Posted Date:January 23, 2015
| Author: | Sue O'Flaherty, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Tentative 2015-2016 Funding Levels for the Campus-Based Programs
Tentative funding levels and corresponding worksheets for the Campus-Based Programs for the 2015-2016 Award Year (July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016) will be posted to the eCampus-Based (eCB) Web site by January 31, 2015. These tentative funding levels are determined in accordance with the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).
On December 16, 2014, President Obama signed the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235), that appropriated $989,728,000 for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program and $733,130,000 for the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Program for the 2015-2016 Award Year. Pub. L. 113-235 did not include an appropriation for the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program.
Attached to this announcement is an explanation of the calculation of the tentative funding level in the worksheet for each of the Campus-Based Programs.
We will notify schools by e-mail when tentative funding levels and worksheets are available on the eCB Web site. We will send these e-mails to the school’s Financial Aid Administrator, as provided in the school’s most recently submitted Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP) or as updated via the "Contact Info" page on the eCB Web site.
To access the worksheets:
Log in to the eCB Web site
Select the "Self-Service" link from the top navigation bar
Scroll to the "Campus-Based Notifications for All Available Award Years" section
Scroll to the "Tentative Funding Levels" bullet
Select the "2015-2016" link
Please review the school's worksheets carefully (especially if your school recently completed a change of affiliation/merger) and immediately notify the Campus-Based Call Center at the number below if data in the worksheets are not correct.
We expect that final awards for the 2015-2016 Award Year will be posted to the eCB Web site by April 1, 2015.
Reductions in Allocation Funding Levels due to Prior Year Underuse
In accordance with sections 413(d)(2), 442(d)(2), and 462(i)(4) of the HEA, if a school returns more than 10 percent of its Perkins Loan, FWS, or FSEOG allocation, respectively, for an award year, the allocation for the second succeeding award year for that program is reduced by the dollar amount returned from the earlier year. A school can determine if its 2015-2016 funding level was reduced because of the underuse of 2013-2014 funding by reviewing the worksheet lines labeled "Under Used Percentage" and "Allocation Reduction."
The HEA also provides that the Secretary can waive the underuse penalty for a school if its enforcement would be contrary to the interests of the affected Campus-Based program. A request for a waiver of any 2015-2016 Award Year penalty for the underuse of 2013-2014 Award Year funds should be submitted to the Department of Education (the Department) using the eCB Web site's FISAP process (Part II, Section C and the Additional Information screens). Requests must be submitted no later than 12:00 midnight (Eastern Time) February 9, 2015.
Additional Locations Not Eligible as of October 1, 2014 Must Be Eligible by March 2, 2015
Schools were permitted to include data in the application portion of the FISAP for students enrolled in additional locations that had not yet received eligibility determinations by the October 1, 2014 FISAP submission date. If a school does not receive an eligibility letter and Program Participation Agreement from the Department by March 2, 2015 for the newly listed locations, it must submit revised FISAP data using the eCB Web site no later than March 6, 2015. The school's revision must remove all data pertaining to students enrolled at the ineligible locations.
Contact Information
Please review the 2015-2016 tentative funding worksheets carefully. For additional information about tentative funding levels, contact the Campus-Based Call Center at 877/801-7168. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. (ET). You may also e-mail CBFOB@ed.gov.