Volume 1 Student Eligibility Table of Contents

Volume 1 Student Eligibility

Table of Contents

Introduction...................................................................................................1

Chapter 1: School-Determined Requirements.........................................3

REGULAR STUDENT IN AN ELIGIBLE PROGRAM........................................................................................ 3 Remedial coursework, Preparatory coursework, Teacher certification coursework, Students with intellectual disabilities

ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY ENROLLMENT............................................................................................ 6

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS ......................................................................................................................... 6 Checking the validity of a high school diploma, Foreign high school diplomas, Recognized equivalents of a high school diploma, Homeschooling, Ability-to-Benefit (ATB) alternatives & eligible career pathway programs

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (SAP)........................................................................................... 12 Grades and pace of completion; Financial aid warning; Appeals, financial aid probation, and academic plans; Reestablishing aid eligibility

ENROLLMENT STATUS.................................................................................................................................... 18

STUDENTS CONVICTED OF POSSESSION OR SALE OF DRUGS............................................................. 20 Standards for a qualified drug rehabilitation program

INCARCERATED STUDENTS........................................................................................................................... 22

CONFLICTING INFORMATION....................................................................................................................... 22

CHANGE IN ELIGIBILITY STATUS.................................................................................................................. 23 Gaining eligibility, Losing eligibility

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.......................................... 25 Correspondence courses, Students studying abroad, Distance education courses

Chapter 2: U.S. Citizenship & Eligible Noncitizens............................... 27

ELIGIBLE CATEGORIES.................................................................................................................................... 27

U.S. CITIZENSHIP MATCH WITH THE SSA .................................................................................................. 28 U.S. citizenship documentation, Updating status for U.S. citizens born abroad

CITIZENS OF THE FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES....................................................................................... 30

ELIGIBLE NONCITIZEN MATCH WITH THE DHS......................................................................................... 31 ARN corrections and additions to the FAFSA

THIRD STEP VERIFICATION (FORMERLY FORM G-845)........................................................................... 33 Third step verification preparation, Third step verification via the SAVE system, Eligible noncitizens and documentation, Jay Treaty, Ineligible statuses and documents

ELIGIBLE NONCITIZENS AND DOCUMENTATION.....................................................................................34

USING THE SAVE SYSTEM FOR THIRD STEP VERIFICATION................................................................... 42 SAVE third step responses, Interpreting the SAVE response, Student rights

DOCUMENTING IMMIGRATION STATUS IN LATER AWARD YEARS....................................................... 47

REPLACING LOST DHS DOCUMENTS.......................................................................................................... 48

EXAMPLES OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND ELIGIBLE NONCITIZEN DOCUMENTS.................................... 48

Chapter 3: NSLDS Financial Aid History............................................... 55

NSLDS MATCH.................................................................................................................................................. 56 Successful match, No data from match, Postscreening, Unusual enrollment history (UEH), Documenting credits earned when a school has closed

CHECKING THE FINANCIAL AID HISTORY FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS............................................................................................................................61

EFFECT OF BANKRUPTCY OR DISABILITY DISCHARGE.......................................................................... 63 Bankruptcy, Total and permanent disability (TPD) discharges

RESOLVING DEFAULT STATUS....................................................................................................................... 64

NSLDS LOAN STATUS CODES........................................................................................................................ 65

Chapter 4: Social Security Number.......................................................... 67

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) MATCH................................................................................................ 67 Successful match, No match on the Social Security number, No match on name or birth date, Missing information, Date of death

DEATH MASTER FILE.......................................................................................................................................70

APPLICANTS USING SAME SSN.................................................................................................................... 70

EXCEPTION FOR THE FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES: MICRONESIA, MARSHALL ISLANDS, AND PALAU.............................................................................................................. 71

Chapter 5: Selective Service...................................................................... 73

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT..................................................................................................................... 73 EXEMPTIONS..................................................................................................................................................... 73 SELECTIVE SERVICE MATCH..........................................................................................................................75

Successful matches, Unsuccessful matches

FAILURE TO REGISTER.....................................................................................................................................76 Determining if non-registration was knowing and willful

Chapter 6: Eligibility for Specific FSA Programs................................... 79

FEDERAL PELL GRANTS.................................................................................................................................. 79

Incarcerated students and sex offenders, Duration of eligibility, Eligible postbaccalaureate program, Restoring semesters of Pell eligibility for students affected by closed schools

IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SERVICE GRANTS & ZERO EFCS................................................................... 82 DIRECT LOANS.................................................................................................................................................. 82

Preparatory coursework, Teacher certification coursework, Parent borrower eligibility, Subsidized Loan Eligibility Time Limitation (150% rule), Adverse credit history for Direct PLUS,

CAMPUS-BASED AID GENERAL REQUIREMENTS..................................................................................... 85 Teacher certification programs

PERKINS LOANS............................................................................................................................................... 86 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY (FWS)..................................................................................................................... 86 FSEOG ................................................................................................................................................................ 86 TEACH GRANTS................................................................................................................................................ 87

Amount of grant funds available, Receiving a TEACH grant, Agreement to serve, Schools without a traditional GPA

Introduction

i

This volume of the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Handbook discusses the eligibility requirements for students and parent borrowers and your responsibilities to ensure that recipients qualify for their aid awards.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

There are many factors you must consider when reviewing an application for aid from the FSA programs, such as whether the student is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, whether the applicant is making satisfactory academic progress, and whether he or she has a defaulted FSA loan. To answer these questions you receive information about the student from different sources, including the Department of Education's Central Processing System (CPS) for financial aid applications and the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

Program and systems information online

IFAP's Software & Other Tools Software: ? Direct Loan Tools ? EDconnect ? EDExpress for Windows ? SSCR for Windows

Throughout the year, the Department of Education (The Department) provides updates to schools in the form of Dear Colleague Letters (DCLs). These and other releases, such as Federal Register notices and electronic announcements containing system updates and technical guidance, are available on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website (ifap.).

The FSA Handbook does not cover the operation of software. For schools using software from the Department, there are technical references on IFAP that explain how the software operates. Schools using third-party software should consult the vendor's reference materials for technical guidance.

Technical References and User Guides for: ? CPS (ISIR, Summary of Changes, etc.) ? COD ? Electronic Data Exchange ? EDExpress Packaging ? Federal Registers ? Electronic Announcements ? Dear Partner/Colleague Letters ? FSA Assessment modules:

Student Eligibility--

dentEligibility20182019.html

RECENT CHANGES

Here are some of the significant changes to Volume 1 for 2019-2020:

Satisfactory Academic Progress --

Chapter 1:

? Sidebar on the timing of eligibility for Ability-To-Benefit (ATB) Alternatives & Eligible Career Pathway programs (ECPP) added.

? ATB options and Eligible Career Pathways Programs sidebar updated with revised citations.

FSA HB Jul 2019

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Vol. 1--Student Eligibility 2019?20

? SAP prohibited practices FAQ added.

Chapter 2:

? Expanded guidance in "citizenship issues" sidebar.

FSA Coach ANN-13-21 FSA Coach, a self-paced, comprehensive online guide to the Title IV programs, has been updated for domestic schools. For more information, see: COACH for foreign schools will be updated in the future; monitor IFAP for forthcoming training announcements.

Questions or comments? If you have any comments regarding the FSA Handbook, please contact Research and Publications via email at fsaschoolspubs@.

? Description/requirements for eligible noncitizens categories updated: Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), Parolees, and BatteredImmigrants qualified aliens.

? "Using the SAVE system for third-step verification" section revised and expanded.

? Revised guidance in "Using the SAVE system for third-step verification" section.

? Updated "Interpreting the SAVE response" section. ? "Requesting a new DHS verification number" sidebar renamed "Re-

send record to matches process" and new process described. ? New U.S. citizenship and eligible noncitizens documents examples

added.

Chapter 3:

? Updated chapter throughout for the wind down of the Perkins Loan program.

Chapter 6:

? Added new Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act sidebar. Eligibility for children of fallen heroes described, citations to law and E-Announcement added.

? Revised Perkins wind down sidebar with updated citations.

? Perkins guidance deleted. No Perkins disbursements of any type are permitted under any circumstances after June 30, 2018.

? Loans awarded or disbursed after authority expired subsection added.

FSA HB Jul 2019

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