AwardYear: 1995-1996 EnterChapterNo: 8 EnterChapterTitle: Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program SectionNumber: 2 SectionTitle: Payments to Students PageNumbers: 7-10 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AWARD [[Awards-- $100 to $4,000]] [[FSEOG for study abroad]] [[Final Rule 11-30-94]] A school may award an FSEOG in an amount the school determines a student needs to continue his or her studies for an academic year. A student's minimum allowable award for an academic year may be reduced proportionately if the student is enrolled less than an academic year. An FSEOG may not be less than $100 and may not exceed $4,000 for a full academic year unless the student has reasonable costs of study abroad that exceed the cost of attendance at the home school. The maximum amount of the FSEOG may be increased from $4,000 to as much as $4,400 for a student participating in a program of study abroad that is approved for credit by the home school (this provision is included in Section 676.20(c) of the November 30, 1994 Final Rule). DISBURSEMENT [[Method of payment]] [[Final Rule 12-1-94]] A school must notify a student of the amount he or she can expect to receive, as well as how and when that amount will be paid. A school may disburse an FSEOG directly to a student by check or may credit the student's account. In addition, under a provision of the General Provisions Final Rule published in the Federal Register on December 1, 1994, effective July 1, 1995, a school may choose to pay a student by electronic funds transfer (EFT) to the bank account designated by the student or parent, as applicable; however, the school must first obtain an authorization from the student or parent to disburse by EFT. A school may not require a student to sign a power of attorney as a prerequisite to receiving his or her FSEOG. The school may not disburse funds for a payment period until the student registers for that period. (Correspondence students must submit their first completed lessons before receiving funds.) As stated earlier, the General Provisions Final Rule published on December 1, 1994, effective July 1, 1995, provides that the earliest a school may PAY DIRECTLY OR CREDIT THE ACCOUNT of an enrolled student is 10 DAYS before the first day of a payment period or period of enrollment. A school may no longer credit the account of an enrolled student up to 3 weeks before the first day of classes. If a student withdraws (officially or unofficially) or is expelled before the first day of classes, the school must return any funds to the FSEOG account that were paid to the student. [[Final Rule 11-30-94]] [[Late payment conditions]] Under certain conditions, a student who drops out before receiving his or her Federal Perkins Loan or FSEOG can receive a payment (see Section 676.16(f) of the November 30, 1994 Final Rule). The school may disburse FSEOG funds to the student only if-- - the FSEOG is awarded to the student while he or she is still an eligible student; and - the FSEOG funds are used to cover documented educational costs that were incurred for a payment period for which the award was intended and during which the student was actually enrolled; costs that may be included are those normally included in a student's cost of attendance under section 472 of the HEA (discussed in Chapter Two). A school that disburses FSEOG funds to a student after he or she has dropped out must document in the student's file the reason for the late disbursement. If a student drops out AFTER receiving his or her FSEOG, but before the end of the payment period, the school determines the amount of any refund and repayment as discussed in Chapter Three, Section Four. FREQUENCY OF DISBURSEMENTS [[Standard term schools-- once a payment period]] If a school is awarding an FSEOG for a full academic year and the school uses standard academic terms, it must advance a portion of the grant during each payment period. (Generally, the total FSEOG award is divided by the number of payment periods the student will attend.) In schools with a traditional academic year, payment periods are usually defined as semesters, trimesters, or quarters. [[Non-standard term schools-- twice in school year]] If the school does not use standard academic terms, it must advance funds at least twice during the academic year--once at the beginning and once at the midpoint. Normally, no more than half the award may be advanced before the midpoint. If the student attends less than an academic year, the award is divided by the number of payment periods the student will attend during the academic year. A school may advance funds WITHIN a payment period in whatever installments it determines will best meet the student's needs. However, if the total amount awarded a student under the FSEOG Program is less than $501 for an academic year, only one payment is necessary. UNEQUAL DISBURSEMENTS As is true for the Federal Perkins Loan Program, if the student incurs uneven costs or receives uneven resources during the year and needs extra funds in a particular payment period, a school may make unequal FSEOG disbursements. For a discussion of uneven costs and unequal disbursements, see Chapter Six, Section Two. FSEOG OVERPAYMENTS AND OVERPAYMENTS [[School must take resources into account]] As discussed in Chapter Five, a financial aid administrator may not award or disburse an FSEOG to a student if the grant, when combined with all other resources, would exceed the student's need. The aid administrator must take into account those resources that he or she can reasonably anticipate at the time aid is awarded to the student, those the school makes available to its students, or those the aid administrator knows about. If an FSEOG recipient receives total resources that exceed the student's financial need for campus-based aid by more than $300, the amount over $300 is an overpayment. A list of resources and a discussion of overawards and overpayments are included in Chapter Five, Section Two: Resources and Overawards. A student is liable for any FSEOG overpayment made to him or her. The school is also liable for an overpayment if the overpayment occurred because the school failed to follow the procedures outlined in Chapter Five, Section Three. The school must restore an amount equal to the overpayment and any administrative cost allowance claimed on that amount to its FSEOG account even if it cannot collect the overpayment from the student. [[Notify ED of unrecovered overpayment of $25 or more]] If the school makes an FSEOG overpayment that is not the result of institutional error, the school must promptly try to recover the overpayment by sending a written notice to the student requesting payment in full. A student who fails to repay overawarded FSEOG funds (even if the student owes less than $25) is ineligible for further SFA funds until the overpayment is resolved. If a student objects that the school has made a mistake in determining the overpayment, the school must consider any information provided by the student and determine whether the objection is warranted before referring the overpayment to ED. If the school fails to collect the overpayment after taking these steps, AND if the federal share of the overpayment is $25 OR MORE, the school must notify ED of the overpayment, identifying the federal share of the overpayment, as well as the student's name, most recent address, telephone number, and other relevant information. After providing this information to ED, the school is not required to make any further attempt to collect the overpayment. If the school is unable to collect the overpayment AND the federal share is LESS THAN $25, the school is not required to make any further attempt to collect the overpayment. |