Iowa Code
Chapter 261 - COLLEGE STUDENT AID COMMISSION
Section 261.86 - National guard service scholarship program.

261.86 National guard service scholarship program.
1. A national guard service scholarship program is established to be administered by the college student aid commission for members of the Iowa national guard who are enrolled as undergraduate students in a community college, an institution of higher learning under the state board of regents, or an accredited private institution. The college student aid commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to administer this section. An individual is eligible for the national guard service scholarship program if the individual meets all of the following conditions:
a. Is a resident of the state and a member of an Iowa army or air national guard unit while receiving scholarship award payments issued pursuant to this section.
b. Satisfactorily completed required initial active duty training.
c. Maintains satisfactory performance of duty upon return from initial active duty training, including attending a minimum ninety percent of scheduled drill dates and attending annual training.
d. Is enrolled as an undergraduate student in a community college as defined in section 260C.2, an institution of higher learning under the control of the board of regents, or an accredited private institution as defined in section 261.9, and is maintaining satisfactory academic progress.
e. Provides proper notice of national guard status to the community college or institution at the time of registration for the term in which tuition benefits are sought.
f. Completes and submits application forms required by the commission, including the free application for federal student aid, and applies for all nonrepayable state and federal financial aid for which the member is eligible.
g. Submits an application to the adjutant general of Iowa, on forms prescribed by the adjutant general, who shall determine eligibility and whose decision is final. Notwithstanding any deadline established for the administration of this paragraph, the adjutant general shall accept an application submitted pursuant to this paragraph from an otherwise eligible member of the national guard who was on federal active duty at the time of such deadline.
2. Scholarship awards paid pursuant to this section shall not exceed the resident tuition rate established for institutions of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents. If the amount appropriated in a fiscal year for purposes of this section is insufficient to provide scholarships to all national guard members who apply for the program and who are determined by the adjutant general to be eligible for the program, the adjutant general shall, in coordination with the commission, determine the distribution of scholarships. However, scholarship awards paid pursuant to this section shall not be less than fifty percent of the resident tuition rate established for institutions of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents or fifty percent of the tuition rate at the institution attended by the national guard member, whichever is lower. Neither eligibility nor scholarship award determinations shall be based upon a national guard member’s unit, the location at which drills are attended, or whether the eligible individual is a member of the Iowa army or air national guard.
3. a. (1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), an eligible member of the national guard, attending an institution as provided in subsection 1, paragraph “d”, shall not receive scholarship awards under this section for more than one hundred twenty semester, or the equivalent, credit hours of undergraduate study.
(2) An eligible member of the national guard, attending an institution as provided in subsection 1, paragraph “d”, who is enrolled in a program of education leading to a postsecondary degree that meets the eligibility requirements for the federal Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship established under 38 U.S.C. §3320, shall not receive scholarship awards issued under this section for more than one hundred thirty semester, or the equivalent, credit hours of undergraduate study.
(3) A national guard member who has met the educational requirements for a baccalaureate degree is ineligible for a scholarship award under this section.
b. A member of the national guard who received educational assistance under this section prior to July 1, 2015, shall be deemed to have received educational assistance for the following number of credit hours for educational assistance received before that date:
(1) For each semester that the member received educational assistance while attending an institution as a full-time student, twelve credit hours.
(2) For each semester that the member received educational assistance while attending an institution as a part-time student, six credit hours.
(3) For each trimester or quarter that the member received educational assistance while attending an institution as a full-time or part-time student, the number of credit hours that are determined to be the semester equivalent by the college student aid commission.
4. The eligibility of applicants and scholarship award amounts to be paid shall be certified by the adjutant general of Iowa to the college student aid commission, and all amounts that are or become due to a community college, accredited private institution, or institution of higher learning under the control of the state board of regents under this section shall be paid to the college or institution by the college student aid commission upon receipt of certification by the president or governing board of the educational institution as to accuracy of charges made, and as to the attendance and academic progress of the individual at the educational institution. The college student aid commission shall maintain an annual record of the number of participants and the dollar value of the awards issued.
5. Scholarships awarded under this section may be used by the recipient for the recipient’s “cost of attendance” as defined in Tit. IV, pt. B, of the federal Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended.
6. a. Notwithstanding section 8.33, funds appropriated for purposes of this section which remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year for which the funds were appropriated shall not revert but shall be available for expenditure for the following fiscal year upon the authority of the adjutant general for purposes of this section and section 261.86A.
b. The adjutant general shall submit a report to the governor and the general assembly by December 31 of each year listing the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related career fields the adjutant general plans to focus on in providing educational incentives under this section and section 261.86A using funds available under this subsection for that fiscal year.
99 Acts, ch 205, §40; 2000 Acts, ch 1095, §15; 2003 Acts, ch 182, §14, 22; 2010 Acts, ch 1061, §180; 2011 Acts, ch 48, §1, 2; 2013 Acts, ch 46, §1; 2015 Acts, ch 9, §1; 2016 Acts, ch 1029, §1; 2016 Acts, ch 1132, §10, 19, 20; 2018 Acts, ch 1163, §14; 2019 Acts, ch 24, §32; 2019 Acts, ch 135, §14 – 16
; 2020 Acts, ch 1062, §73 – 75
; 2021 Acts, ch 65, §4
Referred to in §261.86A
Subsection 6 amended

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