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(Grants) Subject: Interim Funding Process and Preliminary Processing Information for 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

Posted Date:July 30, 2010

Author: William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid

Subject: Interim Funding Process and Preliminary Processing Information for 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

As noted in earlier announcements about Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System updates, we plan to implement COD System functionality to support the processing of Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants during the period October 8-9, 2010. In this announcement, we outline the interim process a school may use to request funds for its 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants prior to October 2010. In addition, we provide some preliminary information about processing these grants via the COD Web site.

As a reminder, we have posted communications on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site that provide background information and operational guidance on the statutory provisions for increased Title IV student financial assistance for a student whose parent or guardian died as a result of military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001. A school should continue to refer to the following communications for this operational guidance:

Interim Funding Process Through October 8, 2010

A school should take the following steps to receive funding for 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants that will be disbursed between July1, 2010 and October 8, 2010.

  1. School Receives DoD Match Indicator - Students who are not Pell-eligible and who were dependents of a veteran who died as a result of service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 may be eligible for an Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant equivalent to a maximum Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant). The 2010-2011 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) of students who match the Department of Defense (DoD) file will include a DoD Match Flag, comment code 298, and the parent or guardian's date of death. The DoD Match Flag will print with the other ISIR match flag information and can be used by schools to identify affected students.

  2. School Determines Eligibility - A school must verify that a student whose ISIR includes the DoD Match Flag is otherwise Pell-eligible (for example, is pursuing his or her first bachelor's degree, is not in default, etc.) and that the student is eligible for the grant (e.g. has an EFC that is not Pell-eligible, etc.). Refer to the May 13, 2010 Electronic Announcement for complete information.

  3. School Submits Request - Once a school determines a student is eligible for an Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, it can request funds that will be disbursed between July 1, 2010 and October 8, 2010 by calling the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268. A customer service representative will collect the following information from the school via the phone:

    • School's Name
    • School's Pell ID and G5 Award Number (See #4 below.)
    • Contact person's name, phone number, and e-mail address
    • Student's First and Last Names
    • Student's Social Security Number (SSN)
    • CPS Transaction Number
    • Annual Award Amount (may not exceed $5,550, or COA, whichever is less)
    • Cost of Attendance used to calculate the award
    • Disbursement amount (for disbursement dates between July 1 and October 8, 2010)
    • Payment Period start and end dates
  4. Federal Student Aid Reviews Request - We will review the funding request, submit it via G5, and then send a Statement of Account (SOA) via e-mail to the contact person who submitted the request. Note: SOAs for Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant funding will not be produced automatically as they are for other grant programs.

  5. School Draws Funds - Once the SOA is received, the school can log in to G5 and draw down its 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant funds. The funds will be posted under the G5 Award Number P408A#### where the last four digits are the school's existing G5 Award Number for the Pell Grant Program. A school can expect to receive the SOA and be able to draw the funds within 2-3 business days of making the request.

Preliminary Information for Processing 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants via the COD Web Site

As noted earlier, the COD System functionality to support the processing of Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant data is planned during the period October 8-9, 2010. Below, we provide some preliminary information about processing 2010 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants via the COD Web site. There are more enhancements planned for this program for the 2011-2012 Award Year. We will provide further operational guidance in forthcoming Electronic Announcements posted on the IFAP Web site.

Beginning in October 9, 2010 -

  • A school will submit 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant information via the COD Web site only. Batch processing for these grants will not be available.
  • When creating Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant awards, a school will select/check a new "Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Indicator" under the Create Award/Pell screen, and use the CPS transaction number containing the DoD match results.
  • A school will submit all Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant disbursements with Disbursement Release Indicator (DRI) = "false". All 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant disbursements submitted with DRI = "true" will be rejected with COD Reject Edit 194.

The "Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Indicator" is a new award indicator. It will appear on the COD Web site in addition to the "Post 9/11 Deceased Veteran Dependent Indicator" that is already in use.

Contact Information

If you have questions about the CPS/DoD match information, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806). You may also e-mail CPSSAIG@ed.gov.

If you have questions about the interim funding process, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268. You may also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com