Kodiak Opportunity Grants Act, 649

Kodiak Opportunity Grants Act

The Kodiak Opportunity Grant is a special grant for mature-age students to aid in returning or starting university or technical college studies later in life. This grant especially targets adults that may need the aid to support re-education or career changes that would otherwise not be accessible due to the drop in income caused by a return to education.

ENACTED by the Kodiak Higher Education Rebuild Package, 649 on 19 January 2023.
AMENDED by the Emergency Education Appropriations Act on 16 August 2023.

Article I: Definitions

1.1 - Mature age student - A student who is at least the age of 25 and is seeking to enter or return to tertiary education.

1.2 - Applicant - Student applying for the Opportunity Grant.

1.3 - Grantee - Student currently receiving the Opportunity Grant.

Article II: Opportunity Grant

2.1 - The opportunity grant shall provide a living stipend to be paid monthly to students enrolled in an authorised course at a state university, or a course and/or apprenticeship at a technical college.

2.1.1 - All applications for the grant will be reviewed by the grant review board via the Ministry of Education.

2.1.2 - The review will consider the applicants educational history, employment history, educational aspirations and purpose, household income, and income loss due to under-employment or lack of to determine the eligibility of the applicant.

2.1.3 - The applicant may only apply for the grant once per ten years for each level of degree or doctorate.

2.1.4 - Each level of degree within the ten year timeframe is only eligible for one grant. A degree transfer during the ten year timeframe will be considered eligible for the grant upon a successful application to transfer the existing grant to a different degree. The reasoning and circumstances of the student shall be weighed against the student's potential to complete the degree in the time remaining.

2.2 - The living stipend shall require an income and assets test.

2.3 - Should income exceed income thresholds (maximum household income of ₣60,000) or asset thresholds (maximum household assets of ₣400,000), then the applicant is not eligible for the grant. Should an existing grantee exceed income and asset thresholds, the applicant shall no longer be eligible to continue to receive the grant the month following reporting.

2.4 - The living stipend shall scale based on reported income to a range of ₣500 to ₣2000 Florins per month, as determined by the Ministry of Education.

2.4.1 - The living stipend shall be scaled based on course load. That is, a full-time student can expect to receive 100% of the total annual income provided by the grant for the entirety of their studies. A part-time student will be paid pro-rata based on the percentage of their maximum course load, i.e., a 75% course load will therefore receive 75% of the total annual income provided by the grant.

2.5 - Grantees are required to report income on a monthly basis to the Ministry of Education.

2.6 - The institution that the grantee has enrolled in shall report enrollment details and the students eligibility to continue their enrollment based on the student meeting requirements laid out by the institution (e.g., results).

Article III: Funding

3.1 - The Ministry of Education shall provide funding of ₣200 million per quarter.

Author: Hester Sirocco-Loren, KWP, Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Education and Health, and Charlotte Groves, KWP, seconded Deputy Chancellor and Minister of Education and Health