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6-20: Year-Round Pell Grant Information - Preliminary COD System Implementation Information and School Processing Timeline

Posted Date: June 20, 2017

Author:  John Kane, Acting Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid

Subject: Year-Round Pell Grant Information - Preliminary COD System Implementation Information and School Processing Timeline

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 (Pub. L. 115-31) was enacted on May 5, 2017. The law changed section 401(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), to allow a student to receive Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) funds up to 150% of the student’s Pell Grant Scheduled Award for an award year. The additional funds are only available if the student is enrolled at least half-time in the payment period(s) for which the student receives additional Pell Grant funds in excess of 100% of the student’s Pell Grant Scheduled Award. This provision is effective beginning with the 2017-2018 Award Year. Additional guidance can be found in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-17-06 posted to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website on June 19, 2017.

We are aware of the community’s questions about the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System’s readiness for Pell Grant award processing related to the new provision. In this announcement, we provide high-level operational information about the expected changes and our implementation plans for the COD System. We hope this information will assist schools and software vendors as they begin preparing for the changes.

COD System Operational Plans

During the period October 13-15, 2017, we plan to implement COD System functionality to allow for Pell Grant awards in excess of 100% of the Pell Grant Scheduled Award for those students eligible to receive the additional funds. We are currently working on the technical aspects of the changes, and detailed information about the October 2017 COD System changes will be provided in a future Electronic Announcement. However, some summary points about the coming changes are provided below:

  • We will use the <AdditionalEligibilityIndicator> tag to identify Pell Grant recipients eligible for the increased Pell Grant funds.

  • We will revise the Pell Grant Potential Overaward Project (POP) process to account for the additional Pell Grant eligibility.

  • Schools will receive reject and/or warning edits specific to Pell Grant calculations.

  • We will update COD Web Site screens and COD reports as necessary.

Note for EDExpress Users: An update to EDExpress for Windows 2017-2018, scheduled for release in October 2017, will allow processing of the Additional Eligibility Indicator under the new provision. We will communicate EDExpress release information through a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the IFAP website.

School Processing Timeline

Until the COD System can accept Pell Grant awards that exceed the student’s Pell Grant Scheduled Award, schools can process as follows:

  • Now through October 15, 2017 – Schools can report Summer 2017 and Fall 2017 disbursements for the 2017-2018 Award Year. These awards and disbursements will be limited to the current 100% of the Pell Grant Scheduled Award.

  • After October 15, 2017 – Schools will be able to report updated information to indicate that a student is eligible to receive up to 150% of his or her Pell Grant Scheduled Award, and make award and disbursement adjustments as needed.

Contact Information

If you have questions about this announcement, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268 for Grants. You may also email [email protected].

 

Publication Date: 6/20/2017


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