ED Offers Guidance on Census Date and Modules at FSA Conference
By David Tolman, Training & Regulatory Assistance Staff
During the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Conference in Las Vegas, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) clarified the application of a Federal Pell Grant recalculation date policy (PRD) for a term consisting of modules. (Financial aid administrators often use the term “census date” for PRD policies.)
ED trainers explained institutions have the option of setting a single PRD, after which no Federal Pell Grant recalculations occur due to enrollment status adjustments made by the student. Under this policy, an institution would not adjust a student’s Federal Pell Grant for any enrollment adjustments made after the PRD. If an institution’s PRD is set as October 1, and on November 1 a student adds classes in a late-start module, a student would not be eligible for an increase to her Federal Pell Grant. The classes the student added on November 1 were added after the institution’s PRD of October 1. Even though the module had not yet started as of October 1, any enrollment status adjustments would not be considered under a single PRD policy.
Alternatively, an institution may set a PRD for each module contained within the term, as well as a PRD for the term itself. Under this policy, the PRD which applies to any student would be the PRD associated with the last module in which the student is enrolled. For example, in addition to being enrolled in full term-length courses, a student is enrolled in modules 1, 2 and 3. Module 3 is the last module to start in this student’s schedule. Prior to the start of module 3, the student had withdrawn from two term-length courses. On the module 3 PRD, the institution would recalculate the student’s enrollment status resulting from the courses the student had dropped (or added) prior to that date. If the student’s enrollment status changes, the Federal Pell Grant would be recalculated.
In other words, under either PRD option, only one “census date” applies to an individual student. It is either the date associated with the term, under the single PRD policy; or it is the date associated with the student’s last module, under the multiple PRD policy.
Any changes which prompt a mandatory recalculation, such as failure to initiate attendance in one or more classes, or a change to the student’s EFC, would always factor in determining the student’s Federal Pell Grant eligibility.
Publication Date: 12/18/2015
Robert W | 12/18/2015 9:0:34 AM
Is this not the same it has always been?
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