(a) Academic performance awards shall be available for a period of four years within a consecutive seven-year period commencing with the beginning of the academic year in which the award is granted. Recipients requesting payment of academic performance awards shall annually file with the corporation an application pursuant to section 2201.1(a) of this Subchapter.

(b) For any academic performance award which is reawarded, the corporation may grant a leave of absence during the academic year in which the award is first granted. A recipient requesting such a leave shall file, prior to the deadline for filing a student payment application, a written request for leave. Such request shall be granted only for those reasons outlined in section 145-1.9 of this Title. The leave shall not extend the seven-year period for which an award is available.

(c) Upon the receipt of a written request prior to the deadline for submission of a payment application, an extension of the seven-year period may be granted for the following reasons:

Such extension shall be limited to the period of service but in no event shall exceed three years. Written requests for a leave of absence made pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section and based on the reasons listed in this subdivision shall be considered requests for an extension.

(d) The provisions of this section shall not affect the number, amount or methods of payments made under an academic performance award.