Chapter	7
Initial	Calculations,	Recalculations,	and	Overawards
Initial	Pell	Calculation
An	initial	calculation	is	the	first	calculation	that	is	made	on	or	after	the	date	the	school	has	received	a	Department-
produced	SAI	such	as	the	student9s	initial	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR	with	an	official	SAI	and	a	Pell	Eligibility	Flag
of	<Y=.	This	may	be	from	a	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR,	the	FAFSA	Partner	Portal,	or	FAFSA.gov.	The	initial
calculation	uses	the	student9s	enrollment	intensity	at	the	time	of	the	calculation.	If	you9ve	estimated	the	student9s
eligibility	before	receiving	a	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR	for	the	student,	you	must	confirm	prior	estimated
eligibility	or	determine	the	student9s	eligibility	at	the	time	you	receive	the	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR.
If	a	school	performs	an	initial	calculation	before	a	student	has	registered	for	specific	classes,	the	school	may	rely	on	the
student9s	general	estimate	of	intended	enrollment	when	performing	the	initial	calculation.	For	example,	a	school	could
perform	an	initial	calculation	using	50%	enrollment	intensity	if	a	student	indicated	that	they	planned	to	enroll	half	time.
You	should	document	the	date	you	initially	calculate	a	student9s	Pell	Grant,	which	can	be	no	earlier	than	the	date	your
school	received	a	Department-produced	SAI.	If	you	fail	to	document	the	date	of	the	initial	calculation,	you	must	use	the
later	of:
The	date	the	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR	is	first	received	and	the	student9s	enrollment	intensity	as	of	that
date;	or
The	date	the	student	enrolls.
Your	school	is	considered	to	have	received	the	ISIR	on	the	date	it	was	processed.	This	date	is	labeled	<Processed	Date=	on
the	ISIR.	In	the	case	of	a	FAFSA	Submission	Summary,	your	school	is	considered	to	have	received	it	on	the	date	processed
unless	you	document	a	later	date.	The	processing	date	on	a	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	is	the	date	above	the	SAI.
Pell	Recalculation	Due	to	Change	in	SAI	or	Other	Pell	Eligibility	Indicators
If	the	student9s	SAI	or	one	of	the	other	Pell	eligibility	indicators	change	due	to	corrections,	updates,	or	an	adjustment,	and
the	change	would	alter	the	amount	of	the	Pell	award,	you	must	recalculate	the	Pell	award	for	the	entire	award	year.	In
addition	to	the	SAI,	these	indicators	include	the	Max	Pell,	Minimum	Pell,	CFH,	or	IASG	indicators.	If	the	student	has
received	more	than	their	Scheduled	Award	amount	due	to	the	recalculation,	then	the	student	has	received	an
overpayment.	In	some	cases,	you	may	be	able	to	adjust	an	award	by	reducing	or	canceling	later	payments	to	the	student
(see	Volume	4,	Chapter	3	for	more	information).
A	student	selected	for	verification	can	be	paid	based	on	the	corrected	output	document	you	receive	during	the
<verification	extension=	(120	days	after	the	student9s	last	day	of	enrollment,	or	the	deadline	date	established	by	a	Federal
Register	notice,	whichever	is	earlier).	For	example,	if	you	receive	a	reprocessed	ISIR	reflecting	the	results	of	the	student9s
verification	during	the	extension	period	and	the	ISIR	has	a	lower	SAI	than	the	previous	ISIR	(increasing	the	student9s
eligibility),	you	calculate	the	student9s	Pell	Grant	based	on	the	reprocessed	ISIR.
If	you	receive	a	FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR	with	a	SAI	different	from	the	one	you	used	for	the	payment
calculation,	you	must	first	decide	which	document	is	valid.	If	the	new	information	is	the	correct	information,	the	new
FAFSA	Submission	Summary	or	ISIR	is	the	valid	record.	In	most	cases,	you	must	recalculate	the	student9s	Pell	award	for
the	entire	award	year	based	on	the	new	SAI.	For	more	information	on	FAFSA	Submission	Summaries,	ISIRs,	and	SAI,	see
the	Application	and	Verification	Guide.
Pell	Recalculation	3	Change	in	SAI
34	CFR	690.80(a)
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