Determination of Federal Pell Grant Awards

34 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart F
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

34 C.F.R. § 690.61 Submission process and deadline for a Student Aid Report or Institutional Student Information Record.

(a) Submission process. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, an institution must disburse a Federal Pell Grant to an eligible student who is otherwise qualified to receive that disbursement and electronically transmit Federal Pell Grant disbursement data to the Secretary for that student if— (i) The student submits a valid SAR to the institution; or (ii) The institution obtains a valid ISIR for the student. (2) In determining a student's eligibility to receive his or her Federal Pell Grant, an institution is entitled to assume that SAR information or ISIR information is accurate and complete except under the conditions set forth in 34 CFR 668.16(f) and 668.60. (b) Valid Student Aid Report or Valid Institutional Student Information Record deadline. Except as provided in the verification provisions of § 668.60 and the late disbursement provisions of § 668.164(g) of this chapter, for a student to receive a Federal Pell Grant for an award year, the student must submit the relevant parts of the valid SAR to his or her institution or the institution must obtain a valid ISIR by the earlier of— (1) The last date that the student is still enrolled and eligible for payment at that institution; or (2) By the deadline date established by the Secretary through publication of a notice in the Federal Register.

34 C.F.R. § 690.62 Calculation of a Federal Pell Grant.

(a) The amount of a student's Pell Grant for an academic year is based upon the payment and disbursement schedules published by the Secretary for each award year. (b)(1)(i) For a confined or incarcerated individual enrolled in an eligible prison education program, no Federal Pell Grant may exceed the cost of attendance (as defined in section 472 of the HEA) at the institution that student attends. (ii) If an institution determines that the amount of a Federal Pell Grant for that student exceeds the cost of attendance for that year, the amount of the Federal Pell Grant must be reduced until the Federal Pell Grant does not exceed the cost of attendance at such institution and does not result in a title IV credit balance under 34 CFR 668.164(h). (2)(i) If a confined or incarcerated individual's Pell Grant, combined with any other financial assistance, exceeds the student's cost of attendance, the financial assistance other than the Pell Grant must be reduced by the amount that the total financial assistance exceeds the student's cost of attendance. (ii) If the confined or incarcerated individual's other financial assistance cannot be reduced, the student's Pell Grant must be reduced by the amount that the student's total financial assistance exceeds the student's cost of attendance.

34 C.F.R. § 690.63 Calculation of a Federal Pell Grant for a payment period.

(a)(1) Programs using standard terms with at least 30 weeks of instructional time. A student's Federal Pell Grant for a payment period is calculated under paragraphs (b) or (d) of this section if— (i) The student is enrolled in an eligible program that— (A) Measures progress in credit hours; (B) Is offered in semesters, trimesters, or quarters; and (C) Requires the student to enroll for at least 12 credit hours in each term in the award year to qualify as a full-time student; and (ii) The program uses an academic calendar that provides at least 30 weeks of instructional time in— (A) Two semesters or trimesters in the fall through the following spring, or three quarters in the fall, winter, and spring, none of which overlaps any other term (including a summer term) in the program; or (B) Any two semesters or trimesters, or any three quarters where— (1) The institution starts its terms for different cohorts of students on a periodic basis (e.g., monthly); (2) The program is offered exclusively in semesters, trimesters, or quarters; and (3) Students are not allowed to be enrolled simultaneously in overlapping terms and must stay with the cohort in which they start unless they withdraw from a term (or skip a term) and re-enroll in a subsequent term. (2) Programs using standard terms with less than 30 weeks of instructional time. A student's Federal Pell Grant for a payment period is calculated under paragraph (c) or (d) of this section if— (i) The student is enrolled in an eligible program that— (A) Measures progress in credit hours; (B) Is offered in semesters, trimesters, or quarters; (C) Requires the student to enroll in at least 12 credit hours in each term in the award year to qualify as a full-time student; and (D) Is not offered with overlapping terms; and (ii) The institution offering the program— (A) Provides the program using an academic calendar that includes two semesters or trimesters in the fall through the following spring, or three quarters in the fall, winter, and spring; and (B) Does not provide at least 30 weeks of instructional time in the terms specified in paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(A) of this section. (3) Other programs using terms and credit hours. A student's Federal Pell Grant for a payment period is calculated under paragraph (d) of this section if the student is enrolled in an eligible program that— (i) Measures progress in credit hours; and (ii) Is offered in academic terms other than those described in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section. (4) Programs not using terms or using clock hours. A student's Federal Pell Grant for any payment period is calculated under paragraph (e) of this section if the student is enrolled in an eligible program that— (i) Is offered in credit hours but is not offered in academic terms; or (ii) Is offered in clock hours. (5) Programs of study offered by correspondence. A student's Federal Pell Grant payment for a payment period is calculated under § 690.66 if the program is offered by correspondence courses. (6) Programs for which an exception to the academic year definition has been granted under 34 CFR 668.3. If an institution receives a waiver from the Secretary of the 30 weeks of instructional time requirement under 34 CFR 668.3, an institution may calculate a student's Federal Pell Grant payment for a payment period using the following methodologies: (i) If the program is offered in terms and credit hours, the institution uses the methodology in— (A) Paragraph (b) of this section provided that the program meets all the criteria in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except that in lieu of paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(B) of this section, the program provides at least the same number of weeks of instructional time in the terms specified in paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A) of this section as are in the program's academic year; or (B) Paragraph (d) of this section. (ii) The institution uses the methodology described in paragraph (e) of this section if the program is offered in credit hours without terms or clock hours. (iii) The institution uses the methodology described in § 690.66 if the program is correspondence study. (b) Programs using standard terms with at least 30 weeks of instructional time. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period, i.e., an academic term, for a student in a program using standard terms with at least 30 weeks of instructional time in two semesters or trimesters or in three quarters as described in paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A) of this section, is calculated by— (1) Determining his or her enrollment status for the term; (2) Based upon that enrollment status, determining his or her annual award from the Payment Schedule for full-time students or the Disbursement Schedule for three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time students; and (3) Dividing the amount described under paragraph (b)(2) of this section by— (i) Two at institutions using semesters or trimesters or three at institutions using quarters; or (ii) The number of terms over which the institution chooses to distribute the student's annual award if— (A) An institution chooses to distribute all of the student's annual award determined under paragraph (b)(2) of this section over more than two terms at institutions using semesters or trimesters or more than three quarters at institutions using quarters; and (B) The number of weeks of instructional time in the terms, including the additional term or terms, equals the weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year. (c) Programs using standard terms with less than 30 weeks of instructional time. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period, i.e., an academic term, for a student in a program using standard terms with less than 30 weeks of instructional time in two semesters or trimesters or in three quarters as described in paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(A) of this section, is calculated by— (1) Determining his or her enrollment status for the term; (2) Based upon that enrollment status, determining his or her annual award from the Payment Schedule for full-time students or the Disbursement Schedule for three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time students; (3) Multiplying his or her annual award determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section by the following fraction as applicable: In a program using semesters or trimesters— In a program using quarters— (4)(i) Dividing the amount determined under paragraph (c)(3) of this section by two for programs using semesters or trimesters or three for programs using quarters; or (ii) Dividing the student's annual award determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section by the number of terms over which the institution chooses to distribute the student's annual award if— (A) An institution chooses to distribute all of the student's annual award determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section over more than two terms for programs using semesters or trimesters or more than three quarters for programs using quarters; and (B) The number of weeks of instructional time in the terms, including the additional term or terms, equals the weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year definition. (d) Other programs using terms and credit hours. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period, i.e., an academic term, for a student in a program using terms and credit hours, other than those described in paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section, is calculated by— (1) Determining his or her enrollment status for the term; (i) [Reserved] (ii) For a student enrolled in a term other than a semester, trimester, or quarter, determining his or her enrollment status for the term by— (A) Dividing the number of weeks of instructional time in the term by the number of weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year; (B) Multiplying the fraction determined under paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(A) of this section by the number of credit hours in the program's academic year to determine the number of hours required to be enrolled to be considered a full-time student; and (C) Determining a student's enrollment status by comparing the number of hours in which the student enrolls in the term to the number of hours required to be considered full-time under paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(B) of this section for that term; (2) Based upon that enrollment status, determining his or her annual award from the Payment Schedule for full-time students or the Disbursement Schedule for three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time student; and (3) Multiplying his or her annual award determined under paragraph (d)(2) of this section by the following fraction: (e) Programs using credit hours without terms or clock hours. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period for a student in a program using credit hours without terms or using clock hours is calculated by— (1) Determining the student's Scheduled Federal Pell Grant using the Payment Schedule; and (2) Multiplying the amount determined under paragraph (e)(1) of this section by the lesser of— (i) (ii) (f) Calculating payments that exceed 50 percent of a student's annual award. A single disbursement may not exceed 50 percent of any award determined under paragraphs (d) and (g)(2) of this section. If a payment for a payment period calculated under paragraphs (d) and (g)(2) of this section would require the disbursement of more than 50 percent of a student's annual award in that payment period, the institution must make at least two disbursements to the student in that payment period. The institution may not disburse an amount that exceeds 50 percent of the student's annual award until the student has completed the period of time in the payment period that equals, in terms of weeks of instructional time, 50 percent of the weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year. (g) Additional Federal Pell Grant funds and defining an academic year. (1) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section and § 690.66, the amount of a student's award for an award year may not exceed one and one-half of his or her Scheduled Federal Pell Grant award for that award year. (2) A student's payment for the payment period may include the remaining amount of the student's Scheduled Award plus an amount from the additional Federal Pell Grant funds not to exceed one-half of a student's Scheduled Award. (3) For purposes of this section and § 690.66, an institution must define an academic year for each of its eligible programs in terms of the number of credit or clock hours and weeks of instructional time in accordance with the requirements of 34 CFR 668.3. (h) [Reserved]

34 C.F.R. § 690.64 Determining the award year for a Federal Pell Grant payment period that occurs in two award years.

(a) If a student enrolls in a payment period that is scheduled to occur in two award years— (1) The entire payment period must be considered to occur within one award year; (2) The institution must determine for each Federal Pell Grant recipient the award year in which the payment period will be placed; (3) If an institution places the payment period in the first award year, it must pay a student with funds from the first award year; and (4) If an institution places the payment period in the second award year, it must pay a student with funds from the second award year. (b) An institution may not make a payment which will result in the student receiving more than one and one-half of his or her Scheduled Federal Pell Grant for an award year.

34 C.F.R. § 690.65 Transfer student: attendance at more than one institution during an award year.

(a) If a student who receives a Federal Pell Grant at one institution subsequently enrolls at a second institution in the same award year, the student may receive a Federal Pell Grant at the second institution only if— (1) The student submits a valid SAR to the second institution; or (2) The second institution obtains a valid ISIR. (b) The second institution shall calculate the student's award according to § 690.63. (c) The second institution may pay a Federal Pell Grant only for that portion of the academic year in which a student is enrolled at that institution. The grant amount must be adjusted, if necessary, to ensure that the grant does not exceed one and one-half of the student's Scheduled Federal Pell Grant for that award year. (d) If a student's Scheduled Federal Pell Grant at the second institution differs from the Scheduled Federal Pell Grant at the first institution, the grant amount at the second institution is calculated as follows— (1) The amount received at the first institution is compared to the Scheduled Federal Pell Grant at the first institution to determine the percentage of the Scheduled Federal Pell Grant that the student has received. (2) That percentage is subtracted from 100 percent or 150 percent, if the student is eligible to receive additional Federal Pell Grant funds in an amount up to one-half of a Scheduled Award during a single award year. (3) The remaining percentage is the percentage of the Scheduled Federal Pell Grant at the second institution to which the student is entitled. (e) The student's Federal Pell Grant for each payment period is calculated according to the procedures in § 690.63 unless the remaining percentage of the Scheduled Federal Pell Grant at the second institution, referred to in paragraph (d)(3) of this section, is less than the amount the student would normally receive for that payment period. In that case, the student's Federal Pell Grant is equal to that remaining percentage. (f) A transfer student shall repay any amount received in an award year that exceeds his or her Scheduled Federal Pell Grant, or one and one-half of his or her Scheduled Federal Pell Grant, whichever is applicable.

34 C.F.R. § 690.66 Correspondence study.

(a) An institution calculates the Federal Pell Grant for a payment period for a student in a program of study offered by correspondence courses without terms, but not including any residential component, by— (1) Determining the student's annual award using the half-time Disbursement Schedule; and (2) Multiplying the annual award determined from the Disbursement Schedule for a half-time student by the lesser of— (i) (ii) (b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of this section— (1) The institution shall make the first payment to a student for an academic year, as calculated under paragraph (a) of this section, after the student submits 25 percent of the lessons or otherwise completes 25 percent of the work scheduled for the program or the academic year, whichever occurs last; and (2) The institution shall make the second payment to a student for an academic year, as calculated under paragraph (a) of this section, after the student submits 75 percent of the lessons or otherwise completes 75 percent of the work scheduled for the program or the academic year, whichever occurs last. (c) In a program of correspondence study offered by correspondence courses using terms but not including any residential component— (1) The institution must prepare a written schedule for submission of lessons that reflects a workload of at least 30 hours of preparation per semester hour or 20 hours of preparation per quarter hour during the term; (2)(i) If the student is enrolled in at least 6 credit hours that commence and are completed in that term, the Disbursement Schedule for a half-time student is used to calculate the payment for the payment period; or (ii) If the student is enrolled in less than 6 credit hours that commence and are completed in that term the Disbursement Schedule for a less-than-half-time student is used to calculate the payment for the payment period; (3) A payment for a payment period is calculated using the formula in § 690.63(d) except that paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section are used in lieu of § 690.63(d) (1) and (2) respectively; and (4) The institution shall make the payment to a student for a payment period after that student completes 50 percent of the lessons or otherwise completes 50 percent of the work scheduled for the term, whichever occurs last. (d) Payments for periods of residential training shall be calculated under § 690.63(d) if the residential training is offered using terms and credit hours or § 690.63(e) if the residential training is offered using credit hours without terms.

34 C.F.R. § 690.67 Eligibility to receive additional Federal Pell Grant funds in an amount up to one-half of a Scheduled Award during a single award year.

An institution awards additional Federal Pell Grant funds up to one-half of a Scheduled Award to a student in an award year if the student is enrolled— (a) In an eligible program leading to a bachelor's or associate's degree or other recognized educational credential, except as provided in 34 CFR part 668, subpart O, for students with intellectual disabilities, for one or more additional payment periods during the same award year that are not fully covered by the student's initial Federal Pell Grant Scheduled Award; and (b) At least as a half-time student in the payment period(s) for which the student receives any portion of the additional Federal Pell Grant funds.

34 C.F.R. § 690.68 Severability.

If any provision of this subpart or its application to any person, act, or practice is held invalid, the remainder of the subpart or the application of its provisions to any person, act, or practice will not be affected thereby.

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