(a) Eligibility.
  (1) Any college or university defined as a public, private or independent institution of higher education by Texas Education Code, §61.003 that offers the courses required by §§511.57, 511.58 and 511.60 of this title (relating to Qualified Accounting Courses to take the UCPAE, Definitions of Related Business Subjects to take the UCPAE and Qualified Accounting Courses Prior to January 1, 2024 to take the UCPAE), is eligible to participate in the accounting students scholarship program.
  (2) No institution may, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age or disability exclude a student from participation in or deny the benefits of the program described in this chapter.
  (3) Each participating institution must follow the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI (Public Law 88-353) in avoiding discrimination in admissions.
(b) Approval.
  (1) Each approved institution must enter into an agreement with the board, the terms of which shall be prescribed by the executive director.
  (2) An institution must be approved by April 1 in order for qualified students enrolled in that institution to be eligible to receive scholarships in the following fiscal year beginning September 1st.
(c) Responsibilities.
  (1) Probation Notice. If the institution is placed on public probation by its accrediting agency, it must immediately advise scholarship recipients of this condition and maintain evidence in each student's file to demonstrate that the student was so informed.
  (2) Disbursements to Students.
    (A) The institution must maintain records to prove the disbursement of program funds to the student or the crediting of such funds to the student's school account.
    (B) If the executive director has reason to believe that an institution has disbursed funds for unauthorized purposes, the institution will be notified and offered an opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the applicable procedures outlined in Chapter 519 of this title (relating to Practice and Procedure) and the rules of procedure of SOAH. Thereafter, if the board determines that funds have been improperly disbursed, the institution shall become responsible for restoring the funds to the board. No further disbursements of scholarship funds shall be permitted to students at that institution until the funds have been repaid.
(d) Reporting.
  (1) All institutions must meet board reporting requirements. Such reporting requirements shall include reports specific to allocation of scholarship funds as well as progress and year-end reports.
  (2) Penalties for Late Reports.
    (A) The executive director may penalize an institution by reducing its allocation of funds in the following year by up to 10 percent for each progress report that is postmarked or submitted electronically more than a week (seven (7) calendar days) late.
    (B) The executive director may assess more severe penalties against an institution if any report is received by the board more than one month (thirty (30) calendar days) after its due date. The maximum penalty for a single year is 30 percent of the school's allocation. If penalties are invoked two consecutive years, the institution may be penalized an additional 20 percent.
  (3) If the executive director determines that a penalty is appropriate, the institution will be notified by certified mail, addressed to the program officer. Within 21 days from the date that the program officer receives the written notice, the institution must submit a written response appealing the board's decision, or the penalty shall become final and no longer subject to an appeal. An appeal under this section will be conducted in accordance with the rules provided in the applicable sections of Chapter 519 of this title and the procedural rules of SOAH.
(e) Program Reviews. If selected for such by the board, participating institutions must submit to program reviews of activities related to the accounting students scholarship program.

Source Note: The provisions of this §520.3 adopted to be effective December 9, 2009, 34 TexReg 8728; amended to be effective April 7, 2010, 35 TexReg 2745; amended to be effective April 10, 2013, 38 TexReg 2224; amended to be effective February 8, 2017, 42 TexReg 428; amended to be effective April 18, 2018, 43 TexReg 2275; amended to be effective June 8, 2022, 47 TexReg 3264; amended to be effective October 4, 2023, 48 TexReg 5667