June 1, Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 Academic Competitiveness & National SMART Grants [With thanks to Jeff Baker and Sue O’flaherty, USDE] SUNY Admissions Directors June 14, 2006

June 1, ACG &National SMART Grants Disclaimers 1.I don’t have all the answers 2.The Feds don’t have all the answers 3.SED doesn’t have all the answers 4.Nobody has all the answers

June 1, Higher Education Reconciliation Act Creates Two New Grant Programs Academic Competitiveness (ACG) Grant Program National “Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent” Grant (National SMART Grant) Program Funding for these programs is not subject to annual appropriations process: – $790 million – $850 million – $920 million – $960 million – $1.01 billion NOTE: Funds not spent in one year are carried over to subsequent years.

June 1, Higher Education Reconciliation Act Both ACG and SMART Require recipients to be: – Enrolled in a two or four year degree program – Full-time – U.S. Citizens NOTE: Eligible Non-Citizens are NOT eligible for ACG & SMART – Pell Grant Recipients Award amounts: – ACG -- 1 st Year: $750 – ACG – 2 nd Year: $1,300 – National SMART Grant: $4,000 per year for up to 2 years

June 1, Pell Grant Recipients Albany3,690 Binghamton3,526 Buffalo Univ6,684 Stony Brook6,676 Brockport2,470 Buffalo College3,657 Cortland1,676 Fredonia1,437 Geneseo1,206 Old Westbury1,503

June 1, Pell Grant Recipients New Paltz1,877 Oneonta1,704 Oswego2,616 Plattsburgh1,759 Potsdam1,470 Purchase1,009 Utica/Rome683 Empire State College3,344

June 1, Pell Grant Recipients Alfred1,711 Canton1,480 Cobleskill1,101 Delhi1,178 Farmingdale1,321 Morrisville1,965 ESF424 Maritime288

June 1, Two Grants: Institutional Impact If participating in Pell, automatically eligible Current Program Participation Agreement (PPA) applies Subject to annual compliance audit and all other reviews/inspections Institutional president agrees to administer the program

June 1, Two New Grants:Institutional Impact Requires close coordination with –Student Financial Aid Office –Registrar’s Office –Admission’s Offices –Academic Offices –Bursar’s/Student Finance Offices

June 1, Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)

June 1, Year 1: – Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study after January 1, 2006 –Not previously enrolled in a “program” of undergraduate education. Taking classes is OK (even if they will ultimately count toward degree) but not in a program to which the student is admitted. –Maximum award is $750 Year 2: –Have completed a rigorous secondary school program of study after January 1, 2005 –For second year students have at least a 3.0 GPA –Maximum award is $1,300 Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)

June 1, ACG: Rigorous Secondary School Program of Study Secretary issued guidance on May 2, 2006 that provided four alternatives and requested additional programs from States by June 1. Alternatives identified: –Named Advanced or Honors programs (19 states). SED ‘Option 1’ –State Scholars Initiative Programs Not Available in NY –2 AP or IB courses in high school with a minimum passing score of 3 or 4 respectively SED ‘Option 4’ –Completion of a set of designated courses. SED ‘Option 3’

June 1, ACG: Rigorous Secondary School Program of Study Existing Advanced or Honors –Alabama Advanced Academic Endorsement –Arkansas College Preparatory Core Curriculum –California Golden State Seal Merit Diploma –Delaware Distinguished Achievement Diploma –Georgia College Preparatory with Distinction Diploma –Indiana Academic Honors Diploma –Kentucky Commonwealth Diploma –Louisiana Academic Endorsement to the Standard Diploma –Massachusetts Certificate of Mastery –Missouri College Preparatory Studies Certificate –Nevada Advanced Diploma –New York Regents Diploma with Honors or Advanced Designation SED Option 1 –Ohio Honors Diploma –Oklahoma Certificate of Distinction –Pennsylvania Certificate of Distinction –Texas Distinguished Achievement Diploma –Virginia Advanced Studies Diploma –Washington Scholar Designation –Wyoming Advanced Endorsement Diploma

June 1, ACG: Rigorous Secondary School Program of Study Designated Courses SED Option 3: Four years of English, Three years of Math (including Algebra I and a higher level course such as Algebra II, Geometry, or Data Analysis and Statistics), Three years of science (including at least two courses from biology, chemistry or physics), Three years of social studies, One year of a foreign language. The program of study must be completed with passing grades.

June 1, On or about July 1, 2006 Notification sent to Federal Financial Aid applicants who appear to meet minimum requirements U.S. Citizen Pell Grant Eligible Age under 20, as proxy for high school grad date Notice will inform applicants of special website or alternative for providing additional information. – Applicants will be “walked” through the definition of “rigorous” and /or approved proxy. ACG: Notification to Applicants

June 1, Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) FSA NOTIFIES STUDENT OF POTENTIAL ELIGIBILITY FSA NOTIFIES STUDENT OF POTENTIAL ELIGIBILITY STUDENT SELF- IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL ELIG. & PROGRAM ON WEB PAGE STUDENT SELF- IDENTIFIES POTENTIAL ELIG. & PROGRAM ON WEB PAGE FSA INFORMS SCHOOLS OF POTENTIAL ELIGIBILITY FSA INFORMS SCHOOLS OF POTENTIAL ELIGIBILITY SCHOOLCONFIRMS AND DOCUMENTS ELIGIBILITY SCHOOLCONFIRMS AND DOCUMENTS ELIGIBILITY COD PROCESSES GRANT & SCHOOL DRAWS DOWN FUNDS FOR DISBURSEMENT COD PROCESSES GRANT & SCHOOL DRAWS DOWN FUNDS FOR DISBURSEMENT COD SYSTEM Student Completes FAFSA AND SUBMITS TO FSA STUDENT GOES TO WEBSITE SCHOOL IDENTIFIES ELIGIBLE ACG STUDENTS USING EXISTING INFORMATION

June 1, ACG Student Experience If Based on information provided in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) a student is identified as possibly being eligible for an ACG they will be prompted to answer the following questions. 1.Did or will the student complete his or her high school program of study after January 1, 2005? (Yes or No) 2.In what state did the student complete his or her high school program of study? 3.Select the rigorous high school program of study that the student completed (drop down box will display rigorous high school program by state).

June 1, ACG Student Experience Check all that apply. The student completed two or more Advanced Placement (AP) courses and scored 3 or better on at least two AP exams or The student completed two or more International Baccalaureate (IB) courses and scored 4 or better on at least two IB exams. The student completed and passed all of the following high school courses: Four years of English Three years of math (including Algebra I and a higher level math class such as Algebra II, Geometry, or Data Analysis and Statistics) Three years of social studies Three years of science (including at least 2 of the following: Biology, Chemistry, or Physics) One year of a foreign language

June 1, ACG Institutional Role Receive ACG applicant data on ISIR, or Identify eligible students from institutional records Confirm Pell recipient Confirm citizenship Confirm eligible degree program Confirm rigorous high school program Confirm GPA for the second year Confirm fulltime status

June 1, National SMART Grant

June 1, NATIONAL SMART GRANT Third and fourth year students enrolled in a four- year degree program Have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 No linkage to high school program of study $4,000 for each year Majoring in science, computer science, technology, math, or certain designated foreign languages –Majors will be listed on a website with CIP Code

June 1, SMART Grant Definitions Major fields of study must be reported to COD expressed as CIP codes xx.xxxx See GEN EXAMPLE Mathematics 27. MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS Mathematics Mathematics, General Algebra and Number Theory Analysis and Functional Analysis Geometry/Geometric Analysis Topology and Foundations Mathematics, Other Applied Mathematics Applied Mathematics Computational Mathematics Applied Mathematics, Other Statistics Statistics, General Mathematical Statistics and Probability (NEW) Statistics, Other Mathematics and Statistics, Other Mathematics and Statistics, Other Fields of Study

June 1, Potential SMART Recipients Albany388 Binghamton636 Buffalo Univ746 Stony Brook1010 Brockport135 Buffalo College266 Cortland1,676 Fredonia48 Geneseo233 Old Westbury56 Fall 2005 Jr & Sr GPA> 3.0 US Citizens in SMART CIP Codes [Pell?] PreliminaryPreliminary

June 1, New Paltz122 Oneonta82 Oswego108 Plattsburgh63 Potsdam84 Purchase38 Utica/Rome- Empire State College- Potential SMART Recipients Fall 2005 Jr & Sr GPA> 3.0 US Citizens in SMART CIP Codes [Pell?] PreliminaryPreliminary

June 1, Alfred124 Canton11 Cobleskill78 Delhi10 Farmingdale165 Morrisville64 ESF142 Maritime66 Potential SMART Recipients Fall 2005 Jr & Sr GPA> 3.0 US Citizens in SMART CIP Codes [Pell?] PreliminaryPreliminary

June 1, SMART Grant Definitions Grade Point Average Cumulative GPA – ACG: Year monitored for each payment period – SMART: Both years monitored for each payment period Transfer GPA = For first payment period at school, must use grades from courses accepted from transfer institution(s) SMART: Institutional Role

June 1, Monitoring Major Student must – –Be in a Declared Major or; –If school policy does not allow a major before 3 rd year student must show intent to declare major. Student must enroll in course work leading towards a degree in the major. If student changes to a major not approved for SMART before disbursement date each term, student losses grant –If after student can keep disbursements already made NATIONAL SMART GRANT

June 1, Confirm Pell recipient Confirm citizenship Confirm eligible degree program Confirm academic major Confirm GPA in the major field of study Confirm fulltime status SMART Grant Institutional Role

June 1, Options Being Considered for Year in School Definition Academic Year??? Option 1Option 2*Funding Levels $ $ $ $4000 –All dollar amounts are without ratable reductions –Students can receive only 1 grant per year in school level * or school definition of class level for all other academic purposes

June 1, Making Disbursements and Reporting

June 1, DISBURSEMENT REQUIREMENTS Generally, disbursement rules are the same as for Pell. –  Full-time is at least 12 credits  Scheduled Award: $750, $1,300, or $4,000  At least one disbursement each term  R2T4 rules apply

June 1, REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For both Programs Institution Submits to COD --  Applicant identifiers – Name, SSN, DOB  Award amounts, disbursement amounts, disbursement dates, etc

June 1, REPORTING REQUIREMENTS For ACG Institutions Submit to COD:  Code for rigorous standards, or  Code for rigorous program, if selected For National SMART GRANT Institutions Submit to COD:  Major/CIP Code

June 1, ACG and SMART subject to all reviews governed by Title IV Academic information needs to be retained for record inspection Official college/university academic records must support reason code. Audit & Inspection of Records

June 1, Establish institutional-funding level based on Pell history (7/29/06) Institution’s can draw funds from GAPS for eligible students (7/29/06) –Majority of funds likely to be drawn in October/November FSA begins monitoring GAPS “drawdowns” to institutional funding levels Institutions begin sending student level data to COD (12/16/06) Adjust funding levels based on records submitted Establish Spring funding levels based on records submitted ACG/SMART:Funding & Reporting

June 1, July 1 ACG Web Screen Available Notification to potential ACG students Results sent to school July 29 School receive funding level via Electronic Statement of Accounts (ESOA) Can begin to draw down funds for payments to eligible students September 1 EDExpress Software release to handle new grant programs December 16 Schools begin to send ACG/SMART Records to Federal Student Aid to substantiate drawdowns Key Dates

June 1, Grey and Fuzzy: Determination (& documentation) of “rigorous high school program” –Transcripts are not standardized –Not all transcripts designate advanced Regents –Do Math I, II translate to Algebra, Geometry, etc? –Is “Living Environment” = Biology? “Early Admits” who are finishing HS as matriculated college students are no longer 1 st year students- true dual enrollment. Home Schooled –May be eligible under SED Option 4 (AP/IB)

June 1, Grey and Fuzzy: Transfers: Which office calculates GPA for accepted credits?

June 1, More Information