HEA	Section	401(b)(9)
Dear	Colleague	Letter	GEN-17-06
Volume	7,	Chapter	5,	Example	5:	Year-Round	Pell	at	a	Semester	School	with	Part-Time	Enrollment
A	student	attends	a	school	which	provides	coursework	on	a	semester	calendar,	defines	full	time	as	12	credits,	and
awards	Pell	using	Formula	1.	The	student9s	enrollment	begins	in	the	summer,	which	the	school	treats	as	a	header
to	the	2025-26	award	year.	The	student	has	a	Scheduled	Award	of	$7,000.	The	student	enrolls	in	9	credits	in	the
summer	term.	The	student9s	enrollment	intensity	is	75%	(9	credits	enrolled	÷	12	credits	required	for	full-time).	To
determine	the	annual	award,	the	school	multiplies	the	Scheduled	Award	by	the	enrollment	intensity	($7,000	x
75%	=	$5,250).	Since	the	school9s	academic	calendar	consists	of	two	semesters,	the	school	divides	the	annual
award	by	2	to	determine	the	student9s	payment	for	the	summer	term	($5,250	÷	2	=	$2,625).	This	represents
37.5%	of	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award.
After	the	summer	term,	the	student	continues	in	the	fall	and	enrolls	full	time.	The	student9s	fall	Pell	award	is
$3,500	(the	school	disburses	50%	of	a	Scheduled	Award	for	the	fall	semester).	The	student	has	now	received
87.5%	($6,125)	of	their	$7,000	Scheduled	Award,	leaving	12.5%	($875)	in	remaining	eligibility.
The	student	again	enrolls	full	time	in	the	spring	term.	Under	Pell	rules,	the	student	has	only	12.5%	($875)	in
remaining	eligibility	from	their	Scheduled	Award.	However,	since	the	student	meets	all	the	other	standard	Pell
eligibility	criteria,	the	student	is	eligible	for	a	Year-Round	Pell	award	amount	of	up	to	50%	of	their	Scheduled
Award.	This	means	that	the	student	could	receive	a	total	of	up	to	$10,500	(150%	of	their	Scheduled	Award
amount	of	$7,000)	for	the	award	year.	However,	the	disbursement	for	each	term	must	be	calculated	per	the	Pell
rules	described	in	this	volume,	so	the	actual	amount	the	student	receives	may	be	less	than	this	maximum.
The	school	normally	awards	a	full-time	student	50%	of	their	annual	award	for	a	standard	spring	semester,	and	the
award	amount	for	the	term	under	Year-Round	Pell	is	calculated	by	the	same	method	as	for	a	student9s	Scheduled
Award,	so	the	student's	spring	semester	award	would	be	$3,500.	Adding	this	amount	to	the	$6,125	the	student
has	already	received	for	the	award	year	totals	$9,625,	which	is	less	than	150%	of	the	student's	Scheduled	Award
(specifically,	this	is	137.5%	of	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award).	Therefore,	the	school	can	award	the	spring	Pell
award	of	$3,500	as	calculated.
In	this	example,	the	spring	term	disbursement	is	made	up	of	12.5%	($875)	remaining	from	the	student9s
Scheduled	Award	and	37.5%	($2,625)	from	the	Year-Round	Pell	eligibility.
Volume	7,	Chapter	5,	Example	6:	Year-Round	Pell	in	a	Clock-hour	Program
A	student	enrolls	in	an	1,125	clock-hour	program	over	32.5	weeks.	The	program	is	scheduled	to	occur	entirely
within	the	2025-26	award	year	and	has	an	academic	year	of	900	clock	hours	and	26	weeks	of	instructional	time.
Payment	periods	1	and	2	consist	of	450	clock	hours	and	13	weeks;	payment	period	3	consists	of	225	clock	hours
and	6.5	weeks.	The	student	has	a	Scheduled	Award	of	$7,000.
The	school	awards	the	student	$3,500	in	Pell	for	each	of	the	first	two	payment	periods	of	450	clock	hours	and	13
weeks	of	instructional	time.	For	the	remaining	225	hours	and	6.5	weeks	of	instructional	time	in	the	program,	the
school	calculates	that	the	student	would	be	eligible	to	receive	$1,750	in	Pell	if	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award
would	allow	it.	Without	Year-Round	Pell,	the	student	would	have	no	remaining	Pell	Grant	eligibility,	as	they	have
already	received	a	100%	Scheduled	Award	of	$7,000	for	2025-26,	but	with	Year-Round	Pell,	if	the	student	remains
in	all	other	ways	Pell-eligible,	the	student	is	eligible	to	receive	up	to	an	additional	50%	of	their	$7,000	Scheduled