Chapter	6
Transfer	Students	and	Remaining	Eligibility
Calculating	and	Awarding	Remaining	Eligibility
The	Pell	payment	for	a	transfer	student	is	calculated	in	the	same	way	as	for	any	new	student.	That	is,	you	must	calculate
payments	for	each	payment	period	following	the	rules	given	in	previously	in	this	volume.	However,	a	transfer	student9s
remaining	Pell	eligibility	at	your	school	is	reduced	if	the	student	received	Pell	funds	for	the	same	award	year	at	any	prior
schools.	You	can	identify	the	student9s	prior	Pell	disbursements	when	you	review	their	Financial	Aid	History	in	NSLDS	and
COD.
Calculating	Remaining	Eligibility
Once	you9ve	identified	the	Pell	amounts	that	a	transfer	student	has	already	received	for	the	award	year,	you	must
calculate	the	percentage	of	the	Scheduled	Award	that	has	been	used.	This	percentage	is	calculated	by	dividing	the
amount	disbursed	at	the	previous	school	by	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award	at	that	school	(COD	calculates	this	and	you
can	refer	to	COD	to	see	what	the	percentage	of	remaining	eligibility	will	be	for	a	student).
Pell	disbursed	at	prior	school	÷	Scheduled	Award	at	prior	school	=	%	of	Scheduled	Award	used
Then	subtract	this	percentage	from	100%	(or	150%,	if	the	student	is	enrolled	and	eligible	for	a	Year-Round	award).	The
result	is	the	maximum	percentage	of	the	Scheduled	Award	that	the	student	may	receive	at	your	school.	Note	that	a
transfer	student	receives	the	same	payments	as	any	other	student	until	the	limit	(up	to	150%	of	a	Scheduled	Award;	see
the	Year-Round	Pell	Grant	section	in	Chapter	5	of	this	volume)	is	reached.	Give	the	student	the	full	amount	for	each
payment	period,	rather	than	trying	to	ration	the	remaining	amount	by	splitting	it	evenly	across	the
remaining	terms.
A	transfer	student	must	repay	any	amount	received	in	an	award	year	that	exceeds	their	Scheduled	Award	(or	150%	of
their	Scheduled	Award,	if	enrolled	and	eligible	for	Year-Round	Pell),	unless	the	school	that	disbursed	the	award	was	at
fault	by	failing	to	follow	the	administrative	requirements	in	
34	CFR	668.
Why	Percentages	Are	Used
A	student	may	have	different	Scheduled	Awards	at	different	schools/programs.	Using	percentages	ensures	that	a	student
does	not	receive	more	than	100%	(or	150%,	if	enrolled	and	eligible	for	Year-Round	Pell)	of	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award.
For	example,	the	COAs	at	the	two	schools	may	be	different	or	one	school	may	modify	data	elements	on	the	FAFSA	form
due	to	professional	judgment	where	another	school	did	not.	The	percentages	are	also	used	to	compare	the	portions	of	a
student9s	total	eligibility	that	have	been	used	at	both	schools.	If	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award	is	the	same	at	both
schools,	the	financial	aid	administrator	can	find	the	amount	of	the	student9s	remaining	eligibility	simply	by	subtracting	the
amount	received	at	the	first	school	from	the	Scheduled	Award.
Payment	Period	for	a	Transfer	Student	at	a	Non-Term	School
When	a	student	transfers	into	a	non-term	credit-hour	or	clock-hour	program	at	a	new	school,	that	student	is	starting	a
new	payment	period.	For	non-term	programs,	you	must	use	the	payment	period	rules	described	in/Volume	3,	Chapter	1/to
determine	the	payment	periods	for	the	remainder	of	the	student9s	program.
However,	for	a	transfer	student,	the	length	of	the	program	is	the	number	of	clock	or	credit-hours	and	the	number	of	weeks
of	instructional	time	that	the	student	will	be	required	to	complete	in	the	new	program.	If	the	remaining	clock	or	credit
hours/or	weeks	of	instructional	time/are	half	an	academic	year	or	less,	then	the	remaining	hours	and	weeks	of	instructional
time	constitute	one	payment	period.
Transfer	Students	and	Remaining	Eligibility
Consider	a	student	who	is	eligible	for	Pell	Grant	funds	and	who	transfers	from	School	A	to	School	B	within	the	same	award
year.	Before	paying	any	Pell	funds	to	the	student,	School	B	must	determine	the	percentage	of	eligibility	remaining	for	the
student.	After	transferring,	a	student9s	remaining	eligibility	for	a	Scheduled	Award	during	an	award	year	is	equal	to	the
percentage	of	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award	that	remains	unused,	multiplied	by	the	student9s	Scheduled	Award	at	the