Recently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 made several significant changes to federal student aid funding. The changes outlined by this law may affect you during your college enrollment. It is extremely important that you read and review the following information. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have additional questions.
A student is only eligible for twelve (12) full-time semesters of Pell grant funding during his/her lifetime. This change in the duration of eligibility will affect all students, regardless of when first receiving Federal Pell Grant funding.
For example, a student enrolled full-time in 2011-2012 (this past fall and current spring semester) will have used two of his/her twelve lifetime semesters of Pell grant funding at the end of this semester.
A student who is not enrolled full-time will only use a portion of his/her lifetime semesters. For example, if a student only takes six hours (half-time), he/she would have eleven full-time and one half-time semester remaining at the end of the semester.
Ø Remember, these are national changes associated with all colleges and will affect your financial aid eligibility at any institution.
Ø It is important for students to realize that the lifetime limit applies to all semesters of coursework in which the student receives Federal Pell Grant funds.
Ø If your goal is to obtain a bachelor’s degree, you need to be sure to plan accordingly. Please meet with your advisor if you have questions regarding your degree plan.
Ø The Department of Education is in the process of updating processes so the lifetime status will be reflected on the 2012-2013 Student Aid Reports, which are generated once students complete FAFSAs. If you have already completed your FAFSA, you will receive an updated Report from the Department. As of date, the Financial Aid Office does not have access to this information.