NCASFAA
2015 Fall
Pre-Conference New Aid Officers
Training Workshop
Overview of Cost of Attendance
Budget Creation, and
Making/Documenting
COA Adjustments
Objectives
• Identify eight allowable Title IV Cost of Attendance Components
• Present overview of budgets based on enrollment and living arrangements, and
allowable components for each
• Discuss principles of budget construction and the process of creating student
budgets
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Cost of Attendance (COA)
“The cost of attendance is the cornerstone of establishing a
student’s financial need, as it sets a limit on the total aid that
a student may receive for purposes of the TEACH Grant,
Campus-Based Programs and Stafford/PLUS loans, and is
one of the basic components of the Pell Grant calculation.”
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Definition
Cost of Attendance is an estimate of student’s
educational expenses for the period of
enrollment.
COA (Cost of Attendance)
– EFC (Expected Family Contribution)
NEED (Financial Need)
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COA Components
Determined by law (Higher Education Act, Sec. 472) and are not
subject to regulations by the Department – apply to all Title IV Aid
Allowable Costs:
• Tuition and fees
• Books, supplies, transportation, and misc. personal expenses
• Room and board
• Dependent care expenses
• Study abroad expenses
• Disability expenses
• Employment expenses for co-op study
• Loan fees
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Tuition and Fees
• Actual or average tuition costs can be used
• If overall average used for all students at the school, it must be weighted
– Accounts for the number of students subject to each of the school’s
different tuition charges
• Tuition costs may differ for various categories of students
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Books, Supplies, Transportation
and Misc. Expenses
An allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous
personal expenses
• May establish different categories for different circumstances
• Allowances and exceptions should be documented
• Reasonable allowance for documented rental or purchase of personal
computer may be included for students attending at least half-time
• Cost of rental or purchase of equipment, materials, or supplies if these are
mandatory for all students in same course of study
• Option to include one-time cost of obtaining a first professional license or
certificate
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Room and Board
• Allowance (as determined by the institution) for room and board incurred by
the student
– Without dependents residing at home with parents
– Without dependents residing in institutionally owned or operated housing
– Living in housing located on a military base or for which a basic allowance is
provided, only expenses for board may be included
• Exception: include allowance for room for dependent students who are not
living with parents, either on base or off base and receiving military housing
allowance
– All other students
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Dependent Care
• Dependent care allowance covers care during periods that include,
but are not limited to class time, study time, field work, internships,
and commuting time
• Should be based on number and age of dependents
• Should not exceed reasonable cost in community
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Study-Abroad Expenses
Include reasonable costs for study-abroad for student:
•
•
Enrolled at least half-time
In program approved for academic credit by home institution and concurrent
enrollment at the home school
Special costs may include:
•
•
•
•
•
Transportation
Passport fee
Immunization costs
Administrative fees charged by institution or coordinating agency
Additional cost for tuition and fees, room and board, and other relevant charges
that exceed those costs assessed by home institution
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Disability-Related Expenses
Expenses include:
•
•
•
•
Special services
Personal assistance
Transportation
Equipment and supplies
Expenses NOT included:
• Special services provided by another agency
• Services available and provided free of charge to student
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Employment Expenses for
Cooperative Education
• Student must be enrolled at least half-time in co-op program
• Employment expenses might include:
– Uniforms
– Tools
– Special equipment
– Commuting or transportation costs
– Meals away from home
– Any other costs incurred as a result of the work experience
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Student Loan Fees
• May use actual or average cost of loan fees
• Student must be enrolled at least half-time
• Non-federal student loan fees may be included
• PLUS loan fees must also be included
• If a loan is declined, loan fees must be deducted from COA to avoid
over award
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Cost of Attendance Allowances
Telecommunications
Programs Offered in whole or in part via Telecommunications
• No distinction is made with respect to the mode of instruction
• Based on the HERA, student enrolled in certificate and degree programs offered
wholly or in part by telecommunications are eligible for Title IV aid
– Includes short-term certificate programs of less than one year
• Costs determined using standard COA components
• For Pell Grant Program only, full-time full-year costs are used
– Need to prorate upward costs for program of less than one academic year
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Exceptions: Less Than Half-Time Students
Cost of Attendance Allowances
• COA components for less-than half-time students
– Tuition and fees
– Allowance for books and supplies
– Transportation (not miscellaneous & personal expenses)
– Allowance for dependent care expenses
– Limited allowance for room and board for up to three semesters (or the
equivalent) with no more than two of those semesters (or the equivalent)
being consecutive
2014-2015 FSA Handbook (Vol. 3 Ch. 2)
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Exceptions: Correspondence Study
Cost of Attendance Allowances
• COA components for correspondence study (must be part of associate,
bachelor’s, or graduate-degree program)
– Tuition and fees (may include books and supplies)
• If cost of books and supplies are separate, they may also be counted
– Travel, room, and board may ONLY be included if incurred in required residential
program
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Exceptions: Incarcerated Students
Cost of Attendance Allowances
• COA components for incarcerated students limited to
– tuition and fees and
– required books and supplies
• Not eligible for FSA loans
• Not eligible for Pell grants if incarcerated in a federal or state penal institution
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Exceptions: Professional Judgment
Cost of Attendance Allowances
• Financial aid officer has authority to use professional judgment (PJ) on a case-bycase basis to adjust COA or the data used to calculate EFC
– Adjustment reason must be fully documented in student’s file
– Adjustment submitted to CPS via FAA Access or third-party software
– Adjustment only valid at the school making it
– Common reasons to adjust include:
•
•
•
•
•
Rent or actual housing charges
Equipment, supplies, or other program-related expenses
Technology expenses
Dependent care
Education-related travel
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Period of Enrollment
Pell Grant Program
• COA is always based on nine-month period of enrollment for a full-time
student, regardless of student’s actual period of enrollment and enrollment
status
– Costs must be prorated for any enrollment longer or shorter than nine months
• Less than half-time
– Only include COA components allowable
– Components based on amount for full-time, full-year
• Actual or average cost for group of similar students in same category may be
used
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COA Decision Factors
Budget
Components
Budget
Decisions
Student Categories
Tuition and fees
depends on
education level, enrollment status,
state/county residence, program of study,
course requirement for a computer,
whether there is a cost for a 1st professional degree
Books, supplies,
transportation,
personal expenses
depends on
education level, enrollment status, program of study,
school or home residence
Room and board
depends on
length of enrollment, school residence, enrollment status
Dependent care
include if
student must pay dependent care to attend
Study abroad
include if
student is enrolled at least half time in a program earning
credit at the home school
Disability related
include if
student needs specific disability assistance not already
covered by an agency to attend
Cooperative education
include if
student is enrolled at least half time in a co-op program
Loan fees
include if
student’s financial aid package contains a Direct Loan
(including PLUS Loans)
Other COA Factors
• Tuition and fees not paid by the student
– If tuition and fees are charged to the student
o Charges are included in COA
o Charges paid by someone other than the student are counted as
estimated financial assistance
– If tuition and fees are not charged to the student
o Charges are not included in COA
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COA Information
Consumer Information Requirements
Released to current and prospective students and their families
Minimum financial aid requirements include:
•
•
•
•
Must provide the cost of attending the school and any additional costs
How students apply for aid and how eligibility is determined
The rights and responsibilities of students receiving aid
How and when financial aid will be disbursed
Civil penalty for non-compliance
•
In addition to limiting, suspending, or terminating the participation of any school
that fails to comply with the consumer information requirements, ED may impose
civil fines of up to $27,500 for each violation
2014-2015 FSA Handbook (Vol. 2 Ch. 6)
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Budget Construction
• Student budgets should be
–
–
–
–
–
Realistic
Comprehensive
Adequate
Moderate
Documented
Budget construction is NOT intended as enrollment management tool
– Inappropriate to use inflated or deflated costs
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Separate Budgets for Different
Categories of Students
• Use at the institution’s discretion
• Appropriate application of the purposes of budget construction
• May establish distinct standard budgets for categories of students such
as:
•
•
•
•
•
Undergraduates
Graduates
State residents
Nonresidents
Online students
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Budget Creation
- Collecting data to set Cost of Attendance component amounts
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Primary Sources of Data
Primary sources of data come directly from the student. They include but are
not limited to student surveys such as:
 Personal interviews;
 Budget questionnaires; and
 Expenditure diaries
The best approach is to use a combination of collection tools
Sample should be drawn from school’s entire student body
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Secondary Sources of Data
Use data from secondary sources to validate student data and increase
confidence in amounts established. Secondary data sources are any source
other than students deemed reliable. Secondary data can be obtained from:
 Published institutional resources;
 Institutional faculty and staff;
 The local community; and
 Local, state, regional, and national indices
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College Board Living Expense Budgets
Information is available on the College Board website at:
http://sitesearch.collegeboard.org/?q=Expense%20Budgets
– Living
Expense
– Nine-Month Academic Year
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Bureau of Labor Statistics
Resources, including data tools are located at:
http://www.bls.gov
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Consumer Price Index
• Measures day-to-day consumer inflation
• May be used to adjust cost of attendance cost components
• Collaborate with institutional research office or another office to determine
the correct index to use
• To access the tutorial, go to: http://www.bls.gov/tutorial/one_screen/
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Summary
• Student budgets must be designed to meet statutory cost of attendance
requirements as well as realistically reflect educational expenses
• The process used to establish and update cost of attendance components
and the school’s budget construction process should be well documented
• Information on the cost of attending the school must be made available to
all current and prospective students
• The school’s cost of attendance policies should be described in the financial
aid policies and procedures manual
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Your
Questions,
Please!
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