This presentation was delivered at the Spring 2021 Convocation of Gadsden State Community College. The presentation details the importance of accurate Last Dates of Attendance (LDAs) in online courses.

1. LAST DATE OF
ATTENDNACE (LDA) IN
ONLINE COURSES & ITS
IMPORTANCE
FAQs, Clarifications, and
Requirements for Faculty Members

2. Basis of Federal Financial Aid Rules
• The Higher Education Act (HEA) is the federal law that governs
the administration of federal student aid programs.
• There are seven sections of the HEA with “Title IV” being the
section that addresses Student Assistance specifically.
• Frequently, you will hear this referred to as “Title IV” funding.
• GSCC is approved to offer federal financial aid assistance
under the following Title IV programs:
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Federal Work Study

4. Keeping Accurate Attendance Records
• Non-Attendance Taking Institution: Gadsden
State Community College is a “non-attending-
taking institution”- for faculty’s purposes, this
means the following:
• Lecture Courses: We use the last date the student
physically attended the class as LDA for the Return of
Title IV processing.
• Online Courses: We use the last date of an
“academically related activity” as LDA for the Return
of Title IV processing.

5. Keeping Accurate Attendance Records
• TAKE ATTENDANCE: Even though GSCC is a “non-attendance
taking institution,” faculty should still keep accurate attendance
records as they are required to verify attendance on a specified day
to capture census reporting data as required to comply with federal
financial aid regulations.
• Census Date: The census date is a set by the college and typically
marks the end of the add/drop period. On this day, the college takes
a “snapshot” of all students’ enrollment which becomes the “official
enrollment” that is used for both state reporting and financial aid
eligibility.
• Example: This is the day when you have to post attendance for
your courses in Banner. GSCC’s Spring 2021 census date is

6. R2T4 and LDAs
•What is R2T4?
• Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to
apply a formula established by the U.S. Department of
Education, titled R2T4, to determine the amount of federal
financial aid a student has earned as of the student’s
withdrawal date.
• The amount aid returned is determined by the amount of
time a student spends in an “academically related activity.”
• After 60% of the term has passed, students have earned
100% of the federal financial aid disbursed to them.

7. R2T4 and LDAs
• What happens if a student does not complete 60% of the
course?
• Students withdrawing from any course(s) in the term prior to the
completion of 60% of the quarter/semester may find that funds
are owed to the College as a result of the R2T4.
• Students who stop engaging in academically related activities
during the term, without officially withdrawing from the courses,
are subject to the R2T4 calculation.
• In such cases, the last date of an “academically related activity,”
as determined by the institution, is used as the LDA.

8. R2T4 and LDAs
• R2T4 Calculations
• The R2T4 calculation is based on the LAST DATE OF
ATTENDANCE (LDA) during the semester regardless of whether
the student withdrew officially or simply stopped attending
classes.
• Return of Unearned Federal Aid
• The total federal aid disbursed at the point of withdrawal less the
earned amount constitutes the unearned aid that must be
returned to the federal government. If it is determined that the
student has received excess funds, the College must return
a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of the student’s
institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage

9. So, What is the LDA in an Online
Course?
• The last date of attendance (LDA) should be recorded
as the last date of participation in an “ACADEMICALLY-
RELATED ACTIVITY.”
• Simply accessing the course is not sufficient to support
the LDA.
• Faculty should retain documented evidence beyond
course log in of the activities which support the reported
LDA for at least 2 years.

10. What is an “Academically-Related” activity?
• Examples Include:
• Turning in a class assignment.
• Taking an exam, tutorial or computer-assisted instruction.
• Attending a study group that is assigned by the institution.
• Participating in an online discussion about the course.
• Initiating contact with a faculty member regarding the course material.
• Examples DO NOT include:
• A syllabus quiz.
• Living in institutional housing.
• Simply accessing the course.
• Logging in to a distance education course without any other active
participation.
• Academic counseling or advising.

11. Other LDA FAQs
• Who must provide the Last Date of Attendance
information?
• Since the instructor is the only person at the institution who
can document whether a student attended class or
participated in an academically-related activity, this
documentation must come from the instructor.
• What grades require an LDA?
• F grades, N (no pass) grades, I/N and I/F grades require a
last date of attendance.

12. Consequences of Incorrect LDA
• It is critical that you make sure that any LDA
determined from Blackboard MUST match the
LDA reported in Banner.
• Please double-check these before submitting
grades. It is critical that these dates are correct,
as they are used to calculate a student’s financial
aid award.
• Incorrect records may result in the College being
required to return money to the federal
government.

13. Changes Coming for Online Instructors
• You will be required to create three columns in your Blackboard
gradebook at the end of the semester for the online classes that
you’re teaching. Descriptions of the columns are as follows (all
three columns will be “text” columns):
• Final Letter Grade Column: This column must include the final letter
grade that you plan to report in Banner. If you change the grade, it
MUST be updated in your Blackboard gradebook.
• LDA Column: For students who receive an F, U, or I, you must put the
LDA for ONLY these grades – format: mm/dd/yyyy.
• LDA Description Column: Please write a brief statement that
describes how you determined the LDA (for example: final exam, unit 4
quiz, chapter 5 discussion, etc.)

14. Gradebook Example