ED Publishes Guidance on Year-Round Pell and Banking Arrangements
6/26/2017
The Department of Education has published new guidance pertaining to the Year-Round Pell Grants and cash management regulations.
Year-Round Pell
ED has formally issued guidance on the Year-Round Pell Grants, enacted through the FY17 spending bill and which will allow students to receive aid during summer months. Students must be otherwise eligible to receive a Pell Grant and must be enrolled at least half time to receive up to 150 percent of their scheduled award for the year.
ED’s “Dear Colleague Letter” GEN-17-06 further explains how institutions can begin awarding these additional grants on July 1, as long as the institution is using 2017-18 award year funds. Consequently, an eligible student who is enrolled in the summer 2017 crossover payment period (the period which includes June 30 and July 1) that the institution assigned to the waning 2016-17 award year will not be eligible for additional Pell beyond the student’s scheduled award for 2016-17. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators has offered an additional explanation of the cross-over periods.
Disclosures for Tier One and Tier Two Banking Arrangements
On June 16, ED posted guidance on the format for reporting contract data under certain banking relationships. Institutions with Tier One (T1) arrangements must make these disclosures by September 1. Institutions with Tier Two (T2) arrangements that, for the three most recently completed award years, had an average of 500 or more students receiving a credit balance refund, or had an average of 5 percent or more of their students receiving a credit balance refund, must also provide the disclosures by September 1.
On the institution’s webpage, which houses the contract establishing the T1 or T2 arrangement, the college or university must, in the following order and above the contract, post:
1. Information regarding the mean and median costs students incurred and the number of student account holders.
2. Information regarding the total monetary consideration paid or received by the contracting parties.
3. Information on any non-monetary consideration between the contracting parties.
ED notes that for the disclosure of the mean and median fees, institutions should use whole dollars.
