Each month, the NCC features a question received by our Technical Assistance (TA) team in our monthly newsletter. In 2021, the team answered 600 inquiries from parents, teachers, students, administrators, program staff, guidance counselors, and friends. If you have a question about inclusive postsecondary education, email us at ThinkCollegeTA@gmail.com.
Question:
I am the director of an inclusive college program, which is an IHE program and has been an approved CTP for several years.
Currently, our financial aid department awards aid to our students based on their financial need and credit hours, just like any other student. Our students typically enroll in 6 credit hours per semester and are awarded aid accordingly, although their cost of attendance is higher than students enrolled full-time.
Like most IHE programs, our students look like part-time students on paper, but their cost of attendance is more in line with a 12-15 credit hour load.
The students attend our program in a full-time capacity: taking two academic courses/semester, attending tutoring and study hall sessions, participating in an independent living course, pre-vocational preparation, campus engagement, peer mentoring, etc.
Can you steer me towards information or resources to help build the case that our students should be considered for a financial aid package that aligns with their cost of attendance, commitment, and participation?
Answer:
This is a difficult issue as you are well aware. We have spoken with the US Department of Education about the issue of students not receiving full-time Pell grants when they should be. I am sharing a few things that we have from our contact, Lindsay Wertenberger, at the Federal Student Aid office.
Resources
We conducted a webinar in 2020 that Lindsay participated in. The materials that were developed for that webinar are available in our resource library.
For information about contact hours, look at page 2 of the handout from January 2020 webinar, "An Overview of Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary (CTP) Programs". The guidance here comes directly from our Lindsay at Federal Student Aid. You are already counting the activities your students are engaged in, as you should be. As a general rule, I suggest including anything in which you will evaluate student progress (academics, employment, or any social activities).
We have been informed that the decision about whether a program is full or part time is up to the CTP program, and financial aid offices should not be applying their usual formulas to decide if your program is full or part time.
If you have additional questions, you may email Lindsay directly, or ask your financial aid office to email her directly with questions.
Lindsay Wertenberger
Policy Implementation and Liaison Group
Policy Implementation & Oversight Directorate
Partner Participation & Oversight
Federal Student Aid
U.S. Department of Education
Lindsay.Wertenberger@ed.gov