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ACG and SMART Grants A Roadmap to Planning, Awarding and Monitoring. Presented by Jean Gasparato Fall 2006 NCASFAA – SCASFAA Conference November 6-8, 2006 Asheville, NC. Get Ready, Get Set…GO!. Objectives. Define the programs and walk through basics Discuss how schools identify students
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ACG and SMART GrantsA Roadmap to Planning, Awarding and Monitoring Presented by Jean Gasparato Fall 2006 NCASFAA – SCASFAA Conference November 6-8, 2006 Asheville, NC
Objectives • Define the programs and walk through basics • Discuss how schools identify students • Provide ‘quick lists’ of eligibility requirements • Examine each eligibility requirement in some detail • Discuss monitoring challenges • Provide tips on paving the way • Provide list of resources
What is the purpose of the ACG Program? The Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) program is a new federal grant program designed to encourage high school students to participate in a rigorous high school curriculum in order to be better prepared for college.
ACG Basics • Available only to eligible students in their first or second academic year of a two- or four-year degree program. • Maximum award for a first year student for 2006-07 is $750.00. • Maximum award for a second year student for 2006-07 is $1300.00. • Students may receive only one full grant for each of the student’s first and second academic year. • Grants are need-based and subject to reduction or cancellation in cases of overaward.
How do students “apply” for ACG? Students instructed to ‘self-identify’ Online (federal PIN # required) https://fafsa.ed.gov/FOTWWebApp/fotw0607/ACGServlet By phone to 1-800-433-3243 Student answers a series of questions about their high school graduation date and their high school curriculum.
How are schools notified of students who self-identify? • Schools receive ISIRs with comments 268, 269, 270. • Comments correspond to the three eligibility criteria for a ‘rigorous high school curriculum’. • A student can have more than one applicable ISIR comment.
Are all students who self-identify automatically eligible for ACG? No. The self-identification process is a “pre-screening” process to assist schools in identifying eligible students. Schools are REQUIRED to review each student who self-identifies. Schools MAY develop and implement in-house identification procedures, but not required.
What are the eligibility criteria for a first year ACG? • Must have graduated from high school after January 1, 2006. • Must be Pell eligible. • Must be a U.S. citizen. • Must be enrolled full-time in a degree program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree. • Must have completed a rigorous high school program of study. • Must be in their first academic year. • Must not have been previously enrolled.
What are the eligibility criteria for a second year ACG? • Must have graduated from high school after January 1, 2005. • Must be Pell eligible. • Must be a U.S. citizen. • Must be enrolled full-time in a degree program leading to an associate or baccalaureate degree. • Must have completed a rigorous high school program of study. • Must be in their second academic year. • Must have achieved a 3.00 cumulative GPA at the end of their first academic year.
High School Graduation • The high school graduation cutoff dates for first and second year ACG will not roll forward in future years. They were established as a result of the date of enactment of the law. Expect non-traditional students in future
Pell Eligibility • Previous guidance was that a student may receive an ACG Grant only in a payment period in which a Pell Grant is received. • New guidance released November 1 modifies the Pell eligibility requirement to allow payment of ACG in a payment period in which the student does not receive Pell Grant, as long as the student was eligible for Pell in the award year.
U.S. Citizenship • Unlike other Title IV programs, only U.S. citizens are eligible for these grants. Eligible non-citizens (permanent residents) are not eligible. Must distinguish U.S. citizens from eligible non-citizens.
Define Full Time Enrollment • Must be a minimum of: 12 credit or quarter hours per semester or term, or 24 clock hours per week. • The definition of full-time is separate from the definition of academic year. A student can be considered full-time with 12 credits/semester even if academic year is defined as 30 credits. Sample definition: “The minimum number of credit hours required to receive full-time financial aid awards at (name of school) is twelve (12) credit hours for each semester.”
Confirm Full Time Enrollment • Department of Education guidelines require that schools must use their Pell Grant recalculation policy to determine enrollment status for ACG. Does your school use a census date? Does your school adjust Pell Grant throughout the semester for students who add/drop credits?
Previous Enrollment Requirement (First Year ACG Only) • Students must not have been previously enrolled in a program of undergraduate education leading to a degree or certificate while in high school. As long as the student had not been admitted to a postsecondary program as a regular student for the purpose of obtaining a degree or certificate while in high school, the student is not considered to have been previously enrolled. If a student took college courses while in high school without going through the admission process to be admitted as a regular student, the student is not considered to have been previously enrolled.
3.00 Cumulative GPA Requirement(Second Year ACG Only) • Student must have achieved a 3.00 cumulative GPA at the end of the first academic year. The end of the first academic year is the enrollment period in which the student completes the number of credits required to advance from their first year to their second year based on the school’s definition of an academic year. One-time check
The Two Biggest Bumps in the Road Rigorous High School Program Academic Year
Rigorous High School Program • Three ways to meet this requirement; student can qualify by meeting any one of them: Completion of an Advanced or Honors Program recognized by the Department of Education (includes SSI). Comment 268 Completion of at least 2 AP or 2 IB courses with appropriate exam scores. Comment 269 Completion of a “set of courses similar to SSI”. Comment 270
Completion of a High School Advanced or Honors Program Comment 268 Advanced or honors programs that are recognized by the Department of Education can be found online at: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/about/ac-smart/state-programs06.html
Completion of AP/IB Coursework and Exams Comment 269 Requires completion of at least 2 AP courses with a score of 3 or higher on the exams for those AP courses, or 2 IB courses with a score of 4 or higher on the exams for those IB courses.
Set of Courses Similar to SSI • Comment 270 • Set of courses: 4 years of English 3 years of Math (Algebra I and above) 3 years of Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) 3 years of Social Studies 1 year of a foreign language Does your school have standard admission requirements? Are they comparable to this list?
Academic Year Requirement = + Credit Component plus Time Component equals Excedrin headache # 1
Define Your Academic Year Credit/clock hour component Minimum 24 semester hours, or 36 quarter hours, or 900 clock hours Time component (weeks of instructional time) Minimum 30 weeks (semester or quarter hour schools) 26 weeks for clock hour schools Most credit hour schools use a credit hour component of either 24 or 30 credits. Reminder: The denominator of loan pro-ration formula is the number of credits used in your academic year definition.
Academic Year • Sample definition “(Name of school) defines an academic year for the purpose of administering federal Title IV financial aid as two 15- week semesters during which the average undergraduate student completes a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours.”
Recent Academic Year Flexibility • GEN-06-18 (October 20, 2006) http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2006/gen0618.html • Provides flexibility when AP/IB credits are part of the student’s total credits. • Provides flexibility in defining ‘fourth academic year’ for 4-year programs. Follow-up clarification extends this flexibility to the definition of ‘second academic year’ for 2-year programs. • News from NASFAA – 2 follow-up articles http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2006/rdcl0618clarification102406.html http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2006/racgsmartqanda102606.html
Next Stop… SMART
What is the purpose of the SMART Grant Program? The National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant Program is a new federal grant program designed to encourage students to pursue college majors critical to the global economy such as science, mathematics, technology and engineering, and foreign languages critical to the national security of the United States.
SMART Grant Basics • Available only to eligible students in their third or fourth academic year of a four-year degree program. • Maximum award for a third or fourth year student in 2006-07 is $4000.00. • Students may receive only one full grant for each of the student’s third and fourth academic year. • Grants are need-based and subject to reduction or cancellation in cases of overaward.
How do students “apply” for a SMART Grant? • There is no self-identification process for the SMART Grant as there is with ACG. • Schools are required to identify and award eligible students.
What are the eligibility criteria for a SMART Grant? • Must be Pell eligible.* • Must be a U.S. citizen.* • Must be enrolled full-time.* • Must be in third or fourth academic year.* • Must be enrolled in an ‘eligible major’ and pursuing a four-year degree, or pursuing a graduate degree which includes at least 3 academic years of undergraduate education. • Must maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA. • Major and GPA must be checked at each disbursement. * Same discussion as with ACG
Eligible Major • Eligible majors are in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, technology, critical foreign languages • Defined by Department of Education and provided in GEN-06-06 (revised 8/25/06 as GEN-06-15) • Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) Codes http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002165 • Major must be reviewed at disbursement for each payment period.
Eligible Major • Students can move in and out of eligibility between semesters if majors change between semesters. • A student who is not in an eligible major at the beginning of a payment period but who changes to an eligible major within the payment period may receive a grant in that payment period. • A student who is in an eligible major at the beginning of a payment period but who changes to an ineligible major within that payment period cannot receive further disbursements of SMART, but is not required to return funds that were already disbursed.
3.00 Cumulative GPA • For SMART, the GPA is cumulative through the most recently completed payment period and checked at disbursement. • A student who did not have a qualifying GPA at the beginning of one payment period could gain eligibility by the beginning of the next payment period.
Transfer Students • Transfer students are subject to the same general eligibility requirements as non-transfer students. • Clarification has been provided regarding: Confirmation of rigorous high school program Cumulative GPA calculation
Transfer Student Rigorous High School Program Requirement • An institution may rely on a prior school’s determination that a student completed a rigorous high school program of study if NSLDS information shows previous disbursement of ACG.
Transfer Student GPA Requirement • If a student has no prior enrollment at your institution, use the GPA of transfer credits accepted by your institution. • If a student does have prior enrollment at your institution and an institutional GPA has already been established, use the institutional GPA if that is your normal policy. • For semesters after the initial transfer semester, use the cumulative GPA calculation your institution would normally use.
