SECTIONS 69618-69619 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 69618-69619

69618. (a) The Legislature hereby recognizes the growing need for
new faculty members at California's colleges and universities. This
need will be fueled largely by two factors: (1) the large number of
current faculty approaching retirement age who will need to be
replaced; and (2) the expected growth in enrollment demand in
California.
(b) The Legislature finds that the rising costs of higher
education, coupled with a shift in available financial aid from
scholarships and grants to loans, make loan repayment options an
important consideration in student's decision to pursue a graduate
education.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Graduate
Assumption Program of Loans for Education be designed to encourage
persons to complete their graduate educations and serve as faculty at
an accredited California college or university.
(d) As used in this article, "commission" means the Student Aid
Commission.

69618.1. (a) Program participants shall meet all of the following
eligibility criteria prior to selection in the program and shall
continue to meet these criteria, as appropriate, during the payment
periods:
(1) The participant shall be a United States citizen or eligible
noncitizen.
(2) The participant shall be a California resident attending an
eligible school or college.
(3) The participant shall be making satisfactory academic
progress.
(4) The participant shall have complied with United States
Selective Service requirements.
(5) The participant shall not owe a refund on any state or federal
educational grant or have delinquent or defaulted student loans.
(b) Any person enrolled in an institution of postsecondary
education and participating in the loan assumption program set forth
in this article may be eligible to receive a conditional warrant for
loan assumption, to be redeemed pursuant to Section 69618.2 upon
becoming employed as a full-time faculty member at a California
college or university or the equivalent of full-time service as a
faculty member employed part-time at two or more California colleges
or universities.
(c) (1) The commission shall award warrants to students with
demonstrated academic ability and financial need, as determined by
the commission pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with Section
69503).
(2) The applicant shall have completed a baccalaureate degree
program or be enrolled in an academic program leading to a
baccalaureate level or a graduate level degree.
(3) The applicant shall be currently enrolled in or admitted to a
program in which he or she will be enrolled on at least a half-time
basis each academic term as defined by an eligible institution. The
applicant shall agree to maintain satisfactory academic progress.
(4) The applicant shall have been judged by his or her
postsecondary institution to have outstanding ability on the basis of
criteria that may include, but need not be limited to, any of the
following:
(A) Grade point average.
(B) Test scores.
(C) Faculty evaluations.
(D) Interviews.
(E) Other recommendations.
(5) In order to meet the costs of obtaining a graduate degree, the
applicant shall have received, or be approved to receive, a loan
under one or more of the following designated loan programs:
(A) The Federal Family Education Loan Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1071
et seq.).
(B) Any loan program approved by the commission.
(6) The applicant shall have agreed to teach on a full-time basis
at one or more accredited California colleges or universities for at
least three consecutive years after obtaining a graduate degree.
(7) An applicant who teaches on less than a full-time basis may
participate in the program, but is not eligible for loan repayment
until that person teaches for the equivalent of a full-time academic
year.
(d) A person participating in the program pursuant to this section
shall not receive more than one warrant.

69618.2. The commission shall redeem an applicant's warrant and
commence loan assumption payments as specified in Section 69618.3
upon verification that the applicant has fulfilled all of the
following:
(a) The applicant has received a graduate degree from an
accredited, participating institution.
(b) The applicant has provided the equivalent of full-time
instruction at one or more regionally accredited California colleges
or universities for one academic year or the equivalent.
(c) The applicant has met the requirements of the warrant and all
other conditions of this article.

69618.3. The terms of the loan assumptions granted under this
article shall be as follows, subject to the specific terms of each
warrant:
(a) After a program participant has completed one academic year,
or the equivalent of full-time teaching, at one or more regionally
accredited, eligible California colleges or universities, the Student
Aid Commission shall assume up to two thousand dollars ($2,000) of
the participant's outstanding liability under one or more of the
designated loan programs. The initial year of eligible teaching shall
begin within 10 years of receiving an initial conditional warrant
from the commission.
(b) After the program participant has completed two consecutive
academic years, or the equivalent of full-time teaching, at one or
more regionally accredited California colleges or universities, the
commission shall assume up to an additional two thousand dollars
($2,000) of the participant's outstanding liability under one or more
of the designated loan programs, for a total loan assumption of up
to four thousand dollars ($4,000).
(c) After a program participant has completed three consecutive
academic years, or the equivalent of full-time teaching, at one or
more regionally accredited California colleges or universities, the
commission shall assume up to an additional two thousand dollars
($2,000) of the participant's outstanding liability under one or more
of the designated loan programs, for a total loan assumption of up
to six thousand dollars ($6,000).

69618.4. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), in the event
that a program participant fails to complete a minimum of three
consecutive academic years of teaching as required by this article,
under the terms of the agreement pursuant to paragraph (6) of
subdivision (c) of Section 69618.1, the participant shall assume full
liability for all student loan obligations remaining after the
commission's assumption of loan liability for the last academic year
of qualifying instruction pursuant to Section 69618.3.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in the event that a program
participant becomes unable to complete one of the three consecutive
years of teaching service due to a serious illness, pregnancy, or
other natural causes, the participant shall receive a deferral of the
resumption of full liability for the loan for a period not to exceed
one academic year.

69618.5. (a) The commission shall accept nominations from
accredited colleges and universities made pursuant to Section
69618.1.
(b) The commission shall choose from among those nominations
deemed financially needy with outstanding student loans pursuant to
Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 69503) based upon criteria that
may include the following:
(1) Grades at the undergraduate level in the subject field in
which the student intends to complete graduate work.
(2) Grades in the undergraduate program.
(3) Aptitude for graduate work in the subject fields.
(4) General aptitude for graduate study.
(5) Critical human resource needs.
(c) The commission may develop additional criteria for the
selection of award recipients consistent with the purposes of this
article.

69618.6. The commission shall administer this article, and shall
adopt rules and regulations for that purpose. The rules and
regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, provisions
regarding the period of time for which a warrant shall remain valid
and the development of projections for funding purposes. In
developing these rules and regulations, the commission shall solicit
the advice of representatives from postsecondary education
institutions.

69618.7. The commission shall work in conjunction with lenders
participating in the Federal Family Education Loan Program to develop
a streamlined application process for participation in the program
set forth in this article.

69618.8. The commission shall report annually to the Legislature on
this program. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(a) The total number of warrants awarded.
(b) The number of warrants allocated by the education level of
recipients.
(c) The fields of study of applicants.
(d) The number of warrants that are redeemed by the initial
recipients.

69618.9. Commencing with the 1998-99 fiscal year, the commission
shall issue warrants for the assumption of up to 500 student loans
for program participants eligible under this article. The issuance of
warrants shall be subject to funding to be provided in the annual
Budget Act for each fiscal year. Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, no warrants for the assumption of loans under this article
shall be issued in the 2003-04 fiscal year.

69619. It is the intent of the Legislature that, commencing with
the 1998-99 fiscal year, funding necessary for the administration of
this student loan assumption program shall be included within the
annual budget of the commission in an amount necessary to meet the
student loan obligations incurred by the commission.