscal year a minimum of 5% of the total amount of state student financial aid appropriated to each institution which exceeds the amount received by each institution for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1988, be used for on-campus or off-campus community service work-study placements; P.A. 89-260 substituted "regional community college" for "community college" and "regional technical colleges" for "state technical colleges"; P.A. 90-147 in Subsec. (a) added an alternative method for the determination of financial need for purposes of student employment and provided that certain students employed in on-campus and off-campus community service work-study placements may earn not more than $4,000 in any year for which they receive awards, added Subsec. (b) re allocation reduction for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1989, and June 30, 1990, and made technical changes; P.A. 91-208 in Subsec. (a) substituted 5% for 3% and $5,000 for $4,000 as limits on awards by institutions and on earnings by students; P.A. 92-126 amended Subsec. (a) to replace reference to community colleges and technical colleges with reference to community-technical colleges and made a technical change; P.A. 94-180 authorized grants for students enrolled in Charter Oak State College and deleted detailed exceptions to provision using awards on financial need as determined by a needs analysis system approved by U.S. Department of Education, effective July 1, 1994; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-7 deleted language re grant authorization for students enrolled in Charter Oak State College in Subsec. (a) and added new Subsec. (c) re appropriation for grants for Charter Oak State College students, effective August 15, 2002; P.A. 08-55 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that amount of set-aside for fee waivers be calculated for fee waivers two years prior to fiscal year in which appropriation applies, effective July 1, 2008; P.A. 09-159 made conforming changes to internal references in Subsec. (a), effective July 1, 2009.

      Sec. 10a-170c. Award of high technology assistantships; renewal; limitations; amounts. (a) A graduate assistantship shall be awarded for one academic year, but may be renewed upon the submission of a renewal application, with the recommendation of the institution the student is attending, subject to the continued eligibility of the student and the availability of appropriated funds. Half of the graduate assistantship award shall be disbursed each semester, contingent upon the student continuing in good academic standing in the designated program. In no case shall a student be eligible for a graduate assistantship award for more than three years of study.

      (b) Students selected as graduate assistants pursuant to section 10a-170b shall receive ten thousand dollars annually provided the student shall be employed by the institution in a teaching or research capacity for not less than fifty per cent of full-time, as defined by the institution. The Commissioner of Higher Education shall pay (1) to each public and private institution under the program ten thousand dollars annually for each such student, and (2) to each public institution under the program fifteen hundred dollars annually for each such student to support the institution's costs associated with the coverage provided in section 5-259, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of section 10a-105, and subsection (b) of section 10a-99.

      (June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-6, S. 3, 6; P.A. 93-201, S. 19, 24; P.A. 09-159, S. 9.)

      History: P.A. 93-201 changed the description of the program from "scholarship" to "assistantship" and added Subsec. (b) concerning the amount and payment of assistantships under the program, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 09-159 made technical changes in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2009.