(a) Availability of grants. Grants shall be available to eligible students and shall be paid to approved institutions on behalf of and to the credit of such students, without regard to place of residence within the State of Alabama, age, race, color, creed, sex or national origin, and shall be paid out of funds appropriated in the annual budget.

(b) Application for grants. Grants may be applied for by any eligible student wishing to receive same, through an approved institution in which he is enrolled or plans to enroll, pursuant to procedures to be devised and implemented by the ACHE.

(c) Approval and award of grants. The ACHE shall not approve any grant until there has been received from an appropriate officer of an approved institution in which an applicant is enrolled, a certification that the applicant is an eligible student. Upon receipt of a proper certification of eligibility, the ACHE shall remit, within a reasonable time, such grant to the approved institution in which an applicant is enrolled on behalf of and to the credit of the applicant. Upon awarding a grant, the ACHE shall issue a certificate evidencing the award to the student involved and shall forward a copy to the institution that is to receive the grant on behalf of and to the credit of the student.

(d) Renewal of grants. Each grant shall be renewable annually for the number of semesters or quarters (or their equivalent) normally required by the institution for the course of study in which the individual student is enrolled, not to exceed five academic years or until such earlier time as the student receives a baccalaureate degree, or has expended 10 semesters or 15 quarters (or their equivalent) of enrollment. The ACHE shall grant a renewal only upon the student's annual application and upon verification that the student remains an eligible student as defined in this chapter.

(e) Revocation of grants. If a student on whose behalf and to whose credit a grant has been made shall fail to comply with the established rules and regulations in respect to such grant, or shall fail to obtain the minimum level of achievement prescribed for the retention of such grant, or shall for any reason fail to enroll in or be expelled or suspended from an approved institution, the ACHE may, upon appropriate evidence, revoke such grant. In such case, the institution shall reimburse the program for the amount of such grant. A student may again become eligible for a grant when all requirements for eligibility have been met.