§ 690.63 Calculation of a Federal Pell Grant for a payment period.

(a)

(1) Programs using standard terms with at least 30 weeks of instructional time. A student's Federal Pell Grant for a payment period is calculated under paragraphs (b) or (d) of this section if—

(i) The student is enrolled in an eligible program that—

(A) Measures progress in credit hours;

(B) Is offered in semesters, trimesters, or quarters; and

(C) Requires the student to enroll for at least 12 credit hours in each term in the award year to qualify as a full-time student; and

(ii) The program uses an academic calendar that provides at least 30 weeks of instructional time in—

(A) Two semesters or trimesters in the fall through the following spring, or three quarters in the fall, winter, and spring, none of which overlaps any other term (including a summer term) in the program; or

(B) Any two semesters or trimesters, or any three quarters where—

(1) The institution starts its terms for different cohorts of students on a periodic basis (e.g., monthly);

(2) The program is offered exclusively in semesters, trimesters, or quarters; and

(3) Students are not allowed to be enrolled simultaneously in overlapping terms and must stay with the cohort in which they start unless they withdraw from a term (or skip a term) and re-enroll in a subsequent term.

(2) Programs using standard terms with less than 30 weeks of instructional time. A student's Federal Pell Grant for a payment period is calculated under paragraph (c) or (d) of this section if—

(i) The student is enrolled in an eligible program that—

(A) Measures progress in credit hours;

(B) Is offered in semesters, trimesters, or quarters;

(C) Requires the student to enroll in at least 12 credit hours in each term in the award year to qualify as a full-time student; and

(D) Is not offered with overlapping terms; and

(ii) The institution offering the program—

(A) Provides the program using an academic calendar that includes two semesters or trimesters in the fall through the following spring, or three quarters in the fall, winter, and spring; and

(B) Does not provide at least 30 weeks of instructional time in the terms specified in paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(A) of this section.

(3) Other programs using terms and credit hours. A student's Federal Pell Grant for a payment period is calculated under paragraph (d) of this section if the student is enrolled in an eligible program that—

(i) Measures progress in credit hours; and

(ii) Is offered in academic terms other than those described in paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section.

(4) Programs not using terms or using clock hours. A student's Federal Pell Grant for any payment period is calculated under paragraph (e) of this section if the student is enrolled in an eligible program that—

(i) Is offered in credit hours but is not offered in academic terms; or

(ii) Is offered in clock hours.

(5) Programs of study offered by correspondence. A student's Federal Pell Grant payment for a payment period is calculated under § 690.66 if the program is offered by correspondence courses.

(6) Programs for which an exception to the academic year definition has been granted under 34 CFR 668.3. If an institution receives a waiver from the Secretary of the 30 weeks of instructional time requirement under 34 CFR 668.3, an institution may calculate a student's Federal Pell Grant payment for a payment period using the following methodologies:

(i) If the program is offered in terms and credit hours, the institution uses the methodology in—

(A) Paragraph (b) of this section provided that the program meets all the criteria in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except that in lieu of paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(B) of this section, the program provides at least the same number of weeks of instructional time in the terms specified in paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A) of this section as are in the program's academic year; or

(B) Paragraph (d) of this section.

(ii) The institution uses the methodology described in paragraph (e) of this section if the program is offered in credit hours without terms or clock hours.

(iii) The institution uses the methodology described in § 690.66 if the program is correspondence study.

(b) Programs using standard terms with at least 30 weeks of instructional time. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period, i.e., an academic term, for a student in a program using standard terms with at least 30 weeks of instructional time in two semesters or trimesters or in three quarters as described in paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A) of this section, is calculated by—

(1) Determining his or her enrollment status for the term;

(2) Based upon that enrollment status, determining his or her annual award from the Payment Schedule for full-time students or the Disbursement Schedule for three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time students; and

(3) Dividing the amount described under paragraph (b)(2) of this section by—

(i) Two at institutions using semesters or trimesters or three at institutions using quarters; or

(ii) The number of terms over which the institution chooses to distribute the student's annual award if—

(A) An institution chooses to distribute all of the student's annual award determined under paragraph (b)(2) of this section over more than two terms at institutions using semesters or trimesters or more than three quarters at institutions using quarters; and

(B) The number of weeks of instructional time in the terms, including the additional term or terms, equals the weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year.

(c) Programs using standard terms with less than 30 weeks of instructional time. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period, i.e., an academic term, for a student in a program using standard terms with less than 30 weeks of instructional time in two semesters or trimesters or in three quarters as described in paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(A) of this section, is calculated by—

(1) Determining his or her enrollment status for the term;

(2) Based upon that enrollment status, determining his or her annual award from the Payment Schedule for full-time students or the Disbursement Schedule for three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time students;

(3) Multiplying his or her annual award determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section by the following fraction as applicable:

In a program using semesters or trimesters—

; or

In a program using quarters—

; and

(4)

(i) Dividing the amount determined under paragraph (c)(3) of this section by two for programs using semesters or trimesters or three for programs using quarters; or

(ii) Dividing the student's annual award determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section by the number of terms over which the institution chooses to distribute the student's annual award if—

(A) An institution chooses to distribute all of the student's annual award determined under paragraph (c)(2) of this section over more than two terms for programs using semesters or trimesters or more than three quarters for programs using quarters; and

(B) The number of weeks of instructional time in the terms, including the additional term or terms, equals the weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year definition.

(d) Other programs using terms and credit hours. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period, i.e., an academic term, for a student in a program using terms and credit hours, other than those described in paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section, is calculated by—

(1) Determining his or her enrollment status for the term;

(i) [Reserved]

(ii) For a student enrolled in a term other than a semester, trimester, or quarter, determining his or her enrollment status for the term by—

(A) Dividing the number of weeks of instructional time in the term by the number of weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year;

(B) Multiplying the fraction determined under paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(A) of this section by the number of credit hours in the program's academic year to determine the number of hours required to be enrolled to be considered a full-time student; and

(C) Determining a student's enrollment status by comparing the number of hours in which the student enrolls in the term to the number of hours required to be considered full-time under paragraph (d)(1)(ii)(B) of this section for that term;

(2) Based upon that enrollment status, determining his or her annual award from the Payment Schedule for full-time students or the Disbursement Schedule for three-quarter-time, half-time, or less-than-half-time student; and

(3) Multiplying his or her annual award determined under paragraph (d)(2) of this section by the following fraction:

(e) Programs using credit hours without terms or clock hours. The Federal Pell Grant for a payment period for a student in a program using credit hours without terms or using clock hours is calculated by—

(1) Determining the student's Scheduled Federal Pell Grant using the Payment Schedule; and

(2) Multiplying the amount determined under paragraph (e)(1) of this section by the lesser of—

(i)

or

(ii)

(f) Calculating payments that exceed 50 percent of a student's annual award. A single disbursement may not exceed 50 percent of any award determined under paragraphs (d) and (g)(2) of this section. If a payment for a payment period calculated under paragraphs (d) and (g)(2) of this section would require the disbursement of more than 50 percent of a student's annual award in that payment period, the institution must make at least two disbursements to the student in that payment period. The institution may not disburse an amount that exceeds 50 percent of the student's annual award until the student has completed the period of time in the payment period that equals, in terms of weeks of instructional time, 50 percent of the weeks of instructional time in the program's academic year.

(g) Additional Federal Pell Grant funds and defining an academic year.

(1) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section and § 690.66, the amount of a student's award for an award year may not exceed one and one-half of his or her Scheduled Federal Pell Grant award for that award year.

(2) A student's payment for the payment period may include the remaining amount of the student's Scheduled Award plus an amount from the additional Federal Pell Grant funds not to exceed one-half of a student's Scheduled Award.

(3) For purposes of this section and § 690.66, an institution must define an academic year for each of its eligible programs in terms of the number of credit or clock hours and weeks of instructional time in accordance with the requirements of 34 CFR 668.3.

(h) [Reserved]

[59 FR 54733, Nov. 1, 1994, as amended at 69 FR 12277, Mar. 16, 2004; 71 FR 38004, July 3, 2006; 72 FR 62033, Nov. 1, 2007; 74 FR 20221, May 1, 2009; 74 FR 55951, Oct. 29, 2009; 74 FR 61245, Nov. 23, 2009; 77 FR 25901, May 2, 2012; 86 FR 59626, Oct. 28, 2021]