Federal Pell Grant and Federal Student Loan Eligibility for Part of Term Policy

FEDERAL PELL GRANTS:

If your enrollment includes a Part of Term (8 week semesters), your initial Pell Grant award will be based on classes taken during the full semester, plus first part of term classes only. The balance from your full term and part of term 1 classes will be disbursed during the first disbursement period.

The increased Pell Grant award, which includes Part of Term 2, will be available for use on the 1st day of Part of Term 2, only if it was included in your initial enrollment. Disbursement of Pell Grant funds for Part of Term 2 will be the first day of Part of Term 2.

Example:

  • Registration for Fall = 12 credit hours
  • Of the 12 credit hours,
  • Full term = 6 credit hours
  • Part of Term 1 = 3 credit hours
  • Part of Term 2 = 3 credit hours

Total = 12 credit hours

Pell Grant award for full term (assuming maximum benefit) would be $3048. However, your initial award would be based on the full term classes and the Part of Term 1 classes, which would make your initial award $2,286 (3/4 time award). When classes for Part of Term 2 begins, the increased Pell Grant amount will disburse.

FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS:

Per the US Department of Education guidelines, federal student loans will not be applied to a student’s account until their total enrollment is at least halftime.

This means if you are enrolled in Part of Term 1 ( 1st Eight Weeks) and your enrollment is less than halftime until the start of Part of Term 2, your loan will not be applied to your account until the 2nd Eight-Week term begins. Because a federal loan will not be applied to an account until their enrollment is halftime, a student’s potential refund from their federal aid would be delayed until the Part of Term 2 begins.

If you need federal aid to assist you with purchasing books, you may charge toward a refund prior to the start of fall and spring semesters as long as you have at least $100 more than your bill, but cannot charge more than $600. You can learn more here https://www.una.edu/financial-aid/using-financial-aid-for-bookstore-charges.html

As long as your total financial aid is enough to cover entire bill or you are enrolled in the university’s payment plan by the payment deadline, your classes will not be voided. You can find payment deadlines here https://www.una.edu/registrar/Academic%20Calendars/index.html

For federal aid purposes, UNA considers halftime enrollment for graduate students to be 5 graduate credits per semester. For undergraduate students, UNA considers halftime enrollment to 6 undergraduate credits per semester.