Section 312.140  Discharge from the Scholarship and Fee Waiver Program

a)         Recipients will be discharged from the Scholarship and Fee Waiver Program, and will no longer receive payments under Section 312.120, for the following reasons:

1)         Completion of five years in the Scholarship and Fee Waiver Program; or

2)         Not demonstrating continued work toward graduation and completion of a certificate or degree program as set forth in Section 312.110 unless the Deputy Director of OETS has granted an exception pursuant to Section 312.110(c); or

3)         Dismissal from recipient's college or university due to disciplinary reasons.

b)         The Deputy Director of OETS may waive the requirement to discharge a recipient when the recipient provides a compelling reason or reasons for their discharge from the program (e.g., serious personal or family illness or other emergency that necessitated recipient's withdrawal from the program and college or university for an academic term).

c)         Notices and Right to Appeal

1)         Recipients who no longer meet Scholarship and Fee Waiver Program requirements shall promptly notify OETS and, if applicable, their caseworker of any change to their eligibility status.

2)         OETS will notify the recipient in writing at least 30 days prior to terminating the Scholarship and Fee Waiver Program; and if the recipient is, at that time, represented by the Cook County Public Guardian, OETS shall provide the Cook County Public Guardian a copy in the same manner. The notification shall include:

A)        The effective timing of the termination;

B)        The reason for termination as listed in Section 312.140(a); and

C)        The right and timing to appeal the termination in accordance with 89 Ill. Adm. Code 337 (Service Appeal Process).

3)         If the recipient's scholarship was discontinued during the appeals process, the scholarship will be issued retroactively if the recipient's appeal is successful.

d)         Marriage or Termination of Guardianship

Neither the recipient's marriage nor a termination of the Department's guardianship will terminate a scholarship award. The Department will continue to make monthly grant payments to recipients so long as the recipient continues to work toward graduation and completion of a certificate or degree program.

(Source:  Section 312.140 renumbered from Section 312.100 and amended at 50 Ill. Reg. 9789, effective July 6, 2026)