"Eligible veteran or serviceperson" means any veteran or serviceperson, including an Illinois National Guard member who is on active duty or is active on a training assignment, who has been declared by the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be a prisoner of war or missing in action, or has died as the result of a service-connected disability or has become a person with a permanent disability from service-connected causes with 100% disability and who (i) at the time of entering service was an Illinois resident, or (ii) was an Illinois resident within 6 months after entering such service, or (iii) is a resident of Illinois at the time of application for the Scholarship and, at some point after entering such service, was a resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years.
Full-time enrollment means 12 or more semester hours of courses per semester, or 12 or more quarter hours of courses per quarter, or the equivalent thereof per term. Scholarships utilized by dependents enrolled in less than full-time study shall be computed in the proportion which the number of hours so carried bears to full-time enrollment.
Scholarships awarded under this Section may be used by a spouse or child without regard to his or her age. The holder of a Scholarship awarded under this Section shall be subject to all examinations and academic standards, including the maintenance of minimum grade levels, that are applicable generally to other enrolled students at the Illinois institution of higher learning where the Scholarship is being used. If the surviving spouse remarries or if there is a divorce between the veteran or serviceperson and his or her spouse while the dependent is pursuing his or her course of study, Scholarship benefits will be terminated at the end of the term for which he or she is presently enrolled. Such dependents shall also be entitled, upon proper proof and application, to enroll in any extension course offered by a State supported Illinois institution of higher learning without payment of tuition and approved fees.
The holder of a MIA/POW Scholarship authorized under this Section shall not be required to pay any tuition or mandatory fees while attending a State-controlled university or public community college in this State for a period equivalent to 4 years of enrollment, including summer terms .
Any dependent who has been or shall be awarded a MIA/POW Scholarship shall be reimbursed by the appropriate institution of higher learning for any fees which he or she has paid and for which exemption is granted under this Section if application for reimbursement is made within 2 months following the end of the school term for which the fees were paid.
The total benefit provided to any beneficiary under this subsection shall not exceed the cost equivalent of 4 calendar years of full-time enrollment, including summer terms, at the University of Illinois. Whenever practicable in the opinion of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, payment of benefits under this subsection shall be made directly to the facility, the cost of attendance or treatment at which is being defrayed, as such costs accrue.
105 ILCS 5/30-14.2