Federal Pell Grants
Federal Pell Grant funds are not required to be repaid and are awarded to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor’s or professional degree. Eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant is partially determined by the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled during the semester and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). South Texas College will mail award notifications showing student eligibility for Federal Pell Grant funds assuming that the students will take at least 12 credit hours per semester.
The Student Financial Services Office adjusts the amount of Pell Grant that students receive if the number of credit hours they are enrolled in changes through the census date of each semester or minimester.
For more information on eligibility requirements please refer to the sections that follow, on the award notification, and on South Texas College’s website at: http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/.
Award Amounts
Awards are partially based on your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as determined by the FAFSA and by a student’s level of enrollment. How much you may receive will depend on your EFC, your cost of attendance, your enrollment status, and whether you attend school for a full academic year. You may only receive Pell Grant funds from one institution at a time.
*Students enrolled less than half time may still receive a Pell Grant award if their EFC allows it.
Eligibility determination
To determine if you are eligible, the U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula, to evaluate the information you report when you apply through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The formula produces an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number. The lower the EFC number, the more aid the student is eligible for. Your Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) contains this number and will tell you if you are eligible.
To be considered for Pell Grant eligibility, you must:
- Fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid,
- Meet all Department of Education eligibility requirements including but not limited to:
- Having a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate,
- Being a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen,
- Having a valid Social Security Number,
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program,
- Meet the standards of the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (FA SAP).
Additional Requirements
South Texas College Student Financial Services Office monitors requirements that can affect your eligibility for Federal PellGrant funds, including but not limited to:
- Your continued enrollment within a semester: if you withdraw/are withdrawn, you may be required to repay funds awarded to you. More information on this can be found at
http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/withdrawals.html - Your grades: if you do not earn at least one passing grade in a semester, you may be required to repay funds awarded to you. More information can be found at http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/fail.html
- Developmental courses you attempt: we may only fund 30 credit hours of developmental work over a student’s educational career. If a Pell eligible student attempts their 11th or greater developmental course, that course cannot be counted in the student's enrollment status. See
https://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/developmental.html - Repeated Coursework: Beginning July 1, 2011, the definition of a full-time student was amended to allow repeated coursework to count toward enrollment status in term-based programs. See
https://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/repeat_coursework.html - Lifetime Eligibility Used: Effective July 1, 2012 students may only receive a Pell Grant for six years of full-time enrollment (equivalent to 12 semesters or 600%) during their lifetime. This change affects all students regardless of when or where they received their first Pell Grant. The maximum amount of Pell Grant funding that a student may receive each year is equal to 100% or 150% if eligible for Year Round Pell. See https://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/lifetime_eligibility_used.html
- Unusual Enrollment History: Beginning aid year 2013-2014 and forward, new regulations have been established to prevent fraud and abuse in the Federal Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan Programs by identifying students with unusual enrollment histories. The Student Financial Services Department is required to review the student’s enrollment and financial aid record to determine if, during the past four award years the student has legitimate reasons for the unusual enrollment history. See https://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/unusual_enrollment_history.html
Attendance Verification
The U.S. Department of Education requires that schools are able to document that students are actually in attendance to finalize their Federal Pell Grant eligibility. For example, if a student doesn’t begin attendance in all of his or her classes, the school must recalculate the student’s award based on the lower enrollment status. A student is considered to have begun attendance in all of his or her classes if the student attends at least one day of class for each course in which that student’s enrollment status was determined for Federal Pell Grant eligibility.
In a distance education context, documenting that a student has logged into an online class is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate academic attendance by the student. A school must demonstrate that a student participated in class or was otherwise engaged in an academically related activity, such as by contributing to an online discussion or initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a course-related question. A definition of attendance for Financial Aid Purposes can be found at https://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/attendance_definition.html
South Texas College documents attendance for Federal Pell Grant purposes by collecting online rosters from all instructors. The instructors use the rosters to indicate whether a student has attended or not. Students must attend each class that they are enrolled in, at least once at the beginning of each term to be counted as being in attendance in that class for Federal Pell Grant eligibility purposes.
In cases where students do not attend class at least once, Federal Pell Grant eligibility will be adjusted based on the enrollment status for the number of credits that they are actually attending. If this adjustment results in a student not having sufficient grant funds to pay for any charges or advances that they have incurred or received, that student will be responsible to pay South Texas College for the difference between their adjusted eligibility and the original amount of the cost of their tuition and fees as well as any advances that the student received
Fund Disbursements
South Texas College will credit Pell Grant funds to your school account to pay for tuition, fees and other school related costs which appear on your student account (institutional charges). If you are eligible for funds in excess of your institutional charges, after completing eligibility verification, South Texas College will pay you the difference directly by: a) mailing you a check, or b) depositing it into your personal bank account. Book allowance and final refund release dates are provided to students before the start of each semester; they are published at http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/book_allowances.html.
Declining Pell Grant Funds
You may decline all or part of your disbursement of Pell Grant funds that you are otherwise eligible to receive. You may wish to take this action if you expect to qualify for a larger Pell Grant in future years as a result of an expected transfer to a more expensive educational institution or an expected change in your expected family contribution. If you are going to return all or a portion of Pell Grant funds, you must deliver to our Student Financial Services Department a signed, written statement clearly indicating that you are declining Pell Grant funds for which you are otherwise eligible and that you understand that those funds may not be available once the award year is over.
Returning Pell Grant Funds
You may return all or a portion of Pell Grant funds that you are otherwise eligible to receive, as long as this action is taken during the same award year. You must deliver to our Student Financial Services Department a signed, written statement clearly indicating that you are returning Pell Grant funds for which you are otherwise eligible and that you understand that those funds may not be available once the award year is over. After the statement is submitted, you will then need to return the funds directly to the STC Cashier's Office.
Year Round Pell
Pell Grant eligible students can receive up to 150% of their scheduled Pell award each year. What does this mean? If a student received the full Pell Grant amount, for example, in the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters, he/she may qualify for the Pell Grant in Summer 2024, from the next aid year. This is referred to as Year Round Pell (YRP).
Eligibility
To be eligible for a summer Year Round Pell, student must:
- Have completed Financial Aid File for current Award Year
- Be Pell Grant eligible
- Be registered at least 6+ credit hours
- Be meeting Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress
- Have lifetime Pell Grant eligibility remaining; students can check this by login in to https://studentaid.gov/ using their FSA ID credentials. After login in, click on Dashboard, My Aid, View Details, then Grants.
Year Round Pell VS Summer Pell Grant Remainder
- Year Round Pell: If student registered full time and received full time Pell Grant in fall and spring, student must register at least 6 credit hours in summer to receive Year Round Pell Grant.
- Pell Grant Remainder: If student registered part-time in fall or spring, student can use the remainder of his/her current award year Pell Grant amount with no minimum credit hours requirement to receive it, assuming student meets Pell EFC and other eligibility requirements OR
- Combination: If student registered part-time in fall or spring, student can receive a combination of the Pell remainder amount of current award year and Year Round Pell, up to a semester’s worth of the Pell Grant award, but student must be registered 6 credit hours at least and must meet eligibility requirements discussed above.
Most Beneficial
Also, if student applies for financial aid for next award year and is eligible for a higher amount of Pell Grant, (lower EFC), and completes his/her next award year financial aid file and meets all eligibility requirements, student will receive the Pell Grant award that is most beneficial, that is, the one with a lower EFC.
YRP Example
A student with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of 0 is eligible for $5000 in Pell Grant for the year, or $2500 for the Fall 2023 semester and 2500 for the Spring 2024 semester.
Assuming student went full time in fall and spring, under YRP rules, this student could receive an additional $2500 for the Summer 2024, if he/she registered 12 credit hours.
If the same student registered 6 credit hours instead of 12, in the Summer 2020, the student would receive a $1250 Pell Grant award.
Federal Pell Grant Under The Zero EFC Treatment for Children of Soldiers
An otherwise Federal Pell-eligible student whose parent or guardian died as a result of U.S military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, may receive increased amounts of Federal Student Aid (Pell Grant), if the student was less than 24 years old when the parent or guardian died, or was enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or guardian’s death.
Year Round Pell
The Year Round Pell requirement also applies to the students with the Federal Pell Grant under the Zero EFC Treatment for Children of Soldiers. For example, if you received a full Federal Pell Grant in Fall 2023 and also in Spring 2024, you may qualify for the Federal Pell Grant in Summer 2024, from the next aid year. The same Year Round Pell Eligibility requirements apply as outlined in the Federal Pell Grant section of the catalog.
Award Amounts
Awards are based on a zero EFC (maximum Federal Pell Grant award), and by a student’s level of enrollment. Student may only receive these award funds from one institution at a time. Under the Federal Pell Grant Zero EFC Treatment for Children of Soldiers, the student must have a Pell-eligible EFC to receive the maximum Federal Pell Grant award, even if the EFC is not zero.
Eligibility Determination
To determine if you are eligible, the U.S. Department of Education uses the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number. They will also identify possible recipients of this program based on a match with the U.S. Department of Defense. Following Federal Regulations, South Texas College will award students, the maximum Federal Pell Grant amount as long as they have a Pell-eligible EFC and have met all eligibility requirements.
To be considered for the Federal Pell Grant under the Zero EFC Treatment for Children of Soldiers, you must:
- Fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid,
- Meet all Department of Education eligibility requirements including but not limited to:
- Having financial need,
- Having a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate,
- Being a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen,
- Having a valid Social Security Number,
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program,
- Meet the standards of the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (FA SAP),
- Have a parent or guardian who died, (when student was less than 24 years old or when student was enrolled at an institution of higher education), as a result of U.S. military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 and
- Have a Pell-eligible EFC.
Additional Requirements
South Texas College Student Financial Services Office monitors the same requirements for Federal Pell Grant recipients under the Zero EFC Treatment for Children of Soldiers.
Fund Disbursements
South Texas College will credit the Federal Pell Grant, under the Zero EFC Treatment for Children of Soldiers, funds to your school account to pay for tuition, fees and other school related costs which appear on your student account (institutional charges). If you are eligible for funds in excess of your institutional charges, after completing eligibility verification South Texas College will pay you the difference directly, by mailing you a check. These grant funds will be released to you in two disbursements: the first one is the Book Allowance and the second one is the Final Refund. Book Allowance and Final Refund release dates are provided to students before the start of each semester; they are published at http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/book_allowances.html
Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant
A student not eligible for Federal Pell grant, whose parent or guardian died as a result of U.S military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, may receive increased amounts of Federal Student Aid if the student was less than 24 years old when the parent or guardian died, or was enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or guardian’s death.
Year Round Pell
The Year Round Pell requirement also applies to the the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant. If you received a full Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant in Fall and Spring terms, you may qualify for the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant in Summer, from the next aid year. The same Year Round Pell Eligibility requirements apply, as outlined in the Federal Pell Grant section.
Award Amounts
Awards are based on the student's Federal Pell Grant ineligibility as determined by the FAFSA and by a student’s level of enrollment. Under the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant a student will receive the maximum award amount under the Federal Pell Grant Program, taking into consideration the student's enrollment status. Student may only receive these award funds from one institution at a time.
Under the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant, the student must have an EFC that is not Federal Pell Grant eligible; the student does need to meet the other Pell Grant eligibility requirements though, to receive the maximum Federal Pell Grant award amount under the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant.
Eligibility Determination
To determine if you are eligible, the U.S. Department of Education uses the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number. They will also identify possible recipients of the grant based on a match with the U.S. Department of Defense. Following Federal Regulations, South Texas College will award the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant recipients, using the maximum award amount under the Federal Pell Grant Program, as long as they have an EFC that is not Pell eligible and as long as they have met all other eligibility requirements.
To be considered for the Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant, you must:
- Fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid,
- Meet all Department of Education eligibility requirements including but not limited to:
- Having financial need,
- Having a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate,
- Being a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen,
- Having a valid Social Security Number,
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program,
- Meet the standards of the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (FA SAP),
- Have a parent or guardian who died, (when student was less than 24 years old or when student was enrolled at an institution of higher education), as a result of U.S. military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001 and
- Have an EFC that is not Pell eligible.
Additional Requirements
South Texas College Student Financial Services Office monitors the same requirements for Iraq & Afghanistan Grant as the Federal Pell Grant requirements.
Fund Disbursements
South Texas College will credit the Iraq & Afghanistan Grant funds to your school account to pay for tuition, fees and other school related costs which appear on your student account (institutional charges). If you are eligible for funds in excess of your institutional charges, after completing eligibility verification South Texas College will pay you the difference directly, by mailing you a check. These Iraq & Afghanistan Grant funds will be released to you in two disbursements: the first one is the Book Allowance and the second one is the Final Refund. Book Allowance and Final Refund release dates are provided to students before the start of each semester; they are published at http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/book_allowances.html
Children of Fallen Heroes (CFH) Scholarship Act
An otherwise Pell-eligible student whose parent or guardian died as a result of active service in the line of duty as a Public Safety Officer (defined under 42 U.S.C. 3796b), or a fire police officer, may receive the maximum Pell Grant and increased amounts of other Federal Student aid if the student was less than 24 years old when the parent or guardian died, or was enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or guardian’s death. All Federal Student aid awarded to eligible students will be based on an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of zero without regard to student’s official calculated EFC.
Award Amounts
Awards are based on the student's Federal Pell Grant eligibility as determined by the FAFSA and by a student’s level of enrollment. A student will receive the maximum award amount under the Federal Pell Grant Program, taking into consideration the student's enrollment status. A student with an EFC of zero, who is already receiving the maximum Federal Pell Grant award, will see no change to the award amount. Student may only receive these award funds from one institution at a time.
Under the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act, the student must have an EFC that is Federal Pell Grant eligible; the student must meet the rest of the Pell Grant eligibility requirements to receive the maximum Federal Pell Grant award amount.
Eligibility Determination
To be considered, you must:
- Fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid,
- Meet all Department of Education eligibility requirements including but not limited to:
- Having financial need,
- Having a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) Certificate,
- Being a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen,
- Having a valid Social Security Number,
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program,
- Meet the standards of the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (FA SAP),
- Have a parent or guardian who died as a result of active service in the line of duty as a Public Safety Officer or a fire police officer,
- Was less than 24 years old when parent or guardian died, or was enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or guardian’s death,
- Have an EFC that is Pell eligible and greater than zero,
- Provide supporting documentation, such as:
- A determination letter acknowledging eligibility for certain federal benefits under the Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) program administered by the Department of Justice,
- A letter of attestation or determination on company letterhead, made by a state or local government official with supervisory or other relevant oversight authority of an individual who died in the line of duty while serving as a public safety officer as defined above,
- Documentation of the student qualifying for state tuition or other state benefit accorded to the children or other family members of a public safety officer consistent with the definition in 42 U.S.C. 3796b, or as a fire police officer as noted above.
Additional Requirements
South Texas College Student Financial Services Office monitors the same requirements for the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act as the Federal Pell Grant requirements.
Fund Disbursements
South Texas College will credit the Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act funds, (maximum Pell Grant funds), to your school account to pay for tuition, fees and other school related costs which appear on your student account (institutional charges). If you are eligible for funds in excess of your institutional charges, after completing eligibility verification South Texas College will pay you the difference directly, by mailing you a check. These funds will be released to you in two disbursements: the first one is the Book Allowance and the second one is the Final Refund. Book Allowance and Final Refund release dates are provided to students before the start of each semester; they are published at http://studentservices.southtexascollege.edu/finaid/book_allowances.html
