261.17A - IOWA HOPE LOAN PROGRAM.
261.17A IOWA HOPE LOAN PROGRAM.
1. An Iowa hope loan may be awarded to a resident of Iowa who is
admitted and in attendance as a student in a single, twelve-month or
less, vocational-technical or career option program in a community
college in the state, who meets the eligibility requirements for a
Pell grant, and who is working toward certification, a diploma, or a
degree in a skilled occupation. In addition, an eligible applicant
shall have obtained the bona fide intent of a company operating in
Iowa to employ the applicant upon the applicant's attainment of a
certificate, diploma, or degree, or shall be currently employed by a
company operating in Iowa that has expressed a bona fide intent to
advance the employee in employment upon the employee's attainment of
a certificate, diploma, or degree.
2. A student who meets the qualifications of subsection 1 may
receive an Iowa hope loan for not more than twelve months. A student
shall not receive assistance for courses for which credit was
previously received.
3. The amount of an Iowa hope loan shall not exceed the cost of
tuition for the community college program in which the student is
enrolled and attends. If a student receives financial aid under any
other program, the full amount of that financial aid shall be
considered part of the student's financial resources available in
determining the amount of the Iowa hope loan.
4. Payments under the loan shall be allocated equally among the
semesters or quarters of the year upon certification by the community
college that the student is in attendance in a vocational-technical
or career option program, as defined under rules of the department of
education. If the student discontinues attendance before the end of
any term after the community college receives payment from the loan,
the entire amount of any refund due that student, up to the amount of
any payments made to the community college from the loan, shall be
paid by the community college to the state.
5. The commission shall administer this program and shall do all
of the following:
a. Provide application forms for distribution to students by
Iowa high schools and community colleges.
b. Adopt rules for determining financial need, requiring that
no interest be charged for an Iowa hope loan, defining residence for
the purposes of this section, processing and approving applications
for grants, determining priority for loans, and establishing
procedures for the repayment of the loan. The repayment schedule
shall commence not less than six months after the loan recipient
successfully completes the program and is awarded a certificate, a
diploma, or a degree in a skilled occupation. The repayment schedule
may be suspended if the loan recipient is a full-time student in an
accredited postsecondary institution.
c. Approve and award loans on an annual basis. A student
approved for a loan under the program shall enter into a payment
agreement with the commission before receiving a loan under the
program.
d. Make an annual report to the governor and general
assembly.
6. Each applicant, in accordance with the rules established by
the commission, shall do all of the following:
a. Complete and file an application for an Iowa hope loan.
b. Be responsible for the submission of the financial
information provided for evaluation of the applicant's need for a
loan, on forms provided by the commission.
c. Report promptly to the commission any necessary
information requested by the commission.
7. An Iowa hope loan revolving fund is created in the state
treasury as a separate fund under the control of the commission. All
moneys deposited or paid into the fund are appropriated and made
available to the college student aid commission to be used for loans
as provided in this section. The commission shall deposit payments
made by Iowa hope loan recipients into the Iowa hope loan fund.
Notwithstanding section 8.33, any balance in the fund on June 30 of
each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the state,
but shall be available for the purposes of this section in subsequent
fiscal years.
8. Loans awarded under this section are subject to the
limitations of any appropriations made by the general assembly and of
the moneys in the revolving fund. The amount of a loan awarded to an
eligible student shall not be less than five hundred dollars and
shall not exceed one thousand dollars. However, if full tuition is
less than five hundred dollars, the amount of the loan shall be for
not more than an amount equal to the full tuition. Section History: Recent Form
95 Acts, ch 197, §1