Section 5154 - Eligibility; institution attended; nondiscrimination; need; year in institution(a) Any student is eligible for consideration for a State scholarship providing: (1) He is a citizen of the United States or is taking steps to become a citizen;(2) He meets the domicile requirements as follows:(i) A student who is under eighteen years of age at the time he makes application for an award or to renew an award must have a supporting parent or guardian who has been a bona fide domiciliary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for at least twelve months immediately preceding the date of application or renewal.(ii) A student who is eighteen years of age or over must have been a bona fide domiciliary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a period of at least twelve months prior to the time he makes application for an award or to renew an award.(iii) Any period of time during which a person is enrolled as a student in an educational institution may not be counted as a part of the twelve months' domicile herein required when the student came into the Commonwealth or remained in the Commonwealth for the purpose of attending a school or college. This shall be determined by the agency.(iv) For purposes of determining domicile under this act a guardian shall be any person or persons other than a parent with whom a minor child has lived and been in the continuous direct care and control for a period of not less than two years.(v) The agency shall make the final decision in all matters pertaining to domicile.(vi) In view of the fact that Pennsylvania domiciliaries attending approved institutions of higher learning located outside of Pennsylvania may exercise their right of franchise by absentee ballot, a student who registers to vote in a state other than the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be deemed to have abandoned his domicile in Pennsylvania and shall be ineligible for consideration for a State scholarship or renewal thereof or any further payments thereon unless and until such student registers to vote in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.(3) He is a graduate of, or is attending, an approved high school or is a recipient of a Commonwealth secondary school diploma;(4) He is enrolled, or will be enrolled in the fall semester immediately following his secondary school graduation or his date of application, as a full-time student or as less than a full-time student but as at least a half-time student, at an institution of higher learning: Provided, however, That failure to enroll in the fall semester immediately following secondary school graduation shall not render ineligible a student who entered service in the military forces of the United States, the Peace Corps or Volunteers in Service to America, during the fall semester immediately following his secondary school graduation;(5) He shall satisfactorily meet the qualifications of "financial need," character and academic promise, as well as academic achievement, as established by the agency.(6) The State scholarship recipient shall be free to attend any approved institution of his choice and apply the scholarship toward the tuition, room, board, books and fees of that institution, subject to the following:(i) The institution is not required to accept the scholarship recipient for enrollment, but is free to exact compliance with its own admission requirements, standards and policies.(ii) If the institution is headquartered and domiciled through incorporation or charter in this Commonwealth and the institution is an eligible school, as determined by the agency that participates in the program during the 2016-2017 award year, the scholarship recipient shall be eligible for the scholarship award regardless of whether the program of study or the scholarship recipient's term enrollment is 100% online or blended with classroom credits, provided that the scholarship recipient meets all other eligibility requirements as provided in this act and as established by the agency.(iii) If the institution has a physical location in this Commonwealth but is not headquartered and domiciled through incorporation or charter in this Commonwealth, the scholarship recipient shall be eligible for a scholarship award provided that the scholarship recipient's program of study is not structured to be more than 50% online or the scholarship recipient's online enrollment in a given term does not exceed 50% of the total credits for that term as established by the agency, provided that the scholarship recipient is enrolled at the institution's physical location in this Commonwealth and provided that the scholarship recipient meets all other eligibility requirements as provided in this act and as established by the agency.(iv) The agency may require necessary data reporting requirements from participating schools, and the agency shall report to the General Assembly regarding the impact that online education has on the scholarship program under this act. The report shall be submitted to the Governor and the chair and minority chair of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate, the chair and minority chair of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives, the chair and minority chair of the Education Committee of the Senate and the chair and minority chair of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives.(v) The board of directors may implement the necessary controls, with regard to subclauses (ii) and (iii), to limit the impact of online education and protect the purchasing power of the scholarship program under this act and as deemed necessary by the agency.(vi) For the purpose of this paragraph, "purchasing power" shall be a mathematical formula, as determined by the agency, that compares the annual amount of the scholarship provided for by this act to the average tuition and fees as calculated by the agency.(b) The awards will be made without regard to the applicant's race, creed, color, sex, national origin or ancestry.(c) Students who are declared eligible for first year undergraduate awards but do not receive a scholarship because they are not able to demonstrate sufficient financial need may be granted a scholarship during their undergraduate study at anytime that they are able to demonstrate sufficient financial need.(d) Undergraduate awards granted during the first year under this act will be limited to freshmen students at institutions of higher learning. Awards will be renewable for the next three academic years. In the case of students enrolled in five-year undergraduate academic programs approved by the agency and established by institutions of higher learning, awards may be renewed for the next four academic years. In the case of students enrolled in five year work study programs, approved by the agency and established by institutions of higher education, awards may be renewed for the next four academic years, provided that the total scholarship funds awarded to any student during the five year period shall not exceed the amount to which such student would have been entitled had his educational program been completed in a period of four academic years.Amended by P.L. TBD 2018 No. 5, § 1, eff. 2/15/2018.1966, Jan. 25, P.L. (1965) 1546, § 4. Amended 1969, Dec. 18, P.L. 383, § 1; 1972, July 3, P.L. 728, No. 169, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1973; 1994, Oct. 5, P.L. 568, No. 83, § 2, effective in 60 days.