Chapter	3
Pell	Grant	Enrollment	Intensity	and	Cost	of	Attendance
Pell	Grants	and	Enrollment	Intensity
Enrollment	intensity	is	the	percentage	of	full-time	enrollment	at	which	a	student	is	enrolled,	rounded	to	the	nearest	whole
percent.	For	example,	if	full-time	enrollment	is	12	credit	hours	and	the	student	is	enrolled	in	7	hours,	the	enrollment
intensity	would	be	7	÷	12	×	100%	=	58.3%	(round	to	58%).
Pell	Grant	Enrollment	Intensity	for	Term-Based	Programs
In	a	term-based	program,	academic	progress	is	always	measured	in	credit	hours	(or	an	equivalent	measure	in	a	direct
assessment	program),	and	the	student9s	annual	award	depends	on	their	enrollment	intensity.	Your	school9s	standards	for
full-time	enrollment	must	meet	the	minimum	regulatory	requirements,	which	are	discussed	in	detail	in	
Volume	1,	Chapter
1	of	the	FSA	Handbook.
Programs	Offered	in	Standard	Terms
For	Title	IV	purposes,	full-time	enrollment	for	programs	offered	in	standard	terms	is	defined	by	the	institution	and,	for
undergraduate	students,	must	comprise	at	least	12	credit	hours.	Below	is	a	chart	of	enrollment	intensity	relative	to	full
time,	assuming	the	school	defines	it	as	12	credit	hours	for	financial	aid	purposes.	Enrollment	intensity	only	applies	to
Pell	Grant	eligibility.	All	other	Title	IV	programs	use	enrollment	status	categories	(full-time,	three-quarter
time,	half-time,	and	less-than-half-time).
Credit	Hours Enrollment	Intensity	Formula Enrollment	Inten sity Enrollment	Status	Equivalent
12	(or	more) 12	÷	12	=	1.0 100% Full-Time
11 11	÷	12	=	0.917 92% Three-Quarter	Time
10 10	÷	12	=	0.833 83% Three-Quarter	Time
9 9	÷	12	=	0.75 75% Three-Quarter	Time
8 8	÷	12	=	0.667 67% Half-Time
7 7	÷	12	=	0.583 58% Half-Time
6 6	÷	12	=	0.50 50% Half-Time
5 5	÷	12	=	0.417 42% Less-than-Half-Time
4 4	÷	12	=	0.333 33% Less-than-Half-Time
3 3	÷	12	=	0.25 25% Less-than-Half-Time
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