Pell	Grant	COA	for	Summer	Terms
Costs	used	to	determine	Pell	Grant	eligibility	for	summer	terms	are	figured	in	the	same	way	as	for	any	other	payment
period;	that	is,	the	costs	are	based	on	the	costs	for	a	full-time	student	for	a	full	academic	year.	If	your	school	has	fall	and
spring	semesters	that	comprise	an	academic	year,	you	can9t	add	the	costs	for	the	summer	term	to	the	costs	for	the	fall
and	spring	semesters.	The	award	for	the	summer	term	is	still	based	on	the	costs	for	one	academic	year.	However,	if	the
academic	year	definition	includes	the	summer	term,	then	the	costs	for	the	summer	term	
must	be	included	in	the	cost	for
a	full	academic	year.
If	the	student	was	previously	enrolled	in	the	award	year,	you	may	be	able	to	use	the	same	Pell	Grant	COA	for	the	summer
term	that	you	used	for	the	immediately	preceding	term	that	the	student	attended.	However,	this	isn9t	possible	if	the	costs
are	different	from	the	fall	through	spring,	such	as	a	different	tuition	charge	per	credit	hour,	or	if	you	are	required	to
recalculate	the	Pell	Grant	COA.	If	it9s	necessary	to	base	the	student9s	Pell	Grant	COA	on	the	summer	term,	you	must
prorate	the	summer	costs	to	the	length	of	an	academic	year	to	establish	the	cost	for	a	full	academic	year.	See	Chapter	3
of	this	volume	for	additional	information	on	prorating	costs	in	the	Pell	Grant	program.
If	the	summer	session	is	the	first	term	in	the	award	year	for	that	student	(for	example,	your	school	is	paying	a	student	for
the	summer	2025	term	from	the	2025-26	award	year),	you	must	establish	the	student9s	full-year	cost	based	on	the	costs
for	the	
summer	term.	If	the	student	enrolls	in	another	term	in	that	award	year,	you	may	have	to	recalculate	the	student9s
costs	for	the	later	term.
Receiving	Less	Than	the	Scheduled	Award	Due	to	Crossover
A	student	may	also	receive	less	than	a	Scheduled	Award	in	an	award	year	if	the	student9s	program	crosses	award	years
and	the	student9s	Pell	Grant	award	in	one	of	the	award	years	is	for	a	portion	of	the	program	that	is	less	than	a	full
academic	year.	For	example,	if	a	student9s	last	term	of	enrollment	to	complete	their	academic	program	is	summer	2025,
and	the	school	treats	the	payment	period	as	a	header	to	the	2025-26	academic	year,	the	student	may	receive	a	Pell	Grant
disbursement	for	that	one	payment	period,	which	will	be	less	than	the	student9s	full	Scheduled	Award	for	2025-26.
Crossover	Pell	and	Withdrawal
For	details	on	how	to	perform	Return	of	
Title	IV	Funds	calculations	in	a	crossover	Pell	situation,	see	Volume	5,	Chapter	2	of
the	FSA	Handbook.
Summer	Modules
If	a	term-based	school	offers	a	series	of	modules	that	overlap	two	award	years,	these	modules	may	be	combined	and
treated	as	one	term.	Schools	are	not	required	to	combine	modules.	However,	if	you	do	not	combine	the	modules	to	create
a	single	term	and	the	modules	overlap,	the	program	must	be	considered	a	non-term	program.
When	you	combine	modules	into	a	single	term	(i.e.,	payment	period),	the	weeks	of	instructional	time	in	the	combined
term	are	the	weeks	of	instructional	time	from	the	beginning	of	the	first	module	to	the	date	the	last	module	ends.	The
student9s	enrollment	intensity	for	the	entire	payment	period	must	be	calculated	based	on	the	total	number	of	credits	the
student	is	projected	to	take	for	all	modules.	You	must	project	the	enrollment	intensity	for	a	student	based	on	the	credits
the	student	has:
Pre-registered	or	registered	to	take	for	all	modules;
Committed	to	take	for	all	modules	in	an	academic	plan	or	enrollment	contract;	or
Committed	to	take	for	all	modules	in	some	other	document.
Volume	7,	Chapter	5,	Example	1:	Module	Enrollment	Intensity
A	student	is	enrolled	in	a	summer	session	with	three-week	modules	that	School	A	has	combined	into	one	term.
The	school	uses	Formula	1	to	calculate	the	student9s	payment	for	the	combined	term	and	must	define	full-time
enrollment	as	at	least	12	credit	hours,	even	though	full-time	enrollment	for	an	individual	module	may	be	defined
as	fewer	than	12	credit	hours.	The	student	is	enrolled	for	six	credits	during	the	combined	summer	term.	The
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