Posted Date:May 13, 2010
| Author: | William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Federal Pell Grant 2010-2011 Award Year Initial Authorization for Advanced Funded Schools (Updated May 20, 2010)
Note: On May 20, 2010, we updated this Electronic Announcement to correct an error. In the 2010-2011 Pell Grant Disbursement Information section, we stated that the earliest date on which a school may disburse a Pell Grant for the 2010-2011 Award Year was April 8, 2010. The correct date is January 13, 2010.
We have begun processing the Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) Initial Authorization for the 2010-2011 Award Year, for schools that receive Pell Grant funds under the advanced funding method. A school’s Initial Authorization, known in the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System as Current Funding Level (CFL), is determined based on a percentage of the disbursement data submitted and accepted during the 2009-2010 Award Year.
For the 2010-2011 Award Year, the Pell Grant appropriation has been supplemented with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Pub. L. 111-5. To comply with federal financial and accounting requirements of the ARRA, the funding of the Initial Authorization will be done in two parts as follows:
- On May 11, 2010, we generated an Electronic Statement of Account (ESOA) that lists the amount of a school’s Initial CFL for the 2010-2011 Award Year and sent it to the school’s Student Aid Information Gateway (SAIG) mailbox (Message Class PGAS11OP).
- Subsequent to the May 11, 2010 Initial CFL processing, we generated a second CFL increase and a second ESOA. We sent the second ESOA to the school’s SAIG mailbox (Message Class PGAS11OP).
Note: At this time, a school is not responsible for any special tracking or reporting related to supplemental ARRA funds received for the Pell Grant Program. If this changes in the future, we will inform schools through an Electronic Announcement on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.
2010-2011 Pell Grant Initial Authorization Information
An Advanced Funded school can view its Initial CFL on the COD Web site’s Funding Information screen. A school will be able to view and draw down 2010-2011 Pell Grant Initial funds in G5 on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. These funds are available earlier than in previous years to accommodate the need for schools to make actual disbursements due to the provisions of Two Pell Grants in an Award Year.
As an Advanced Funded school submits actual Pell Grant disbursements, the COD System will apply the total accepted and posted amount for each disbursement to the amount of the school’s Initial CFL. Only after the Initial CFL amount has been reached will the school’s CFL be increased to cover additional accepted and posted disbursements. A new ESOA will be sent to the school each time its Pell Grant CFL amount changes.
Notes:
| 1) | Advanced Funded schools that had less than $15,400 in accepted disbursements for the 2009-2010 Award Year will not receive an Initial CFL. These schools will receive a CFL once the COD System has accepted and posted actual disbursement records for the 2010-2011 Award Year. A new ESOA will be sent to a school each time its Pell Grant CFL amount changes. |
| 2) | Schools that receive funds under the Reimbursement, Heightened Cash Monitoring 1 (HCM1), or Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 (HCM2) funding method will not receive an Initial CFL. These schools will receive a CFL once the COD System has accepted and posted actual disbursement records for the 2010-2011 Award Year. A new ESOA will be sent to a school each time its Pell Grant CFL amount changes. |
| 3) | Unlike the Pell Grant Program, there will be no Initial Authorizations for the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant), and Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant programs for the 2010-2011 Award Year. Schools will receive a CFL under one or more of these programs once the COD System has accepted and posted actual disbursement records for the 2010-2011 Award Year. |
2010-2011 Pell Grant Disbursement Information
The earliest date on which an institution may disburse a Pell Grant for the 2010-2011 Award Year, either with Federal funds or its own funds, is January 13, 2010 (the date the Pell Grant Payment Schedules were initially published). However, the COD System will not be able to accept 2010-2011 actual disbursement data (Disbursement Release Indicator (DRI) value equals "True") until May 26, 2010.
- Prior to May 26, 2010, the COD System will reject all actual disbursements.
- Beginning May 26, 2010, the COD System will accept actual disbursements (DRI value equals "True") for 2010-2011 Pell Grant awards.
Note: As a reminder, beginning with 2010-2011 Award Year, actual disbursements can be submitted only up to 7 days before the disbursement date.
2010-2011 ACG and National SMART Grant Funding and Disbursement Information
As noted above, there are no Initial Authorizations for the ACG and National SMART Grant programs. A school will be able to view and draw down 2010-2011 ACG and National SMART Grant funds in G5 once the COD System has accepted and posted actual disbursement records for the 2010-2011 Award Year.
The COD System will accept actual disbursements (DRI value equals "True") for 2010-2011 ACG and National SMART Grant awards beginning May 26, 2010.
2011-2012 Pell Grant Initial Authorization Change
Beginning with the 2011-2012 Award Year, we will no longer process Initial Authorizations for the Pell Grant Program. All schools will receive a CFL once the COD System has accepted and posted actual disbursement records for that award year. A new ESOA will be sent to a school each time its Pell Grant CFL amount changes.
Contact Information
If you have questions about this announcement, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268. You may also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com.