Posted Date:January 27, 2016
| Author: | Sue O'Flaherty, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Process Change for Pell Grant Administrative Cost Allowance Payments Effective February 2016
The Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) regulations at 34 CFR 690.10 provide for an Administrative Cost Allowance (ACA) payment to defray the costs of administering the Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Perkins Loan programs. We process these payments two times a year, once in late February/early March and again in late August.
The first Pell Grant ACA payment for the 2015-2016 Award Year is scheduled for February 29, 2016. Beginning with this payment, we will implement a permanent processing change that will alter how schools receive Pell Grant ACA payments. This change does not impact how Pell Grant ACA payments are calculated; it only changes how we deliver those payments to schools.
Additional information about the first Pell Grant ACA payment for the 2015-2016 Award Year will be provided in a forthcoming electronic announcement.
Schools Will Drawdown Pell Grant ACA Payments in G5
Previously, once the Pell Grant ACA payments were calculated, the funds were deposited directly in a school’s bank account.
Beginning in February 2016, a school’s calculated Pell Grant ACA payment will be posted in G5 as an Available Balance in the school’s ACA G5 Award Number, beginning with P063Q. Once posted, a school will sign in to G5 and process a drawdown transaction in G5 to receive the funds.
Note: The ACA G5 Award Number is award year-specific. As a result, a school will draw down the Pell Grant ACA funds from each applicable award year.
We will continue to generate notifications to schools. We will send an Electronic Statement of Account (ESOA) (Message Class PGASyyOP) that reflects the Pell Grant ACA payment amount to the reporting school’s Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) mailbox. Additionally, a Pell Grant ACA payment amount and other ACA-related information will be displayed on the COD Web site’s School Funding Information screen.
Contact Information
If you have questions about the process change for Pell Grant ACA payments, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268. You may also e-mail CODSupport@ed.gov.