§18C-3-1 Health Education Loan Program; establishment; administration; eligibility and loan cancellation; required report. - West Virginia Statutes

§18C-3-1. Health Education Loan Program; establishment; administration; eligibility and loan cancellation; required report.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "Vice Chancellor for Administration" means the person employed pursuant to section two, article four, chapter eighteen-b of this code.

(b) There is continued a special revolving fund account administered by the commission in the state treasury to be known as the Health Education Student Loan Fund which shall be used to carry out the purposes of this section. The fund consists of the following:

(1) All funds on deposit in the medical student loan fund in the state treasury or which are due or become due for deposit in the fund as obligations made under the previous enactment of this section;

(2) Those funds provided for medical education pursuant to the provisions of section four, article ten, chapter eighteen-b of this code;

(3) Appropriations provided by the Legislature;

(4) Repayment of any loans made under this section;

(5) Amounts provided by medical associations, hospitals or other medical provider organizations in this state, or by political subdivisions of the state, under an agreement which requires the recipient to practice his or her health profession in this state or in the political subdivision providing the funds for a predetermined period of time and in such capacity as set forth in the agreement; and

(6) Other amounts which may be available from external sources.

(c) Balances remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year do not expire or revert. All costs associated with administering this section shall be paid from the Health Education Student Loan Fund.

(d) The Vice Chancellor for Administration may utilize any funds in the Health Education Student Loan Fund for the purposes of the Medical Student Loan Program. The commission shall give priority for the loans to residents of this state, as defined by the commission. An individual is eligible for loan consideration if the individual meets the following conditions:

(1) Demonstrates financial need;

(2) Meets established academic standards;

(3) Is enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, the Marshall University School of Medicine, or the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in a program leading to the degree of medical doctor (M.D.) or doctor of osteopathy (D.O.);

(4) Has not yet received one of the degrees provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection; and

(5) Is not in default of any previous student loan.

(e) At the end of each fiscal year, any individual who has received a medical student loan and who has rendered services as a medical doctor or a doctor of osteopathy in this state in a medically underserved area or in a medical specialty in which there is a shortage of physicians, as determined by the Division of Health at the time the loan was granted, may submit to the commission a notarized, sworn statement of service on a form provided for that purpose. Upon receipt of the statement the commission shall cancel ten thousand dollars of the outstanding loan or loans for every full twelve consecutive calendar months of such service.

(f) No later than thirty days following the end of each fiscal year, the Vice Chancellor for Administration shall prepare and submit a report to the commission for inclusion in the statewide report card required under section eight, article one-d, chapter eighteen-b of this code to be submitted to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability established under section eleven, article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. At a minimum, the report shall include the following information:

(1) The number of loans awarded;

(2) The total amount of the loans awarded;

(3) The amount of any unexpended moneys in the fund; and

(4) The rate of default during the previous fiscal year on the repayment of previously awarded loans.