(GEN-18-01) (GEN-18-01) Subject: 2018-2019 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules

Publication Date: January 31, 2018

DCL ID: GEN-18-01

Subject: 2018-2019 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules

Summary: The attachments to this letter contain the 2018-2019 Award Year Federal Pell Grant Program Payment and Disbursement Schedules.

Note: This Dear Colleague letter and the attached schedules has been superseded by Dear Colleague letter GEN-18-04 with attachments, posted on April 10, 2018.

Dear Colleague:

Attached to this letter are both PDF and Excel versions of the Payment and Disbursement Schedules for determining Federal Pell Grant awards for the 2018-2019 award year (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019) for full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less-than-half-time students. For better readability, we are continuing our practice of presenting the PDF version in two parts for each of the schedules. All 2018-2019 Federal Pell Grant awards must be based on the attached schedules. With the release of the 2018-2019 FAFSA on October 1, 2017, the Department is providing the Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules so that institutions may inform students and their families of their eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant.

On January 22, 2018, the President signed Public Law (P.L.) 115-120, making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes. Under these continuing appropriations, for the 2018-2019 award year, the maximum Pell Grant award will remain at $5,920 and the corresponding maximum Pell Grant eligible expected family contribution (EFC) will remain at 5328.

We are publishing the 2018-2019 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules by February 1 in accordance with the provisions of the Master Calendar specified in section 482 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). Nevertheless, you should be aware that P.L. 115-120 expires on February 9, 2018. That law’s Pell Grant appropriation, or a similar measure, must be extended through September 30, 2018 in order to fund the award levels described above for all eligible students in 2018-2019. If subsequent 2018 appropriations legislation modifies the current maximum award for 2018-2019, we will publish revised schedules.

Under section 401(b)(4) of the HEA, the minimum Pell Grant award is ten percent of the maximum award amount for the award year. Because we use mid-points in both the EFC columns and the cost of attendance (COA) rows in constructing the schedules, the actual 2018-2019 award year minimum scheduled award amount will be $596.

Although $5,920 is the maximum Pell Grant scheduled award for the 2018-2019 award year, beginning with the 2017-2018 award year, a student may be eligible to receive Pell Grant funds for up to 150 percent of the student’s Pell Grant scheduled award for an award year. To be eligible for the additional Pell Grant funds, the student must be otherwise eligible to receive Pell Grant funds for the payment period and must be enrolled at least as a half-time student, as defined in 34 CFR 668.2(b), in the payment period(s) for which the student receives the additional Pell Grant funds in excess of 100 percent of the student’s Pell Grant scheduled award. For additional information see Dear Colleague Letter GEN-17-06.

As a reminder, in using the attached schedules for awarding a Federal Pell Grant to a student, the full nine-month EFC must always be used regardless of the student’s actual period of attendance. Also, the Title IV COA to be used is always based on the costs for a full-time student for a full academic year, regardless of the actual enrollment status or actual time the student will be enrolled during the award year. It is also important to note that the statutory restrictions of using only certain cost components in constructing a COA in some circumstances still apply. For example, for a less-than-half-time student, the COA includes only cost components for tuition and fees, books, supplies, transportation, room and board for a limited time period, and dependent care expenses. For more information on these COA restrictions please refer to Volume 3, Chapter 2, of the .

Also, note that a student’s eligibility to receive a Federal Pell Grant award may be limited by section 401(c)(5) of the HEA, which sets a lifetime Pell Grant eligibility limit of 12 semesters (or its equivalent). Institutions should review information on Pell Grant eligibility determinations and the Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) limit posted on our Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site. For additional information on the LEU limitation, see Dear Colleague Letter GEN-13-14, and Volume 3, Chapter 3 of the .

In future electronic announcements, we will provide institutions with important information about system, Web, and software modifications that will reflect the 2018-2019 Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules. These include changes to: the Central Processing System (CPS), the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) Analysis Tool, the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System, and the EDExpress for Windows software.

We appreciate your continued support in making Federal Pell Grant Program assistance available to students. If you have any questions regarding the 2018-2019 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules, please contact our Research and Customer Care Center (Care Center) staff. Staff members are available Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) at 1-800-433-7327. After hours calls will be accepted by an automated voice response system. Callers leaving their names and phone numbers will receive a return call within two business days. Alternatively, you may e-mail the Care Center at fsa.customer.support@ed.gov.

Sincerely,

 

James F. Manning
Delegated the Authority to Perform
the Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary
U.S. Department of Education

Last Modified: 10/15/2021