ED’s Electronic Announcements (EAs) on IFAP: PROCESSING FOR 2012-2013
EA – Posted March 12, 2013 – (Grants). First Pell Grant Administrative Cost Allowance Payments for 2012-2013
ED announces the imminent disbursement of the first Pell Grant Administrative Cost Allowance (ACA) payments for the current award year. The payments were initiated on March 11, 2013 and will occur over the following several weeks. Thus, schools will begin to see the additional cash showing up in their bank accounts. It is not an amount that affects the Current Funding Level (CFL). Rather, it is an amount of $5 per Pell Grant recipient that is paid to the school to offset the costs of administering the Title IV programs.
EA – Posted March 14, 2013 – (Campus-Based). Draft 2014-2015 FISAP, Instructions, and Technical Reference
Do not let the heading of this EA fool you. The draft 2014-2015 FISAP alluded to in the heading is actually the draft of the Fiscal Operations Report for 2012-2013 and Application to Participate for 2014-2015 (FISAP) in the Campus-Based programs. So, this EA is applicable to both, the current award year, and the award year that begins over a year from now. This announcement, however, does give schools a good opportunity to see what likely is coming in the final version of the FISAP (due out August 1, 2013) that will be required to be completed by October 1, 2013. The announcement includes as attachments draft versions of the actual FISAP, the FISAP instructions, and the FISAP Technical Reference. In this new edition of the FISAP, ED has tried to clarify information requested and has also expanded some items, such as the increment levels in the “income grid” to allow for more precise statistical analysis. It is helpful for schools to review the draft version of the upcoming FISAP to be aware of its content thus enabling more efficient preparation for completing the FISAP when disseminated.
EA – Posted March 15, 2013 – (Grants). 2012-2013 Deadline Date Notice – Important Pell Grant Reporting Deadline Change
In this EA the Department is reminding the Financial Aid community of the time-frames for when an institution must submit to COD its Pell Grant and Direct Loan disbursement information, including adjustments to previously reported disbursements. For 2012-2013 the time-frame has been 30 days from when the disbursement or adjustment is made. However, it is important to note that effective with 2012-2013 disbursements or adjustments made on or after April 1, 2013, that deadline for making changes has been reduced to 15 days. That is, as of April 1, 2013, all 2012-2013 Pell Grant disbursements and adjustments must be reported within 15 days of such action. ED also reminds schools of its August 13, 2012 EA that stressed its concern about the timeliness of reporting of disbursement information to help avoid institutional and, more importantly, student liability for over-payments and provided examples of how and why it matters that institutions report Pell Grant information as soon as possible (i.e., even sooner than the required deadline). ED further specifies that it anticipates that the corresponding Federal Register to be published for 2013-2014 will also require all reporting to be made within 15 days. NOTE: Although in this EA the Department only highlights the time-frames for Pell Grant reporting stipulated in the related February 28, 2013 Federal Register, it is crucial to be aware that these same time-frames are specified for Direct Loan and TEACH Grant disbursements and adjustments in the same Federal Register.
