Academic Competitiveness and Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant ACG and SMART Pro

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Academic Competitivenessand Science and
Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (ACG
and SMART) ProgramsPresented at NASFAAs 2007
Conference Washington, DC July 8-11, 2007
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ACG and SMART Grant Programs

• Two new programs
• Authorized under Pell Grant section of law
• ED interprets location as linking new programs to
  Pell Grant Program
• A school participating in Pell Grant must
  participate in ACG and/or SMART Grant if it
  offers programs eligible for ACG or SMART

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Student Eligibility Criteria ACG and SMART

• Title IV general student eligibility criteria
  apply (668.32)
• Pell Grant-eligible
• ED interprets as Pell Grant recipient within same
  award year
• Example Student uses full Pell in fall spring,
  enrolls for summer, summer is trailer
• Most limiting factor for many schools

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Student Eligibility Criteria ACG and SMART

• U.S. citizen
• Citizens include naturalized U.S. citizens
• Students who become citizens are eligible for
  entire award year
• Permanent residents not eligible
• May be seriously limiting factor

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Student Eligibility Criteria ACG and SMART

• Full-time enrollment
• Part-time enrollment could cause student to lose
  out on grant funds permanently
• May be seriously limiting factor at community
  colleges

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Student Eligibility Criteria ACG and SMART

• Enrolled in an eligible program
• Degree programs only
• At least 2 years long for ACG
• At least 4 years long for SMART
• Graduate programs with undergrad component
• One-year certificate programs not eligible
• Eligible program defined in ACG/SMART
  regulations 691.2

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Student Eligibility Criteria ACG and SMART

• Demonstrated need (Cost EFC EFA)
• Unlike Pell Grant, ACG and SMART are subject to
  reduction due to other aid
• Overaward rules similar to campus-based aid
• However, no tolerance

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Student Eligibility Criteria ACG and SMART

• One grant per academic year
• Use Title IV definition of academic year 668.3
• Both components apply
• Credit or clock hours
• Weeks of instruction
• Student must be in appropriate academic year
• Cannot be paid for earlier year

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ACG Criteria

• Academic year classification
• 750 for first academic year
• 1,300 for second academic year
• Year determined based on enrollment history in
  all ACG-eligible programs at any institution,
  unless DCL exception invoked

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ACG Criteria

• First academic year
• Graduated from rigorous secondary school program
• Graduated from high school program after January
  1, 2006
• Not previously enrolled

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ACG Criteria

• Second academic year
• Graduated from rigorous secondary school program
• Graduated from high school program after January
  1, 2005
• Achieved at least 3.0 GPA at end of first
  academic year

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Recognition of Rigorous Programs

• Rigorous programs must be recognized by ED
• Annually, ED must give state educational agencies
  (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) an
  opportunity to submit state-specific programs to
  be considered for recognition
• States are not required to do so
• ED must recognize at least one rigorous program
  in each state

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2006-07 and 2007-08 Definitions of Rigorous
Programs

• State-submitted programs recognized by ED
• An advanced or honors diploma established by a
  state
• A set of courses detailed in ACG regulations,
  691.16(d)(2)
• The State Scholars Initiative

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2006-07 and 2007-08 Definitions of Rigorous
Programs (contd)

• A secondary school program for a student who
  completes at least two AP courses and receives a
  score of 3 or higher on the exams
• A secondary school program for a student who
  completes at least two IB courses and receives a
  score of 4 or higher on the exams

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Rigorous Secondary School Programs

• Student must successfully complete secondary
  curriculum (i.e., must graduate)
• Student with GED in place of a high school
  diploma is not eligible for ACG

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Documentation of Completion of Rigorous Program

• School must confirm and document that the student
  has successfully completed a rigorous secondary
  school program of study
• School must maintain documentation, but no
  specific location is required

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Documentation of Completion of Rigorous Program

• Must at least determine eligibility on the basis
  of the self-identified definition unless have
  already found the student eligible under another
  definition
• If student ineligible under self-identified
  definition, must review other documents school
  already has in-house that support another
  definition

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Documentation of Completion of Rigorous Program
Good Practices

• Proactively determine the eligibility of those
  who do not self-identify
• Screen students under all possible definitions
• Notify a student that he or she is not eligible
  for ACG on the basis of the students
  self-identification

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Documentation of Completion of Rigorous Program

• Documentation from cognizant authority may be
  provided
• by cognizant authority directly to the school or
• by student to the school
• If documentation provided by the student seems
  inaccurate or incomplete, the institution must
  collect documentation directly from cognizant
  authority

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Documentation of Completion of Rigorous Program

• If school requires rigorous program coursework
  for admission, and documentation is kept at
  school, it could assume a student met the
  rigorous secondary school program of study
  criterion

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Cognizant Authority

• Cognizant authority includes, but is not limited
  to
• A local educational agency (LEA)
• A state educational agency (SEA) or other state
  agency
• A public or private high school
• A testing organization such as College Board or
  state agency
• For a home-schooled student, students parent or
  guardian

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Home-Schooled Students

• Documentation for a home-schooled student must
  include
• A transcript or equivalent or
• A detailed course description listing secondary
  school courses completed by student

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Transfer Students

• School to which the student transfers may rely
  upon a prior institution's determination that the
  student completed a rigorous program based on
• Documentation provided by prior institution or
• Documented receipt of an ACG at prior institution
  (e.g., NSLDS record)

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SMART Grant

• Third or fourth academic year
• Award amount tied to academic year classification
• 4,000 for third academic year
• 4,000 for fourth academic year
• Year determined based on credits applicable to
  SMART-eligible program and corresponding weeks

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SMART Grant Criteria

• Pursuing an eligible major
• Maintaining at least 3.0 GPA each payment period

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SMART Grant Eligible Majors

• Physical sciences
• Life sciences
• Computer sciences
• Mathematics
• Technology
• Engineering
• Critical foreign languages

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Identifying Eligible Majors within Eligible
Fields of Study

• For the first six fields, the U.S. Department of
  Education (ED) identifies eligible majors
• For critical foreign languages, ED identifies
  eligible languages after consulting with the
  Director of National Intelligence

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Newly Ineligible Majors

• Students who receive a SMART Grant for an
  eligible major remain eligible for a SMART Grant
  in subsequent award years even if the major is no
  longer classified as an eligible major, if all
  other eligibility criteria are met
• School must document that student was pursuing
  the major during the award year in which it was
  identified as an eligible major

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Tracking Pursuit of Eligible Majors

• Institutions should develop policies and
  procedures to
• Track the pursuit of eligible majors at the
  student level
• Monitor the list of eligible majors
• Document the pursuit of eligible majors

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Identifying Eligible Majors

• ED will publish list of eligible majors by
  Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)
  code for each award year

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Declaring a Major

• Students who intend to pursue an eligible major
  should declare their major before the start of
  their third academic year

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Declaring a Major

• Students at institutions who do not allow them to
  declare a major before the start of the third
  academic year must
• Demonstrate his or her intention to declare an
  eligible major as documented by institution
• Formally declare a major as soon as allowed
• Enroll in the coursework necessary to both
  complete the degree program and fulfill
  requirements of intended major

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ACG Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement

• For second-year ACG only, student must obtain a
  3.0 GPA at the end of the first academic year
• GPA at end of first academic year applies to
  entire second year of eligibility

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ACG Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement

• The first year ends at the end of the term in
  which the student both accrues the credits and
  attends the number of weeks in the Title IV
  academic year
• Example Academic year 24 credits and 30 weeks
  of instruction
• Semesters are 15 weeks each
• Student A earns 12 credits in fall and 12 credits
  in spring (total of 24 credits)
• Student B earns total of 21 credits in fall
  spring, then 6 credits more in summer

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SMART Grant Grade Point Average (GPA)

• Student must have a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale
  through the most recent payment period
• Most recent payment period includes summer

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ACG/SMART Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement

• Satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements
  also apply
• If mitigated, ineligibility due to SAP
  requirement must be reversed prior to end of
  payment period
• If grades change, ineligibility due to GPA
  requirement must be reversed prior to end of
  payment period (unless due to institutional
  error)
• For transfer student, use grades from prior
  institution(s) for accepted coursework (first
  payment period only for SMART)

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ACG/SMART Grant Grade Point Average (GPA)

• If GPA is not final due to incomplete or missing
  grades
• May make one interim disbursement for first
  payment period of second academic year (for ACG)
  or for next payment period (for SMART)
• Institution incurs liability for interim
  disbursement if final GPA below 3.0

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Changes in Eligibility

• Pell Grant Recipient
• Regulation at 691.80(a) if Pell changes, school
  must redetermine ACG/SMART eligibility
• Loss of Pell eligibility for award year loss of
  ACG or SMART for award year
• Gain Pell, gain ACG or SMART

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Changes in Eligibility

• Enrollment status
• Regulation at 691.80(b) by payment period
• Student who drops below full-time before
  beginning all classes loses ACG/SMART
• For changes after beginning all classes, policy
  for ACG/SMART must be same as policy for Pell,
  but determination may differ

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Changes in Eligibility

• Eligible major
• Regulation at 691.75(b)(3) (c)
• Student who changes to an ineligible major does
  not repay prior SMART payments
• Student who changes to an eligible major may be
  paid only for that payment period forward