Posted Date:February 11, 2011
| Author: | David Bergeron, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation, OPE |
Subject: Calculating the 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Award
We previously posted Electronic Announcements on November 6, 2009, May 13, 2010, July 30, 2010, and October 1, 2010 that, among other things, provided information on 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award amounts for students whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan and who are not receiving a Federal Pell Grant only because of that program's need requirements. In those Electronic Announcements we indicated that the eligible student will receive a 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award in an amount not to exceed the maximum Federal Pell Grant for the 2010-2011 award year with adjustments, if necessary, for things such as the student's enrollment status and cost of attendance. We have been asked to clarify how an Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award is calculated for the 2010-2011 award year.
In calculating the 2010-2011 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award for an eligible student, the institution must use for each enrollment status the following annual award amounts for a full academic year:
Full-Time: $5,550 (This amount is also the Scheduled Award.)
Three-Quarter-Time: $4,163
- Half-Time: $2,775
- Less-Than-Half-Time: $1,388
The institution must use the appropriate annual award provided above and calculate the payment for a payment period of an eligible student for the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant by using the formula that is applicable for a Federal Pell Grant based on the academic program that the student is enrolled in at the institution. For example, an eligible full-time student is enrolled for the 2010-2011 award year in a standard semester, credit-hour program with 30 weeks of instructional time with a traditional academic calendar that meets all of the requirements for Formula 1. The institution would take the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant annual award above of $5,550 and divide it by 2 semesters and pay the student $2,775 for each semester.
If a student's total Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant payments will exceed his or her non-Pell Grant Title IV cost of attendance (COA) for a period of enrollment, the total amount of that grant paid to the student must be reduced to the Title IV COA for the period of enrollment. For example, if the student above had attended a low-cost institution with a Title IV COA of only $5,400 during the period of enrollment in the 2010-2011 award year, the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award for this student would have to be reduced by $150 from $5,550 to $5,400. This adjustment is accomplished by reducing the calculated payment for each of the two semester payment periods by $75 to $2,700.
It is important to note that the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant is not based on an eligible student's financial need nor is it considered estimated financial assistance that reduces the amount of any other Federal student aid that the student may also qualify for during the 2010-2011 award year.