Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

Federal Pell Grant Program - Reporting Disbursements

AwardYear: 1995-1996
EnterChapterNo: 4
EnterChapterTitle: Federal Pell Grant Program
SectionNumber: 7
SectionTitle: Reporting Disbursements
PageNumbers: 91-112


So far, we have concentrated on how the school calculates and pays
the Pell to the student. This section will explain how to report Pell
payments to the Department through the Pell Grant Recipient and
Financial Management System (PGRFMS), and how this reporting
system affects the school's authorization.

NOTE: Questions about your Pell account (obligations) should be
directed to the Institutional Financial Management Division,
Accounting and Financial Management Service, (202) 708-9807;
fax: (202) 401-0387. Questions about Pell Grant systems (including
EDE, RDE, or Floppy Disk processing) or ADP services pertaining
to these media types should be directed to the Application and Pell
Systems Division, Program Systems Service, (202) 708-7716; fax:
(202) 708-9700.

[[Pell authorization]]
The authorization for your school is the maximum amount the
school may draw down from the ED Payment Management System
(ED/PMS). At the beginning of each award year, a school is given
an initial authorization based on an estimate of the Pell funds the
school will need to cover its first payments. As the award year
progresses, the authorization for your school will need to be adjusted
based on the actual number of eligible students with valid SARs or
ISIRs. (See the graphic on the next page.)

[[The graphic on page 4-92 is currently unavailable for viewing. Please
reference your paper document for additional information.]]

The PGRFMS enables the Department to track a school's need for
funds as the award year progresses and adjust the school's
authorization on that basis. The System also provides documentation
to the school to reconcile the school's total expenditures at the end of
the year with the records of the eligible students who were paid by
the school. (This documentation is the Student Payment Summary--
see page 4-109.) The Pell funds that you report to ED/PMS as
expended must equal the total payments to eligible Pell recipients at
the school, as shown by the records for each student.

REPORTING METHODS

[[Final Rule 11-1-94]]
There are four different methods a school may use to report payment
information to the Department. One method is to mail the paper
documents (SAR Payment Vouchers and the Institutional Payment
Summary, which is discussed beginning on page 4-95) to the
PGRFMS, addressed to FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM,
P.O. BOX 10800, HERNDON, VIRGINIA 22070-7009. Schools
using this method should note that 1995-96 is the last year that the
paper method may be used. In 1996-97, schools must use one of the
three automated methods. These three automated methods transmit
the same information as the paper method. Information describing
these methods is transmitted to schools through "User's Guides."

[[Electronic Data Exchange]]
The most widely used automated method is the ELECTRONIC
DATA EXCHANGE (EDE), Electronic Payments Service, which
allows schools or their service agents to use the school's computers
to enter and transmit initial payment data and changes to previously
reported payment data. The Department supplies personal computer
software. Information is transmitted electronically by telephone line
to a communications network, which in turn transmits the
information to PGRFMS, thus greatly speeding up the reporting and
response time.

[[Recipient Data Exchange]]
The second automated method, used especially by schools with large
numbers of recipients, is the RECIPIENT DATA EXCHANGE
(RDE). The school mails a magnetic tape or cartridge to PGRFMS,
which processes the information and returns the processed data on
tape/cartridge and/or paper, as the school requests.

[[Floppy Disk Data Exchange]]
The third automated method is the FLOPPY DISK DATA
EXCHANGE, which permits schools to submit payment information
on microcomputer diskettes. Schools using this method submit
Payment Data batches on either 5 1/4" or 3 1/2" diskettes.

All four methods transmit the same basic student information. The
only difference is the way in which the information is sent: by
paper, by magnetic tape/cartridge, by telephone line, or by diskette.
As mentioned earlier, each school receives a User's Guide
containing detailed information on the automated system used by
that school. In the rest of this chapter, we will provide a general
description of the data reporting process. You should refer to your
User's Guide for specific information about the records used.

PAYMENT VOUCHER*12*

[[Final Rule 11-1-94]]
The basic document in the PGRFMS is the Payment Voucher. A
Payment Voucher is the electronic or magnetic payment record used
in EDE, RDE, or Floppy Disk Data Exchange, or (for 1995-96) Part
3 of the SAR. After the school receives a SAR or ISIR, the school
completes the Payment Voucher by filling in award information.
The school periodically sends Payment Vouchers for its students to
PGRFMS in a batch, along with transmittal information (either the
paper Institutional Payment Summary [IPS] or the electronic or
magnetic equivalent). (See pages 4-95 and 4-105 for more
information on the IPS and on the IPS Batch Report, respectively.)

PGRFMS returns new Payment Vouchers, called Processed Payment
Vouchers, to the school. The Processed Payment Voucher will be
paper (if the school submitted paper Payment Vouchers) or an
electronic or magnetic record. The information that schools
originally provided on their Payment Vouchers is included in the
Processed Payment Vouchers (it is printed on the paper ones).
Comments about the data--what data PGRFMS has accepted or
rejected, for example--are included in the Processed Payment
Voucher, as are the data accepted by PGRFMS. On the paper
Processed Payment Voucher, comments are on the front, and the
accepted data are on the back. Schools review the Processed
Payment Vouchers and return any corrected ones with their next
submission.

[[The graphic "Payment Voucher Processing Path" on page
4-95 is currently unavailable for viewing. Please reference your
paper document for additional information.]]

[[Reporting changes in anticipated payments]]
If the student's situation changes and the anticipated payments are
not made, the school MUST REPORT THIS CHANGE by
resubmitting the Processed Payment Voucher to PGRFMS. For
instance, a student may drop from full-time enrollment in one term
to half-time in the next, or may no longer be making satisfactory
progress, or simply may not return in the second payment period. In
each of these cases, the school must adjust the "Amount to be paid"
item and any other relevant items on the Processed Payment
Voucher and return it to PGRFMS. (For information on completing
the Payment Voucher or Processed Payment Voucher, see page 4-
98.)

[[Schools must submit reports on time]]
Schools must submit Processed Payment Vouchers, for those
students whose awards have changed, by the end of the reporting
period immediately following the period in which the change occurs.
(For information on reporting periods, see the next page.) This
requirement ensures that federal funds will not remain at a school
when its students do not need the funds. SCHOOLS THAT DO
NOT SUBMIT REQUIRED REPORTS OR DO NOT SUBMIT
THEM ON TIME, AND SCHOOLS THAT SUBMIT
INCOMPLETE REPORTS, WILL HAVE THEIR PELL
ALLOCATION REDUCED AND MAY BE FINED.

[[Lost payment Vouchers]]
NOTE: If you misplace an original paper Payment Voucher (SAR
Part 3) or an entire batch of Processed Payment Vouchers, you may
request duplicates by contacting the Application and Pell Processing
Systems Division, (202) 708-7716; fax: (202) 708-9700, by the
reprint request deadline, which is published each year in the Federal
Register. (You can also obtain replacement data for a batch or year-
to-date data on tape, floppy diskette, or electronically.) You may also
write in your request to FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM,
P.O. BOX 10800, HERNDON, VA 22070-7009. If you need an
original paper Payment Voucher for a student, you must provide (1)
a photocopy of either Part 1 or Part 2 of the student's SAR, or (2) a
photocopy of or printout from the student's ISIR.

INSTITUTIONAL PAYMENT SUMMARY

The IPS is the second important document in the PGRFMS. The IPS
serves two purposes: It establishes certain basic demographic
information about a school, and it accompanies each batch of
Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment Vouchers that schools submit
to PGRFMS during the award year,*13* summarizing the
information about the Vouchers in that batch. For schools using one
of the automated data exchanges, the information collected on the
paper IPS is collected in the Header and Trailer records. In the rest
of this section, we will use the term IPS to refer to both the paper
IPS and the electronic or magnetic equivalents.

Schools must submit at least one IPS during each reporting period in
the chart below, even if there are no Payment Vouchers/Processed
Payment Vouchers to be transmitted for that period. (Failure to
submit reports on time may result in a fine and a reduced Pell
authorization.) The number of reporting periods depends on the
level of your school's authorization for the previous school year:

[[The chart "Reporting periods" on page 4-96 is currently unavailable
for viewing. Please reference your paper document for additional
information.]]

You may submit an IPS more frequently than once every reporting
period if there are enough Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment
Vouchers to warrant a separate submission. However, you may not
submit more than 98 batches during an award year. Note that all
Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment Vouchers for an award year
must be submitted by September 30 following the end of the award
year (for example, September 30, 1996 for the 1995-96 award year).
You may also need to submit an IPS with Vouchers after the end of
the award year to report summer school payments, students who
need verification completed, or outstanding payment data changes.

[[Adjustments after September 30]]
Adjustments can be made to your Pell account after September 30
only if there is an underpayment or overpayment of previously
reported awards, or if the U.S. Department of Education or one of its
contractors has made a processing error. A school can also request
administrative relief for unusual circumstances beyond the school's
control, for example, a natural disaster. These requests must be
made in writing and must be received by January 31 of the calendar
year following the award year (for example, January 31, 1997 for the
1995-96 award year). Requests for such actions should be sent to the
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, APPLICATION AND
PELL PROCESSING SYSTEMS DIVISION, PSS, P.O. BOX
23791, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20026-0791. If you have questions
about administrative relief, contact the INSTITUTIONAL
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION, ACCOUNTING AND
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SERVICE (202 708-9807; fax:
(202) 401-0387).

[[Late adjustments due to audit]]
The Department is required to reimburse a school for any funds
found to be owed to the school during any audit conducted after
December 31, 1988--including funds for which reimbursement was
not requested before the audit. In order to receive reimbursement
under this provision, the school must demonstrate that it qualifies
based on a finding in an initial report of the school's required
compliance audit. This initial report must be submitted by the
appropriate deadline. (See Chapter Three for more information
about audit requirements and deadlines). The finding does not need
to establish the exact amount of the adjustment, but must establish
that the school paid Pell awards for which it was not reimbursed by
the Department. "Dear Colleague" Letter GEN 94-14, dated April
1994, provides the procedures and format a school should use in
requesting this adjustment.

Note that the final deadline (published in the Federal Register each
award year) for submitting Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment
Vouchers and disbursement information will continue to apply. A
school that misses the regulatory deadline would not be in
compliance with Federal Pell Grant Program requirements.

[[Adjustments due to overpayments]]
Adjusting for an overpayment is permitted any time the school
determines that a student for whom a Payment Voucher had been
accepted by PGRFMS received more Pell funds than he or she was
qualified to receive. The school may report the reduction to the
proper amount, unless the school was not liable for the overpayment;
in that case, the school reports the amount to the Debt Collection
Service, Student Receivables Division, (202) 708-4766.

Schools using the paper IPS should refer to the "Dear Colleague"
Letter sent with their initial IPS for information on how to fill out
the IPS. Other schools should follow the instructions provided in the
User's Guide for the data exchange method they use.

HOW TO FILL OUT THE PAYMENT VOUCHER

Carefully completing the Payment Vouchers for your students
ensures that your Pell expenditures are accurately reported, which in
turn smoothes the process of acquiring additional funds, if necessary.
Fortunately, many items will not need to be completed on the
Payment Voucher if the correct information is provided for that item
on the IPS. Please be careful to use a copy of your most recent IPS
for each batch you submit to ensure that the information on the IPS
agrees with the Department's current data for your school.

If the information on the IPS for a batch does not apply to a
particular student, you must complete the appropriate Payment
Voucher item(s) for that student. You will also have to fill in an
item on the Payment Voucher when there is no preprinted
information on the IPS for that item, or you have not filled in the
information on the IPS.

[[One Payment Voucher per Pell recipient]]
You must submit at least one acceptable Payment Voucher for each
Pell recipient at your institution. When you receive a revised SAR or
ISIR that you accept as valid for payment, you should submit the
revised Payment Voucher with your next batch. PGRFMS's award
data processing system will only accept one award per recipient per
attended campus. PGRFMS will AUTOMATICALLY replace the
previously accepted award data with the data reported on the revised
Payment Voucher. Therefore, do not submit the Processed Payment
Voucher corresponding to the Payment Voucher that you originally
submitted in an effort to reduce the student's previously accepted
award amount to $0.

See A Guide to 1995-96 SARs and ISIRs for more information on
paper Payment Vouchers, and the appropriate User's Guide for other
Payment Vouchers.

Specific Payment Voucher Items

Pell Institution ID of Campus Attended

If this Pell ID is not your school's number, and you are an
independent school with no branch campuses, you do not need to
correct the ID—PGRFMS will use the Pell ID number for your
school from the IPS. If the preprinted ID number is not your school's
number, and you are a central/branch school with branches that
have unique Pell ID numbers, this item must be corrected to reflect
the correct branch Pell ID.

Academic Calendar

The academic year categories are defined as follows: CREDIT
HOUR (NONSTANDARD TERM)--Your school uses nonstandard
academic terms but does measure progress by credit hours or units.
QUARTER--Your school uses standard term quarters and measures
academic progress by credit hours. SEMESTER--Your school uses
standard term semesters and measures academic progress by credit
hours. TRIMESTER--Your school uses standard term trimesters
and measures academic progress by credit hours. CLOCK HOUR--
Your school measures academic progress by clock hours. CREDIT
HOUR WITHOUT TERMS-- Your school does not use terms, and
measures academic progress by credit hours.

If your school has programs with different academic calendars, you
might wish to group Payment Vouchers according to programs with
the same academic calendar and submit them as separate batches.
Thus, if your school had some programs using clock hours and other
programs using quarter terms, you could submit Payment Vouchers
for both types of programs separately. This will enable you to use the
IPS to identify the academic calendar for all students in the batch.
See the instructions for your IPS for more information.

The first time you report an alternate academic calendar on your
IPS, the batch may be flagged, and you may receive a call to find out
if you are making a permanent change, or if you will be using more
than one academic calendar throughout the year. To make a
permanent change to your academic calendar (for example, from
clock to credit hour), you must receive approval from the
Institutional Participation Division of the Office of Postsecondary
Education.

Verification Status

You must complete this item. If you leave this item blank, and the
student was selected for verification by the CPS, PGRFMS assumes
the student was paid under "W" ("Without documentation").
Payment will be limited to one-half of the student's Scheduled
Award until the "W" is corrected. In addition, your Pell
authorization will be reduced during the final review of your account
for all students whose status is still "W" at the end of the award year.

Enter "S" ("Selected, not verified") when the student has been
selected for verification, but you do not verify that student's
information because you have reached the 30 percent verification
limit.

Note that a Payment Voucher resulting from a first transaction (SAR
Transaction 01) will be rejected if you fill in "R" ("Reprocessed").
See The Verification Guide for further explanation of the status
codes and the 30 percent verification limit.

Term Programs Only (enrollment status)

Complete this item only if the academic calendar uses terms
(standard or nonstandard). (Select the appropriate enrollment code.)

The enrollment status code "Other" (#4) is used when the student's
enrollment status is "mixed"--for instance, when a student attends
full time one term and half time the next, or when the student
attends an additional (optional) term within the award year. An
example would be a student attending both semesters of the regular
academic year as a half-time student and then also attending a
summer term as a half-time student.

Clock Hour Programs, or Credit Hour Programs without Terms

Hours/credits expected to complete

This item is used along with the next item (Hours/Credits in
program's academic year definition) for clock hour programs and
credit hour programs without terms. Fill in the hours or credits
the student is expected to complete in all payment periods
occurring in the current award year.

If you are paying the student in the current award year for
payment periods that are in progress or are already completed, be
sure to include them in this total. Keep in mind that the student
cannot be paid for more than one academic year of work in one
award year.

Hours/Credits in program's academic year definition

Note that you do not need to fill in this item if the student's
academic year is the same as information for this item on the IPS
for the batch. If you do need to complete this item, remember that
the hours/credits in the academic year must be at least the
minimum hours or credits specified in the regulations (900 clock
hours, 24 semester hours, or 36 quarter hours, for example.)

If your school has programs with different academic years, you
may wish to group Payment Vouchers according to programs with
the same academic year and submit them as separate batches.
(See the discussion under Academic Calendar.) This will enable
you to use the IPS to identify the academic year for all students in
the batch.

If you submit Payment Vouchers with different academic years in
the same batch, you must fill in the correct academic year length
for those students whose academic year is different from that
reported on the IPS.

Term and Nonterm Programs not Using Formula 1

Weeks enrolled

This item is used along with the next item (WEEKS IN
PROGRAM’S ACADEMIC YEAR) for programs not calculating
Pell awards using Formula 1. (See Section Two of this chapter for
more information about the formulas.) Fill in the weeks of
instructional time the student is expected to complete in all
payment periods occurring in the current award year. Note that
the weeks of instructional time might not be the same as the
number of calendar weeks. See Chapter Three for more
information.

Weeks in program's academic year

Note that, as with the item HOURS/CREDITS IN PROGRAM’S
ACADEMIC YEAR, you do not need to fill in this item if the
student's academic year is the same as information for this item
on the IPS for the batch. If you do complete this item, remember
that the weeks must be at least the minimum specified in the
regulations (30 weeks of instructional time unless the school has
received a waiver from the Department).

All Programs (Payment Methodology)

In this item, select the formula used to calculate the student's award.
The code "Other" is used when more than one formula is used
during the award year; for example, if the student enrolled only in a
correspondence component for part of the year (Formula 5), and
then in residential training for the remainder of the year (Formula 3
or 4).

Amount Paid to Date

You must complete this item for all students. Fill in the actual
amount you have paid the student (either by check or credit to the
account) as of the date you complete the Voucher. If you have not
yet paid the student but need to submit the Payment Voucher, fill in
"0" for payment.

Remaining Amount to Be Paid

Fill in the amount you expect to pay the student for the remainder of
the award year. This amount should take into account the student's
expected enrollment status. For instance, if the student is receiving a
$600 Pell disbursement as a full-time student in the first of two
payment periods but is expected to drop to half time in the second
payment period, the "remaining amount to be paid" would be $300.
If you have entered $0 for "amount paid to date" because you have
not yet paid the student for the first payment period, then the
"remaining amount to be paid" for the student in this example would
be $900 (for both payment periods).

You must report "0" in this item if you expect to make no further
payments to the student for the award year. Do not leave the item
blank. If the value is greater than "0," then you must specify the
months in which the remaining amounts will be paid, either on the
IPS or on the individual student's Payment Voucher.

The "M" check box, labeled "More Than a Full Academic Year,"
would be used for students eligible to receive more than one
Scheduled Award in a 12-month period. As stated in the
Introduction, there is no funding for this provision; therefore, this
check box can be ignored.

Months In Which Remaining Payments Will Be Made

If the months in which remaining payments will be made for this
student are different from the months you reported on the IPS, or if
you did not report months to be paid on the IPS, then you must fill
in the information here. The Department will authorize funds for the
projected payments IN ADVANCE of the months you enter in this
item.

If you have students who will be attending a crossover payment
period at the end of the award year, and they will be paid in June,
July, or August from this award year's funds, fill in the appropriate
months in which remaining payments will be made.

Summer School and Other Crossover Payment Periods

If you use 1995-96 funds to pay a student enrolled in a crossover
payment period in the summer of 1995, you should prepare the
Payment Voucher and submit it in your first batch for this award
year.

If you plan to pay a student out of 1995-96 funds for a summer
1996 payment period, generally it will be to your advantage not to
notify ED of the payment for next summer until you are
reasonably certain that the student will attend. It is recommended
that you do not notify ED until at least January 1996. This will
save you effort, as you will have to resubmit Processed Payment
Vouchers for all students who were expected to attend the
summer payment period but later decided not to attend.

Date Enrolled This Award Year

You do not have to complete this item if the date enrolled for this
student is the same as the date you entered on your IPS. If the date is
not the same, fill in the first date the student was enrolled in the
eligible program for this award year. (For this item, "enrolled"
means the first day the student attended classes. Chapter Two
discusses the regulatory definition of "enrolled" for student
eligibility purposes, which is a slightly different definition.) If the
student enrolled in a crossover payment period before the first day of
the award year (July 1), report the actual date enrolled for this item,
even though that date occurs before the start of the award year.

Secondary EFC Used

If you originally reported using a Secondary EFC but later determine
that you should have reported payment using the primary EFC,
check the box next to number 1 on the paper Processed Payment
Voucher for that student. For schools using RDE and EDE, enter the
"1" in position 81 of the detailed student payment record. For
schools using Floppy Disk Data Exchange, enter the "1" in
"Secondary EFC Used."

Incarcerated

Use this item to indicate whether the student is incarcerated.
Although students incarcerated in federal or state institutions are not
eligible for Pell, students incarcerated in local institutions are still
eligible. Select "Y" for these students, and enter the U.S. Postal
Service's assigned abbreviation for the state where the student's
correctional facility is located.

PROCESSED PAYMENT VOUCHERS AND BATCH REPORTS

[[Processed Payment Vouchers]]
The Federal Pell Grant Program will process the Payment Vouchers
for your students, which means you will receive Processed Payment
Vouchers containing the information you entered. (This information
will be printed on the paper Payment Voucher.) You will also
receive a new IPS and an IPS Batch Report.

[[Package 1]]
Two separate packages will be sent to your school for each IPS you
submit with paper Payment Vouchers. Package 1 contains a new IPS
to use for your next submission and a copy of your IPS Batch Report.
(If you sent in an IPS WITHOUT paper Payment Vouchers, you will
only get back Package 1.)

[[Package 2]]
Package 2 contains a second copy of the IPS Batch Report and your
paper Processed Payment Vouchers, grouped by campus and then
placed in the following categories:

Rejected -- The information on these Vouchers is inconsistent.
Correct these Vouchers before resubmitting them.

Accepted with Assumptions --The information on the Voucher
was incomplete, so the system made certain assumptions. Review
the Vouchers carefully and resubmit them if corrections are
necessary.

Duplicates --These are duplicates of previously accepted Payment
Vouchers you have already submitted to us and thus are not
counted in the "total amount paid to date" or the "remaining
amount to be paid" in the IPS Batch Report. Keep these Vouchers
in your files. You do not need to resubmit them unless the award
year data changes.

Accepted --Keep these Vouchers in your files. You do not need
to resubmit them unless the award year data changes.

The Processed Payment Vouchers are grouped by campus attended;
then, within that order, by type of Voucher as listed above; and then
in SAR Record ID order.

Review each Processed Payment Voucher carefully. If, after
reviewing the information on the Processed Payment Voucher and
the instructions in this section, the IPS "Dear Colleague" Letter, and
the appropriate User's Guide on correct reporting procedures, you
still do not understand why the award data submitted for a student
did not result in the processed data you expected, contact the
Application and Pell Processing Systems Division, (202) 708-7716.

[[IPS Batch Report]]
The first three items on the IPS Batch Report summarize
information about the Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment
Vouchers you submitted. Items 1 and 2 tell you how many Payment
Vouchers/Processed Payment Vouchers the Federal Pell Grant
Program received and how they were processed (for example,
accepted or rejected). Item 3 is the total amount paid to date for all
the students in that batch (taken from the total of each Item 6 on
each Payment Voucher/Processed Payment Voucher). Note that the
Department's count in items 1 and 3 should agree with the amounts
you reported in items 13 and 14 of the IPS.

The last three items show how your payment data was adjusted for
any Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment Vouchers that were
rejected, accepted with assumptions, etc. The adjustments made
(Item 5e) are subtracted from the total payments for the students in
that batch (Item 4). The result (Item 6) is the net change to the
accepted student payment as a result of the particular batch.

REPORTING CHANGES ON THE PROCESSED PAYMENT
VOUCHERS

If the Processed Payment Vouchers you have received are accurate
and there are no changes to the students' awards, simply retain these
Vouchers in your files. However, if the information for any student
is wrong or changes during the award year, you may have to correct
the Processed Payment Voucher and resubmit it with your next
batch. (See the next page for corrections that do not have to be
made.) Corrected Vouchers must be submitted no later than the end
of the reporting period following the period in which the change
occurred. FAILURE TO SUBMIT REPORTS ON TIME MAY
RESULT IN FINES AND REDUCED PELL AUTHORIZATIONS.

To make corrections to a paper Processed Payment Voucher, fill in
the correct information in the blocks under the preprinted
information. Note that the Department never uses the information
on the IPS to change the information on a Processed Payment
Voucher. You have to correct the Processed Payment Voucher itself.
See the User's Guides for information on correcting other Processed
Payment Vouchers.

The most frequently required changes are to COA,*14* verification
status (to update a "W"--payment without documentation),
enrollment status (term schools), and payment amounts and dates.
Other changes occur less frequently, except in cases of error. For
instance, one would not expect the school's academic calendar to
change during the award year.

[[Optional corrections]]
Some corrections do not substantially affect the student's award and
need not be reported to the Department:

Academic Calendar --You do not have to report a change from
one type of standard academic term to another (for example, from
a quarter system to a semester system). However, changes from a
credit hour to clock hour calendar, for example, must be reported.

Cost of Attendance ---You do not have to report a change that
does not increase or decrease the amount the student will be paid
for the year (Amount paid to date + Remaining amount to be
paid).

Verification Status ---If the verification status accepted by the
Federal Pell Grant Program for the student was N, A, T, C, R, or
S, you do not have to report a change to that status. IF THE
STUDENT’S STATUS WAS "W," YOU MUST REPORT A
CHANGE TO THAT STATUS ONCE YOU RECEIVE FULL
DOCUMENTATION FROM THE STUDENT AND YOU
COMPLETE VERIFICATION.

Enrollment Status ---You do not have to report a change to
enrollment status that does not increase the amount the student
will be paid for the year (Amount paid to date + Remaining
amount to be paid).

You will have to report a change in enrollment status if a student
attends for a longer period than expected and the result is a
greater award. For example, if you have a three-quarter-time
student who decides to attend summer school as a three-quarter-
time student, you must change ENROLLMENT STATUS to
"Other" at the same time you report the larger award amount. If
you leave the student's status as three-quarter time, PGRFMS
assumes that the student's three-quarter-time award is being
exceeded, and the larger award amount will not be put on file for
the student.

Hours/credits expected to complete, Weeks enrolled --You do not
have to report a change to these items if the change does not
increase the amount the student will be paid for the year (Amount
paid to date + Remaining amount to be paid).

Hours/credits in academic year, Weeks in academic year --You
report a change to these items only if you are redefining your
academic year. (For example, you decide to change your 32-week
academic year to 30 weeks.)

Months in Which Remaining Payments Will Be Made --You do
not have to report changes to this item. However, we encourage
you to report changes if they apply to a significant number of your
students, so that your funding can be adjusted accordingly.

STUDENT PAYMENT SUMMARY

The Student Payment Summary (SPS) lists the student data in the
Department's records for each Pell recipient for whom you submitted
a Payment Voucher for the award year. The SPS enables you to
check your records to determine any additions and changes to your
student data that you need to report to the Department, or any
corrections you need to make in your institutional records. An SPS
is routinely sent to each school for review at least three times during
the award year as well as at the end of the award year. (You may
also request an SPS during the award year by writing the U.S.
Department of Education, Application and Pell Processing Systems
Division, P.O. Box 23791, Washington, D.C. 20026-3791; or by
calling (202) 708-7716; fax: (202) 708-9700. You may also call the
number given if you have general questions about your SPS.

The SPS reflects each Payment Voucher for the award year (as of
the date in the upper right corner) that the Department accepted, or
rejected but retained in its records. The SPS EXCLUDES Vouchers
that the Department rejected and did not retain, as well as Vouchers
your school submitted that duplicated data already accepted.

Students are listed on the SPS in Pell Institution Number order by
the attended campus you reported, then alphabetically by last name.
The Department provides summary statistics of all student activity at
the end of each attended campus and, for your entire institutional
system, at the end of your SPS.

Appendix 1, beginning on page 4-113, gives an item-by-item
description of your SPS. Appendix 2, beginning on page 4-121,
describes the circumstances under which your SPS may list some of
your Pell recipients more than once.

What to Do with the Student Payment Summary

[[Comparing school records to SPS]]
You should use your SPS to confirm that the Department has
received AND ACCEPTED student payment data for all the Pell
recipients you have paid, up through the date in the upper right
corner of the SPS. You start by comparing your institutional student
records to your SPS to confirm that each of your Pell recipients
appears at least once. If you find students missing, you need to
report them to the Department IMMEDIATELY. Do not wait until
the end of the reporting cycle, as this will not give you sufficient
time to resolve your questions or any reporting errors before the
final program deadline for submitting student-level data, which is
September 30.

[[Students missing from SPS]]
You should account for each missing student in one of the following
three categories:

1. You submitted the student's record to the Department, but it
was rejected due to reporting errors--your IPS Batch Report
(2a) shows the number of rejected records for each of your
batch submissions.

2. You submitted the student's record, but the Department did not
receive it--your IPS Batch Report (1c) shows any discrepancies
in the number of Vouchers you reported and the number
received for each submission.

3. You have not yet submitted the student's record to the
Department, either inadvertently or for other reasons.

You should review your institutional student records to verify that
your payment to each of your Pell recipients agrees with the "Total
Payment Amount" the Department has accepted, as shown on your
SPS. ("Total Payment Amount" equals the sum of Payment Voucher
items 6 and 7.) If you find a difference, you need either to report the
revised payment amount(s) to the Department or correct your
institutional records for the student.

You should use your Processed Payment Vouchers and your IPS
Batch Report as the Department returns them to you to reconcile
your institutional records. If you then use your SPS as you would
your checking account monthly statement, you can verify that your
records agree with the Department's or identify the additions and/or
changes you need to report in your next submission. You report your
additional Pell recipients or your payment amount changes through
whatever medium you normally use (paper, RDE, EDE, or Floppy
Disk Data Exchange). Don't forget to include a paper IPS with any
paper Payment Vouchers you submit. Remember that you must
report any changes in the Pell award no later than the end of the
reporting period that immediately follows the reporting period in
which the change occurred.

Special Conditions You Should Note

[["W" Verification status]]
The Summary Statistics page gives you a count of any student
records with a verification status of "W" (Without documentation).
As mentioned in Section Four of this chapter, you may not make
more than one disbursement for a student selected for verification
until the student supplies documentation to verify or correct the
application data. Therefore, the Department will honor no more
than one-half of the student's Scheduled Award if you report, or the
Department assumes, a verification status of "W." You and the
student must complete the verification process by the applicable
deadline.

[[Must revise "W" status]]
AS SOON AS YOU COMPLETE VERIFICATION, YOU MUST
SUBMIT AN ACCEPTABLE PAYMENT VOUCHER TO THE
DEPARTMENT, REVISING THE STUDENT’S VERIFICATION
STATUS AND AMOUNT(S) THE DEPARTMENT ACCEPTED
FOR PAYMENT. Please carefully review any student data on your
SPS with a verification status of "W" and complete your reporting
promptly. In early August, the Department will reduce the accepted
payment to $0 for any students whose verification status remains
"W" and will make a corresponding reduction in your Pell
authorization. After the verification deadline (August 30, 1996), the
Department will reject any student documents submitted to which a
"W" status applies.

[[Total payments to date: SPS vs. IPS]]
The first Summary page for your entire institutional system (at the
end of your SPS) lists the "Total Payments to date to all Federal Pell
Recipients per school records" (IPS Item 15) from your latest
submission. (Under Recipient Data Exchange or Electronic Data
Exchange, positions 17-25 of the trailer record correspond to IPS
Item 15; under Floppy Disk Data Exchange, you use the
Header/Trailer information screen to enter this figure.) Please
compare your IPS (or equivalent) Total Payments to date, which is
also referred to as Net Expenditures, to the "Total Payment Amount
(Item 6 + Item 7)," summarized from your Processed Payment
Vouchers shown on your SPS. Appendix 3, beginning on page 4-
123, describes the steps you should take to account for the entire
difference between these amounts to verify that your reporting to the
Department reconciles. Differences for which you cannot account
generally result from one of four conditions:

[[Common differences between SPS and IPS]]
1. The "Total Payments to date to Federal Pell Recipients per
school records" you reported on your last IPS incorrectly
reflected only the total payments to the students in that
particular batch. In Item 15, you must report the total amount
you have paid to all your Pell recipients, through the date you
prepare your IPS, less any recoveries restored to your Pell
account.

2. The "Total Payments to date to Federal Pell Recipients per
school records" on your last IPS incorrectly included cents,
exceeded your Pell authorization, or did not agree with your
actual payments.

3. You accurately reported the "Total Payments to date to Federal
Pell Recipients per school records" on your last IPS, but you
have not yet reported all your student payment data changes
and/or additional recipients.

4. The payment amount you originally reported to the
Department exceeded the amounts the Department could
accept, based on the other data you reported for the student,
and the Department disallowed the excess. If the data on which
the Department based the disallowance properly reflects the
student's award information, YOU MUST ADJUST YOUR
INSTITUTIONAL RECORDS to the correct payment amount
and recover any excess from the student.

[[Resolving discrepancies]]
Appendix 3 also describes the steps you should take to confirm that
your current institutional Pell payments agree with the student
payment data you have reported. These steps should assist you in
verifying that you have identified all discrepancies between the
Department's records for your Pell recipients and your institutional
records, so that you can submit any payment data changes or
additional students you still need to report. If you find that any of
these conditions apply to your institution, you need to resolve the
inconsistencies promptly.

The Department provides the SPS to allow you time to review it and
submit your payment data changes and additional recipients
(INCLUDING ANY REJECTED STUDENT RECORDS) as soon as
possible. As mentioned earlier, you need to complete your reporting
of all changes and new recipients no later than the end of the
reporting period following the reporting period in which the change
or addition occurs. You should report changes or additions that
occur during the mandatory reporting period that ends August 15,
1996 on or before that date to assure that the September 30, 1996
reporting deadline does not adversely affect your payments to your
students or your Pell authorization.

REQUESTING FUNDS

The reporting system described in this section enables the
Department to track your need for Pell funds during the award year
and to adjust your Pell authorization accordingly. The system
ensures that federal funds do not remain at an institution when its
students do not need them. When you request funds from the
Department (for the Pell or campus-based programs), that request is
handled by a different system, the ED Payment Management System
(ED/PMS).

[[Automated Clearing House(ACH)]]
The Department's Division of Financial Management Services uses
a payment system called the Automated Clearing House/Electronic
Funds Transfer (ACH/EFT). The ACH/EFT is essentially a direct
deposit system. Most postsecondary schools that participate in the
SFA programs are now using the ACH/EFT. Because the request for
funds is usually handled by each school's fiscal officer, we will not
review the fund drawdown procedures in this chapter. If you are
responsible for your school's fiscal office activities, you should refer
to The ED Payment Management System User's Manual, prepared
by the Financial Management Service, and to the current edition of
the SFA Blue Book.

A second method for requesting funds from ED/PMS is through
FEDWIRE. Under this method, requests for funds go directly to
ED/PMS. Most state institutions use FEDWIRE. See ED/PMS's
User's Manual mentioned above for further details.


*12* The payment Voucher is used to transmit payment information
for the Federal Pell Grant Program. The first two parts of the SAR
can be used to make awards in ANY of the SFA programs. These
two parts are discussed in A Guide to 1995-96 SARs and ISIRs.

*13* EDE and Floppy Disk Data Exchange schools do not submit a
paper IPS. RDE schools do not need to submit a paper IPS unless
they plan to submit paper Payment Vouchers/Processed Payment
Vouchers along with their tapes.

*14* Usually, only changes to costs of $2,340 or less will be
reported, as changes to costs above $2,340 will not affect the
student’s award.