Posted Date:February 21, 2012
| Author: | David Bergeron, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation, OPE |
Subject: Calculating the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant Award
This Electronic Announcement provides information on calculating the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 award years. The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant is awarded to a student whose parent or guardian died as a result of performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan and the student is not receiving a Federal Pell Grant only because of that program's need requirement. The Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant award amount provided to an eligible student for an award year may not exceed the maximum Federal Pell Grant for that award year with adjustments, if necessary, for things such as the student's enrollment status and the student’s Title IV cost of attendance (COA) used to determine financial need. The maximum Federal Pell Grant of $5,550 is the same for both the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 award years.
When determining the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 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 Federal Pell Grant formula under 34 CFR 690.63 that is applicable 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 2011-2012 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 divide the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant annual award above of $5,550 by 2 semesters and award the student $2,775 for each semester.
If a student's total Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant payments will exceed his or her Title IV COA for a period of enrollment, the total amount of that grant that the student is eligible to receive 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 2011-2012 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. It is also important to note that effective with the 2012-2013 award year, the duration of a student’s eligibility to receive an Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant is limited to a total of 12 semesters (or its equivalent).