Financial Aid Notification of Requirements and Regulations

Transcription

1 Financial Aid Notification of Requirements and Regulations Please read this document in its entirety and contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions or concerns. By signing and submitting the Financial Aid Agreement at the end, you are verifying that you understand and are agreeing to all the terms and conditions of Financial Aid as set forth by the U.S. Department of Education and Mayland Community College.

2 Financial Aid Requirements and Regulations 1. Read the following information carefully. It is the student s responsibility to read and comply with all the requirements and regulations detailed in this document. If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. 2. Contact the Student Development Office immediately if you have a change of address. To ensure the timely disbursement of all financial aid refunds, it is important to have the correct contact information on file for each student. 3. Check your LEO account on a daily or weekly basis. The Financial Aid Office will use LEO accounts to communicate with students when necessary. It is the student s responsibility to check this account on a regular basis. Students who do not wish to be contacted by must optout of this method of communication by completing the opt-out form located under the Financial Aid Forms link of Students must be enrolled in a program leading to a degree, diploma, or eligible certificate (at least 16 credit hours in length) to be eligible for Federal financial aid. Only those classes required for the student s program of study will be covered by the financial aid award. It is the student s responsibility to ensure that he/she is enrolled in the correct program and that all classes are in that major. Contact the Financial Aid Office with questions or concerns. Your Pell Grant award for the academic year is based on full-time enrollment and will be adjusted if you enroll for less than twelve (12) credit hours. Enrollment Credit Hours Student Will Receive Full-time 12 or more credits 100% of award ¾ time 9-11 credits 75% of award ½ time 6-8 credits 50% of award Less than ½ time 1-5 credits 25% of award NOTE: Students with high EFCs (Expected Family Contribution) on the FAFSA, may not be eligible for some of the less than full-time awards. Your award letter may include aid from the following programs, each with its own required enrollment status: Financial Aid Program Federal Pell Grant Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) North Carolina Community College Grant (NCCCG) North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarship (NCELS) Required Enrollment Status Award dependent on enrollment status At least 6 credits At least 6 credits, reduced for less than fulltime At least 6 credits, reduced for less than fulltime Your total award is subject to change based on the availability of funds from the appropriate agencies and the laws and regulations which govern these awards. In addition, your award package is an estimate based on your projected enrollment status for the current award year and is subject to change due to a variety of factors, which are discussed below. For Financial Aid purposes, full time in the summer is still defined as 12 or more credit hours. Financial Aid Refunds After the start of the semester, the balance of any financial aid not used during registration will be disbursed by the Business Office to your Higher One account.

3 Special Circumstances Which May Affect Your Financial Aid Clock Hour Programs / Clock to Credit Conversion Programs Students enrolled in Welding Technology which does not offer a degree, will be awarded based on a federally mandated clock to credit hour conversion formula. This means that the amount for which Financial Aid can pay will differ from the amount listed on the award letter. Cosmetology Diploma/Certificate and Basic Law Enforcement Training are awarded based on clock hours of attendance rather than credit hours. These programs will also be paid differently from other credit hour programs and actual award amounts may differ from the award letter. Awards for students in these programs will be finalized and a revised award letter sent after Schedule Adjustment. Remedial / Developmental Coursework Regulations The Department of Education will only allow payment of Title IV funds for a maximum of 30 attempted credit hours of remedial coursework for each student, as the intent for these funds is to pay for college level courses. It is the student s responsibility to keep track of remedial courses. Students enrolled in Developmental Math/Reading modules with a late start date will not be paid financial aid for those classes until after class has started and attendance has been verified. At that point, if needed, financial aid will be adjusted to reflect the addition of another class. If a student receives financial aid for a late start class but fails to attend that class, the student may be required to repay any aid received for the class. (These regulations also apply to students enrolled in college level courses that are offered as mini-mesters, such as BIO 165 and BIO 166.) Programs Not Eligible for Financial Aid Some certificate and diploma programs do not qualify to receive federal student aid. Please refer to the list of eligible programs on Mayland s website at under Financial Aid /Regulations and Eligibility Requirements. Students classified as Special Credit, Undecided, or as Non-Degree Seeking, are ineligible for federal financial aid. Verification and Award Processing Students applying for Federal Financial Aid may be chosen for a process called Verification. Students are randomly selected for verification by the Department of Education according to the application information. Any corrections made to a student s FAFSA during the verification process could potentially increase or reduce the student s Expected Family Contribution and consequently, his/her financial aid eligibility. Students are notified of their actual financial aid eligibility in the award letter received once processing is complete. Financial aid will only be awarded when all documentation required for verification has been submitted and the process has been completed. Students who do not submit all required documentation by the published deadline dates of the semester for which they are enrolling will be required to pay out of pocket and will be verified and awarded (if eligible) after the start of the semester. Awards will be applied to your student account and tuition/fees will be automatically deducted. Also, using your student ID number, you can charge books and supplies at the MCC Bookstore. After all your charges have been settled, you will receive a refund of any unused financial aid through your Higher One account. Additional Financial Aid Opportunities For information concerning V.A. benefits or the College Work Study Program, or the MCC Childcare Assistance Program, contact Syvana Crosby in Financial Aid. Visit the Financial Aid page of and click on Scholarship Opportunities for information on other grants and scholarships available to Mayland Students.

4 Repaying Financial Aid You will be responsible for repaying any over-awards you may receive. Therefore, please review your awards carefully and contact us if you have questions. Also, if you drop out at any time before the 60% point of the semester, Federal Pell Regulations require you to return the unearned percentage of the aid you have received to Pell and other Title IV programs. Non-Discrimination Policy Mayland Community College awards financial aid without regard to race, creed, religion, color, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, or physical disability. STUDENT FINANCIAL AID REGULATIONS and SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS REQUIREMENTS (All federally funded student financial aid is subject to the following regulations.) Satisfactory Academic Progress: All students receiving financial assistance must meet both quantitative and qualitative minimum academic progress standards. Students receiving financial aid should note that the college wide Probation Policy for academic progress contains the same grade point average (GPA) requirements as the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy; however, the SAP policy for students receiving financial aid is stricter than the college wide Academic Progress Policy for students enrolled in the same educational program who are not receiving financial aid. The SAP policy is applied to all student categories, i.e. full-time or part-time, who receive financial aid within eligible curriculum degree, diploma and certificate programs established by the school. Students receiving financial aid at Mayland Community College are evaluated at the end of each semester to determine progression. Students must meet the Academic Standard (Qualitative) and the Program Completion Standard (Quantitative) and stay within the Maximum Timeframe Standard (Quantitative) to remain in a satisfactory academic status. Quantitative Progress Standards All students receiving financial aid must complete at least two-thirds or 67% of all curriculum hours attempted at Mayland Community College including accepted transfer credits and developmental course credits, regardless of timeframe. The percentage is determined by taking the cumulative total of credit hours completed divided by the cumulative total of hours attempted. For example, a student who has completed 28 hours and attempted 56 hours has a completion rate of 50% (28 divided by 56). If a student s completion rate falls below 67%, the student is placed on Financial Aid Warning and will be notified by the Financial Aid Office. The student then has a warning period of enrollment, which is the next semester the student is enrolled at Mayland, to earn a 67% or greater completion rate. The student is eligible for financial aid during this warning period of enrollment. If, at the end of the warning period, a cumulative 67% completion rate is not achieved, the student is placed in an unsatisfactory status and is no longer eligible for financial aid. The student may regain financial aid eligibility by reaching a cumulative 67% or greater completion rate through self-pay or outside resources, or by completing a successful appeal (see Appeal Process). Qualitative Progress Standards Students receiving financial aid must maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA. A student s GPA includes all curriculum classes taken at Mayland Community College, regardless of timeframe. All classes that are repeated count toward the GPA and the attempted/completed credit hours. If a student s cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, the student is placed on Financial Aid Warning and will be notified by the Financial Aid Office by means of . The student then has a warning period of enrollment, which is the next semester the student is enrolled at Mayland, to achieve the cumulative 2.0 GPA. The student is eligible for financial aid during the warning period. If, at the end of the warning period, a cumulative 2.0 GPA is not achieved, the student is no longer eligible to receive financial aid and will be placed in a Financial Aid Unsatisfactory Status. The student may regain financial aid eligibility by reaching a cumulative 2.0 GPA through self-pay or outside resources, or by completing a successful appeal (see Appeal Process).

5 Maximum Timeframe Standard All students receiving financial aid must complete their educational program within 150% of the published length. The Maximum Timeframe Standard includes all curriculum hours attempted at Mayland Community College and any accepted transfer credits or developmental credit hours, regardless of timeframe. The MCC college catalog provides a course listing for each educational program and the number of credit hours needed to complete the program. The published program lengths do not include developmental hours that may be required for individual students. For example, the Medical Assisting Associate in Applied Science Degree is 76 credit hours in length, therefore, a student receiving financial aid enrolled in that program may attempt, including accepted transfer and developmental credit hours, up to 114 credit hours (76 credit hours times 150%) and remain eligible for financial aid. Students who exceed the 150% maximum timeframe are not eligible to receive financial aid at Mayland Community College. The maximum timeframe standard does not provide for a warning status. However, students who exceed the maximum timeframe for their program of study may continue to receive financial aid by completing a successful appeal (see Appeal Process). Additionally, students who cannot mathematically complete their program of study by the 150% maximum timeframe will no longer be eligible for financial aid without an appeal. Example: A student is in a program which would allow for a maximum of 65 hours and the student has attempted 60 hours and needs 3 additional courses which total 9 credit hours to complete the program. At 69 credit hours (60 attempted hours plus 9 needed hours), the student would exceed the 150% maximum timeframe. Because mathematically, the student could not complete the program prior to the 150% maximum timeframe, he/she would no longer be eligible for financial aid at Mayland Community College. Beginning with the Academic Year, all students will be limited to the equivalent of 12 full time semester awards (600%) from the Pell Grant. These changes apply to every student. All previous semester Pell awards, from any school, will be included in determining remaining awards. Financial Aid Appeal Process Students in Financial Aid Unsatisfactory Status due to failure to maintain minimum academic standards both qualitatively and/or quantitatively may appeal their loss of financial aid eligibility. Appeals must be made by the end of Schedule Adjustment of the semester in which a student wishes to receive financial aid. Financial Aid Appeal forms are available on the college website or in the Financial Aid Office. The appeal form and supporting documentation may be submitted in person, by mail, or by FAX to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Appeals Committee will consider, then approve or deny the appeal. All decisions are final. Students will be notified of the appeal decision by both and letter within five (5) working days after submitting the Financial Aid Appeal form and supporting documentation. The number of times a student can appeal due to failure to maintain the qualitative, quantitative or maximum time frame standards is limited to two (2) appeals during the student s academic career at Mayland. Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility If a student loses financial aid eligibility by failing to meet the Academic and/or Program Completion standard and after self-pay or the use of outside resources feels that the standards are met, the student must contact the Financial Aid Office to have their SAP status re-calculated. If the standards have been met, the student will regain financial aid eligibility for the next semester in which the student enrolls and the standards were met, provided all other financial aid requirements have been completed.

6 P.O. Box 547, Spruce Pine, NC (Ph.) / (Fx.) finaid@mayland.edu Financial Aid Agreement I have been advised on the rules and regulations governing my financial aid at Mayland Community College. I have read and been offered the opportunity to ask questions concerning the rules and regulations as set forth by the Department of Education. I authorize Mayland Community College to credit my award to my student account to pay for current educational expenses such as (but not limited to) tuition, fees, books, supplies, classes taken that are not in my major, bad checks and outstanding charges to the college. I also voluntarily authorize MCC to hold the balance of my account until it can process all bookstore charges, verify my attendance, credit tuition refund requests, and make any adjustments necessary to obtain a correct and true credit balance owed to me. I further authorize Mayland Community College (if necessary) to use up to $ of my current Pell award to cover any tuition expenses owed by me from a prior academic year. I understand that my funds will be released on the dates listed on the Financial Aid Disbursement Schedule and I can cancel or modify this authorization at any time during the award year. I understand that Mayland Community College will occasionally communicate with me via campus or a personal address provided by me. No action is necessary for me to opt-in to the form of communication. However, if I prefer to receive only paper communication from the Financial Aid Department, I understand that I must complete the Opt-In form which is available upon request. The type of communication that may be provided through could be (but is not limited to) information concerning Satisfactory Academic Progress, Financial Aid Appeal decisions, and requests for financial aid documents needed for processing. Formal communication such as the Financial Aid award letter will be sent to me in writing, via the US Postal Service. I hereby certify to adhere to all guidelines, rules and regulations as set forth by the U.S. Department of Education, the state of North Carolina and Mayland Community College s Foundation as it pertains to my financial aid award. Student name printed Student signature Student ID# Date

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