Federal Pell Grant Resources   

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) enacted on August 14, 2008, reauthorized the Higher Education Act of 1965 and brought about new rules for the Federal Pell Grant. The Final Regulations published on October 29, 2009, outline the implementation of the new rules. The new Pell Grant rules began with the 2009-2010 academic year. Implementation for some rules affecting crossover periods depends upon policies written by the institution before July 1, 2010.

In addition to new Pell Grant rules, there were other regulatory changes that became effective July 1, 2010. For your convenience, SLGFA has put those together in a single document entitled "Regulatory Changes Effective July 1, 2010."

Legislation
Training Presentations
Dear Colleague Letters
Electronic Announcements
Federal Regulations
Frequently Asked Questions (New!)

Legislation

Higher Education Opportunity Act

Training Presentations

New Pell Rules (PDF)

Year-Round Pell (PDF)

Dear Colleague Letters

GEN-10-14:  Implementation of Two Federal Pell Grants in One Award Year

ANN-10-21: Webinar Recordings - Year-Round Pell Grant Webinar for Term-Based Schools and Year-Round Pell Grant Webinar for Clock-Hour/Non-Term Schools

GEN-08-12: Summary of the Higher Education Opportunity Act

P-10-03: Revised 2010-2011 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules

P-10-02: Enactment of the Student Aid Provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

Electronic Announcements  

May 13, 2010: Federal Pell Grant 2010-2011 Award Year Initial Authorization for Advanced Funded Schools (updated May 20, 2010)

May 5, 2010: Operational Implementation Guidance - Implementation of Revised 2010-2011 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules

Code of Federal Regulations

34 CFR 690.63: Calculation of a Federal Pell Grant for a payment period

34 CFR 690.64: Calculation of a Federal Pell Grant for a payment period which occurs in two award years

34 CFR 690.63 - 690.67: Receiving up to two scheduled Federal Pell Grant awards during a single award year

Frequently Asked Questions **NEW**

1. What is a "crossover" period?

An award year runs from July 1 through June 30. Any payment period that begins on or before June 30 of the first award year and ends on or after July 1 of the second award year is a crossover payment period.

2. What is the difference between a standard term and a nonstandard term for summer?

The concepts of standard and nonstandard terms are program specific. An institution must first determine if a program uses standard or nonstandard terms. Standard terms are semesters, trimesters or quarters. Nonstandard terms are terms (where all coursework is expected to begin and end within a set period of time) that are not semesters, trimesters or quarters. If all other terms in a program are standard terms, the institution may decide to combine all summer sessions into a standard term. The program as a whole would then be treated under rules applicable to standard terms. If summer is a nonstandard term, then the rules for nonstandard programs apply. Each nonstandard payment period must be paid from the award year in which it resides. If a nonstandard term crosses over July 1, the institution must assign it to one award year or the other.

3. If an institution has two mini-sessions within a combined session - one that crosses July 1 and one that begins after July 1 - can the institution process aid from either award year if the student is only enrolled for the second mini-session that begins after July 1?

If an institution's policy is to combine mini-sessions into one standard term, and the resulting standard term crosses over July 1, then the institution has a crossover payment period. The standard summer term must be assigned to one award year or the other. A student's enrollment in one particular mini-session that is part of the combined standard term does not affect that assignment.

4. With students now being eligible for two Pells in an award year, do the terms "header" or "trailer" apply to summer school?

No. Beginning July 1, 2010, an institution must pay an eligible student a Federal Pell Grant in a summer term based on the student's eligibility from whichever award year results in the greater amount.

5. Does an institution have to pay Campus-Based funds and Direct Loan funds from the same award year as Federal Pell Grant for a crossover period?

No. Although the award year must be the same for the Campus-Based funds and Direct Loan funds, the institution may use a different award year for Federal Pell Grant funds.

6. If an institution combines its summer mini-sessions into one term, is the EFC prorated for the entire period or just for the number of months the student is actually enrolled?

The EFC the institution uses must reflect the student's actual enrollment. The EFC and cost of attendance would include only the mini-session in which the student was actually enrolled, even though the loan period contained all mini-sessions.

7. How are students who are eligible for the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant identified?

Students who meet the criteria for the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant will be identified by the Department of Defense (DoD) in a database match with CPS for the 2010-2011 award year. The ISIR will reflect a comment code in the FAA information section, and a DoD match flag will appear on the ISIR. The institution will use the flag and the date of the parent's or guardian's death to award eligible students under the program.

8. Will NSLDS track the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants?

At this time, this issue is still being discussed.

9. How will an institution process the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants?

The institution will process the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant using Common Origination and Disbursement (COD).

10. If an institution awarded Federal Pell Grant for Summer 2010 from the 2009-2010 award year, should the institution have had an acceleration policy in place?

Yes, but the definition of acceleration was up to the institution, unless the institution chose to apply the new rules earlier than July 1. Regulations that govern the implementation of the second Scheduled Award were effective July 1, 2010, but institutions were required to make a good faith effort to implement the second Scheduled Award when the law was enacted on August 14, 2009.

11. Is an institution required to compare Federal Pell Grant Awards (for highest Pell award yield) in future crossover periods such as Summer 2011?

For all future crossover payment periods, the institution must do the comparison for all students.

12. If an institution has a one-year certificate program that requires more than 24 credit hours, would a student enrolled in this program be eligible for a second Scheduled Award?

The answer depends upon how an institution defines its academic year for Title IV purposes, for that particular program. In 34 CFR 668.3, the definition of an academic year is not necessarily the same as the number of credits in a typical academic calendar. For example, if an institution defines its academic year as 24 credit hours over 30 weeks of instruction, then a one-year certificate program that requires more than 24 credit hours to complete is longer than one academic year and would qualify for a second Scheduled Award. To determine whether the program is longer than an academic year would require the institution to examine both components of the academic year definition, credits, and weeks of instruction. Once the institution determines that a program is longer than one academic year in length (and therefore eligible for two Pells in an award year), the institution would use just credits to determine acceleration.

If, on the other hand, the institution determines that a program is only one academic year in length, then a student in that program can only receive one full Scheduled Award in an award year, unless the student attends in a crossover payment period and has eligibility in the new year.

13. If an institution defines its grade level progression as 30 completed credit hours to advance from grade level one to grade level two, but defines its academic year as 24 credit hours, when would a student be considered to be "accelerating" for purposes of a second Scheduled Award?

As stated in answer 12 above, the law requires that for all Title IV purposes, an institution must define the academic year for each of its eligible educational programs in terms of both credit or clock hours and weeks of instructional time. The definition of a Title IV academic year under 34 CFR 668.3 is independent of the number of credits an institution requires for academic advancement. That definition is used to determine program length and eligibility, proration of loan limits, and calculation of a Pell Grant under the formulas for determining payment periods for certain programs like non-term programs. An institution's definition of an academic year has been a long-standing requirement, and, therefore, should already be in place.

The definition can vary by educational program, but it cannot vary by year within an educational program. If an institution defines its academic year as 24 credit hours over 30 weeks of instruction, for a student to be "accelerating" for purposes of a second Scheduled Award, the student's earned credits in the award year plus credits enrolled in during the payment period being considered for a second Scheduled Award must exceed 24 credits to qualify for a second Pell.

14. Using Pell Formula 3, an institution considers 3 hours as half-time enrollment for summer. Could such an institution pay a second Scheduled Award to a student who is enrolled in only 3 hours for a summer term?

Yes. The requirement for a second Pell in an award year is based on the requirement that the student be enrolled at least half-time in the payment period for which he/she would receive the second Pell award. The credit hour value of half-time in determined under the Formula 3 for nonstandard-term programs. But if an institution uses Pell Formula 3 for summer, then the institution must use Pell Formula 3 for the other terms as well.

15. What does the term "credits earned" mean when determining eligibility for a second Scheduled Award?

Credits earned for the purpose of determining eligibility for a second Scheduled Award of Pell Grant refers to credits that have been awarded to a student as a result of taking and passing a class. If credits are awarded on the basis of substitute methods such as credit by exam (e.g., Advanced Placement), these credits are not counted in determining student eligibility for a second Scheduled Award.

16. May an institution waive the requirement that the student be "accelerating" to receive a second Scheduled Award?

An institution may waive the requirement that a student be accelerating to receive a second Scheduled Award, but the waiver must be justified, and it must be for reasons beyond the student's control.

17. If a student attended both fall and spring semester, enrolled full-time, and completed 24 hours, and received 100% of his/her first Scheduled Award, would the student be eligible for a second Scheduled Award in the summer if he/she enrolled in 3 hours for Summer I and 3 hours for Summer II?

The answer depends upon how an institution treats its summer terms. If all summer terms are combined into one standard term, the student's total enrollment would determine his/her status, just as it would for a Stafford loan. In this case, an institution would use Pell Formula 1, and if it defines full-time for Title IV purposes as 12 credit hours in each term, 3 credit hours in each summer mini-session (total of 6 credit hours for the summer term) would constitute half-time enrollment, and the student would be considered eligible for a second Scheduled Award.

If an institution treats its summer sessions as separate nonstandard terms, the institution would have to use Pell Formula 3 to determine the definition of full-time, three-quarter time, and half-time enrollment in each session.

18. If an institution pays a second Scheduled Award to a student during a summer term, how long must the institution monitor that student to determine whether a subsequent year's ISIR is received that yields a higher Federal Pell Grant eligibility?

ED will publish deadline dates in the Federal Register each year. It is anticipated that the date by which reassignment is mandatory will be sometime in September of each year.

19. Please explain the deadline for reassignment.

There are actually two dates for reassignment. The first date defines the period following the end of summer during which reassignment  is mandatory. The second date gives an additional period of time during which an institution may reassign a Pell award to a new year. The Federal Register publishes both dates annually.

20. Are completed hours for a crossover period attributable to either award year?

Yes. Hours completed in a term are counted toward the award year to which the term was assigned.

21. May an institution use one definition of an academic year for a program for Federal Pell Grant purposes and a different definition for Federal Direct Loan and Campus-Based purposes?

An institution must have one definition of academic year for all Title IV purposes for any given educational program of study. Whatever definition of academic year an institution uses for the Federal Pell Grant program, the same definition must be used for all other Title IV programs as well.

22. If an institution's summer session ends in early August and a student who attended summer submits a FAFSA with a lower EFC for the upcoming award year after that date, would the institution have to reassign the summer terms to the upcoming award year?

Yes, assuming the institution receives the ISIR by the applicable deadline announced in the Federal Register. However, in this case, the rule regarding retroactive payment applies [34 CFR 690.76(b)]. The student's payment using the new ISIR would be calculated using an enrollment status based on credits successfully completed. It is possible that even if the Scheduled Award is somewhat higher in the new award year, the payment would still be higher from the previous award year using enrollment status based on registration at census and the previous award year's Scheduled Award rather than after the conclusion of the term of the new year's Scheduled Award.

23. For purposes of determining eligibility for a second Scheduled Award, would a grade of "F" count?

An "F" grade does not result in any earned credit. To determine whether a student meets the acceleration requirement, an institution must count all credits that the student has actually earned in all terms assigned to that award year plus all credits the student is enrolling in for the term for which the institution is determining eligibility for a second Scheduled Award.

24. If an institution has a one-year program, such as an LPN program, in which students attend full-time for fall, spring, and summer (which ends prior to July 1), would a student in this program be eligible for a second Scheduled Award?

No. If an institution's published program length is one year, a student in that program of study would only be eligible for a first Scheduled Award.