Maryland Education Section 18-306

      (a)      Subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, each recipient of an Educational Excellence Award may hold the award for 5 years if the recipient:

            (1)      Continues to be a resident of this State;

            (2)      Continues to be a full-time student at an eligible institution and takes at least 12 semester hours of courses each semester, or its equivalent as determined by the Office;

            (3)      In the judgment of the institution, is making satisfactory progress toward a degree; and

            (4)      Maintains the standards of the institution.

      (b)      Each recipient of an Educational Excellence Award who is enrolled in an associate degree program as permitted in § 18-303(a)(1) of this subtitle may hold the award for 3 years if the same conditions of subsection (a) of this section are met.

      (c)      Each recipient of an Educational Excellence Award may hold the award for a 5th year if the recipient:

            (1)      Is enrolled in an academic program that, as determined by the institution, requires 5 years to complete; or

            (2)      Provides evidence, satisfactory to the Office, of extenuating financial, academic, or other circumstances that prevent the recipient from completing the academic program in 4 years.

      (d)      In addition to the requirements for renewal of an Educational Excellence Award under subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, a recipient of a Guaranteed Access Grant shall hold the grant for not more than 5 consecutive years or, failing to do so, provide evidence satisfactory to the Office of extenuating circumstances.