12/21/11
OCAP Legislative Updates, December
2012 Budget Summary for Title IV Funding
*Updated Jan. 20, 2012
On Dec. 17, Congress passed HR 2055, the final funding legislation of the year. For Title IV, this impacts:
- Pell Grants – The maximum is continued at $5,550 ($4,860 discretionary, $690 mandatory). This bill also reforms the program by:
- Limiting grants per student (regardless of when they began receiving Pell) to a maximum of six years or 12 semesters.
- Requiring a high school diploma, GED or completion of a homeschooling program, beginning with first-enrolled students as of July 1, 2012.
- Raising the minimum award to ten percent of the maximum award; any student who was between the five and ten percent threshold previously will not receive any Pell in 12-13 award year.
- Reducing the income level for student to automatically receive the Pell maximum from $30,000 to $23,000, beginning with the 12-13 award year.
- Direct Student Loans – The interest subsidy during the grace period after a student is enrolled less-than half time has been removed for loans made on or between July 1, 2012 and July 1, 2014.
- Lender Special Allowance Rate Change – Lenders are allowed a one-time, permanent change from three-month paper rate to a one-month LIBOR rate, beginning April 1, 2012.
If you have any questions regarding this bill, please contact the OCAP’s Policy, Compliance and Training department at 405.234.4432 or pct@ocap.org.
Official Calculation and Release Dates for FY10 Two-Year and FY09 Three-Year Cohort Default Rates Announced
On Dec. 16, 2011, ED announced the following dates for the draft and official cohort default rates for both the FY10 two-year and the FY09 three-year rates:
- Draft Rates
- FY10 two-year – calculated Jan. 7, 2012; released Feb. 13, 2012
- FY09 three-year – calculated Jan. 8, 2012; released Feb. 20, 2012
- Official Rates
- FY10 two-year – calculated July 28, 2012; released Sep. 10, 2012
- FY09 three-year – calculated July 29, 2012; released Sep. 17, 2012
ED requests that all changes be received and accepted by NSLDS prior to the calculation dates to ensure the rates will be as complete and accurate as possible.
If you have any questions regarding this announcement, please contact the NSLDS Customer Support Center at 800.999.8219 or nslds@ed.gov.
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