(A) The State shall fund a need-based grant for a student who enrolls as an undergraduate in a public institution of higher learning in this State, who applies for the need-based grant, and who meets the following qualifications:

(1) meets domicile requirements, as defined in Section 59-112-20, with the additional requirement of at least twelve consecutive months of residency in the State of South Carolina immediately preceding enrollment;

(2) is accepted by and enrolled or registered in a state public institution of higher learning as a first degree full-time or part-time student in a certificate, or diploma of at least one year in length, or undergraduate degree program;

(3) is of good moral character;

(4) has not been adjudicated delinquent or been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any felonies or any second or subsequent alcohol or drug-related offenses under the laws of this or any other state or under the laws of the United States in order to be eligible for a South Carolina need-based grant, except that a high school or college student otherwise qualified who has been adjudicated delinquent or has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a second or subsequent alcohol or drug-related misdemeanor offense nevertheless shall be eligible or continue to be eligible for such grants after the expiration of one academic year from the date of the adjudication, conviction, or plea; and

(5) is found to be in financial need according to federal Title IV regulations.

(B) To maintain continued eligibility for the state need-based grants, once enrolled a student shall:

(1) complete a minimum of twenty-four semester hours an academic year if a full-time student and twelve semester hours an academic year if a part-time student and make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree as determined by the institution; and

(2) have not been adjudicated delinquent or been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to any felonies or any second or subsequent alcohol or drug-related offenses under the laws of this or any other state or under the laws of the United States in order to be eligible for a South Carolina need-based grant, except that a high school or college student otherwise qualified who has been adjudicated delinquent or has been convicted or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a second or subsequent alcohol or drug-related misdemeanor offense nevertheless shall be eligible or continue to be eligible for such grants after the expiration of one academic year from the date of the adjudication, conviction, or plea; and be eligible for the need-based grants for a maximum of four academic years of two semesters.

HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 458, Part II, Section 20A; 1997 Act No. 155, Part II, Section 20A; 2000 Act No. 289, Section 3(C); 2007 Act No. 103, Sections 19, 20, eff July 1, 2007.

Effect of Amendment

The 2007 amendment, in subsections (A) and paragraph (B)(2), added "second or subsequent" in two places and, in paragraph (B)(2), merged the text of paragraph (3) into the last sentence of paragraph (2).