Maintained for Historical Purposes

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

1995-1996 Federal Student Aid Handbook in PDF Format

Part B of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 created the guaranteed student loan programs. The Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-325) reauthorized the Act and renamed the guaranteed student loan programs the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. Individual program names have been changed to Federal Stafford Loans (formerly Guaranteed Student Loans), Federal PLUS loans, and Federal Consolidation Loans. These programs make long-term loans available to students attending institutions of higher education, vocational, technical, business, and trade schools, and some foreign schools.

The Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program, and Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program are called "campus-based" programs because each school is responsible for administering them on its own campus. A school applies for and receives program funds directly from the U.S. Department of Education by submitting an application, the Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP), each award year (see page 5-4). The school's financial aid administrator is responsible for ensuring that eligible students at the school receive program funds in accordance with the provisions of the law, the regulations, the Program Participation Agreement signed by the Secretary of Education and the school's chief administrative officer, and other criteria ED may establish.

The purpose of the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program is to provide grants to undergraduate students "with exceptional need" to help pay for their postsecondary education. This provision is in Section 413C(c)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. When selecting FSEOG recipients, schools are required to use the selection criteria discussed in Section One of this chapter, giving priority to applicants with exceptional financial need.

The purpose of the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program--formerly called the College Work-Study (CWS) Program--is to give part- time employment to undergraduate and graduate students who need the income to help meet the costs of postsecondary education and to encourage FWS recipients to participate in community service activities. Since the beginning of the 1994-95 award year, schools have been required to utilize money from their FWS Program funds to compensate students employed in community service jobs (see below).

The purpose of this Chapter of the Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook is to describe how a school becomes eligible to participate in the SFA programs, and to explain the administrative and fiscal requirements of SFA program participation. In addition, this Chapter discusses refund calculations, satisfactory academic progress, proper documentation and record keeping, and other issues relevant to the general administration of the SFA programs.

The Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook explains the procedures that schools must follow in administering the Student Financial Assistance programs (SFA programs). Some of these procedures are required by law and regulation, while other procedures are necessary for the operation of the Federal processing system and the various reporting systems for each program. In this Introduction, we will give an overview of the SFA programs and the "Handbook", review recent changes to the law and regulation, and provide a basic glossary of financial aid terms and acronyms.

Attachments

This chapter covers the organizational structure within the Student Financial AssistancePrograms (SFAP). SFAP is divided into five services. Four of the services are organized by function: accounting and financial management, program systems, institutional participation and oversight and regional operations, and debt collection. The fifth service combines the functions of policy, training, and analysis. Each of the services contains one or more divisions.

This chapter covers the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) Program, the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program (Byrd Program), the Paul Douglas Teacher Scholarship Program (Douglas Program), and the National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) Program. The SSIG, Byrd and NEISP Programs are authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA); the Douglas Program is authorized under Title V of the HEA.

This chapter of the Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook describes the student-eligibility requirements affecting the Student Financial Aid (SFA) programs. The calculation of financial need, a key determinant of student eligibility, is examined here, as are the details of documenting citizenship status and other eligibility criteria. An updated list of Student Aid Report (SAR) comment activity for matches and hold files and revised versions of Selective Service's Status Information Letters are provided in appendices.