Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies
The institution is responsible for executing the necessary loan documents and promissory notes for each fellowship recipient, for monitoring the status of program participants and for servicing loans which must be repaid. All such documents and notes shall comply with the relevant provisions of applicable state and federal truth-in-lending statutes and shall be accompanied by any disclosure forms required by those statutes. All such documents and notes shall include or be based on the following provisions:
(a) Loan repayment. The entire principal amount of the loan, together with accrued interest, is to be repaid to the institution and is to be used for financial assistance for graduate students enrolled in high technology fields. Repayment must be completed within a ten-year period, which shall begin on the first day of the fourth calendar month following the month in which a determination is made by the institution that a recipient has left the state fellowship program. A recipient shall be deemed to have left the program if the recipient:
(1) ceases to be a full-time student in a doctoral program in a high technology field prior to completion of study except that if a recipient leaves the program but remains a full-time student at the institution, the start of the repayment period may be delayed, but in no event may it be delayed for more than six years following the anniversary of the date the recipient initially enrolled as a graduate student in program of study in a high technology field.
(2) does not complete the doctoral program of study in a high technology field within six years of beginning graduate study in that field; or
(3) does not meet the qualifications for loan forgiveness as described in Sec. 10-25p-8 of these regulations.
(b) Repayment schedule. The repayment schedule is to be determined by the institution, and interest shall begin to accrue on the first day of the repayment period, as defined in subsection (a) of this section. A fixed-rate interest charge on the loan balance shall be set by the institution at a rate one percent above the prevailing prime interest rate as listed in the first Federal Reserve Bulletin published for the calendar year in which awards are made. This interest rate shall remain fixed for the recipient for all subsequent loans recieved under the state fellowship program.
(c) Deferments. The institution may grant to a recipient a deferment from repaying the loan during the period the recipient is meeting the qualifications for loan forgiveness as described in Sec. 10a-25p-8 of these regulations. The institution also may grant to a recipient a hardship deferment on loan repayment for no more than twelve months, during which time no interest shall accrue and no repayment shall be required, if the institution determines that the recipient is:
(1) actively seeking but unable to find employment;
(2) suffering from a disabling physical or mental illness;
(3) on parental leave which has been approved by the recipient's employer;
(4) experiencing a personal financial crisis;
(Effective September 29, 1989)