| PublicationDate: 7/1/95 ChapterNumber: 1 ChapterTitle: Student Financial Aid Programs SectionNumber: 1 SectionTitle: Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 PageNumbers: 7 ((Executive Summary)) This chapter provides an overview of federally funded student financial aid programs. The chapter begins with a discussion of Title IV of the Higher Education Act, the legislation that created many of these federal programs. The chapter also discusses an institutional fiscal year and explains the terms "academic year" and "award year." ((Key Terms)) academic year award year campus-based programs Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) delivery system Expected Family Contribution (EFC) federal master calendar Federal Pell Grant Program Federal Register Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) gift aid Higher Education Act (HEA) reauthorization self-help aid Title IV programs 1.1 Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), authorizes the Federal Pell Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Perkins Loan Programs, which are collectively known as Title IV programs. These programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and provide financial assistance to eligible students enrolled in eligible postsecondary programs of study. Title IV programs are governed both by law (the HEA) and by regulations that ED implements. ((Reauthorizing/ amending the Higher Education Act)) Approximately every six years, Congress reviews the Title IV programs to ensure that they are serving the purposes for which they were intended. After reviewing the programs, Congress decides whether to reauthorize them (that is, allow the programs to continue) and, if so, what changes should be made to ensure that the programs continue to serve students properly and efficiently. Congress makes any necessary changes through amendments to the HEA. However, aspects of Title IV programs can be changed at any time through amendments or through changes ED makes in regulations. It is important to note that Title IV regulations SUPPLEMENT the HEA and cannot supersede any part of the law. ((Title 34 of the CFR)) Regulations affecting Title IV programs are contained in Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The sections of Title 34 that most frequently affect a school's administration of federal financial aid programs are found in Part 600 to the end. When regulations are issued, they are published in the Federal Register and distributed to postsecondary schools. |