FINANCIAL AID AND NLI

Transcription

1 FINANCIAL AID AND NLI Grant-in-Aid An athletic grant-in-aid can consist of tuition and fees, room and board, and required courserelated books. A grant-in-aid may be offered as a full or partial award. A full award will provide financial aid to the student-athlete that will cover all expenses included in a grant-in-aid. Any partial awards will be credited to the student s university account (Bylaw ). Financial aid awards should not exceed the cost of attendance that is normally incurred by comparable students at HPU (Bylaw ). NLI Guideline Reminders The Basic Rule By signing an NLI and athletic financial aid agreement, a prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the signing institution for one academic year and receive a written offer of athletics financial aid for one academic year, provided the prospect meets all applicable university, conference and NCAA policies for receipt of financial aid. Participation in the Letter of Intent program is governed by Bylaw Satisfying the Terms of the NLI A student may satisfy the terms of the NLI by attending the signing institution for at least one academic year as a full-time student, or by graduating from a junior college. The Basic Penalty If a student-athlete does not attend the signing institution or attends that institution for less than one full academic year, and that student enrolls at another NLI institution, that student may not represent the second institution in intercollegiate athletics competition until he or she has completed one academic year in residence at the second NLI member institution. Additionally, the student will lose one season of competition in all sports. Release from the NLI Obligations An institution may release a student from his or her NLI obligation by selecting the Complete Release option on the NLI Release Request Form. The NLI release is not the same as NCAA permission to contact (i.e., releases are not specific to schools). Discontinued Sport The NLI is declared null and void if the signing institution discontinues the student s sport; however, the prospective student-athlete is permitted to sign another NLI in the same signing year, an exception to the one valid NLI per academic year.

2 Recruiting Rules Violations An NLI shall be declared null and void if eligibility reinstatement by the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff is necessary due to conference and/or NCAA recruiting rules violations. Junior College Midyear Transfers A midyear junior college transfer who fails to graduate from the junior college would maintain a valid NLI provided he or she was a Division I Qualifier or a Division II transfer. Delivery of the NLI Per NCAA Bylaw , any in-person, off-campus contact made with a prospect for the purposes of signing an NLI or other commitment to attend High Point University or attendance at activities related to the signing of an NLI or other commitment to attend High Point University, shall be prohibited. Further, per NCAA Bylaw , in-person, off-campus delivery of an NLI by an institutional staff member shall be prohibited. The NLI may be delivered and received by express mail, courier service, regular mail, facsimile machine or electronic mail ( ). NLI Signing Dates Permissible NLI signing periods are available on the NLI Website National Letter of Intent Signing Process Step One: Evaluation of Academic Information Prior to the National Letter of Intent being prepared, the coaching staff must submit transcripts, test scores and information for the Compliance Office to conduct an academic evaluation of the PSA. Step Two: Preparation of NLI Request The Compliance Office will prepare the form. To request a National Letter of Intent, a Scholarship Request Form must be completed: basic information, such as full name, address, NCAA Eligibility Center ID number and date of birth, the prospect is required to complete the NLI. If prospects are living away from home, the address must reflect their permanent address. The NLI and Athletics Scholarship Request cannot be prepared if the information on the form is not complete. Step Three: Preparing the NLI Once the NLI Request Form has been prepared, the Office of Student Financial Planning will prepare the official financial aid offer. The Athletics Liaison from that office will sign the form(s)

3 and return them to the Director of Compliance or designee who will obtain the required signatures. Once signatures have been obtained, the Compliance Office will notify the appropriate coach that the NLI packet is ready to be mailed. Step Four: Mailing of NLI s This information can be Express Mailed. Please have the prospect (and parents) sign both copies of the National Letter of Intent. Step Five: Returning of NLI The National Letter of Intent must be signed within 14 days from the date of issuance. High Point University must submit the signed NLI to the Conference Office within 21 days after the date of the final signature. If either of these dates passes, the NLI is null and void. High Point University may issue another NLI if either of these occurs and it is still in an active signing period. If the NLI should become null and void for any reason, the Compliance Office is required to notify the PSA and the Conference Office in writing within 5 business days. Institutional Financial Aid Renewal / Nonrenewal Aid based in any degree on athletics ability cannot be awarded in excess of one academic year; the decision of whether a student-athlete is awarded institutional financial aid is made on a year-by-year basis. If a student-athlete is receiving institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability, the institution must notify the student-athlete in writing on or before July 1, whether the aid has been renewed or not renewed for the next academic year. This written notification comes from the institution's financial aid authority, not from the athletics department. If the institution decides not to renew the aid or is going to reduce the aid, the institution must notify the student-athlete in writing that he or she has the right to a hearing. This hearing is held before the institutional agency making the award. The decision to renew or not renew the financial aid is left to the discretion of the institution, to be determined with its normal practices for all students generally.

4 Institutional Financial Aid Cancelation / Reduction If a student-athlete is receiving institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability, that financial aid MAY be reduced or canceled during the period of award (e.g., during that year or term) only if the student-athlete: Renders himself or herself ineligible for intercollegiate competition Misrepresents any information on an application, letter of intent or financial aid agreement Commits serious misconduct, which warrants a substantial disciplinary penalty (the misconduct determination must be made by the university's regular student disciplinary authority) Voluntarily quits the sport for personal reasons. In this case, the student athlete's financial aid may not be given to another student-athlete during the term in which the aid was reduced or canceled. All Nonrenewals/Cancellations must be approved by the Director of Athletics. Procedures The renewal of financial aid based on athletics ability must be made on or before June 1 for the upcoming year. The Financial Planning Office will notify in writing each student-athlete who received aid the previous year and who has remaining eligibility in the sport, which previously awarded the aid. The following is a description of the actual procedure. Coach submits list of renewal grant-in-aid student-athletes to the Compliance Office through a Grant-in-Aid form by May 1 of that year The signed forms are sent to the Financial Planning Office The Financial Planning Office signs and generates a letter to indicate renewal or graduation Grant-in-Aid and letter from the Financial Planning Office are forwarded to the Athletics Department as well as the student-athlete Student-athlete may appeal the reduction of the award decision Financial Planning Office updates the grant-in-aid budget for the sport The (Compliance office) adds the student-athlete s aid to the official squad list

5 Institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability MAY NOT be reduced, canceled or increased during the period of award: Based on a student-athlete's ability, performance or contribution to a success Due to an injury that prevents the student-athlete from participating For any other athletics reason Financial Aid Appeal Procedures If the institution decides not to renew or decides to reduce financial aid for the next academic year, the student-athlete will be notified in writing that they will be provided an opportunity to appeal the decision. The following is a description of the procedure. The coach submits the non-renewable/reductions and their justifications by May 1 st The Athletic Department reviews the information Upon clarification of justification, the form is forwarded to their Financial Planning Office The Financial Planning Office generates a letter of cancellation/reduction with notification of right to appeal The student-athlete either accepts the cancellation/reduction and grant-in-aid terminates, or the student-athlete appeals the decision A written request for an appeal must be made by the student-athlete to the Office of Financial Planning within fifteen days of receiving information of non-renewal If the Financial Planning committee decides in favor of the student-athlete, the Athletic Department generates a new grant-in-aid. If the committee decides in favor of the Athletic Department, the student-athlete may either accept the decision or appeal to the President of the University whose decision is final At the discretion of the President, the case may be referred to the Executive Committee of the Faculty for closure. The Executive Committee of the Faculty serves as the final appellate body on campus

6 Summer School Financial Aid Information Summer awards must be put in writing to the Compliance Office. The Director of Compliance will check the listed amounts to ensure compliance with financial aid regulations Coaches that have been allocated a budget for Summer School are responsible for staying within the allocated budget. Requests for additional financial aid must be made to the Office of Student Financial Planning by May 1 st of each year. This aid will be based on remaining federal aid eligibility through the FAFSA. Incoming Prospects The availability of athletic department summer school aid for students who have not yet attended High Point University during the regular academic year (i.e., incoming prospective student-athletes) is for the purpose of allowing the student to gain a head start on his or her academic career at HPU. It is a valuable experience for the student to have the opportunity to experience the academic culture of the university, while concentrating on specific classes. The focus of this initial summer school attendance shall clearly be for the purpose of advancing academically, rather than getting a head start on athletic activities (Bylaw ). Who is Eligible to Receive Summer Aid? The recipient shall be admitted to High Point University in accordance with regular, published entrance requirements and shall have provided all final, official documentation required by both the NCAA Eligibility Center and HPU s admissions office. The student must have been determined to be a high school qualifier for an incoming freshman. For incoming transfer students, a preliminary review of records must indicate that the student should be eligible for competition for the upcoming academic year (i.e., the student appears to meet transfer requirements applicable to that individual student), unless he or she will be required to serve an academic year in residence pursuant to Bylaw (four-year college transfers, Bylaw ).