
Created by: Candace Hollingsworth
Modified on: November 11, 2022
Modified on: November 11, 2022
Determining Term Limits for Members
§ 2526.50 Is there a limit on the total amount of education awards an individual may receive?
- General Limitation. No individual may receive more than an amount equal to the aggregate value of two full-time
education awards. - Calculation of the value of an education award. For the purposes of this section, the value of an education
award is equal to the actual amount of the education award received divided by the amount of a full-time
education award in the year the AmeriCorps or Silver Scholar position to which the award is attributed was
approved. Each award received will be considered to have a value between 0 and 1. Although the amount of a
full-time award as defined in § 2527.10(a) may change, the value of a full-time award will always be equal to 1. - Calculation of aggregate value of awards received. The aggregate value of awards received is equal to the sum
of:- The value of each education award received as a result of successful completion of an approved
AmeriCorps position; - The value of each partial education award received as a result of release from an approved AmeriCorps
position for compelling personal circumstances; - The value of each education award received as a result of successful completion of a term of service in
an approved Silver Scholar position; and - The value of any amount received as a transferred education award, except as provided in § 2530.60(c).
- The value of each education award received as a result of successful completion of an approved
- Determination of Receipt of Award. For purposes of determining the aggregate value of education awards, an award
is considered to be received at the time it becomes available for an individual’s use.
Award Limitations
AmeriCorps members may enroll in multiples terms of service that add up to the value of two full-time education
awards. In other words, you can blend summer, part-time, and full-time service positions and receive awards as long
as the combined service terms don’t exceed two full terms. (You can also serve without receiving an Education Award
up to a maximum number of terms outlined below.)
However, the calculations are not so simple. While two HT awards equal one FT award, four QT awards do not equal one
FT award. The calculations are based formula which includes the amount of the scholarship, not the actual number of
term hours and since the scholarship amount increases each year, all calculations will be based on the amount of the
scholarship for the year it was earned, which obviously will vary. Use chart below to determine amount.
Ed Award (Scholarship Amount) Full-time 1700 hr. Three Quarter time 1200 hr. Half-time/ Part-time 900 hr. Reduced
Half-time 675 hr. Quarter-time 450 hr. Minimum-time 300 hr. 2014-2015 $5,645 n/a $2,822 $2,150 $1,493 $1,195
2015-2016 $5,730 n/a $2,865 $2182.78 $1,515.55 $1,212.44 2016-2017 $5,775 n/a $2,887.50 $2,199.92 $1,527.45
$1,221.96 2017-2018 $5,815 n/a $2,907.50 $2,215.24 $1,538.36 $1,230.69 2018-2019 $5,920 $4,144 $2,960 $2,255.24
$1,566.14 $1,252.91 2019-2020 $6,095 $4,266.50 $3,047.50 $2,321.90 $1,612.43 $1,289.95 2020-2021 $6,195 $4,336.50
$3,097.50 $2,360 $1,638.43 $1,311.11
Considerations
- If a member wishes to enroll in a new term that exceeds their eligibility, they can do so and receive a
pro-rated award or no award. The amount of the award will be determined by the full-time award amounts in the
years they served and will bring their total awards to the amount of two full-time awards. - If they exit a term “for cause” and do not receive an award, it counts as term served*. For example, if they
leave midway through a full-time service terms and don’t receive an award, it still counts as a FT term served.
The same is true with less than full-time terms. *if a member exits before completing 15% of their total
required hours, then it does not count as a term served. - If they receive full or partial education awards from a parent, grandparent, or foster parent, the amount
received will diminish their ability to receive awards in the future through their own service.
Maximum Number of Terms
In blending less than full-time, and full-time terms, they can serve a maximum of:
- Four terms for AmeriCorps State and National programs
- Five one-year terms for VISTA programs
- No limit on the number of total terms for NCCC programs, but members may not serve more than two consecutive
NCCC terms without a break in service of at least 10 months before serving again
If they max out the number of terms served with one stream of service, they can start a new term with another
AmeriCorps program and receive additional awards — as long as they have not yet reached the full value of two
full-time awards. They can also serve terms (and elect not to receive an award) up the limits shown above.
Determination of a Term
For purposes of calculating their eligibility to serve multiple terms Determination of a term is based on the amount
of an award received for a service term divided by the amount of a full-time award in the year service was
performed. In other words, when they complete a full-time year, they use a year of eligibility. It doesn’t matter if
they received a $5,350 or $5,815 award or higher, it still counts as a full term.
If they serve a part-time term or receive a pro-rated award, divide the amount of the award by the amount of a
full-time award for that year. For example, if their half-time award was $2,775, divide that amount by $5,550, and
you arrive at .5. This means they have used half of a full term of eligibility or a quarter of their total
eligibility.
NOTE: Changes in the amount of the award will not grant members additional eligibility. If they received two
$5,350 awards, you cannot serve additional terms even though the amount has increased.
MSY per term of service FT award will always = 1
HT/PT award will always = 0.5
Whether or not the award was earned prior to the current year, these numbers remain the same.
If a member receives the full award, the calculations are:
TQT 1200 hour = 0.70000000
RHT 675 hour = 0.38095240
QT 450 hour = 0.26455027
MT 300 hour = 0.21164022
So if a member served a FT and PT term and wanted to serve a MT, you would calculate those terms 1 + .5 + .21 = 1.71
(numbers rounded) which would allow the member to not only serve that third MT term but also be eligible for another
term of MT or QT without exceeding the 2 FT equivalent.
Additional Calculations for Pro-rated Awards and Members Exiting with No Award
This gets more complicated. The member must check their My AmeriCorps Account to determine the exact amount of the
pro-rated award (determined by the National Trust) they received.
B. Recruiting and Selecting Members
B.22. What do we do differently to enroll a member in a fourth term who will not qualify for an education
award?
Enroll the member like any other member in eGrants. Once a member is enrolled the member will receive and email from
eGrants asking them to log into the AmeriCorps portal site and they will need to click a link stating that they
agree that they will be serving this term of service without receiving any education award. It is recommended that
the program checks eGrants periodically to make sure that the member has confirmed. The member will not be fully
enrolled until they click the link and confirm.
C. Supervising Members
C. 6. What must a program do to enable members to complete their terms of service?
A program should make every effort to enroll members so that each member has a reasonable expectation of completing
his/her term of service by the end of the program’s project period. Should a program not be renewed, a member who
was scheduled to continue in a term of service may either be placed in another program where feasible, or a member
may receive a prorated education award if the member has completed at least 15% of the service hour requirement.
Serving less than 15% of a full term of service does not count as a term of service