Publication Date: February 1, 2011
| DCL ID: | P-11-01 |
Subject: 2011-2012 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules
Summary: The attachments to this letter contain the 2011-2012 Award Year Federal Pell Grant Program Payment and Disbursement Schedules.
Dear Colleague:
Attached are both PDF and Excel versions of the Payment and Disbursement Schedules for determining Federal Pell Grant awards for the 2011-2012 Award Year—July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012—for full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time students. All 2011-2012 Federal Pell Grant awards must be based on the attached schedules.
We are continuing our recent practice, due to the additional cells needed to support the extended eligible Expected Family Contributions (EFC), of presenting the PDF version in two parts for each of the schedules (full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time).
The maximum Federal Pell Grant award for the 2011-2012 Award Year is $5,550, the same as the 2010-2011 Award Year. The maximum Pell eligible EFC is 5273 with a minimum award for a full-time student of $555. These amounts were established in the manner described in the paragraphs below. It is important to note that although the maximum and minimum awards are unchanged from 2010-2011, you must use the attached schedules for 2011-2012 because the award amounts for certain cells have changed.
On December 22, 2010, President Obama signed the Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011 (P.L. 111-322), that appropriated funds to establish the maximum Federal Pell Grant award for the 2011-2012 Award Year at $4,860, the same maximum award that was established by the 2010-2011 appropriations act. Additionally, the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA) (P.L. 110-84) provides for an automatic increase to the appropriated Federal Pell Grant maximum award for the 2011-2012 Award Year of $690, resulting in a 2011-2012 maximum award of $5,550.
Together, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (P.L. 110-315) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152) modified the determination of the minimum Federal Pell Grant award. For 2011-2012, the minimum award is ten percent of the total maximum award, or $555. However, students who are eligible for at least five percent of the total maximum ($277) are eligible for the minimum award of $555.
We are publishing the 2011-2012 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules by February 1 in accordance with the provisions of the Master Calendar specified in section 482 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. Nevertheless, you should be aware that P.L. 111-322 expires on March 4, 2011. That law’s Pell Grant provision, or a similar measure, must be extended through September 30, 2011 in order to fund the award levels described above for all eligible students in 2011-2012. If subsequent 2011 appropriations legislation modifies the current maximum award for 2011-2012, we will publish revised schedules. Finally, in the coming months additional legislation will be needed to provide the Federal Pell Grant Program with sufficient funding in the future. The President’s Fiscal Year 2012 Budget will be released in the next few weeks.
We appreciate your continued support in making Federal Pell Grant assistance available to students. If you have any questions regarding the enclosed 2011-2012 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules, please contact our Research and Customer Care Center staff. Staff is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) at 1-800-433-7327. After hours calls will be accepted by an automated voice response system. Callers leaving their names and phone numbers will receive a return call the next business day. Alternatively, you may FAX an inquiry to the Research and Customer Care Center at (202) 275-5532, or e-mail the Care Center at fsa.customer.support@ed.gov.
Sincerely,
William J. Taggart
Chief Operating Officer