Receipt of Pell and SSS Grant Aid

From: Oxendine, Larry [

Sent: Monday, March 22, 2004 12:35 PM

To: Nate Easley

Cc: Benitez, Margarita; Bergeron, Frances; Byrd-Johnson, Linda; Smith, Geraldine; Ulmer, Suzanne

Subject: Receipt of Pell and SSS grant aid

Hi Nate:

I copied the below statement from the listserv discussion of -- Can SSS grant aid be awarded to students not receiving Pell? I think the answer (copy below) you received from the Federal TRIO Office is unnecessarily restrictive. Please feel free to share the following as the official response to the question from the Federal TRIO Office.

Pell Grants are awarded based upon an award year. It is not necessary for an SSS student to be “receiving” a Pell Grant to cover educational expenses for the academic period you wish to award SSS grant aid to the student as long as the student received a Pell Grant for “any” academic period during the award year (July 1- June 30). To determine the appropriate award year to consider for an academic period that crosses award years, projects should consult with their financial aid offices.

Copied from listserv:

I asked the Office of Federal TRIO Programs your question awhile back and they reinforced what TRIO legislation says about awarding SSS grant aid--students must be receiving a Pell grant during semesters that SSS grant aid is awarded. Perhaps the best approach to awarding SSS grant aid is to work with your financial aid office on distributing Pell funds during the semesters you would like to make awards.

I hope this helps,

Nate

Larry Oxendine

Director

Federal TRIO Programs

U.S. Department of Education

http://www.ed.gov/HEP/trio/