Determining Term Limits for Members
| Gray Box | AmeriCorps FAQs |
| Red Box | Interpretation by TCN |
| Green Box | Directly from the Regulations |
§ 2526.50 Is there a limit on the total amount of education awards an individual may receive?
(a) General Limitation. No individual may receive more than an amount equal to the aggregate value of two full-time education awards.
(b) 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.
(c) 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).
- 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 Halftime 675 hr. | Quarter-time 450 hr. | Minimumtime 300 hr. | Abbreviatedtime 100 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 | $2,360.00 | $1,638.43 | $1,311.11 | |
| 2021-2022 | $6,345 | $4,441.50 | $3,172.50 | $2,417.14 | $1,678.57 | $1,342.86 | $357.08 |
| 2022-2023 | $6,495 | $4,546.50 | $3,247.50 | $2,373.27 | $1,718.25 | $1,374.60 | $365.53 |
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 fulltime 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 1700 hour award will always = 1 HT 900 hour 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
MT 300 hour = 0.21164022
QT 450 hour = 0.26455027
AT 100 hour = 0.05627705
RHT 675 hour = 0.38095240
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.
What happens if a member wants to serve another term but receiving the entire amount ofthe award for that term would cause the person’s aggregate value to exceed 2.0?**
An individual can receive no more than the aggregate value of 2.0 full time education awards. A member may be eligible to receive a portion of an award amount for serving an additional term if receiving the full amount would cause the person to exceed the value of 2.0. The following conditions apply:
- The award’s dollar amount will be reduced (discounted), if necessary, to correspond to the remaining value of education awards the individual is eligible to receive.
- The member must agree to serve the entire term of service in order to receive the entire discounted amount.
- If a member is only eligible to receive a discounted amount, that dollar amount is determined using this formula:
2.0 – [minus] the aggregate value of education awards the person previously received x [times] the dollar amount of a full-time education award in the year the national service position was approved
AN EXAMPLE: A member has received one half-time and one full-time education award. The aggregate value of the two awards the person has received is 1.5. The member is eligible to receive up to the value of another .5 award upon successful completion of an entire term of service.
The maximum discounted dollar amount of the new education award this member can receive is calculated this way: .5 multiplied by the dollar amount of a full-time award approved for that new term of service. In order to receive the entire discounted amount, the member must successfully complete the entire required term of service.
What happens if an individual who is eligible to receive only a discounted award amount does not complete the entire term of service but leaves early for compelling personal reasons?
For a member who is eligible only for a discounted award and leaves service early, the same rules apply as they do for other pro-rated education award amounts. The member:
- must have served at least 15% of the required term and
- must have left early for compelling personal reasons.
The pro-rated amount will be based upon the discounted award amount.
FOR EXAMPLE: a member enrolls in a term of service offering an award amount of $5645.00. But the member is only eligible to receive a discounted award amount of $2000.00 based on the value of the education awards the member has already received. The member agrees to serving the entire term in order to receive the discounted amount. If the member exits the term for compelling personal circumstances after having served 50% of the normal required term, the member will receive 50% of the $2,000.00, which is $1,000.00.
**When enrolling a member in this situation, refer to step by step enrollment guidance VI. 2
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
