Publication Date: December 2003
| DCL ID: | CB-03-17 LEAP-03-01 |
Use of State Scholarships and Grants as the Non-Federal Share of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Awards
SUBJECT: Use of State Scholarships and Grants as the Non-Federal Share of Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Awards.
REFERENCE: This letter supplements the Campus-Based Programs Volume of the 2003-2004 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 Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) and Special Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (SLEAP) awards, are eligible funds that may be used to meet the non-Federal share requirement. LEAP and SLEAP awards, for this purpose, are defined as the Federal LEAP and SLEAP allocations plus the minimum required State-matching amounts. The remaining State grant amounts are considered non-LEAP and non-SLEAP awards and therefore can be used to meet the non-Federal share requirement.
We used the information provided by the respective States concerning expected expenditures for State scholarships and grants for the 2003-2004 award year, the 2003-2004 LEAP and SLEAP allocation data, and the required matching information to compute the percentages of State scholarships and grants that you may use to provide the non-Federal share of total FSEOG awards for the 2003-2004 award year. A chart showing these percentages is enclosed. You can apply the appropriate State percentage to the State scholarships and grants your 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 of $650 from the State of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania percentage of 96.17 multiplied by the grant equals $625, which is the portion of the grant that may be used to meet the non-Federal share requirement for a $2,500 FSEOG award ($1,875 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 a LEAP or SLEAP award, 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 LEAP or SLEAP 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 Greg Gerrans in Financial Partners Services at 202-377-3304 or the Campus-Based Call Center at 877-801-7168. We trust that this information will be useful in your administration of the FSEOG Program.
Sincerely,
Theresa S. Shaw
Chief Operating Officer,
Federal Student Aid
Enclosure