SSS-APR-Instr.Edics

OMB Approval No: 1840-0525

Expiration Date: ___________

Student Support Services Program

Annual Performance Report

2005–2006

1. WHAT IS THIS PACKAGE?

This package contains the instructions needed to prepare the annual performance report for the Student Support Services (SSS) Program. The Department of Education (Department) uses the information provided in the performance report to assess a grantee’s progress in meeting its approved goals and objectives and to determine a grantee’s prior experience points in accordance with the SSS program regulations (34 CFR Part 646).

2. WHAT ARE THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY AUTHORITIES TO COLLECT THIS INFORMATION?

Title IV, Section 402D, of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended; the program regulations in 34 CFR Part 646; and 34 CFR Sections 75.590 and 75.720 of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).

3. WHO MUST FILE THIS REPORT?

All grantees funded under the SSS Program must submit an annual performance report as a condition of the grant award.

4. WHAT PERIOD OF TIME IS COVERED IN THE REPORT?

The report covers the 12-month budget period – the period for which the grant was awarded. This information can be found in Block 6 of the Grant Award Notification.

5. WHAT INFORMATION MUST BE SUBMITTED?

The report consists of four sections. All grantees must complete Section I (Project Identification, Certification and Warning information) and submit individual participant data in accordance with Section III -Record Structure for Participants. In addition, a grantee must complete either Section II or Section IV related to the grantee’s Prior Experience Objectives.

6. WHEN MUST THE REPORT BE FILED?

The annual performance report (APR) must be submitted via the Web within 90 days after the end of each 12-month budget period. For the 2005–2006 project year, the due date for submitting the report has been extended to (Insert Due Date) to provide grantees sufficient time to respond to the revised APR approved by OMB on ______________.

7. HOW MAY THE REPORT BE SUBMITTED?

All SSS grantees must complete the APR online using the new Web application. In addition, a grantee must fax a signed copy of Section I of the report form that certifies that the information submitted electronically is accurate, complete, and readily verifiable.

Because the APR requests personal and confidential information on project participants, the secured Web site meets the Department of Education’s data security standards for sensitive data, including improved password and site access procedures. Further, to ensure that the data is accessible only to authorized individuals and protected from unauthorized uses, a grantee must submit the participant level data via the Web application; under no circumstances should a grantee transmit the data to the Department or the APR Help Desk via e-mail.

The new Web application and instructions for completing and submitting the report online will be available by_________2007, at the following web address:

http://www.ed.gov/programs/triostudsupp/report.html

The new Web application that SSS grantees must use to submit the annual performance report has the following features:

• A Web form for completing Sections I, II, and IV online.

• Access to the grantee’s previous year’s APR data. A grantee may choose to download from the secured Web site its prior year’s APR data as a comma-delimited file (CSV) or as an Excel (XLS) spreadsheet.

• Functionality to upload a file with the individual participant records (Section III) to the Web application using a CSV or XLS file format.

• Functionality to view/delete/add participant data online.

• Online data field validations and error checks. In order for a grantee to be able to submit the APR, all sections of the APR must pass the first level of data field validations. Following the initial submission of the participant data, additional data quality checks will be run. If any errors or data inconsistencies are found, the grantee will be informed of needed corrections and the due date for resubmitting the Section III data.

• A print button to make a hard copy of the information entered online for Sections I, II, and/or IV.

• Functionality to download an electronic file with the individual participant records (Section III).

• A submit button to send the entire report to the Department of Education.

• An e-mail confirmation that the report has been submitted (a valid e-mail address must be provided in Section I).

The following are four options for starting the data submission process:

1. Transfer last year’s data submission to the Web form.

2. Enter student data directly into the Web form.

3. Download an Excel file of last year’s submitted data.

4. Upload an Excel/CSV file directly to the Web form.

A project will receive confirmation that the report has been successfully submitted, if the person entering the performance report data provided a valid e-mail address in Section I. After the report has been submitted, a confirmation will be automatically sent to the e-mail address provided. If you do not receive an e-mail confirmation, contact the APR Help Desk.

If for any reason, and prior to the deadline date, you need to revise your performance report data after it has been submitted, please contact the APR Help Desk.

8. WHO MAY BE CONTACTED FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE SUBMISSION OF THE PERFORMANCE REPORT?

Please contact your program specialist directly if you have questions regarding the performance report requirements. A state listing of program specialists and contact information is available at the Web address provided above.

If you have technical problems accessing the Web site or using the Web application, please contact the APR Help Desk at 703-846-8248 or via e-mail at: [email protected]

GETTING STARTED

1. To begin completing this report on-line, from the Department’s Web page click on this URL: https://webprod.cbmiweb.com/sss/.

2. The index/welcome page will be titled “Student Support Services Online Annual Performance Report for Project Year 2005–2006.” Prior to obtaining the username and temporary password for the application, grantees will be required to register online. You must have your PR/Award number (this number can be found in Block 5 of the Grant Award Notification) and the director’s first and last name.

3. Click on “First time user? Register here.” The online registration process will verify the project information you entered against the information on file and upon successful verification, login instructions will be sent to the director’s email on file. If you do not have your project’s information, or have problems with the registration process, instructions will be provided on the Web site. You can also contact the Help Desk at 703-846-8248 or via email at: [email protected]. Please note: written email requests are required to obtain login information.

4. On the left side of the page, enter the issued username and temporary password you received when you registered online. Click Login. You will be guided to select a new password, then to log in again using the newly created password.

5. Upon accessing the Web site, you will be asked to confirm that the PR/Award number is correct, and that the grantee’s name is correct. Section I will appear and your PR/Award number will be automatically inserted into line 1 of Section I of the report form.

Student Support Services Program

Specific Instructions for Completing the Performance Report

For 2005-06

SECTION I -- PROJECT IDENTIFICATION, CERTIFICATION, AND WARNING

1. Identification

1. Many of the data fields in this Section are pre-filled. Please review these fields, including the project director’s e-mail address, and update them as needed. You may change the data in all fields except for the project’s PR/Award Number, the Grantee Name, and the Project Year.

2. Please provide information for any fields that are not pre-populated.

2. Certification

You must fax a signed copy of Section I of the report form that certifies that the information submitted electronically is accurate, complete, and readily verifiable to the best of your knowledge. Section I must be signed by both the project director and the certifying representative at the grantee institution and faxed to_____________

With the exception of Section I of the report, do not fax a paper copy of the performance report.

3. Warnings

Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or misrepresentation on this report is subject to penalties, which may include fines, imprisonment, or both, under the United States Criminal Code and 20 U.S.C. 1097.

Further, Federal funds or other benefits may be withheld under these programs unless this report is completed and filed as required by existing law (20 U.S.C. 1231a) and regulations (34 CFR 75.590 and 75.720).

SECTION II – VERIFICATION OF NUMBER FUNDED TO SERVE AND PRIOR EXPERIENCE STANDARD OBJECTIVES

For the 2005-06 reporting year, this section must be completed by all SSS projects that began their new grant/project period in 2005. Grantees whose 2005-06 budget year is part of a grant/project period that began prior to 2005 do not need to complete this section for 2005-06.

Please note that all SSS projects whose 2005-06-budget year is part of a grant/project period that began prior to 2005 must complete Section IV of the APR. However, if any of these projects notified the Department they would be using their new objectives, they must complete Section II.

The information on this form has been pre-populated with the approved number of participants to be served and the percentages for each of the prior experience objectives as stated in your approved application and/or revised and approved by your program specialist. Please note that all grantees that are two-year institutions must complete item #2 (graduation/transfer rate) and all four-year institutions except as noted below must complete item #4 (graduation rate). Four-year institutions may complete item #5 (graduation rate for four-year institutions with two-year degree programs) only if the following conditions are met: (1) the four-year institution offers two-year degree programs; (2) the SSS project serves students enrolled in two-year degree and/or transfer programs, and four-year degree programs; and (3) the approved application submitted under the FY 2005 competition for new grants includes project objectives for both two-year degree and/or transfer rates for students in the two-year degree programs, and four-year degree graduation rates for students in four-year degree programs. If your approved application does not contain both types of objectives, you must complete item #4 only.

Please carefully review the pre-populated information and verify if the pre-populated information is correct by checking either the “yes” or “no” box. If you check any of the “no” boxes, please enter the revised number/rate in the space provided. Your program specialist will review and approve the proposed changes. If additional information is needed regarding any of your proposed changes, your program specialist will contact you.

SECTION III: RECORD STRUCTURE FOR PARTICIPANTS

General Instructions for the Participant List

(1) Who should be included on the annual data file?

A project should use the SSS Program’s regulatory definition of a project participant in 34 CFR 646.7(c) to determine which current-year project participants should be included on the data file.

Participant means an individual who –

1. Is determined to be eligible to participate in the project under 34 CFR 646.3; and

2. Received project services the grantee has determined to be sufficient to increase the individual’s chances for success in a postsecondary educational program.

Since the Department of Education needs to be able to track the academic progress of Student Support Services (SSS) participants from one academic year to the next, this performance report needs to follow the 12-month academic year of the grantee institution instead of the 12-month budget/project year for the grant. For example, the 2005-2006 academic year is generally August/September 2005 through August 2006 while the budget/project year for SSS grants is September 1, 2005, through August 31, 2006. As such, three possible scenarios are described below:

Scenario #1: The grantee institution’s fall term begins in August/September 2006 and the new participants for the 2006-07 academic year were enrolled during the summer of 2006, but significant project services began at the beginning of the fall term 2006. These SSS participants should not be included on the 2005-06 APR; they should be reported as “new” participants on the 2006-07 APR.

Scenario #2: The SSS student was enrolled at the grantee institution for the first time during the 2006 summer term and/or participated in a formal summer academic program offered by the SSS project for new SSS participants. These individuals should be included on the 2005-06 APR and reported as a “new participant (summer only)”. Refer to the instructions below for field #16 (student cohort year) and field #15 (participant status).

Scenario #3: The SSS student was accepted for enrollment at the grantee institution and received significant pre-enrollment services (i.e., academic advising, assistance with class selection and registration, orientation workshops, financial aid advising) from the project during the summer prior to enrolling at the institution. This may include transfer students. These individuals should be included on the 2005-06 APR and reported as “New Participant (for summer session only)”; these students are part of the subsequent year’s cohort (i.e., 2006-07).

A project must track the progress of prior-year participants for as long as they are enrolled at the grantee institution. To ensure that the data collected on prior-year participants is accurate and complete, there are two categories of prior-year participants:

• Prior-year participants still enrolled at the grantee institution; and

• Prior-year participants not enrolled at the grantee institution.

Definitions for prior-year participants are included in the section “Definitions that Apply.”

Please note that your data file must include all prior-year participants still enrolled at your institution during the project year and all those individuals who were either served by the project or enrolled at the institution during the previous project year (PY 2004­–05) and did not return to your institution in PY 2005–­06. This will enable the Department of Education to more accurately report on student outcomes, particularly the persistence rates of SSS participants.

For prior year participants not enrolled, the grantee should provide updated information on these prior-year participants. Specifically, the grantee must update the following data fields (#14, #17, #22, #27, and #28).

(2) What are the data fields?

The SSS APR contains 32 data fields. Two of the fields are file identifiers; the remaining fields are of two types: those data fields that, except in unusual situations, will not need to be updated annually; and those data fields that must be reviewed annually and updated, as needed. They are:

File Identifiers:

#1 PR/Award Number

#2 Batch Year

Fields that do not need to be updated annually

#3 Social Security Number

#4 Student’s Last Name

#5 Student’s First Name

#6 Student’s Middle Initial

#7 Student’s Date of Birth

#8 Gender

#9 Race/Ethnicity

#10 Eligibility

#11 First Enrollment Date (at grantee institution)

#12 Date of First Service

#13 Academic Need (at initial selection)

#16 Student Cohort Year

#18 College Grade Level (entry into project)

#24 GPA Scale

Fields that annually need to be reviewed and updated, as needed.

The asterisk (*) indicates fields for which a grantee may select the option “Not applicable (prior-year participats)” for the prior-year participant.

#14 Date of Last Project Service

#15 Participant Status

#17 Enrollment Status (at end of reporting year) *

#19 College Grade Level (Current at end of the current reporting year)

#20 Persistence/Graduation Status (at end of 2005-06 academic year)

#21 Persistence Status (at the beginning of the 2006-07 academic year)

#22 Reasons for Withdrawal/Not Returning

#23 Transfers

#25 Cumulative GPA *

#26 Academic Standing *

#27 Undergraduate Degree/Certificate Completed at Grantee Institution

#28 Date of Undergraduate Degree

#29 Amount of Financial Aid Needed *

#30 Amount of Financial Aid Package *

#31 Amount of SSS Grant Aid Awarded *

#32 Summer Bridge (new participants only) *

Further, to ensure consistency in the data reporting, for each of the following fields, the information provided should be as of the end of the academic year being reported (i.e., as of the end of the summer term 2006 for the 2005-06 academic year).

#19 College grade level (Current at end of the current reporting year)

#20 Persistence/graduation status (at end of 2005-06 academic year)

#22 Reasons for withdrawal

#23 Transfers

#25 Cumulative GPA

#26 Academic standing

#27 Undergraduate Degree/Certificate Completed at Grantee Institution

#28 Date of Undergraduate Degree

(3) How should the Date Fields be Formatted (Fields #7, #11, #12, #14 and 28)?

Please review carefully the Valid Field Content column to ensure that the data submitted is in the correct format. All date fields should be formatted as follows: 2 digits for month; 2 digits for day; 2 digits for century; and 2 digits for year. Also, please include slashes between the month, day and year. For example, a participant’s birth date of January 1, 1982, would be formatted as follows: 01/01/1982. To ensure that the date is properly imported, always use the zero before one-digit months and days and insert slashes.

Specific Instructions for Participant List

Field #1 PR/Award Number (pre-populated)

Once the grantee has successfully logged in to the SSS APR Web application, this field will be pre-populated for each participant record.

Field #2 Batch Year (pre-populated)

The four-digit year will be pre-populated. The Batch Year designates the budget period that is the subject of this report. The Batch Year changes with each annual submission of individual participant records. The Department designates the Batch Year as the beginning year of the 12-month budget period. This may or may not be the same as the school year or academic year designations for some institutions. The Batch Year was chosen because TRIO projects are current-year funded, (e.g., Federal Fiscal Year 2005 funds were used to support PY 2005-2006). Thus, the data file for Batch Year 2005 would include information on both project participants served and prior participants tracked during PY 2005-2006.

Field # 3-9 Student Identifying Information

These fields are self-explanatory. For definitions of the race/ethnicity categories, refer to the “Definitions that Apply” section of these instructions. Please pay special attention to the required formatting for each field.

Field #10 Eligibility

The authorizing statute and regulations governing the SSS Program require that an individual, at the time of initial selection in the project, must be a “low-income individual,” a “first-generation college student,” or “an individual with disabilities.” (These terms are defined in the section on “Definitions that Apply”.) Two-thirds of each year’s project participants must be both low-income and first-generation, or be individuals with disabilities; the remaining one-third can be either low-income, first-generation, or individuals with disabilities, or a combination of these. At least one-third of the individuals with disabilities must also be low-income individuals. Students must be counted only once in this breakdown.

Field #11 First Enrollment Date (at grantee institution)

Provide the date the individual first enrolled at the grantee institution. The enrollment date is the date when the participant has completed the registration requirements, paid their tuition and fees and attends first day of classes at the grantee institution. If you do not know the exact date, use 15 for the day and use your best estimate for the month.

Since a student accepted for enrollment at the grantee institution may receive services from the SSS project, the school enrollment date may be after the project entry date and/or the date of first service.

Field #12 Date of First Service (previously Project Entry Date)

Beginning with students served for the first time in 2005-06 (new participants only), the grantee should provide the date of first service, instead of the project entry date. For continuing and prior-year participants, the grantee does not need to change the date previously reported (i.e., project entry date).

If you do not know the exact date, use 15 for the day and use your best estimate for the month.

Field #13 Academic Need (at initial selection)

In accordance with 34 CFR 646.3 (c), a project, in selecting individuals to participate in a SSS project, must determine the individual’s need for academic support in order to pursue successfully a postsecondary educational program. This field contains a list of criteria commonly used by projects to determine an individual’s need for services. For each participant on the data file, you must select, from the list, the academic need type that best describes the participant’s need for academic support at the time of initial selection into the project. Do not update this field in subsequent reporting years. To reduce the need to use the “Other” category, additional criteria have been added to this field. Options “2”, “3”, and “4” in the previous version of the APR have been consolidated into one option called “low admission test scores” and is now option 2. If you used options 3 and 4 in previous APRs, you should select option 2. To ensure that these data are reported correctly, options 3 and 4 will no longer be used. Although many students may qualify for project services based on more than one of the listed categories, please select from the list the main category used to determine the individual’s need for academic support.

Field #14 Date of Last Project Service

Provide the date of last project service for all prior-year participants no longer served by the SSS project and for current year participants who have graduated or withdrawn from the institution. It would be best to use the date the participant last attended a SSS activity or received a service from the project. If the date is not available, you may use the date the project dropped the student from its list of active participants. For those students who stay in the program until graduation, the date of last project service would be the college graduation date. For prior year participants, please use the date reported in the previous APR (i.e., reporting year 2004-05) unless the date reported previously was incorrect.

Insert “88/88/8888” (Not applicable) in this field for an individual still participating in the SSS project at the end of the reporting year (or the beginning of the next academic year).

Field #15 Participant Status

Please note that for the 2005-06 reporting year, five new options have been added to the four options previously available for this field. In addition, the definitions for prior-year participant still enrolled and prior-year participant not enrolled have been revised (refer to the section on “Definitions that Apply” for definitions of all seven participant status options).

For each participant record, the grantee must review the options available and select or update this field as appropriate. The participant status options include:

• New participant

• Continuing participant

• Prior-year participant still enrolled at grantee institution

• Prior-year participant not enrolled at grantee institution

• New participant (for summer session only)

• Reentry (received project services)

• Reentry (did not receive project services)

• Hurricane participant (officially enrolled at grantee institution during the 2005-06 academic year)

• Hurricane participant (attended classes at grantee institution during 2005-06 academic year but not officially enrolled)

The first new category (option “5”, new participant –summer session only) has been added to the APR for an individual served by the SSS project for the first time during the summer session preceding the participant’s first academic year at the grantee institution (i.e., served during summer 2006 prior to the 2006-07 academic year). A participant who is a “new participant—summer session only” (option “5”) on the 2005-06 APR should be coded as a “new participant” (option “1”) on the 2006-07 APR. Also, for field #16 (student cohort year), the grantee should select option “8” (2006-07) on both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 APRs.

The next two new categories are applicable only to students who left the institution and subsequently reentered the institution and received project services or reentered the institution but did not receive project services in the 2005-06 reporting year.

The two categories for “hurricane” participants are applicable only to the 2005-06 reporting year. “Hurricane” participants enrolled at the grantee institution during the 2005-06-academic year (option “8”) should be included on APR for 2006-07 reporting year and their status updated as appropriate (i.e., continuing, prior-year still enrolled, or prior-year not enrolled). “Hurricane” participants that were not enrolled at the grantee institution in 2005-06 (option “9”) should be dropped from the APR for the 2006-07 reporting year unless the student enrolled at the grantee institution for the 2006-07. These students, if served by the project in 2006-07 would be reported as “new” participants (option #1) on the APR for 2006-07.

Field # 16 Student Cohort Year

Select, from the list provided, the cohort year that coincides with the academic year the student entered the SSS project. This is a new field that was added to the student record structure to replace the data previously collected in Section II: Demographic Profile of Project Participants of the previous version of the APR.

Beginning with the 2005-06 APR, a “new” participant served only during the 2006 summer session and not previously enrolled in postsecondary education would be in the 2006-07-cohort (option “8”). Option “8” should only be used for an individual served by the project for the first time in the 2006 summer session preceding the participant’s first academic year (i.e., 2006-07) at the grantee institution.

A student enrolled at the grantee institution prior to the summer 2006 but who received services from the SSS project for the first time during the summer 2006 would be in the 2005-06 cohort (option “7”).

All other new participants served for the first time in the 2005-06 reporting period would be in the 2005-06 cohort (option “7”). Options “9-11” will be used in future APRs. You should not use these options for the 2005-06 APR.

Field #17 Enrollment Status (at end of the reporting year)

This field provides information on a participant’s annual progress toward graduation and can also be used to identify groups of full-time and less than full-time students. ED has revised how to report the enrollment status of participants. Instead of calculating and reporting enrollment status based on the participant’s enrollment status for each term, a grantee should now report the enrollment status equivalent for the academic year based on credits or clock hours enrolled in for the full academic year (fall through summer terms). For example, a student would be classified as a full-time student if he/she enrolled in 24 semester credits during the academic year being reported even if the student did not earn 12 credits each semester. This change eliminates the need for a “varied enrollment status” option and more accurately reflects the academic progress of the participants.

To determine a participant’s enrollment status, use the sum of the credit or clock hours a student was enrolled in at the end of each academic term during the reporting year (i.e., sum of credits or clock hours enrolled in at the end of the fall, spring, and summer terms). Do not count the credit or clock hours the student officially dropped during any of the terms in the calculation of enrollment status. Please note that the enrollment status is based on the number of hours a student ENROLLED in not the number of hours the student earned. If a student received an “Incomplete” or failed the course, those hours should be included in the number of hours a student enrolled. Courses that are audited are not counted towards the number of hours enrolled.

Three examples follow:

Scenario 1: A student is enrolled for 9 credit hours (three-quarter time) for 3 semesters (fall, spring, and summer) enrolling for a total of 27 credit hours for the academic year. Since full-time status is 24 credits for the academic year, the student would be reported as a full-time student.

Scenario 2: A student is enrolled for 9 credit hours in the fall semester and 15 credits in the spring semester enrolling for a total of 24 credits. Since full-time status is 24 credits for the academic year, the student would be reported as a full-time student.

Scenario 3: A student is enrolled for 9 credits in both the fall and spring semesters enrolling for a total of 18 credits. Since 18 credits equals three-quarters of the full-time equivalent, the student would be reported as a three-quarter time students for the reporting year.

If you do not know the enrollment status of a current-year participant, use “0-Unknown/No response.” If the individual is a prior-year participant, use “9” for “Not applicable (prior-year participants).”

Field # 18 College Grade Level (Entry into project)

In determining the student’s postsecondary grade level, use the criteria of the grantee institution regarding grade level classifications and academic standing. Most postsecondary institutions use credits earned and grade point average to determine the college grade level. Use codes 3, 4, 5, and 6 only for students who have the required number of credits and GPA to be classified at the institution as sophomore, junior, senior, and other undergraduate, respectively. For students who have earned college credits during high school or through placement testing but have not previously been enrolled in college, use 1 for 1^st year, never attended. However, in determining these students college grade level at the end of the reporting year (field #19), count the earned credits in determining the end of the reporting year grade level.

Field #19 College Grade Level (Current at the end of the current reporting year)

For the Current College Grade Level (Field #19), provide information on the individual’s grade level at the end of the 2005-2006 academic year for all new, continuing, and prior-year participants still enrolled at the grantee institution. For students who graduated or transferred or students who are prior-year participants no longer enrolled at the institution during 2005-2006 use “99” -- “Not Enrolled”

To ensure uniformity in reporting, two-year institutions should use first-year (freshman) and second-year (sophomores) to designate the college grade levels of their participants in fields #18 and #19.

Field #20 Persistence/Graduation Status (at end of the reporting year)

Please provide the participant’s enrollment status as of the end of the 2005-2006 reporting year. Select option “1” for students who received a certificate/diploma..

Use option “9” for a student who obtained a certificate or an associate’s degree at a 4-year institution and is continuing to pursue an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree at that institution.

Field #21 Persistence Status (at the beginning of the 2006-07 academic year)

Field #21 provides the data needed to determine, on an annual basis, the extent to which the grantee has met its approved persistence objective for the reporting period. Since the persistence objective measures the persistence of SSS participants from one academic year to the next at the grantee institution, it is necessary to know whether participants served in the current reporting year (i.e., 2005-06) enrolled at the grantee institution for the first term in the next academic year (i.e., fall 2006). The addition of field #21 to the student record structure may require grantees to collect data on the enrollment status of project participants after the end of the budget period (i.e., August 31, 2006) but before the due date for submitting the APR (i.e.,_____2007).

For students who are no longer enrolled at grantee institution because they received an associate’s degree and transferred to a 4-year institution or transferred from a 2-year to a 4-year institution, select option “2— Not enrolled at grantee institution (transferred from a 2-year to a 4-year institution)”. For all other transfers, select option “3—Not enrolled at grantee institution”.

For students who are no longer enrolled at the grantee institution, select option “3—Not enrolled at grantee institution”.

Field #22 Reason for Withdrawal/Not Returning

Please use the code that best describes the reason the participant withdrew from the grantee institution or did not return. Provide the requested information for all participants who withdrew/did not return during or at the end of the academic year being reported (i.e., 2005-06). Use option“8” (Not applicable) for students still enrolled, completed certificate/diploma program, graduated or transferred.

Field # 23 Transfers

Select the appropriate option for participants who have transferred to another institution. Use option “8” (Not applicable – still enrolled or graduated) if the participant is still enrolled at the grantee-institution, completed certificate program, or graduated with an associate’s (but did not transfer) or graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Use option “9” (Not applicable – not enrolled at grantee institution) if the participant withdrew, did not return, was called for military service, or is deceased.

Field # 24 GPA Scale

Please indicate the scale used by the grantee institution to calculate grade point average. For institutions that do not use a numeric scale, please use “3” for “Other.”

Field # 25 Cumulative GPA

In Field #25, please provide information on the cumulative grade point average of all current year SSS participants at the end of the 2005–2006 academic year. Use “9.999” (Not applicable) for prior-year participants.

For students who participated in a summer bridge program and where no GPA was calculated, leave this field blank.

Field #26 Academic Standing

Use your institution’s criteria for determining good academic standing. Provide information on the academic standing of all current year SSS participants at the end of the 2005-2006 academic year. Select “9” (Not applicable) for prior-year participants.

Field #27 Undergraduate Degree/Certificate Completed at Grantee Institution

For Field #27, indicate the degree/certificate completed during the 2005-2006 academic year.

If a student is working on a second bachelor’s degree, please use option “5” (2nd Bachelor’s degree).

For a student enrolled in a dual degree program who has completed four-years of instruction, use option“6” to indicate the student has obtained the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree, even though a bachelor’s degree was not awarded. This option is only applicable for students who have completed four years of instruction and are working towards a graduate degree.

Use option “7” for a student who obtained a certificate or an associate’s degree at a 4-year institution and is continuing to pursue an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree. For students still enrolled at the grantee institution but who have not yet completed their undergraduate program of study, use option “8”.

Use option “9” for current or prior-year participants who withdrew from grantee institution prior to obtaining degree/certificate or did not return to grantee institution. Use option “0” (No response/Unknown) only for those students for which the degree/certificate status is unknown.

The participant record for a student who has received a certificate or diploma from a program that is less than two years should not be dropped if the participant continues to be enrolled in a degree program at the grantee institution.

Field # 28 Date of Undergraduate Degree

For current and prior-year participants who obtained a certificate or degree during the reporting period, provide the date the certificate or degree was awarded. If you do not know the exact date, use 15 for the day and use your best estimate for the month.

For a student who obtained a certificate or an associate’s degree at a 4-year institution and is continuing to pursue an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, please provide the date the certificate or degree was awarded.

The participant record for a participant that has received a certificate or diploma from a program that is less than two years should not be dropped if the participant continues to be enrolled in a degree program at the grantee institution.

Fields #29-31 Financial Aid and Grant Aid Awarded

Complete these fields only for those project participants who were new or continuing participants during PY 2005-2006. Leave these fields blank for prior-year participants. Also, leave these fields blank for reentry participants who did not receive project services. Please do not enter a range of values or negative values.

In field #29, enter the amount of financial aid needed as determined by the financial aid office. Do not include the amount of the expected family contribution.

In field #30, indicate the amount of the financial aid package offered to the SSS participant inclusive of Federal, state, local, private, institutional aid. Do not include the amount of SSS grant aid in this field, as you will be asked to provide this information in field #31.

In field #31, provide the amount of SSS grand aid awarded for the PY 2005-2006. (This term is defined in the section on “Definitions that Apply”.)

Note: By subtracting the sum of fields #30 and #31 from the amount of financial aid needed in field #29, the amount of unmet need can/will be calculated.

Field #32 Summer Bridge Program

Consistent with research findings regarding the benefits of summer bridge programs for students transitioning from high school to postsecondary education, many SSS projects offer a structured summer academic and enrichment program for entering students. These programs may be funded with the SSS grant funds, with non-federal funds, or a combination of both.

If your project offered a summer bridge program, for all new participants served in 2005-06 indicate whether or not the student participated in the summer bridge program (select “1” for participated; select option “2” for participants who did not participate in a summer bridge program). Select option “7” if the project did not offer a summer bridge program. Select option “8” for continuing participants, and option “9” for prior-year participants.

SECTION IV: PROJECT PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES

Only those SSS projects whose 2005-06-budget year is part of a grant/project period that began prior to 2005 must complete Section IV of the APR. However, if any of these projects notified the Department they would be using their new objectives, they must complete Section II. All other SSS grantees must complete Section II. This section is similar to the previous version of the SSS APR and will only be used by SSS grantees until they begin their new grant/funding period either in 2006-07 or 2007-08.

This form has been pre-populated with the approved number of participants to be served. Please carefully review the pre-populated information and verify if the pre-populated information is correct by checking either the “yes” or “no” box. If you check any of the “no” boxes, you must enter the approved number in the space provided.

This section of the APR is your opportunity to respond to each of the prior experience criteria. Provide your approved objectives (proposed percent and proposed number of participants) for persistence, good academic standing, graduation, and, if applicable, transfer. Then report your actual achievement level (percent and number). For the prior experience criterion for Administration, TRIO staff will use the student-level data from Section III of the APR to determine if your project met its approved funded to serve number and the requirement that at least two-thirds of the students served during the reporting year were low-income and first-generation college students and/or individuals with disabilities. The denominator for calculating whether the grantee met the two-thirds requirement is the greater of the approved number of participants to be served or the actual number served.

DEFINITIONS THAT APPLY

Race/Ethnicity categories (field #9)

American Indian or Alaska Native - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliations or community recognition.

Asian - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. This area includes, for example, China, India, Japan, Korea, and the Philippine Islands.

Black or African American - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

Hispanic or Latino - A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

White - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii or other Pacific islands such as Samoa and Guam.

More than one race reported – A person of a multi-racial background.

Participant Eligibility (field #10)

Low-income individual means an individual whose family taxable income did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount in the calendar year preceding the year in which the individual initially participated in the project. The poverty level amount is determined using 29-criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

First-generation college student means an individual neither of whose natural or adoptive parents received a baccalaureate degree; or a student who, prior to the age of 18, regularly resided with and received support from only one natural or adoptive parent and whose supporting parent did not receive a baccalaureate degree.

Individual with disabilities means a person who has a diagnosed physical or mental impairment that substantially limits that person’s ability to participate in the educational experiences and opportunities offered by the grantee institution.

Academic Need (field #13)

Predictive indicator is a composite variable for estimating the potential success of a student in college using a variety of factors that may include indicators such as high school GPA, SAT or ACT test scores, high school preparedness, etc.

Diagnostic tests include tests used for clinical purposes such as to determine learning disabilities as well as placement tests and study skills inventories.

Participant Status (field #15)

A new participant is an individual who was served by the SSS project for the first time in this reporting period (PY 2005-2006) and meets the definition of participant in 34 CFR 646.7(c) of the SSS program regulations.

A new participant--summer session only is an individual served by the SSS project for the first time during the summer session preceding the participant’s first academic year at the grantee institution (i.e., served during summer 2006 prior to the 2006-07 academic year). This student is thus part of the subsequent year’s cohort (i.e., 2006-07-option “8”, field #16). This definition does not include a student enrolled at the grantee institution prior to the summer session but who received services from the SSS project for the first time during the summer 2006. This individual would meet the definition of “new participant” (field #15, option “1”, and would be in the 2005-06 cohort (field #16, option “7”).

Note: A participant who is a “new participant—summer session only” (option “5”) on the 2005-06 APR should be coded as a “new participant” (option “1”) on the 2006-07 APR.

A continuing participant is an individual who was served by the SSS project in a prior reporting period and also received services in the 2005-06 reporting period.

A reentry participant (receiving project services) is an individual who left the grantee institution in a previous reporting period, then reentered the institution and was served by the project in 2005-06.

A reentry participant (not receiving project services) is an individual who left the grantee institution in a previous reporting period, then reentered the institution and was not served by the project in 2005-06.

Note: The sum of the number of new, new summer session only, continuing, and reentry (receiving project services) participants should equal the total number of participants the project served during the 2005-2006 reporting period. “Hurricane” participants served with supplemental grant funds are not included in the count for the number of participants the project was funded to serve and thus are not included when comparing the total number of participants the project served to the number of participants that project was funded to serve.

A prior-year participant still enrolled at grantee institution is an individual served by the SSS project in a prior reporting period that was enrolled at the grantee institution during the current reporting period but did not receive project services on a continual basis during the reporting period. This definition include a prior-year participant who received a certificate/diploma from a program that is less than two years and is pursuing an associate’s degree at the grantee institution. However, a prior-year participant that is pursuing a second or graduate degree at the grantee institution after attaining the first bachelor’s degree (grantees who are four-year institutions) or attained the associate’s degree and/or transferred to four-year institution (grantees who are two-year institutions) are not included in this definition.

A prior-year participant not enrolled at the grantee institution is an individual served by the SSS project in a prior reporting period who was enrolled at the grantee institution during the previous reporting period (2004-2005) but who was not enrolled at the grantee institution during current reporting period (2005-2006).

A hurricane participant enrolled at grantee institution during the 2005-06 academic year is an individual who was served by the SSS project in the 2005-06 reporting period because the individual was not able to enroll at one of the institutions of higher education impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This definition includes only an individual displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita who was admitted and enrolled at the grantee institution during the 2005-06 academic year and who does not plan to return to one of the institutions impacted by the hurricanes.

A hurricane participant not accepted but enrolled at grantee institution during the 2005-06 academic year is an individual who was served by the SSS project in the 2005-06 reporting period because the individual was not able to take classes at one of the institutions of higher education impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This definition includes only those individuals who were served by the SSS project during the 2005-06 academic year and who were not formally enrolled at the grantee institutions.

The two categories for “hurricane” participants are applicable only to the 2005-06 reporting year. “Hurricane” participants enrolled at the grantee institution during the 2005-06-academic year (option “8”) should be included on APR for 2006-07 reporting year and their status updated as appropriate (i.e., continuing, prior-year still enrolled, or prior-year not enrolled). “Hurricane” participants that were not enrolled at the grantee institution in 2005-06 (option “9”) should be dropped from the APR for the 2006-07 reporting year unless the student enrolled at the grantee institution for the 2006-07. These students, if served by the project in 2006-07 would be reported as “new” participants (option #1) on the APR for 2006-07.

Student Cohort Year (field #16)

For this field, the cohort is a group of students who started in the same project year. Please use the 12-month academic year as a guide for determining a participant’s cohort. An individual student is a member of the same cohort for reporting purposes even if that student leaves the program and returns (e.g., reentries). Further, a student remains in the same cohort group for each successive year.

College Grade Level (at end of reporting year) (field #19)

Dual degree program is a program of study that awards an individual both the bachelor’s and a graduate degree upon successful completion of the program of study.

Undergraduate Degree/Certificate at Grantee Institution (field #27)

Equivalent of bachelor’s degree is to be used only for SSS participants enrolled in dual degree program that have completed four years of undergraduate study and are working towards a graduate degree.

SSS Grant Aid (field #31)

SSS grant aid is financial grant aid that a SSS project may award to current year participants in the project who are in their first two years of postsecondary education and who are receiving Federal Pell Grants. Grant aid may be awarded to students who have completed their first two years of postsecondary education and are receiving Federal Pell Grants, if the institution demonstrates that these students are at high-risk of dropping out and the financial needs of all its eligible first and second-year students have been met. The amount of grant aid awarded to a student may not exceed the maximum appropriated Pell Grant or be less than the minimum appropriated Pell Grant for the academic year being reported.

Summer Bridge Program (field #32)

Summer bridge program refers to a structured summer program to assist students transitioning from high school to postsecondary education and may include college courses and other academic and enrichment activities that should be described in the funded application.

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