[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 175 (Monday, September 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47652-47655]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22811]



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Part IV





Department of Education





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Federal Pell Grant Program; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 175 / Monday, September 9, 1996 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Federal Pell Grant Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice; deadline dates for receipt of applications, reports, 
and other documents for the 1996-97 award year.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces the deadline dates for receiving 
documents from persons applying for grants under, and from institutions 
participating in, the Federal Pell Grant Program in the 1996-97 award 
year.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacquelyn C. Butler, Program 
Specialist, Pell and State Grant Section, Grants Branch, Policy 
Development Division, Policy, Training, and Analysis Service, Office of 
Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence 
Avenue, S.W. (ROB-3, Room 3045), Washington, DC 20202-5447. Telephone: 
(202) 708-4607. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-730-8913 
between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Federal Pell Grant Program, administered 
by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), provides grants to 
students attending eligible institutions of higher education to help 
them pay for their educational costs. The program supports Goals 2000, 
the President's strategy for moving the Nation toward the National 
Education Goals, by enhancing opportunities for postsecondary 
education. The National Education Goals call for increasing the rate at 
which students graduate from high school and pursue high quality 
postsecondary education and for supporting life-long learning. 
Authority for the Federal Pell Grant Program is contained in section 
401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1070a.

Deadline Dates

    The following tables provide the deadline dates for the Federal 
Pell Grant Program for the 1996-97 award year.

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Deadline for Reporting Federal Pell Grant Student Payment Data

    In the 1995-96 award year, institutions were required to report 
student ``Payment Data'' to the Department by fixed reporting periods. 
(Student Payment Data include both the Federal Pell Grant payment that 
an institution makes to a student and the Federal Pell Grant payment it 
expects to make to that student for an award year.) Thus, for example, 
an institution was required to report student Payment Data to the 
Department by October 15, 1995 if it paid a Federal Pell Grant to a 
student at any time during the period of July 1, 1995 through October 
15, 1995.
    For the 1996-97 award year, the Secretary has changed the period 
for reporting student Payment Data to the Department. Reporting periods 
are not fixed but are based on the date an institution pays a Federal 
Pell Grant to a student. Under this reporting requirement, an 
institution must submit to the Department Payment Data for a student 
not later than 30 calendar days after the institution makes a payment 
to the student. In addition, if the institution becomes aware that 
previously reported payments or expected payments, i.e., Payment Data, 
for a student are no longer accurate, the institution must submit 
accurate Payment Data for that student to the Department not later than 
30 calendar days after becoming aware of the change.
    The following two examples illustrate the new reporting 
requirement. As a first example, a student enrolls for the fall 1996 
semester at an institution. The institution pays that student his 
Federal Pell Grant award for that semester on September 5, 1996. The 
institution must submit that student's Payment Data to the Department 
not later October 5, 1996.
    As a second example, a student enrolls for the fall 1996 semester 
as a full-time student, and the institution expects the student to 
enroll as a full-time student for the spring 1997 semester. The 
institution pays that student his Federal Pell Grant award for the fall 
1996 semester on September 5, 1996. The institution submits that 
student's Payment Data to the Department on October 1, 1996. On January 
15, 1997 the student enrolls in the spring 1997 semester as a half-time 
student. The institution must submit to the Department revised Payment 
Data for that student not later February 14, 1997.
    Because some institutions have not yet received computer software 
necessary to submit student Payment Data to the Department and this 
notice is being published after the beginning of the 1996-97 award 
year, the Secretary understands that not all institutions will 
initially report student Payment Data within the 30-day reporting 
period. Therefore, the Secretary will not take adverse actions against 
an institution that does not initially submit student Payment Data 
within the 30-day reporting period during the first three months of the 
1996-97 award year.

Proof of Delivery

    The Department accepts as proof, if the documents were submitted by 
mail or by non-U.S. Postal Service courier, one of the following:
    (1) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (2) A legibly-dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method of proof of mailing, an 
institution should check with the post office at which it mails its 
submission. An institution is strongly encouraged to use First Class 
Mail.

    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
courier.
    (4) Other proof of mailing or delivery acceptable to the Secretary.
    The Department accepts hand deliveries at the address stated in the 
previous chart between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on days other 
than Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holidays.
    An institution that transmits its student Payment Data information 
via the EDE Electronic Payments service must ensure that its 
transmission is completed before midnight (local time at the 
institution's EDE destination point) on September 30, 1997.

Other Sources for Detailed Information on the Application and Automated 
Processes

    A more detailed discussion of the student application process for 
the Federal Pell Grant Program is contained in the 1996-97 Student 
Guide, Funding Your Education, the 1996-97 Counselor's Handbook for 
High Schools, the 1996-97 Counselor's Handbook for Postsecondary 
Schools, A Guide to 1996-97 SARs and ISIRs (Action Letter #8 March 
1996), and the 1996-97 Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook. A more 
detailed discussion of the institutional reporting requirement for 
student Payment Data for the Federal Pell Grant Program is contained in 
the 1996-97 Federal Student Financial Aid Handbook.

Applicable Regulations

    The regulations applicable to this program are the Federal Pell 
Grant Program regulations in 34 CFR part 690, the Student Assistance 
General Provisions regulations in 34 CFR part 668, and the 
Institutional Eligibility regulations in 34 CFR part 600.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance No. 84.063, Federal Pell 
Grant Program)

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a)

    Dated: August 23, 1996.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 96-22811 Filed 9-6-96; 8:45 am]
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