Annual Service Obligations

The recipient of a career-based and or occupational grant/scholarship award is required to begin employment within the State of MD after degree completion, as outlined in the recipients signed promissory note. The recipient's employment must be in an occupation directly related to the eligible program of study at the time the recipient accepted the award while enrolled at a post-secondary institution.


The recipient is required to verify their employment history on an annual basis until they have successfully fulfilled their service obligation. On an annual basis the recipient will report their employment history to MHEC by submitting an Annual Service Questionnaire provided to the student by the Office of Student Financial Assistance.


The recipient must complete the Employer Verification Release Form before the Office of Student Financial Assistance can verify the recipient's employment history. The recipient must download the Employer Verification Release Form and upload the form online when completing the Annual Service Questionnaire. 

Click here to access the Employer Verification Release Form. 

After the recipient completes and submits the Annual Service Questionnaire, the Office of Student Financial Assistance is required to verify the recipient's employment history with their respective employer(s). It is the responsibility of the employing or contracting agency to certify annually that the recipient is performing the service requirement in the manner prescribed.


Deferment Request: Enrollment

A recipient may request deferment of their service obligation if enrolled in a full-time (12 or more credits per semester) or part-time (6—11 credits per semester) undergraduate course of study, or a full-time (9 or more credits per semester) or part-time (6—8 credits per semester) graduate course of study at an institution of higher education in a degree-granting program.

During the annual verification process the recipient must indicate on the Annual Service Questionnaire Form they're requesting a deferment due to being enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program. The recipient must download the Registrar Certification Form by clicking here, and have the institution complete the form. Once complete the recipient must upload the Registrar Certification Form online when completing the Annual Service Questionnaire Form.

All information pertaining to the recipient service obligation can be monitored online through their MDCAPS account. If you do not have a MDCAPS account, you can create one online at https://mdcaps.mhec.state.md.us/MDCAPS/login.aspx


​It is important to note the following career/occupational programs listed below are no longer accepting new applications and have been phased out. Recipients of the phased out programs must submit the annual service questionnaire until their service obligation has been completed.

  • Child Care Provider Scholarship (CCP)*
  • Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health, Child Welfare, & Juvenile Justice Workforce Tuition Assistance Program (DEV-DIS)*
  • Distinguished Scholar Teacher Education Award (DSTE)*
  • HOPE General Scholarship
  • Maryland Teacher Scholarship
  • Science & Technology Scholarship
  • Optometry Tuition Reduction Program Interstate Compact Pennsylvania College of Optometry/State of Maryland (PCO)
  • Physical and Occupational Therapists and Assistants Grant Program (PTOT)*
  • Sharon Christa McAuliffe Memorial Teacher Education Award (SCM)*
  • William Donald Schaefer Scholarship*

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