Publication Date: January 12, 2012
| DCL ID: | P-12-01 |
Subject: 2012-2013 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules
Summary: The attachments to this letter contain the 2012-2013 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 2012-2013 Award Year (July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013) for full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time students. All 2012-2013 Federal Pell Grant awards must be based on the attached schedules. We are continuing our recent practice 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 2012-2013 Award Year is $5,550, the same as for the 2011-2012 Award Year. Therefore, for the vast majority of Expected Family Contributions (EFC) there is no change to the Scheduled Award amount. However, because of a recent statutory change, as described below, related to minimum awards, the maximum Pell Grant eligible EFC for 2012-2013 is 4995 which is less than the 5273 EFC maximum for the 2011-2012 Award Year. This means that a small number of applicants with relatively high EFCs who would have been Pell Grant eligible for the 2011-2012 Award Year will not be eligible for the 2012-2013 Award Year. For the same reason, a small number of applicants with a very low cost of attendance (COA) who would have been Pell Grant eligible for the 2011-2012 Award Year will not be eligible for the 2012-2013 Award Year. For these and other reasons, while the maximum award amount is unchanged from 2011-2012, you must use the attached schedules for the 2012-2013 Award Year.
On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74) that established the maximum Federal Pell Grant award for the 2012-2013 Award Year at $4,860, the same maximum award that was established by the 2011-2012 appropriations act. However, section 401(b)(7)(B) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the HEA) provides for an automatic increase to the appropriated Federal Pell Grant maximum award of $690, resulting in a 2012-2013 maximum award of $5,550.
Public Law 112-74 also modified the determination of the minimum Federal Pell Grant award. As in past years, for 2012-2013, the minimum award is 10 percent of the total maximum award, or $555. But, unlike for those prior award years where students who were eligible for at least 5 percent of the total maximum were eligible for the minimum award of $555, for the 2012-2013 Award Year only students who are eligible for at least 10 percent of the total maximum ($555) are eligible for a Pell Grant.
Note that, while the statutory minimum award is $555, because we use mid-points for both the EFC columns and the COA rows in constructing the schedules, the actual 2012-2013 Award Year minimum award amount for a full time student is $577.
As a reminder, in using the attached schedules for awarding a Federal Pell Grant to a student the full nine-month EFC must always be used regardless of the actual enrollment status or actual period of attendance of the student. Also, the COA to be used is always based on the costs for a full-time student for a full academic year, regardless of the actual enrollment status or actual time the student will be enrolled during the award year. It is important to note, however, that the statutory restrictions of using only certain cost components in constructing a COA for some circumstances still apply. For example, for a less-than-half-time student, the COA includes only cost components for tuition and fees, books, supplies, transportation, room and board for a limited time period, and dependent care expenses.
We appreciate your continued support in making Federal Pell Grant assistance available to students. If you have any questions regarding the 2012-2013 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 e-mail the Care Center at fsa.customer.support@ed.gov.
Sincerely,
James W. Runcie
Chief Operating Officer