Chapter	2
Cost	of	Attendance	(Budget)
Awards	for	most	of	the	Title	IV	programs	are	based	on	some	form	of	financial	need.	Unlike	scholarship	programs	that	may
award	funds	based	on	academic	merit	or	the	student9s	field	of	study,	<need-based=	grants,	loans,	and	work-study	are
based	on	the	student9s	demonstrated	financial	need	for	assistance.	The	cost	of	attendance	(COA)	is	the	cornerstone	of
establishing	a	student9s	financial	need,	as	it	sets	a	limit	on	the	total	aid	that	a	student	may	receive	for	purposes	of	the
Campus-Based,	TEACH	Grant,	and	Direct	Loan	programs,	and	is	one	of	the	basic	components	of	the	Pell	Grant	calculation.
This	chapter	picks	up	at	the	point	where	the	Student	Aid	Index	(SAI)	for	a	student	has	been	determined.	See	Chapter	3	of
the	Application	and	Verification	Guide	for	more	information	on	the	SAI,	and	Volume	1	for	more	information	on	basic
student	eligibility	requirements.	Most	schools	establish	average	costs	for	different	categories	of	students	and	set	these
cost	categories	in	EDExpress	or	other	software	that	they	use	to	determine	awards	and	package	aid.	The	typical	costs	that
you	establish	for	your	students	will	be	used	to	calculate	their	Title	IV	award	amounts	and	package	their	aid.
Allowable	Costs
The	HEA	specifies	the	types	of	costs	that	are	included	in	the	COA,	but	each	school	must	determine	the	appropriate	and
reasonable	amounts	to	include	for	each	eligible	COA	category	for	its	students,	based	on	the	criteria	described	in	this
chapter.
The	COA	for	a	student	is	an	estimate	of	that	student9s	educational	expenses	for	the	period	of	enrollment.	As	you9ll	see,	in
most	cases	you	can	use	average	expenses	(for	students	with	the	same	enrollment	status)	at	your	school,	rather	than
actual	expenses.	For	example,	for	the	tuition	and	fees	component,	you	can	use	the	same	average	amount	for	all	full-time
students	instead	of	figuring	the	actual	tuition	and	fees	for	each	individual	student.	You	can	have	different	standard	costs
for	different	categories	of	students,	such	as	one	COA	for	out-of-state	students,	who	are	charged	higher	tuition,	and	a
different	COA	for	in-state	students,	who	are	charged	lower	tuition.	However,	you	cannot	combine	the	COA	figures	for	each
separate	enrollment	status	and	award	aid	to	a	student	based	on	the	average	COA.	Students	must	be	awarded	based	on	a
COA	comprised	of	allowable	costs	assessed	all	students	carrying	the	same	academic	workload.
If	a	student	is	enrolled	in	a	program	that	has	extra	fees	or	costs,	such	as	lab	fees,	you	can	add	those	fees	to	the	student9s
cost	or	use	a	standard	cost	that	you9ve	established	for	all	students	in	that	program.	If	you	establish	standard	cost
categories,	you	must	apply	the	cost	allowances	uniformly	to	all	students	in	those	categories.
There	are	a	variety	of	methods	to	arrive	at	average	costs	for	your	students,	such	as	conducting	periodic	surveys	of	your
student	population,	assessing	local	housing	costs	or	other	pertinent	data,	or	other	reasonable	methods	you	may	devise
which	generate	accurate	average	costs	for	various	categories	of	students.
The	types	of	costs	that	may	be	included	are	the	same	for	all	Title	IV	programs.	For	the	Campus-Based,	TEACH	Grant,	and
Direct	Loan	programs,	the	COA,	based	on	the	student9s	enrollment	status,	is	a	student9s	cost	for	the	period	for	which	the
aid	is	intended.	For	Pell	Grants,	the	COA	is	always	the	full-year	costs	for	a	full-time	student,	so	you	may	have	to	prorate
actual	or	average	costs	up	for	students	who	are	attending	less	than	an	academic	year	(or	who	are	less	than	full	time	in	a
term-based	program)	or	prorate	down	for	students	who	are	attending	for	periods	longer	than	an	academic	year.	Note	that
though	certain	components	are	excluded	from	the	Pell	Grant	COA	for	a	student	who	is	enrolled	on	a	less-than-half-time
basis,	the	components	that	are	included	in	the	less-than-half-time	Pell	Grant	COA	are	still	based	on	the	full-year	costs	for
a	full-time	student	for	a	Pell	Grant	recipient	with	an	enrollment	intensity	below	50%.	See	Volume	7	for	guidance	on	Pell
Grant	requirements.
The	types	of	costs	included	in	the	COA	are	determined	by	section	472	of	the	HEA	and	are	the	only	costs	that	may	be
included	in	a	student9s	COA.	If	a	cost	is	not	listed	below,	it	may	not	be	included	as	part	of	the	COA.
Unless	it	is	specifically	noted	in	the	discussion	of	COA	categories	below	that	a	particular	category	applies	only	to	students
who	are	enrolled	at	least	half	time,	the	types	of	expenses	that	may	be	included	in	the	COA	are	the	same	for	all	students,
regardless	of	enrollment	status.
Tuition	and	Fees