Payment period

The institution defines payment periods according to its calendar type. At the start of each payment period the aid office confirms eligibility, enrollment intensity, and SAP status, then disburses the appropriate portion of the Pell Grant, Direct Loan, or other Title IV aid. If a student withdraws during a payment period, a return-of-funds calculation is based on the percentage of that period completed.

Example: in a semester program the fall semester is one payment period and the spring semester is the next. Half of the annual Pell Grant is disbursed at the start of each. In a nonstandard online program the first payment period ends only when the student has completed both half the weeks and half the credits of the academic year.

An academic year is the full period that contains the payment periods. A census date freezes enrollment for reporting but is not itself a payment period. A module may or may not constitute a separate payment period depending on the program’s term structure.

Disbursing the entire annual award at the start of the first payment period. Treating every short module as its own payment period in a standard-term program. Using the wrong completion percentage when calculating a return of Title IV funds.