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AwardYear: 1995-1996 EnterChapterNo: 4 EnterChapterTitle: Federal Pell Grant Program SectionNumber: 1 SectionTitle: Student Eligibility PageNumbers: 3-8 Unlike the campus-based programs (see Chapters 5 through 8 of this handbook), a student's eligibility for a Pell does not depend on the availability of funds at the school. The Department provides funds to each participating school to pay eligible students based on the Payment Vouchers (either paper or electronic or magnetic records) the school submits to the Department. (The funding process is discussed in Section Seven of this chapter.) Because the Department pays Pell awards to all eligible students, the school is not responsible for selecting recipients. However, the school must ensure that each recipient meets the eligibility requirements for the Federal Pell Grant Program, as discussed below, and that each eligible student is paid the amount for which he or she is eligible. GENERAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Most of the student eligibility requirements for the Federal Pell Grant Program are common to all the student financial assistance (SFA) programs. General SFA eligibility requirements are discussed in greater detail in Chapter Two, Section One. Briefly, for a student to be eligible to receive assistance from the SFA programs, he or she must-- - be either a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen; - have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent (such as a General Education Development certificate). Two alternatives, which are acceptable for all SFA programs, are for the student to have passed an independently administered test approved by the U.S. Department of Education, or meet other standards an individual state establishes that are approved by the Department. For more information, see Chapter Two, Section One; - be making satisfactory academic progress in his or her course of study; - file with the school a Statement of Educational Purpose, a Statement of Selective Service Registration Status, and a Certification Statement on Refunds and Defaults. (These statements are discussed in Chapter Two, Section One.) A student is NOT eligible for any SFA funds if he or she- - is enrolled in an elementary or secondary school; - is in default on an SFA loan or owes a repayment or is liable for an overpayment on an SFA grant; or - has borrowed in excess of the annual or aggregate loan limits for the SFA loan programs. In most cases, if a student is a member of a religious order, he or she is eligible ONLY for a Federal Stafford Loan. (For more information, see Chapter Two, Section One.) [[Financial aid transcript]] If a student transfers from one postsecondary school to another within the award year, the student must arrange to have the previous school(s) send a financial aid transcript to the new school. See Chapter Three, Section Four of this handbook for a discussion of the financial aid transcript. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT A student must be an undergraduate to receive a Pell. The regulations define an undergraduate as one who is enrolled in an undergraduate course of study and who has not earned a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent or a first professional degree.*1* (By "professional degree," we mean degrees offered by professional programs such as pharmacy, dentistry, or veterinary programs.) [[Length of undergraduate study]] An undergraduate course of study under this definition is one that usually does not exceed 4 academic years or is a program of 4 to 5 academic years designed to lead to a baccalaureate or first professional degree. If the program is longer than 5 years (for example, a 6-year pharmacy program), then students enrolled in that program are considered undergraduate students only for the first 4 academic years of the program. [[Foreign unaccredited degrees]] It does not matter if the baccalaureate or professional degree is from an unaccredited or foreign school, or is not accepted or recognized by the school at which the student is enrolled. A student who has earned such a degree is still ineligible. [[Degrees at less than the baccalaureate level]] Note that a student who has already received an associate's degree, but who enrolls in another undergraduate program, would continue to be considered an undergraduate student until he or she has completed the academic curriculum requirements for a first bachelor's degree. (This is true for ANY student who has received a certificate or diploma at less than the baccalaureate level.) DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY The duration of eligibility for Pell is defined as the period required for the student to complete the first undergraduate baccalaureate course of study. [[Coursework not counted toward degree]] Any noncredit or remedial coursework the student takes is not counted toward the period of time required to complete the first baccalaureate degree. However, there is a separate, one-year limit on the amount of noncredit or remedial coursework for which the student may receive SFA program funds. (See "Remedial Coursework" in Section Three of this chapter.) THE EFC AND FEDERAL PELL GRANT ELIGIBILITY The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula is the standard formula used in determining financial need for SFA programs (except for Federal PLUS and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans, which do not require a determination of need). The formula produces an EFC number. To be eligible for a Pell for 1995-96, a student must have a nine-month EFC of $2,140 or less. The less the student and family can contribute to educational costs, the greater the Pell the student could receive. Thus, the neediest students will have an EFC of 0 and may be eligible for the maximum Pell award ($2,340 for 1995-96) if their cost of education (also known as cost of attendance) will be at least $2,340, and if they will be attending full time for a full academic year. EXAMPLE: 1995-96 Scheduled Awards based on a cost of attendance of at least $2,340. (EXAMPLE ONLY - DO NOT USE TO MAKE AWARDS) EFC: 0 300 600 900 1200 1500 Award: 2340 2090 1790 1490 1190 890 As the EFC increases, the Scheduled Award decreases As the EFC increases, the amount of the award decreases; after the maximum EFC eligibility (2140 for 1994-95), the award becomes 0. The EFC is computed by the Central Processing System (CPS) in Iowa and is based on the information the student reported on the "Free Application for Federal Student Aid" (FAFSA). The EFC is included along with the student's application information on a SAR or ISIR. See "Documenting the Student's Eligibility for Payment" in this section for more information on SARs and ISIRs. [[Professional judgment]] The aid administrator, through professional judgment, may adjust one or more of the data elements used to calculate the EFC. The adjustment must be based on a student's individual circumstances and must be documented in the student's file. Note that aid administrators may not adjust the EFC number or the formula. If the EFC is adjusted for the Federal Pell Grant Program, the same adjustment must also be used when awarding campus-based aid and subsidized Federal Stafford Loans. For more information on adjusting the EFC, see the 1994-95 Counselor's Handbook for Postsecondary Schools. [[EFC change that affects award must be reprocessed through CPS]] NOTE: Any recalculation of the EFC that results in a change in the student's Pell award must be submitted through the CPS to establish the student's eligibility for Pell payment. Resubmission is not a requirement for EFC changes that do not affect the award, nor is it a requirement for the campus-based programs or for unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans. However, the EFC the school submits on its payment record to the Department for the Federal Pell Grant Program must match the EFC calculated by the CPS. *1* Occasionally, a student will complete the requirements for a bachelor’s degree but will continue taking undergraduate courses without accepting the degree. The school must decide at what point it considers the student to have completed the baccalaureate course of study - when the student completes the requirements for the degree, or when the student actually receives the degree. If the school considers the student to have completed the baccalaureate course of study, the student is no longer eligible to receive a Pell.

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