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Summary: Updated -- Continuing Resolution's Impact on the 2007-2008 Award Year

Publication Date: February 27, 2007

Author: G. Kay Jacks, General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services, Federal Student Aid

Summary: Updated--Continuing Resolution's Impact on the 2007-2008 Award Year

Posted on 02-27-2007

In an Electronic Announcement posted on December 29, 2006, we informed schools that the Department of Education's (the Department's) Fiscal Year 2007 (FY 07) appropriations had not been approved by Congress and that we were operating under a Continuing Resolution through February 15, 2007. We explained that we did not have actual minimum and maximum Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year and would use the 2006-2007 amounts for system development and implementation purposes until the FY 07 appropriations were approved. In addition, we explained that the 2007-2008 Tentative Awards for the Campus-Based programs would be based on the 2006-2007 funding levels.

On February 15, 2007, the President signed the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007, (P.L. 110-5). This legislation affects our Title IV programs as follows:

  • Establishes the maximum Pell Grant award for the 2007-2008 Award Year at $4,310 and, with the minimum award continuing to be $400, sets the maximum Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that a student may have to be eligible to receive a Pell Grant at 4110.

    We have used these amounts (and related statutory provisions) to develop the 2007-2008 Award Year Federal Pell Grant Program Payment and Disbursement Schedules, which are available in Dear Colleague Letter P-07-01. We refer to these schedules as the "Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules" throughout this announcement.

  • Establishes the 2007-2008 funding levels for the Campus-Based programs at the same levels provided for the 2006-2007 Award Year.

    We will post the Campus-Based Final Awards for the 2007-2008 Award Year to the eCampus-Based (eCB) Web site by April 1, 2007.

We have begun the work needed to modify our systems, Web and software products, technical documents, training materials, and publications to reflect the minimum and maximum Pell Grant amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year. In addition, we have e-mailed the Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules to software developers with whom we work regularly so that they can begin making the necessary modifications to their systems and software products. At this time, we want to provide schools with high-level information about the impact on the Central Processing System (CPS) and the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System and our anticipated implementation dates related to these systems.

Impact on the CPS

As we informed schools previously, since the CPS began processing for the 2007-2008 Award Year on January 2, 2007, we have used the 2006-2007 maximum Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of 3850 to establish Pell Grant eligibility, and our systems have assumed a maximum Pell Grant award amount of $4,050 and a minimum award amount of $400. Now that we have actual amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year, we will need to update the CPS with the new amounts. We plan to implement the changes in the CPS on or about March 15, 2007. From this date forward, we will process all new 2007-2008 applications using the actual Pell Grant amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year.

After we implement the changes in the CPS, we will need to reprocess 2007-2008 CPS records for students who applied before March 15, 2007 and who, under earlier formulas were not designated as being "Pell Grant Eligible," but who are now eligible for a 2007-2008 Pell Grant. New 2007-2008 Student Aid Reports (SARs) and Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) will be generated for students impacted by this reprocessing. We are currently evaluating options for this reprocessing activity and will communicate the details through a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.

Note for EDExpress Users

Users of EDExpress should note that EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 1.0, currently uses the 2006-2007 schedules that reflect a maximum Pell Grant award amount of $4,050 and a minimum award amount of $400. Now that we have actual amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year, we will need to update the appropriate modules in EDExpress with the new amounts through a future release. We are currently evaluating options for the updated EDExpress software release and will communicate the details through a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the IFAP Web site.

For packaging purposes, schools can use the Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules in Dear Colleague Letter P-07-01 to determine a student's Pell Grant award for the 2007-2008 Award Year. However, to report a Pell Grant to the COD System, the record must include the CPS transaction number for a transaction that has been designated as "Pell Grant Eligible."

Note for ISIR Analysis Tool Users

The 2007-2008 ISIR Analysis Tool, available through the FAA Main Menu of the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site, currently uses the 2006-2007 schedules that reflect a maximum Pell Grant award amount of $4,050 and a minimum award amount of $400. Now that we have actual amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year, we will need to update the 2007-2008 ISIR Analysis Tool. We are currently evaluating options for the ISIR Analysis Tool update and will communicate the details through a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the IFAP Web site.

Impact on the COD System

As schools are aware, during the period April 13-14, 2007, we plan to implement COD System functionality that supports 2007-2008 award-year processing. Development work related to this release has been completed, and testing is well under way. Now that we have actual amounts for the 2007-2008 Award Year, we will need to update the 2007-2008 COD System with the Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules. To avoid delaying the April release, we will do this through a separate release.

We plan to update the COD System with the Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules during the period May 11-12, 2007. We will communicate the details of this COD System update through a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the IFAP Web site.

Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the reprocessing of applicable CPS records, the updated EDExpress software release, or the ISIR Analysis Tool update, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.

If you have questions regarding the implementation of the Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules in the COD System, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/4PGRANT (800/474-7268) for ACG, National SMART Grant, and Pell Grant or by e-mail at CODSupport@acs-inc.com.

If you have questions regarding Campus-Based Final Awards for the 2007-2008 Award Year, contact the Campus-Based Call Center at 877/801-7168 or by e-mail at CBFOB@ed.gov.