# Presentation: 918243

**Graduate Fellowship Programs and Determining Financial Need**
**Anthony Jones**
**U.S. Department of Education**
**September 2006**

## Agenda

- Types of Student Financial Aid
- Determining Financial Need
- Cost of Attendance
- Packaging Financial Aid
- GAANN-specific Packaging

## Types of Student Financial Aid

_**Gift Aid**_** *****(assistance that is not repaid)***
**e.g., grants, scholarships, tuition remission, waivers**
_**Self-Help Aid**_** *****(assistance that requires work or that must be repaid)***
- Employment** *****(assistance earned as student works)***** **
**Hourly or salaried wages**
**May be need-based**
- Loans ***(assistance that must be repaid, usually with interest)***
**e.g., federal, state, and private loans (some with interest subsidy)**

## Financial Need and GAANN

- GAANN regulations state:
- All fellows must demonstrate financial need
- A fellow’s demonstrated financial need is determined according to Part F of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA)
- An institution receives an institutional payment in lieu of assessing a fellow’s tuition and fees

## Need Analysis Basics

**To determine need, the Federal Methodology assesses the student’s and spouse’s (and, for a dependent student, the parents’):**
**income and assets;**
**household size; and **
**number in college**
**Federal methodology determines the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and reports it to student and school via Student Aid Report (SAR) or Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) **
**EFC is estimate of 9-month contribution to postsecondary education expenses**

## Determining Financial Need

- Four Components:
- Cost of Attendance (COA)
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
- Financial Need
- Other Aid Received
**estimated financial assistance (EFA)**
- COA - EFC = Financial Need

## Meeting Financial Need

**Gift Assistance almost always goes toward meeting need**
- Limited exception for Federal Pell Grants
**Employment programs may go toward need if award was based on financial need**
- Employment awarded that was not need-based is treated like any other employment for Title IV financial aid purposes
**Loans may go toward need if based on need**
- Subsidized loans are need-based
- Unsubsidized loans are not need-based
- Parent or Graduate PLUS loans are not need-based

## Cost of Attendance (COA)

**COA components defined in statute **
**Section 472 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll) of Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) **
**In most all cases, COA components are the same for all federal student financial assistance programs**
**GAANN is one exception**

## Cost of Attendance (cont’d)

**Part F of the HEA requires that Title IV COA budgets must include the following:**
**Tuition and fees; **
**Room and board; and **
**Allowances for:**** **
**books and supplies, **
**transportation, and **
**miscellaneous personal expenses**

## Cost of Attendance (cont’d)

**As appropriate, include in COA other expenses such as:**
**Program-specific costs;**
**Dependent care (includes elder care); **
**Disability-related expenses; **
**Study abroad costs; **
**Reasonable, documented purchase/rental of computer; **
**Loan fees (if any); and **
**One-time cost of obtaining professional licensure/certification**

## Packaging Title IV Aid

**COA cannot be exceeded**
**Need-based aid cannot exceed financial need**
**Exceptions:**
**Federal Pell Grant is quasi-entitlement**
**Certain veteran’s education benefits or AmeriCorps awards/benefits can affect the total financial aid package received**

## Professional Judgment

- Financial aid administrator (FAA) can adjust a student’s Title IV COA or EFC data elements to account for unusual circumstances, such as:
- change in income due to job loss, divorce, one-time income gain, etc.
- financial loss due to natural disaster
- excessive medical/dental bills
- Professional judgment policies vary from school to school

## GAANN Packaging

**Do not include tuition and fees in COA**
- School receives institutional payment in lieu of charging tuition and fees
- If must include due to accounting, then include institutional payment in package and reporting
**Generally package for 12 months **
- Be sure to use 12-month EFC
- Special documentation if student not enrolled for a period (but still must be pursuing academic work)

## Contact Information

**For questions on need analysis:**
**Anthony Jones**
**U.S. Department of Education**
**Office of Postsecondary Education **
**202-502-7652**
**anthony.jones@ed.gov**