Posted Date:November 18, 2016
| Author: | Sue O'Flaherty, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Information about Designation as a Title III or Title V Institution and Waiver Requests of the Non-Federal Share Requirement for the Campus-Based Programs for the 2017-2018 Award Year
We provide the following information regarding the designation of Title III or Title V status for institutions and the resulting waiver of the non-federal share requirements for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs.
Campus-Based Programs Title III or Title V Non-Federal Share Requirement Waiver
Institutions participating in the FWS and FSEOG programs are normally required to provide a non-federal share under each program. However, certain institutions are eligible for a waiver of those requirements under 34 CFR 675.26(d) of the FWS regulations and 34 CFR 676.21(b) of the FSEOG regulations. To receive a waiver of the FWS and FSEOG non-federal share requirement, the institution must be designated by the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education Institutional Service (OPE/IS) as an eligible Title III or Title V institution under the Higher Education Act (the HEA).
If an institution is designated as a Title III or Title V institution, it will receive a waiver of the requirement for the non-federal share of earned compensation paid to students under the FWS Program and of FSEOG funds awarded to students. This waiver is for the award year following the year in which the institution received the Title III or Title V designation. For example, if an institution receives its Title III or Title V designation during the current 2016-2017 Award Year, it will receive a matching requirement waiver for the 2017-2018 Award Year.
If an institution receives Title III or Title V designation from OPE/IS under the process described below, Federal Student Aid will send a notice to the financial aid administrator of the institution, indicating that the waiver of the non-federal share matching requirement has been granted for the following award year. An institution may choose to continue to provide a non-federal share and to determine the amount of that share for one or both of the Campus-Based Programs.
It is important to note that the 50 percent federal share limitation for FWS wages paid to students employed by a private, for-profit organization and the 80 percent federal share limitation for the administration of the Job Location and Development (JLD) Program are not waived under the Title III or Title V designations.
Designation as an Eligible Institution for Title III or Title V Programs
OPE/IS has automated its designation process by using existing data to determine an institution’s eligibility for Title III and Title V Programs.
Once the 2017 OPE/IS process is complete, institutions may verify their Title III and Title V eligibility status by going to the Application on the OPE/IS website (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html).
Institutions that are determined to be Title III or Title V-eligible automatically receive the waiver of the non-federal share requirement for the Campus-Based Programs for the 2017-2018 Award Year. Institutions that are not designated as eligible for a Title III and Title V program may have the option to submit to OPE/IS a waiver application requesting reconsideration of their eligibility.
A notice will be published in the Federal Register on or around December 1, 2016, announcing the availability of the 2017 Title III and Title V eligibility designations and the waiver application deadline.
Note: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and institutions with an active Title III or Title V grant (current throughout Federal Fiscal Year 2017) automatically qualify for the waiver of the Campus-Based non-federal share requirement. These waivers are granted unless Federal Student Aid’s Grants and Campus-Based Programs Division receives information from OPE/IS that the institution has lost its grant funding and/or HBCU or TCCU status. In such cases, the institution may have the option to submit to OPE/IS a waiver requesting consideration of Title III or Title V eligibility. The deadline to submit such a waiver will be stated in the above referenced Federal Register notice.
Single Institutional Applications
To qualify for a Title III or Title V waiver of the Campus-Based programs’ non-federal share requirement an institution (one having a unique six-digit OPEID with a two-digit extension of “00”) must submit its own annual Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP). Its FISAP cannot be submitted as part of an affiliated institution’s FISAP.
Contact Information
For questions about Title III or Title V eligibility, contact:
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Postsecondary Education
Institutional Service
400 Maryland Avenue
Washington, DC 20202
Christopher Smith
Email: christopher.smith@ed.gov
Tel: (202) 453-7946
or
Jason Cottrell
Email: jason.cottrell@ed.gov
Tel: (202) 453-7530
For questions about the Title III or Title V waiver of the non-federal share requirement for the FWS and FSEOG programs, contact the Campus-Based Call Center at 877/801-7168. Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. (ET). You may also email CBFOB@ed.gov.