An eligible institution means a nonprofit educational institution located in Iowa not owned or controlled by the state or any political subdivision, agency, instrumentality, district, or city of the state, which is authorized by law to provide a program of education beyond the high school level and which meets all of the following requirements:

1. Admits as regular students only individuals having a certificate of graduation from high school, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate.
2. Provides an educational program for which it awards a baccalaureate degree; or provides an educational program which conditions admission upon the prior attainment of a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent, for which it wards a post-graduate degree; or provides not less than a two-year program which is acceptable for full credit toward a baccalaureate degree, or offers not less than a two year program in engineering, mathematics, or the physical or biological sciences which is designed to prepare the student to work as a technician and at a semiprofessional level in engineering, scientific, or other technological fields which require the understanding and application of basic engineering, scientific, or mathematical principles or knowledge.
3. Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association or, if not accredited, is an institution whose credits are accepted, on transfer, by not less than three institutions which are accredited.
4. Does not discriminate in the admission of students on the basis of age, race, creed, color, sex, national origin, religion, or disability.
5. Has a governing board which possesses its own sovereignty.
6. Has a governing board, or delegated institutional officials, which possess final authority in all matters of local control, including educational policy, choice of personnel, determination of program, and financial management.