Federal Grant Information | Butler Community College
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Federal Grant Information

The following grants are direct gifts to students which do not have to be repaid, unless you withdraw or have an overpayment: Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, and Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act

Federal Pell Grant

The amount of the Pell Grant varies according to the student's need as determined by the FAFSA and is available to all students who qualify. Once Pell funds are paid, additional Pell funds will not be disbursed for increased enrollment in the same semester. You can only receive Pell funds at one college or university during each semester you are enrolled.

Lifetime Eligibility Limit for Pell Grant (LEU)

Students are limited to 12 semesters (or 600%) of Pell Grant eligibility during their lifetime. This affects all students regardless of when or where they received their first Pell Grant. This limit is tracked by the U.S. Department of Education.

Regardless of the Pell Grant amount, if you receive the full year amount then you have received 100%.

For example, your Pell Grant for the year is for $4,000 and you receive $2,000 in Fall, $1,000 in Spring and the remaining $1,000 in Summer. You have received the entire $4,000 or 100% for the year.

Fall $2,000 (50%)

Spring $1,000 (25%)

Summer $1,000 (25%)

The 600% total eligibility applies at all schools and colleges. However, once you have earned a bachelor degree, you are no longer eligible for a Pell Grant even if you haven’t received the entire 600% eligibility. In addition, you must also meet and maintain satisfactory academic progress standards to remain eligible each year.

Declining a Pell Grant

Students have the right to decline all or part of their Pell Grant offers.  To preserve future Pell Grant eligibility, a student may choose to return a previously received Pell Grant offer.  We do not recommend you do this. Students may not return any Pell Grant funds from a prior academic award year.  

To decline your Pell Grant, submit a signed written statement clearly indicating you are declining/returning Pell funds for which you were otherwise eligible and that those funds may not be available once the aid year is over to the Financial Aid Office.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

This grant is provided through an allocation of federal money to Butler. It is a campus-based program and offers are limited. Certain priority dates and restrictions apply. For information on this grant, visit the official FSEOG page of the U.S. Department of Education.

Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant (IASG)

A federal grant for students whose parent or guardian was a member of the United States armed forces and dies as a result of military service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after the events of September 11, 2011. The Department of Defense (DOD) will identify eligible individuals on a student's FAFSA that the school receives.

In order to qualify for the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
  • Meet the general financial aid eligibility requirements
  • Be ineligible for a Federal Pell Grant on the basis of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), but you meet the remaining Federal Pell Grant eligibility requirements
  • Your parent or guardian was a member of the United States armed forces and dies as a result of military service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after the events of 9/11
  • You were under 24 years old or enrolled in college at least part-time at the time of your parent's or guardian's death.

The award amount for the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant can be equal to the maximum Federal Pell Grant amount for that year, but cannot exceed the student's Cost of Attendance. A student will have to fill out the FAFSA form every year that they are in school. After they have done that, Butler or the student's school in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, will determine a student's eligibility for the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant. Once a student has earned a baccalaureate degree or their first professional degree, or have used up all 12 semesters of their eligibility, the student is no longer eligible to receive an Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant.

As required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (the sequester law), award amounts for any Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant that is first disbursed on or after October 1, 2019 and before October 1, 2020, must be reduced by 5.9 percent from the award amount for which a recipient would otherwise have been entitled. Any Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant that is disbursed on or after October 1, 2020, and before October 1, 2021, must be reduced by 5.7 percent. For Example:

  • For any 2020-21 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant first disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2019, and before Oct. 1, 2020, the maximum award amount of $6,345 is reduced by 5.9 percent ($374.35), resulting in a maximum award of $5,970.65.
  • For any 2020-21 Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant first disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2020, and before Oct. 1, 2021, the maximum award amount of $6,345 is reduced by 5.7 percent ($361.66), resulting in a maximum award of $5,983.34.

Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act

Beginning with the 2018-2019 award year, a Pell eligible student whose parent or guardian dies in the line of duty while performing as a public safety officer is eligible to receive a maximum Pell Grant for the award year for which the determination of eligibility is made.

Eligibility is determined by:

  • student submits the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and
  • the student has eligibility for the Federal Pell Grant and
  • the student has a parent or guardian who was a public safety officer that was killed in the line of duty and
  • the student is less than 24 years of age or enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the student parent or guardian's death.

To renew Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act in subsequent award years, the student's eligibility for the maximum Pell Grant for the award will continue, as long as the student has a Pell eligible EFC and continues to be an eligible student.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, please submit the  2020-2021  or 2021-2020 Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act application, email or call our financial aid office at 316.322.3121 for additional information.