Transcript Document
Academic
Competitiveness
Grants and National
SMART Grants:
Determining
Eligibility
Heather Boutell
Bellarmine
University
&
Patricia Arauz
University of
Louisville
Why do we have
these grants?
“The grants will encourage students to take
more challenging courses in high school —
making success in college more likely,
according to research—and to pursue
college majors in high demand in the global
economy, such as science, mathematics,
technology, engineering and
critical foreign languages.”
-- FSA Web site
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ACG Student
Eligibility Agenda
Rules/Regulations
Authorization and Funding
Citizenship
Eligible Program
Determining Enrollment status
Rigorous Program
GPA
Academic Year Progression
Transfers
Need
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Rules and Regulations
Interim Final Regulations published July 3,
2006
– These regulations govern 2006-07 awards
Final regulations published November 1,
2006, governing 2007-08 and beyond
– Optional early implementation for 2006-07
Negotiated Rulemaking underway;
regulations produced will make changes for
2008-2009 and beyond
– Sessions began February 5, 2007
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Authorization and Funding
Funding for these programs is not
subject to annual appropriations
process:
2006-07 -- $
2007-08 -- $
2008-09 -- $
2009-10 -- $
790 million
850 million
920 million
960 million
2010-11 -- $ 1.01 billion
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Authorization and Funding
Funds not spent in one year are
carried over to subsequent year
If funding insufficient, awards will
be ratably reduced (no reduction
foreseen for 2006-07)
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Scheduled Award
2006-07 Scheduled Award is the
same as the maximum award for the
award year –
ACG Year 1 - $ 750
ACG Year 2 - $1,300
Same for all students
Could change from award year to
award year
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ACG Eligibility
Requirements
U.S. citizen (naturalized citizen is U.S.
citizen)
– Nationals and non-citizens are not
eligible
Federal Pell Grant recipient in the
same payment period (or in same
award year if school chooses to early
implement Nov. 1 regs for 2006-07)
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ACG Eligibility
Requirements
First or second year student in a two
or four year degree program
Full-time enrollment
No specific major required
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Determining Enrollment
Status
Initial Determination of Eligibility
– Use enrollment status as of the date
initial eligibility is determined for ACG
– This parallels Pell Grant calculations,
in which enrollment status as of the
initial calculation date for Pell Grant is
used
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Enrollment Status
Must recalculate Pell Grant if
– Enrollment changes between payment periods
– Enrollment changes within payment period before student
begins all classes
– If < full-time, lose ACG
May recalculate after Pell Grant if enrollment status
changes after student begins all classes
– If recalculate, may use census date after which no further
changes are considered
– If redetermine ACG eligibility, must apply same policy as
used for Pell Grant
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Enrollment Status Example
Sequence of Events:
– Pell Grant calculated
– Census date passes
– Student’s enrollment status changes
– First determination of ACG eligibility occurs
What enrollment status is used for 0607?
What enrollment status is used for 0708?
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Enrollment Status
Original enrollment: ¾ time
At census: Full-time
At ACG determination: ¾ time
In 2006-2007: Pell: Full-time; ACG:
eligible
In 2007-2008: Pell: Full-time; ACG: ¾
time and not eligible
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ACG Eligibility
Requirements
1st year students
– May not have been previously
enrolled as regular student in
an ACG-eligible program of
undergraduate education while
enrolled in secondary school
program of study
– Must have completed a rigorous
secondary school program of
study after January 1, 2006
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ACG Eligibility
Requirements
2nd year students
– Must have completed a rigorous
secondary school program of study
after January 1, 2005
– Must have at least a 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0
scale) at the completion of the first
academic year in an eligible program
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ACG Eligibility
Requirements
Student must have completed a
rigorous secondary school program of
study
ED has outlined options to meet
requirement in DCL GEN-06-08 and
in the interim regulations published
July 3, 2006 (no change in Nov. 1
regulations)
Student may self-identify potential
eligibility through FAFSA process or
school may identify eligible students
through institutional process
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ACG Applicant
Self-Identification
Results of student selfidentification will be sent to all
schools listed -– CPS will send ISIRs with new
comment codes
– If no other changes, message class
will be IGAA07AP
– Special “flat file” with separate
message class of ED2007OP
– Student specific information
available using FAA Access
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ACG Applicant
Self-Identification
Comment codes will be provided
on SAR for student, and ISIR for
schools
Comment codes can be found in
ISIR positions 1677 to 1736
Multiple comment codes - one for
each rigorous criteria selected by
student
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ACG Applicant Self-Identification
SAR and ISIR Comments
Comment
Code
SAR Comment
267
Explains potential ACG eligibility
268
For students who selected a rigorous high
school program or state scholars program
269
For students who reported completion of
AP/IB courses and tests
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For students who selected coursework
completion
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Advises student that their Financial Aid
Administrator will determine their eligibility
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ACG Rigorous Programs
1. State Designated Program
– State Submitted Program
– An advanced or honors secondary
school program established by a
state and in existence for the 04-05
or 05-06 school year
– State Scholars Initiative
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ACG Rigorous Programs
2. A set of courses as outlined in the
interim final regulations
3. Completion of at least two Advanced
Placement (AP) courses with
passing test score of 3 or two
International Baccalaureate (IB)
courses with passing test score of 4
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Documenting Rigorous
Program
School must have documentation of
rigorous program completion. This
can be provided:
– By the student
• An unofficial transcript is acceptable
documentation for ACG eligibility if school
has no reason to believe it is inaccurate
– Directly from “cognizant authority”
• For home schooled students, the parent
or guardian is the cognizant authority
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Documenting Rigorous
Program
For transfer students, institution
may rely on another school’s
determination that student
completed a rigorous program
– NSLDS will store the data
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Grade Point Average
No GPA requirement to receive
ACG funds for 1st academic year
For 2nd academic year ACG,
student must have a GPA of at
least 3.0 (on 4.0 scale) at end of
the 1st academic year
Only determined one time, which
must be only at the completion of
1st academic year
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Grade Point Average
Special rule for transfer student –
– For student who transfers after
completing first academic year, the
new school must calculate GPA using
the grades from all coursework
accepted from prior schools if no GPA
transferred in
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A Note About
Transfer GPA
The special calculation of GPA using
grades from transfer credits is solely for
the purpose of determining the GPA for
ACG/SMART upon the initial enrollment
of a transfer student into a program that
does not transfer in grades. Otherwise,
such transfer students would not be
eligible
The requirement is not intended to
change the institutional academic policy
regarding the treatment of grades when
a student transfers
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GPA & Incompletes
All coursework taken in the payment
period must be used in the calculation of a
student’s GPA.
If a complete GPA for the payment period
is not available, school can make an
interim disbursement at its risk. Includes:
When the GPA has not yet been
officially calculated for the prior
payment period.
When there are one or more grades of
“incomplete” for courses taken in prior
payment periods.
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GPA & Incompletes
If GPA would be at least 3.0 even if
incomplete(s) becomes an F, disbursement can
be made
If GPA would not be at least 3.0, you can make:
No disbursement, or
Interim disbursement
If not resolved by end of payment period
No disbursement can be made, or
Interim disbursement must be cancelled
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Need Based Grants
Total of EFC and all estimated
financial aid cannot exceed cost of
attendance
– These grants may not replace EFC
School may reduce other aid,
including FSEOG, or ACG to avoid
an overaward
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Need Based Grants
Special sub loan treatment as in
campus-based awarding if
Chapter 30 VA benefits or
AmeriCorps award received
No overaward tolerance
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Academic Year
HEA provides that an academic year for
a student in an undergraduate credit
hour program be defined as:
– At least 24 semester or trimester credit
hours, or 36 quarter credit hours, or 900
clock hours; and
– At least 30 weeks of instructional time (26
weeks for clock hours)
Schools must use their Title IV
academic year definition to determine
the student’s academic year in the
program of study
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Academic Year- Credit
Hours
Regardless of how many credit hours
an institution uses to define a
program’s academic year, full-time
for an undergraduate is a minimum
of –
12 semester credit hours; or
12 quarter credit hours.
Title IV Academic Year is often not the same as
grade level progression for institutional purposes
and loan limits (i.e., 30 credit hours to progress
from grade level 1 to grade level 2).
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Academic Year – Credit
Hours (cont’d)
School may define its Title IV
academic year as more than 24
credit hours – 30 in the prior
example
If program is offered by semester, trimester, or quarter and fulltime
is defined as at least 12 credit hours, including summer, there is –
•No impact on 12 credits as full-time Pell Grant
•No impact on 6 credits for FFEL/DL loans
•Would impact loan proration
•Could impact Pell Grant formula 3 calculations
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Academic Year – Credit
Hours (cont’d)
ACG Example –
– Institution defines Title IV Academic
Year as 24 credit hours but grade
level progression as 30 credit hours
– First year ACG recipient completes
24 semester hours
– Student now eligible for second year
ACG award while still “freshman”
and still at first year loan limit
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Academic Year – Credit
Hours (cont’d)
ACG Example –
– Institution defines Academic Year as
30 credit hours and grade level
progression as 30 credit hours
– First year ACG recipient completes
24 credit hours
– Student not yet eligible for second
year ACG award, because 30
credits required to complete first
academic year and student still at
first year loan level
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Academic Year – Credit
Hours (cont’d)
Basic Requirement – Academic
year progression based on all
credits earned in any ACG-eligible
program regardless of application
to student’s current program
Current Institution’s Credits –
All credits earned
Transfer Institution’s Credits –
Only credits accepted by current
institution
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Academic Year – Credit
Hours (cont’d)
24 Semester Credit Hour Definition –
First Academic Year is 0 to 23 credits.
Second Academic Year is 24 to 47 credits.
Third Academic Year is 48 to 71 credits.
Fourth Academic Year is 72 to 96 credits.
30 Semester Credit Hour Definition –
First Academic Year is 0 to 29 credits.
Second Academic Year is 30 to 59 credits.
Third Academic Year is 60 to 89 credits.
Fourth Academic Year is 90 to 120 credits.
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Academic Year – Weeks of
Instructional Time
An institution’s definition of Title IV
academic year for a credit hour
program must contain a minimum
of 30 weeks of instructional time.
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Academic Year - Weeks of
Instruction
For the 2006-2007 and 20072008 award years, an
institution with a 30 week
academic year and standard
terms (Pell Formula 1) may
either:
Determine the actual
number of weeks of
instructional time that
were included for the
student to complete the
number of credit hours in
the institution’s Title IV
academic year definition.
Assume that there
were 30 weeks of
instructional time for
each increment of
credit hours that
comprises the
institution’s Title IV
academic year
definition.
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Academic Year – Weeks of
Instruction
Institution may exercise option:
On a student-by-student basis;
For the same student for different
terms;
Differently for transfer credits vs.
home institution credits.
NOTE: An institution must determine
the actual number of weeks of
instructional time for a student who
requests that such a determination be
made or questions whether he or she
has completed an academic year.
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Academic Year – Weeks of
Instructional Time (cont’d)
When tracking actual weeks of instructional time, courses that
are not part of an eligible program of postsecondary
education or courses not at the postsecondary level have no
weeks of instructional time. These include:
– Remedial Coursework;
– Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate
(IB) courses/exams;
– College Level Examination Program (CLEP);
– Credit for life experience;
– Courses taken when not enrolled as a regular student;
and
– Courses that are not part of an eligible program.
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Example: Advanced
Placement courses
Student graduated high school May
2006. Enrolls at School A for Fall 2006.
Student has 45 AP credits, all with a
score of 3 or higher.
School A’s definition of academic year is
24 credit hours and 30 weeks of
instructional time.
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Example: Advanced
Placement courses
If School A assumes weeks of instructional time, this
student would be in his/her second academic year.
• 45/24 = 1.875
However, student has no GPA from “first academic year”
and would therefore not be eligible to receive ACG
funds for his/her “second academic year”.
If School A decides to track actual weeks of instruction,
the student would be in his/her first academic year since
no weeks are associated with AP credits.
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And Now for SMART!
Pat Arauz, University of Louisville
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Eligibility Requirements
U.S. citizen
Federal Pell Grant recipient in the same
payment or same award year
Third or fourth year student in a four year
degree program
Full-time enrollment in an eligible major
Cumulative 3.0 GPA (on 4.0 scale)
student’s eligible program
No rigorous high school program
required
in
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Eligibility Determination
No student self-identification as in ACG
Institutions are responsible for reviewing
records to identify all eligible students –
– ISIR for Pell Eligibility, Citizenship, and
other Title IV eligibility requirements
– Academic Records for –
• Eligible Major or, if available, intent
• GPA
• Full-time enrollment
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Eligible Major Fields of
Study
Mathematics
Computer
Science
Physical
Sciences
Engineering
Technology Designated
Life Sciences Foreign
Languages
Identified by Classification of Instructional
Program (CIP) Code from Dear Colleague
Letters GEN-06-06 and GEN-06-15
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Monitoring Major
Requires that a recipient –
– Declare an eligible major, or
– Show intent to declare eligible major
(if school policy does not require a major
before 3rd year)
Major must be checked before each
disbursement
In both cases, student must
enroll in coursework leading to
completion of the program
with that eligible major
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Double Majors
If student is enrolled in a double major:
– The student must be enrolled in coursework that
applies to an eligible major degree program
– The school must ensure that student is pursuing
completion of the eligible major by enrolling in
coursework supportive of timely degree
completion
– Enrollment status and academic year progression
must be based on all coursework the student is
taking
– GPA is for the student’s full academic
program;
there is no need to “pull-out”
the other
major’s coursework
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List of Eligible Majors
● ED will publish list of eligible majors by
Classification of Instructional Programs
(CIP) code for each award year
● Students who receive a SMART Grant
for an eligible major remain eligible for a
SMART Grant in subsequent award
years even if the major is no longer
classified as an eligible major, if all
other eligibility criteria are met
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Changing Majors Between
Payment Periods
● Changing to an eligible major
Eligible for subsequent payment periods
Cannot be paid for previous payment
periods
● Changing to an ineligible major
Not eligible for subsequent payment periods
Do not have to repay funds disbursed
in prior payment periods
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Changing Majors During a
Payment Period
● Changing to an eligible major
Not eligible for prior payment periods
Eligible for payment period in which eligible
major is declared
● Changing to an ineligible major
Not eligible for subsequent SMART Grant
disbursements
Do not have to repay disbursement
already made for current payment
period
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Grade Point Average
Student must have a cumulative GPA of at least
3.0 for each payment period
Includes all courses in eligible program (i.e., all
courses applicable to degree in SMART-eligible
major, not just major courses)
Must review prior to each disbursement
Calculated from last completed
payment period
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Duration of Student Eligibility
For National SMART Grant, students are
restricted to:
100% of a Year 3 SMART Grant scheduled award
for the student’s third academic year, and
100% of a Year 4 SMART Grant scheduled award
for the student’s fourth academic year.
This is a lifetime limit of one full award at each
academic year.
Receipt of Year 4 funds but no Year 3
funds renders student permanently
ineligible for Year 3 funds.
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Scheduled Award
2006-07 Scheduled Award is the same as
the maximum award for the award year –
National SMART Grant Year 1 - $4,000
National SMART Grant Year 2 - $4,000
Same for all students
Could change from award year to award
year
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End of Fourth Academic
Year
For 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 award
years:
For a student enrolled in a bachelor’s degree
program, the fourth academic year ends when
the student has completed the credits
required for completion of that academic
program, as published in the institution’s
official academic publications.
For example, for a BS program that
requires 135 credits, the fourth
academic year is from 91 credits to
135 credits (rather than 91 – 120).
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