Pell Grant Experiments. Anamaria A. Lopez Financial Aid Officer Division of Extended Learning Houston Community College

Transcription

1 Pell Grant Experiments Anamaria A. Lopez Financial Aid Officer Division of Extended Learning Houston Community College

2 Experimental Sites Initiative Congress authorized the Experimental Sites Initiative under section 487A(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. This Initiative or experiments," as they are frequently called tests the effectiveness of statutory and regulatory flexibility for participating institutions disbursing Title IV student aid.

3 Present-day Initiatives 1. Expansion of the Competency-Based Education (CBE) Experiment 2. Dual Enrollment Experiment 3. Educational Quality through Innovative Partnerships (EQUIP) Experiment 4. Second Chance Pell Experiment 5. Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), Competency-Based Education (CBE), Limited Direct Assessment (LDA) and FWS for Near-Peer Counseling Experiments 6. Direct Loan: Limiting unsubsidized loan amounts Experiment 7. Eligibility of students with bachelor s degree who enroll in vocational or career programs and Eligibility of students enrolled in certain short-term training programs (referred to as Pell Grant Experiments)

4 Pell Grant Experiments Pell Experiment: 1 Pell Experiment: 2 Generally, a student who has earned a bachelor s degree is not Pell Grant eligible Exemptions: HEA Section 401(c)(1), 34 CFR 690.6(a), and 34 CFR (c)(2)(i)(A) Students enrolled in academic programs with less than 15 weeks of instructional time and less than 600 clock hours, 16 semester credit hours, and 24 quarter credit hours are not Pell Grant eligible Exemptions: HEA Section 481(b)(1)(A) and 34 CFR 668.8(d)(1)(i)-(ii)

5 Pell Grant Experiment 1: Eligibility of students with bachelor s degrees who enroll in vocational or career programs Experiment will allow some students to receive Pell Grant award Student unemployed or under-employed Student need to enroll in vocational or career program leads to credential awarded by your institution Program s length is one-year or less Student able to complete the program in no more than two years

6 Pell Grant Experiment 2: Eligibility of students enrolled in certain short-term training programs Program requirements: At least 8 weeks of instructional time At least 150 clock hours, 4 semester credit hours or 6 quarter credit hours Approved by FSA to participate in Title IV Leads to a certificate, degree or credential awarded by your institution Addresses local or regional workforce needs Training sufficient to meet employers hiring requirements/standards and any applicable licensure requirements Doesn t exceed by more than 50% the minimum number of clock hours required for training if the State has established such a requirement

7 Random Assignment System (RAS) Only applicants who are Pell eligible should be entered into RAS A lottery-like process will be use to randomly assigned eligible applicants to one of two study groups : Group A receives Pell Grant Experiments funds, as well as any other financial aid that the school determines is available. Group B does not receive Pell Grant Experiments funds; however, members of this group will still receive any other financial aid the school determines is available. Note: Information will need to be reported on both groups when requested Information required from each applicant before entering into RAS Name Social Security Number (or alternative identification number) Whether the applicant has a Bachelor s Degree Program name and whether the program is approved for experiment #2 address Contact Information (mailing address, phone number) If under 18 years of age, parent contact information

8 Apply to Participate Decide Apply Submit Click here to view the experiments available for participation. Write a letter of application. Include the official name and OPE ID of the institution, the mailing address, fax number and telephone number of the institution. Check letter for completeness. The letter must be in PDF format and signed by at least two officials: the institution's financial aid administrator and an academic official at the institution. Draft transmittal with the subject line to read: ESI request to participate. Identify and include in the the experiment the institution is applying to participate in by title used in either the July 31, 2014 Federal Register OR the October 27, 2011 Federal Register. Attach the PDF letter of application and send to experimentalsites@ed.gov. Send return receipt requested and keep a copy for your records.

9 Screening Process Screening Process Program Participation Agreement (PPA) Amendment FSA-wide team reviews an institution s application, performance history and current status. Institutions selected to participate must have a strong track record in the administration of the Title IV Student Assistance Programs. FSA sends the institution a PPA Amendment that includes the specific experiments in which the institution will participate. It provides exemptions, reporting requirements and instructions for terminating participation in an experiment. If an institution declines to participate in a particular experiment, it must send an to: experimentalsites@ed.gov. The should include the experiments(s) in which the institution does not want to participate. An institution must return two signed copies of the PPA Amendment. FSA will return one countersigned copy to institution for their records. A signed copy of the PPA Amendment must be kept on file.

10 Approval Process For Short-Term programs that have been approved the State/Accreditor but not Eligible for Title IV aid: Locate the Accreditor Approval Documentation for each program and submit a scanned copy with the Approval of Short Term Programs Form. Pell Grant Short-Term Program Approval Form Instructions For Short-Term programs that have been approved by the State/Accreditor and are currently eligible for the Direct Loan Program: Attach a scanned copy of your Accreditor, State, and Department of Education Approval documentation and submit with the Approval of Short Term Programs Form. For Brand New Programs: Obtain State and Accreditor Approval a soon as you receive your PPA Amendment. You cannot submit the approval form until you have the State and Accreditor Approval. Once received, scan copy of your Accreditor and State approval documentation and submit with the Approval of Short Term Programs Form.

11 Institutional Responsibilities Recruitment Identify and Recruit Eligible Applicants Inform applicants about the experiment and Random Assignment System (RAS) Request students to fill out HCC Student Participation Agreement Process student files and if they have a Pell eligible EFC enter them into RAS If selected to receive Pell grant package students using formula 4 Maintain Participants personal, academic and financial aid information Annual Reporting Information when requested by FSA or SPR The study uses an implied consent process

12 Formula 4 Payments for clock hour program (Formula 4) The calculation for the payment period prorates a student s Scheduled Award based on the number of credit or clock hours in the payment period as they compare to the credit or clock hours in the defined academic year or the number of weeks of instructional time in the payment period as they compare to the weeks of instructional time in the academic year. To determine the payment for a payment period, multiply the student s Scheduled Award by the lesser of the two: Program clock hours in the payment period clock hours in the academic year Ratio Schedule Award Payment for Period Truck Driving Welding HVAC IT Support Specialist Teacher Certification Program # weeks* in the payment period # weeks* in the program s academic year Ratio Schedule Award Payment for Period Truck Driving Welding HVAC IT Support Specialist Teacher Certification Guidance on formula 4.

13 Houston Community College Consist of 12 Centers of Excellence Serve nearly 70,000 students Academic and Continuing Education 129 Academic Associates Degree 152 Academic Certificates 27 Marketable Skills Achievements 30 Continuing Education Programs

14 Financial Aid Assistance Pell Grant Experiment 1 and Experiment 2 Texas Public Educational Grant (TPEG) HCC Foundation Workforce Scholarships Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Scholarships Community Agencies

15 HCC Participation with Pell Experiments HCC decided to participate in Pell Experiment 1 and 2 Requested approval from HCC Office of Institutional Research Submitted short-term programs for approval June 2014, institution received Approval for Short Term Programs In Summer of Pilot Started for Experiment 2 December 2014, 2 additional short term programs were approved June 2015, Submitted our first report to Social Policy Research (SPR) Pell Experiment will continue to at least

16 Pell Grant Experiment 1 and 2 Experiment 1 For students with Bachelor's Degree Eligible Programs: Accelerated Teacher Certification Experiment 2 For first time students Minimum 8 weeks or 150 Clock Hours Eligible Programs: Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (Including Bilingual) Welding Technician (Including Bilingual) IT Support Specialist Program Commercial Truck Driving RigOne Program (Pending approval)

17 Contact Information Experimental Sites Website: Experimental Sites Address:

18 Resources Electronic Announcement - Publication of Federal Register Notice Inviting Postsecondary Educational Institutions to Participate in a New Experiment Under the Experimental Sites Initiative (8/6/15): onsexperimentalsites.html Dear Colleague Letter - Experimental Sites Initiative - Invitation to Participate in the Experimental Sites Initiative: DCL GEN DCL Gen Invitation to Participate in Experiments under the Experimental sites Initiative: Federal Register: Vol. 76, No. 208 Published October 27, 2011

19 DEL Financial Aid Office Anamaria A. Lopez Financial Aid Officer 3601 Fannin Street, Suite 129 Houston, TX Office: Fax: