| DCLPublicationDate: 8/1/96 DCLID: CB-96-16 AwardYear: Summary: Use of State scholarships and grants as the non-Federal share of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant awards. August 1996 CB-96-16 SUBJECT: Use of State scholarships and grants as the non-Federal share of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant awards. REFERENCE: This letter supplements Chapter 8, Section 3 of the Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook. Dear Colleague: The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, provides that the Federal share of awards under the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program may not exceed 75 percent of such awards. The non-Federal share of FSEOG awards shall be made from an institution's own resources, including institutional scholarships and grants, tuition or fee waivers, State scholarships and grants, and foundation or other charitable organization funds. In response to inquiries concerning the use of State scholarships for this purpose, the Department has determined that all State scholarships and grants, except for State Student Incentive Grants (SSIGs), are eligible funds that may be used to meet the non-Federal share requirement. SSIG awards, for this purpose, are defined as the Federal SSIG allocation plus the minimum required State matching amount. The remaining State grant amounts are considered non-SSIGs and therefore can be used to meet the non-Federal share requirement. On the basis of information furnished by the respective States concerning expected expenditures for State scholarships and grants for the 1996-97 award year and using the 1996-97 SSIG allocation data and required matching information, the Department has computed the percentages of State scholarships and grants which may be used by institutions to provide the non-Federal share of total FSEOG awards for the 1996-97 award year. A chart showing these percentages is enclosed. Each institution can apply the appropriate State percentage to the State scholarships and grants its students receive to determine the total amount of State scholarships and grants that may be used to meet the FSEOG non-Federal share requirement. For example, a student receives a grant Page 2 - Dear Colleague of $600 from the State of Kentucky. The Kentucky percentage of 95.81 multiplied by the grant equals $ 575, which is the portion of the grant that may be used to meet the non-Federal share requirement for a $ 2,300 FSEOG award ($ 1,725 is the Federal share of the FSEOG award). As a variance from use of the indicated percentages, if an institution has specific knowledge that a State scholarship or grant - irrespective of its name - IS considered to be the required State matching portion of an SSIG, that scholarship or grant may not be used to meet the FSEOG non-Federal share. Also, if an institution has documented knowledge that a State scholarship or grant is NOT comprised of SSIG monies (Federal or State), 100 percent of the scholarship or grant may be used as the FSEOG non-Federal share. For additional information or if you have questions, please contact Nancy Adams in our Policy Development Division on (202) 708-4690. We trust that this information will be useful in your administration of the FSEOG Program. Sincerely, Elizabeth M. Hicks Deputy Assistant Secretary for Student Financial Assistance Enclosure PERCENTAGES OF STATE SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS THAT MAY BE USED AS THE NON-FEDERAL SHARE OF FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANT AWARDS FOR THE 1996-97 AWARD YEAR ALABAMA 85.05 NEVADA 97.34 ALASKA 89.42 NEW HAMPSHIRE 67.15 ARIZONA 2.63 NEW JERSEY 98.07 ARKANSAS 96.31 NEW MEXICO 97.98 CALIFORNIA 93.76 NEW YORK 98.41 COLORADO 97.36 NORTH CAROLINA 97.35 CONNECTICUT 94.30 NORTH DAKOTA 87.85 DELAWARE 80.32 OHIO 97.27 D.C 9.40 OKLAHOMA 93.85 FLORIDA 96.23 OREGON 90.91 GEORGIA 100.00 PENNSYLVANIA 98.15 HAWAII 94.07 RHODE ISLAND * IDAHO 83.87 SOUTH CAROLINA 95.21 ILLINOIS 98.15 SOUTH DAKOTA 44.55 INDIANA 97.71 TENNESSEE 90.13 IOWA 97.62 TEXAS 85.77 KANSAS 90.68 UTAH 96.36 KENTUCKY 95.81 VERMONT 97.77 LOUISIANA 93.88 VIRGINIA 97.64 MAINE 94.50 WASHINGTON 97.24 MARYLAND 95.94 WEST VIRGINIA 92.10 MASSACHUSETTS 94.15 WISCONSIN 95.93 MICHIGAN 96.31 WYOMING 1.67 MINNESOTA 98.19 GUAM 99.34 MISSISSIPPI 98.76 NORTHERN MARIANAS 99.69 MISSOURI 92.51 PUERTO RICO 96.02 MONTANA 63.45 AMERICAN SAMOA * NEBRASKA 77.32 VIRGIN ISLANDS 98.12 * As of 8/15/96, we do not have an approved 1996-97 SSIG Application from Rhode Island and American Samoa has not submitted an application to participate. |