FEDS CHANGE STUDENT AID TO SUPPORT SUMMER STUDIES

The Logo of the Federal Student Aid from the U.S. Department of Education

Federal student aid is changing to reflect the realities of the lives of low and moderate income college students.  New regulations allow students to use Pell grant funds to support summer course work.  Because they have to work, many public college students, the majority at community colleges around the nation, take less than a full course load during the fall and spring semesters.  Supporting summer studies would help these students graduate faster.

According to the financial aid office at Springfield Technical Community college, the following are federal eligibility requirements for this new summer aid:

• Student must have a completed 2009-2010 FAFSA on file in the Financial Aid Office
• Enroll in a minimum of 6 credits during summer
• Student must be currently enrolled in a degree granting or certificate program
• Not graduating at the end of Spring 2010
• Student must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress and be in Good Academic Standing at the end of Spring 2010
• If a student received Pell Grant funds during the Summer 2009 from another institution, her/his eligibility for Summer 2010 may be affected

Additional reforms already announced will further aid incoming low and moderate income students.  Effective in the summer of 2011 newly enrolled students will be able to access federal aid for summer course work.  This will not only allow incoming students to get a head start on college requirements, but also provide a funding mechanism to support bridge programs for students to make up deficiencies in English and mathematics prior to the beginning of the fall semester.

The old model of college – a fall and spring semester in which students live on campus and go to class full-time – is relevant, primarily, to a minority of Americans whose affluent parents can support their studies.   It is encouraging that the Obama administration is changing federal financial aid regulations to catch up with the reality of most American college students.