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School Eligibility

Summary Of The State Higher Education Grant Program Eligibility Requirements For Colleges And Universities Located Outside of Pennsylvania

Institutional Requirements:

If the institution is a college or university located outside this Commonwealth, the institution must be degree-granting, operated not-for-profit, and fully accredited by the regional institutional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation responsible for accreditation in the state where the college or university is conducting its educational program. To be approved, an institution must be other than a school of theology or a theological seminary as determined by the Agency and must be located in the United States, the Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa or Guam.

Participation in the State Higher Education Grant Program must not be used as an inducement to obtain the enrollment of a student. The Agency will sanction a reference in the school's catalog or other printed material to specific programs that have been approved for the State Higher Education Grant Program. However, it should also be indicated that such grants are awarded only to students who demonstrate a need for financial assistance as determined by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Any reference to State Grants must be of a common type when viewed with other type on the page where it is located.

Agency approval of schools will not be permanent and will be subject to review at any time and specifically upon change of administration and/or ownership, or upon receipt of a complaint regarding operational procedures. It is the responsibility of the school under the current ownership to immediately notify the Agency of an impending change in administration and/or ownership as well as changes in the institution's accredited or licensed status. A school must merit its placement and maintenance on the approved list.

Approved institutions for an academic year will be those on record as of the preceding August 1 for the ensuing academic year.

Approval of an institution after August 1 will become effective the following August 1 with two exceptions:

• To be effective for the ensuing summer term, approval must be obtained prior to May 1.
• In the light of the particular circumstances related to the institution's approval and the funding and application processing conditions of the Agency, the President and Chief Executive Officer may make the approval effective on a date prior to August 1.

Programmatic Requirements:

To be approved for a State higher education grant, an applicant must enroll in a program of study approved by the Agency and offered by an institution approved by the Agency for participation in the State Higher Education Grant Program. An approved program of study must comply with the following:

An approved program of study must be a program of instruction of at least 2 academic years which must be the equivalent of at least 60 semester credit hours or at least 1800 clock hours of instruction (1500 clock hours in the case of programs leading to the associate degree in specialized technology or specialized business) except that, other than for those community college programs which are measured in credit hours, programs not leading to a degree must be measured in clock hours, with at least 30 semester credit hours or 900 clock hours earned through instruction within the classroom, and must be presented over a calendar of at least 15 months.

An approved program of study must require that at least 50% of the credits needed for completion of the program at the approved institution be earned through instruction within the classroom.

Application Deadlines:

To be considered for institutional and/or program of study approval for an ensuing academic year (fall/spring), an institution must submit an application to the Agency by August 1. To be effective for the ensuing summer term, an application must be submitted by May 1.