Less	Than	Half	Time	Pell	Grant	Cost	of	Attendance
As	stated	above,	the	value	of	each	component	in	the	Pell	Grant	COA	is	always	based	on	the	costs	for	a	full-time	student
for	a	full	academic	year.	However,	students	enrolled	less	than	half	time	may	only	have	certain	components	included	in
their	COA.	You	may	not	include	either	(1)	miscellaneous	personal	expenses	or	(2)	housing	and	food	if	the	student	has
exhausted	their	less-than-half-time	housing	and	food	allowance	(three	semesters	or	equivalent	in	total,	no	more	than	two
of	which	may	be	consecutive	at	any	one	school).	See	
Volume	3,	Chapter	2	of	the	FSA	Handbook	for	a	full	discussion	of
cost	of	attendance	and	allowable	costs	for	less-time-half-time	students.
The	following	examples	use	the	cost	of	attendance	described	below	and	demonstrate	how	a	student9s	Scheduled	Pell
Grant	award	may	differ,	based	on	a	less-than-half-time	enrollment	intensity.	For	demonstration	purposes,	assume	the
student	has	exhausted	their	less-than-half-time	housing	and	food	allowance	at	the	institution.
COA	Component Amount	(FT) Amount	(LTHT)
Tuition	and	Fees $2,500 $2,500
Books	and	Supplies $500 $500
Housing	and	Food $5,000 $0
Transportation $500 $500
Personal	Expenses $500 $0
Pell	Grant	COA	(Full-Year) $9,000 $3,500
You	must	also	prorate	costs	if	they	are	charged	for	a	period	longer	than	an	academic	year.	You	may	use	either	of
the	proration	methods	shown	in	Examples	3	and	4.	We9ll	use	the	example	of	a	program	awarding	1,000	clock
hours	and	providing	40	weeks	of	instructional	time.	Let9s	assume	that	the	school	uses	the	regulatory	minimums
and	defines	the	academic	year	as	900	clock	hours	and	26	weeks.	The	total	costs	over	the	40	weeks,	including
tuition	and	living	expenses,	are	$5,900.	If	we	use	the	method	in	Example	3,	this	amount	must	be	prorated	by	the
lesser	of	the	following	two	fractions:
Credit/clock	hours	in	academic	year	definition	(900)	÷	Credit/clock	hours	awarded	(1,000)
OR
Weeks	in	academic	year	definition	(26)	÷	Weeks	provided	(40)
The	lesser	of	the	two	fractions	is	the	one	based	on	weeks	(26/40).	Multiply	the	total	program	cost	by	this	fraction
to	determine	the	Pell	costs	for	a	full	academic	year:
$5,900	x	(26/40)	=	$3,835
If	the	student	is	in	a	category	where	costs	are	limited,	such	as	less-than-half-time	enrollment,	those	costs	that	are
allowable	must	be	based	on	costs	for	a	full-time	student	for	a	full	academic	year.	For	instance,	the	tuition
component	of	the	Pell	COA	for	a	less-than-half-time	student	must	be	based	on	the	tuition	costs	that	would	be
incurred	by	a	full-time	student	attending	a	full	academic	year.
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