1. The Board of Regents shall award Nevada Promise Scholarships in accordance with this section to students who are enrolled at a community college and are eligible to receive such scholarships under the provisions of NRS 396.9665.

2. For each eligible student, the Board of Regents shall:

(a) Calculate the maximum amount of a Nevada Promise Scholarship which the student is eligible to receive based on criteria established by regulation pursuant to this section.

(b) Determine the actual amount of the Nevada Promise Scholarship, if any, which will be awarded to the student, which must not exceed the maximum amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (a), but which may be in a lesser amount if the Board of Regents receives notice from the State Treasurer pursuant to subsection 3 that the money available in the Nevada Promise Scholarship Account for any semester is insufficient to award to all eligible students the maximum amount of a Nevada Promise Scholarship which each student is eligible to receive.

(c) If the student is to receive a Nevada Promise Scholarship, award the student a Nevada Promise Scholarship in the amount determined pursuant to paragraph (b). The Board of Regents shall disburse the amount of the Nevada Promise Scholarship awarded to the student, on behalf of the student, directly to the community college in which the student is enrolled.

3. The Board of Regents shall submit a request for a disbursement from the Nevada Promise Scholarship Account created by NRS 396.9645 for the maximum amount of money that will be required to fund a scholarship for each eligible student. Within the limits of money available in the Nevada Promise Scholarship Account, the State Treasurer shall disburse the amount requested to the Board of Regents for disbursement to each community college. If there is insufficient money in the Account to disburse that amount to each community college, the State Treasurer shall provide notice that insufficient money remains in the Nevada Promise Scholarship Account to the Board of Regents. The State Treasurer shall include in the notice the amount of money available for the award of Nevada Promise Scholarships for the academic year and request that a new request be submitted.

4. The Board of Regents shall adopt regulations prescribing:

(a) The criteria for determining the maximum amount of a Nevada Promise Scholarship for an eligible student which is equal to the difference between the amount of the registration fee and other mandatory fees charged to the student by the community college in which the student is enrolled for the academic year, excluding any amount of those fees that is waived by the community college in which the student is enrolled, and the total amount of any other gift aid received by the student for the academic year.

(b) The procedures for submitting a request for disbursement from the Nevada Promise Scholarship Account.

(c) The procedures and standards for determining the actual amount of the Nevada Promise Scholarship which will be awarded to each student upon receiving notice that there is insufficient money to award all eligible students the maximum amount of the scholarship which each student is eligible to receive. Such procedures and standards:

(1) Must prohibit the Board of Regents from awarding any money to a student who is prohibited by law from completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid provided for by 20 U.S.C. § 1090 unless all students who have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid have been awarded the maximum amount calculated pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 2; and

(2) May include, without limitation, administration of the program on a first-come, first-served basis for all students who have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and are otherwise eligible to participate in the Program.

(d) Procedures to ensure that all money from a Nevada Promise Scholarship awarded to a student that is refunded in whole or in part for any reason is refunded to the Nevada Promise Scholarship Account and not the student.

(Added to NRS by 2017, 2952; A 2019, 1215)