Section R7-3-303. Receipt and Allocation of Arizona LEAP Pro- gram Funds

A.       Receipt of funds.

1.        The Commission may receive funds for the Arizona LEAP Program from the following sources:

a.        The federal government;

b.        The Arizona Legislature;

c.        Institutions which are eligible to participate in the program; and,

d.        Other nonfederal institutions, organizations, or indi- viduals.

2.        All funds received will be deposited by the Commission in a properly secured account and appropriate controls will be instituted to assure that accountability will be maintained for all funds received.

3.        Available federal program funds will be matched, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, by state appropriated funds.

4.        Funds provided by the eligible participating institutions and nonfederal funds from other institutions, organiza- tions, or individuals shall be used by the Commission to supplement the federal and state program funds for grants and for necessary administrative costs.

B.       Allocation of funds.

1.        Arizona LEAP Program Funds will be allocated to eligi- ble Arizona postsecondary educational institutions according to their proportionate share of the State’s total headcount of Arizona resident students enrolled in eligi- ble programs. The Commission will survey each eligible institution in Arizona no later than May of each year to determine the number of eligible Arizona resident stu- dents who are enrolled. Headcount will be determined in the following manner:

a.        Semester or quarter hour schedule institutions will provide data for the preceding fall semester. (For example, allocations for the LEAP program for any given academic year will be based on enrollment data from the previous academic year.)

b.        Institutions which operate on clock hour or other nontraditional schedules will provide unduplicated student enrollment data for the period from August through April of the previous year. (For example, allocations for the LEAP program for any given year will be based on data for the period August through April.) Enrollment data  must be  verified by two Administrative Officials of the school.

2.        The staff will promptly notify each eligible institution of its preliminary allocation as soon as necessary Commis- sion approvals can be obtained. The total will show the amount of federal and state dollars and also the amount the institution must provide to receive the full allocation. The institution will be asked to select one of the follow- ing choices:

a.        It will provide the full amount of institutional funds in order to receive the full allocation.

b.        It will provide the full amount of institutional funds and also is prepared to provide additional institu- tional funds if additional federal and state  funds should become available. The institution will be asked to specify the amount of additional institu- tional funds it will be able to provide.

c.        It prefers to provide a lesser amount which will be noted in the space provided. In this case the federal and state amounts will be adjusted to meet the reduced institutional amount.

d.        It chooses not to participate in the LEAP program for this period. In this case it is important that the institution return the form to  the  Commission  to inform them of this choice.

3.        A response due date will be included in this notification. Only institutions whose response is received by the Com- mission by that due date will be eligible to participate in the LEAP Program for that academic year.

4.        All institution responses which are received by the Com- mission on or before the response due date will determine the final list of institutions eligible to participate in the LEAP program. If all institutions elect to participate, the preliminary allocation will become the final allocation list. However, if some institutions choose not to partici- pate, or if some prefer to participate at a reduced level, the staff will calculate a new final allocation list consider- ing only the institutions on the final institutional eligibil- ity list. The staff will then notify each participant institution of its revised allocation, the amount of institu- tional funds to provide, and instructions for transmitting its funds to the Commission.

5.        The Commission will maintain the necessary accounts for each eligible institution which participates in the Arizona LEAP Program. Each account will, as a minimum, show the current status of that account for its source of program funds, and such other information that the Commission deems necessary.

C.       Transfer of institutional funds. When the institution receives its final allocation notice from the Commission, it shall send its institutional funds to the Commission. This transfer shall take place beginning July 1 of each year. Checks conveying institutional funds shall be made out to the Arizona Commis- sion for Postsecondary Education -- LEAP Program.

D.       Disbursement of Arizona LEAP Program Funds to Participat- ing Institutions. The Commission will disburse funds from the Arizona LEAP Program Fund to participating institutions for further disbursement to approved student applicants in accor- dance with the program calendar.

E.       Reallocation of Unused LEAP Program Funds

1.        Schools will be contacted in February, and asked if they will be able to use all their funds or if they wish addi- tional funding and the amount thereof.

2.        Schools not awarding 100% of their funds by the middle of February may have the remaining LEAP funds recov- ered by the Commission for reallocation. Remaining institutional funds, less administrative funds, will then be returned to each of those schools when the final program financial report has been received by the Commission.

3.        In March, a reallocation of funds will take place and funds will be available for those schools that asked for additional funds in February.

a.        If the amount of available funds exceeds the total amount of requests, all requests will be honored. Any remaining available funds will be retained by the Commission for later reallocation.

b.        If the amount of the requests exceeds the amount of available funds, the Commission will allocate those funds among the requesting institutions based on each institution’s proportionate share of Arizona res- ident students eligible headcount for that institution. The enrollment at non-requesting institutions will not be included in these calculations.

4.        The staff will notify each participant institution of its share of the reallocation, the amount of institutional funds to provide, and instructions for transmitting its funds to the Commission.

5.        Any LEAP funds retained by the institutions, minus the institutional proportionate share originally paid, must be returned to the Commission in the form of a check by the end of July, along with the signed Financial Report. Any unused program funds remaining in the state treasury will be returned to the institutions in the same proportionate share as was paid in at the beginning of the program year. The Commission may impose a deduction in the amount of those unutilized program funds from a school’s follow- ing years allocation.

Historical Note

Adopted effective September 19, 1996, under an exemp- tion from the Administrative Procedure Act pursuant to

A.R.S. § 15-1852(C) (Supp. 96-3). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 5 A.A.R. 2046, effective June 1, 1999

(Supp. 99-2).