(a) Amount of scholarship. (1) A scholarship award for each school year will consist of (i) tuition, (ii) reasonable educational expenses, including required fees, books, supplies, and required educational equipment, and (iii) a monthly stipend for the 12-month period beginning with the first month of each school year in which the individual is a participant. For purposes of this section “required fees” means those fees which are charged by the school to all students pursuing a similar curriculum and “required educational equipment” means educational equipment which must be rented or purchased by all students pursuing a similar curriculum at that school.

(2) The Secretary may enter into a contract with the school in which the participant is enrolled for the direct payment of tuition and reasonable educational expenses in the participant's behalf.

(b) Payment of scholarship: Leave-of-absence; repeated course work. The Secretary will suspend scholarship payments to or on behalf of a participant if the school (1) approves a leave-of-absence for the participant for health, personal, or other reasons, or (2) requires the participant to repeat course work for which the Secretary has previously made scholarship payments under § 62.7. However, if the repeated course work does not delay the participant's graduation date, scholarship payments will continue except for any additional costs relating to the repeated course work. Any scholarship payments suspended under this paragraph will be resumed by the Secretary upon notification by the school that the participant has returned from the leave-of-absence or has completed the repeated course work and is pursuing as a full-time student the course of study for which the scholarship was awarded.