Posted Date:February 4, 2010
Author: | William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Reminder - Deadline for 2010-2011 Underuse Penalty Waiver for the Campus-Based Programs is February 12, 2010
As announced in the "Notice of the 2009-2010 Award Year Deadline Dates for the Campus-Based Programs," published in the Federal Register on March 17, 2009 (74 CFR 11362), the deadline to request a waiver of the 2010-2011 Award Year penalty of Federal Work Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) for the underuse of 2008-2009 Award Year funds is February 12, 2010.
A school can determine if it has received an underuse penalty by reviewing its Campus-Based Tentative Funding Worksheet for 2010-2011. If a school received an underuse penalty, and it has a valid justification for having more than a 10 percent underuse of FSEOG and/or FWS funds in 2008-2009, the school should review its FISAP data to determine if it needs to request an underuse penalty waiver.
The request and justification for the waiver of the underuse penalty must be electronically submitted by 11:59 P.M. (ET) on February 12, 2010. Transmission must be completed and accepted by 12:00 midnight to meet the deadline. Paper submissions will not be accepted.
How to Determine if There is an Underuse Penalty on the Tentative Funding Worksheets
As explained in a January 29, 2010 Electronic Announcement, Campus-Based Tentative Funding Worksheets for 2010-2011 have been posted to the eCampus-Based (eCB) Web site. Once the school accesses the worksheets from the eCB Web site's "Self-Service" page, it will see that the FSEOG Worksheet is at the top of the screen. The FWS Worksheet is below it. The percentage of underused funds is shown in both the FSEOG and FWS Tentative Funding Worksheets at Item 35. Under Used Percentage. If this number is over 10 percent, the school received an underuse penalty. The dollar amount of the reduction is shown in both the FSEOG and FWS Tentative Funding Worksheets at Item 36. Allocation Reduction.
The full explanation of the all of fields in the worksheet can be found in an attachment to the January 29, 2010 Electronic Announcement listed above.
How to Request an Underuse Penalty Waiver
A school may request a waiver of the underuse penalty by accessing the school's submitted FISAP on the eCB Web site and selecting the "yes" button in Part II, Section C, Field 6. Click on "Submit" at the bottom of the menu on the left side of the screen. Then select "Submit Waiver" from the drop down list. On the "Additional Information" screen, the school must explain the circumstances that caused the underuse of its allocation. Enter the justification and click the "Submit" button under the justification. When ready to submit the request, click "Continue to Submit." The school will then receive a message indicating the request has been submitted.
Contact Information
If you have questions regarding an underuse penalty waiver justification, contact the Campus-Based Call Center at 877/801-7168. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. (ET). You may also e-mail CBFOB@ed.gov.