GAANN Handbook - Department of Biology

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for determining need. Submission of the FAFSA every year is important because without thatinformation, a fellow’s financial need cannot be determined, and the student becomes ineligible for thefellowship.If a Project Director or a fellow wishes to know a fellow’s stipend amount, that person shouldcontact the institution’s Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office uses the information on theFAFSA to determine a fellow’s level of financial need according to Part A of Title VI of the HEA. Thefellow’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) MUST be included in the determination of the fellow’slevel of financial need. A fellow’s stipend must not exceed $30,000 or the fellow’s level of financialneed, whichever is less. Financial need data is not only useful when determining if a perspective fellow iseligible for GAANN, but also useful when completing and submitting performance report data so that wehave the capacity to determine compliance with Title VI of the HEA.Regulations pertaining to stipend disbursement are discussed under section 648.51 of the GAANNprogram regulations. The grantee institution determines the manner in which stipends are disbursed tofellows. Fellows who wish to discuss stipend disbursement (such as when and by what method theirstipends are made available to them) should contact their Project Directors and/or the institutional officeadministering the funds.Calculating Financial NeedThe HEA establishes what components can be used to determine a student’s cost of attendance (COA). Astudent’s COA generally consists of the following: Tuition and fees; Books and supplies; Transportation, and Room and board.Miscellaneous personal expenses such as: Dependent care expenses; Study abroad costs; Disability expenses; Loan fees (if any); Reasonable documented purchase or rental of a computer; The one-time cost of obtaining professional licensure or certification, and Health insurance expenses which can be included in the COA only if it is a requirement forevery student on your campus to have health insurance.Note: The amount of tuition and fees are generally excluded from the student’s COA because thefellowship includes an institutional payment that is accepted by the institution in lieu of tuition and feesnormally charged to the student.Exceptions to excluding tuition and fees in COA: State auditing requirements. For schools in states with auditing requirements that mandate thetuition and fees remain in COA, you may include tuition and fees in the COA, but you must alsoinclude the amount of the institutional payment in the financial aid package, and that will reducethe student’s need (and thus reduce the stipend). Tuition exceeds the institutional payment. Partial tuition is then used to determine the cost ofattendance. That is, the difference between the amount of tuition and fees and the institutionalpayment is included in COA.6
The EFC from the FAFSA is subtracted from the student’s COA as determined by incorporating theabove criteria to arrive at the student’s financial need. This is the primary way of determining a fellow’sfinancial need, but for some schools there may be alternatives depending upon specific exceptionalcriteria.The demonstrated financial need (COA – EFC) under this method almost always will be the stipendamount, depending upon whether the fellow has any other forms of financial aid such as otherscholarships or grants. The stipend cannot exceed financial need and other forms of scholarships, grants,need-based employment, or need-based loans must be counted against need. This is why fellows shouldminimize any loans or employment awards in order to maximize grant or stipend assistance.In the event a fellow has accepted need-based employment or loans to help pay for attendance at theinstitution, that fellow should be counseled to minimize the use of subsidized loans since these are fundsthat must be repaid with interest, whereas the GAANN stipend is gift assistance. There are circumstancesin which a student may accept unsubsidized loans without impacting his or her stipend. Contact yourfinancial aid administrator for additional guidance and advice.Keep in mind that the HEA allows for a financial aid administrator to exercise professional judgment toinclude education-related costs in the cost of attendance (e.g., special materials that must be purchased foran academic program) and adjust FAFSA data elements to reflect changes affecting the student’s income,assets, household size, etc. For example, if a student reports income on the FAFSA but he/she is nolonger working in order to go to school, the financial aid administrator may be able to use the student’sestimated income for the school year with appropriate documentation. It is important to note that not allfinancial aid administrators feel comfortable using professional judgment. This is one reason why it isimperative to form a working relationship with the Financial Aid office at your institution so that theybecome familiar with the GAANN fellowship and its difference from other sources of funding.Generally, a 12-month schedule should be applied when determining financial need since all GAANNfellows must be enrolled on a full-time basis. If the student is not taking classes during the summermonths, he or she should be engaged in other activities that are supportive of their academic careers.These activities could include teaching, researching, presenting at conferences, or similar activitiesapproved by the Department. It is the institutions responsibility to provide the necessary documentationto support the summer enrollment status of a GAANN fellow if calculating need analysis on a 12-monthschedule.Important Policy GuidanceThe GAANN Program is a unique fellowship program in that every student selected for the fellowshipmust demonstrate financial need prior to the disbursement of fellowship funds. This need-basedcomponent is what distinguishes GAANN from other similar fellowship programs administered by suchagencies as the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. The Office ofManagement and Budget recognizes this uniqueness and uses this as a basis for making budget requestsand measuring the success of our need-based fellowship program.GAANN fellowship awards should only be reserved for those students who have the greatest amount offinancial need. Making partial awards and subsidizing the fellowship with other institutional funding isnot the most efficient use of GAANN federal funds. We encourage institutions to make full use ofGAANN Program resources by selecting only those students with the greatest amount of financial need.Institutions that adopt a “spreading the wealth” policy among students within their academic departmentare not in keeping with the spirit and intent of the program, which is to provide fellowships to studentswith the greatest amount of financial need. Successful GAANN grantees provide fellowships to students7
Page 1 and 2: U.S. Department of EducationOffice
Page 4 and 5: Awards: Conditions and Restrictions
Page 8 and 9: who have demonstrated a high degree
Page 10: Fellowship ConditionsTo continue to

GAANN Handbook - Department of Biology

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