Student Rights and Responsibilities
You have the right . . .
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to know what financial aid programs are available at Southern State Community College.
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to know the deadlines for submitting applications for each of the financial aid programs available.
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to know how financial aid will be distributed, how decisions on that distribution are made, and the basis for these decisions.
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to know how your eligibility was determined. This includes how costs for tuition and fees, room and board, travel, books and supplies, personal and miscellaneous expenses, etc. are considered in your budget.
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to know what resources (such as parental contribution, other financial aid, your assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation of your eligibility.
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to request an explanation of the various programs in your student aid package.
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to know the College’s refund policy and how it affects your financial aid package.
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to know what portion of the financial aid you receive must be repaid, and what portion is grant aid. If the aid is a loan, you have the right to know what the interest rate is, the total amount that must be repaid, the payback procedures, length of time you have to repay the loan, and when repayment is to begin.
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to know how the College determines whether you are making Satisfactory Academic Progress and what happens if you are not.
You must . . .
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complete all application forms accurately and submit them on time to the right place.
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provide correct information. In most instances, misreporting information on financial aid application forms is a violation of law and may be considered a criminal offense that could result in indictment under the U.S. Criminal Code.
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return all additional documentation, verification, corrections, and/or new information requested by either the financial aid office or the agency to which you submitted your application as requested.
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be responsible for reading and understanding all forms that you are asked to sign and for keeping copies of them.
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accept responsibility for all agreements that you sign.
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perform the work that is agreed upon in accepting a Federal Work-Study award.
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be aware of and comply with the deadlines for application or reapplication for aid.
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repay, according to the repayment provisions of the loan fund, all loans that you accept and use for educational expenses.
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be responsible for maintaining a minimum registration of 6 credit hours if you are a student employee or a student loan borrower. You must notify the Financial Aid Office if you drop below the full-time status.
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comply with the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for renewal of federal financial
aid
Satisfactory
Academic Progress - Credit Programs
A.
Each student who receives Title IV Funds (Federal Pell,
Federal SEOG, Federal Work Study, and Federal Student Loan) will
have their academic records reviewed quarterly to assure that they
are in good standing as outlined in the College Catalog and
summarized below:
1.
Students with 45 or fewer accumulated hours attempted must
maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 1.5.
2.
Students with 46 or more accumulated hours attempted must
maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0.
B.
Students receiving Title IV funds will have their academic
records reviewed quarterly to assure that they are making
satisfactory progress as outlined below:
1.
Full-time students:
a.
Must attempt 12 or more hours and complete a minimum of 9 hours per
quarter.
b.
Maximum time frame will be 9 quarters to complete course work.
2.
Three-quarter time students:
a.
Must attempt 9-11 credit hours and complete a minimum of 6
hours per quarter.
b.
Maximum time frame will be pro-rated according to course work
carried.
3.
Half-time students:
a.
Must attempt 6-8 credit hours and complete a minimum of 5 hours per
quarter.
b.
Maximum time frame will be pro-rated according to course work
carried.
4.
Less than half-time students:
a.
Must attempt 1-5 credit hours and complete a minimum of 75% of hours
attempted.
b.
Maximum time frame will be pro-rated according to course work
carried.
C. Courses that are repeated in which the student has already
received credit for having completed the course work will not be
included in computation of hours completed for satisfactory academic
progress; for example, if a student originally received a “D”
for three credit hours and repeated the course and received a
“B”, only the additional quality points will be added to the
academic record.
D.
Grades of “incomplete” (I), “instructor initiated
withdrawal” (WI), and “withdrawal” (W) are used for
computation of hours attempted but not for hours earned.
E.
Any student not in good standing at the end of a quarter will
be placed on Academic Warning as outlined in the College Catalog
under requirements for good standing and may receive funds from the
Title IV programs. Any
student not in good standing at the end of a second consecutive
quarter will be placed on Academic Probation and will NOT
receive Title IV funds for that quarter as outlined in the College
Catalog under requirements for good standing.
Any student remaining on Academic Probation for two quarters
will be on Academic Dismissal as outlined in the College Catalog and
will not receive Title IV funds for that period.
F.
Any student on warning or probation who has been in
non-attendance for a period of one calendar year may be permitted to
re-enter the College. However,
for financial aid purposes, that student will be placed on warning
status. If the student
is making satisfactory progress at the end of that quarter of
warning, he/she will be removed from the warning status.
However, if the student fails to meet the requirements for
satisfactory academic progress, he/she will be placed on academic
probation and will not be entitled to receive any Title IV funds.
G.
Any student that has been academically dismissed and has been
in non-attendance for a period of one calendar year may be permitted
to re-enter the College. However,
for financial aid purposes, the student will be placed on second
quarter academic probation. If
the student makes satisfactory progress for that quarter, he will be
removed from probation status and will be eligible to receive Title
IV funds during his next quarter of attendance.
If the student fails to make satisfactory progess, the
student will be academically dismissed for a period of one calendar
year.
H. A student may appeal any decision of unsatisfactory progress
by explaining in writing why he/she feels mitigating circumstances
exist. The Academic
Appeals Committee will review the appeal and determine if mitigating
circumstances should be used in the computation of satisfactory
progress. Mitigating
circumstances would normally be considered anything beyond the
reasonable control of the student.
All appeals should be directed to the Academic Appeals
Committee. If a decision
is made that the student is making satisfactory progress, the
student may be awarded all applicable Title IV funds.
PELL GRANT RECALCULATION REGULATIONS
Southern State has a policy of disbursing aid
after the official college drop/add period. We refer to this as our
census date. However, for Pell Grant purposes only, there are some
regulations that require us to recalculate the Pell Grant after the
census date.
PELL REGULATIONS
The institution must receive an ISAR/SAR with
an official EFC with a processed date prior to a student's last day
of enrollment.
REQUIRED PELL RECALCULATIONS AFTER CENSUS
DATE
If the student's EFC changes due to
corrections, updating or an adjustment, and the EFC change would
change the amount of the Pell award, we must recalculate the Pell
award for the entire award year.
A student selected for verification can not
increase his/her eligibility based on a corrected output document
that you receive during the late disbursement period (see definition
above). For example, if a student submits a reprocessed SAR during
the late disbursement period (note student is not enrolled) and the
SAR has a lower EFC which would increase the Pell Grant, we can
not recalculate the Pell Grant based on higher award. We will
changed the needs analysis based the new EFC, but the Pell Award
will be based on lower amount. However, if the correction reduces
the student's eligibility, we must recalculate based on the
reprocessed EFC.
The institution receives the reprocessed SAR after the end of
the payment period for a student who is still enrolled, we must pay the
Pell Grant retroactively for any completed payment periods within the
award year, if the student was eligible for payment during the payment
period. However, the institution can only base a retroactive
disbursement on completed hours. For example, if the student has
enrolled full time at the beginning of fall term but dropped to half
time status by the end of the term, the retroactive disbursement must be
based on the completed (half time status). For purposes of this
regulation, completed hours include earned F's and incompletes.
(Students' selected for verification has different guidelines listed
below)
The institution must pay a
student retroactively for any completed payment periods within the
award year if the student was eligible for payment in those periods.
Thus, if we do not receive a valid ISAR/SAR for a student until the
spring term, but the student was also enrolled and eligible
for a disbursement in the previous fall and winter terms, that
student must be paid retroactively for the previous terms if he/she
is currently still enrolled.
PELL RECIPIENTS SELECTED FOR
VERIFICATION
If a student is selected for
verification and submits all documentation and the funds are
disbursed during the quarter, the student's Pell Grant will be based
on hours locked in at our census date and the valid EFC.
If the student, selected for
verification, submits verification documentation after the term has
ended and is still enrolled, the amount of disbursement will be
based on the valid EFC and the hours attempted at our census date.
If the student is no longer
enrolled or ceases to be eligible, the student can submit
verification documentation and receive a late disbursement (120 days
after the last date of enrollment) however the amount of
disbursement will be based on the highest EFC and hours completed,
regardless.
RETURN OF TITLE IV FUNDS POLICY
I. There is no longer a concept of earned or unearned institutional charges, only earned and unearned aid.
II. During the first 60% of the payment period (quarter), a student “earns” Title IV funds in direct proportion to the length of time during the period he or she remains enrolled. To determine how much aid was “earned,” a “snapshot” approach is taken when the institution is aware that the student withdrew. A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60% point earns all aid for the period.
III. Unearned Title IV funds, other than Federal College Work Study, must be returned back to the Federal Student Aid Programs. Unearned aid is the amount of disbursed Title IV aid that exceeds the amount of Title IV aid earned.
IV. If earned aid exceeds disbursed aid, additional funds may be disbursed (Late Disbursement). Additional disbursements are precluded if the amount of earned aid is LESS than the total Title IV aid that was disbursed prior to the date of the institution’s determination that the student withdrew.
V. Enrollment percentage will be determined by the number of days in the quarter (including weekends) divided by the number of days enrolled (including weekends). However, scheduled breaks 5 days long would be excluded in the calculation.
VI. The withdrawal date is:
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First, the date the student began the institution’s withdrawal process or officially notifies the College Records Office of their intent to withdraw: or
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Second, the last known attendance at a documented academically-related activity (i.e. exam, a tutorial, computer-assisted instruction, academic counseling, academic advisement, turning in a class assignment, or attending a study group that is assigned by the institution); or
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Third, the midpoint of the period for a student who leaves without notifying the institution.
VII. The formula assumes that Title IV funds are directly disbursed to a student only after all institutional charges have been covered, and that Title IV funds are the first resource applied to institutional charges. “Institutional charges” comprise the amounts that had been assessed prior to the student’s withdrawal, not a reduced amount that might result from an institution’s refund policy.
VIII. The responsibility to repay unearned aid is shared by the institution and the student in proportion to the aid each is assumed to possess. The institution’s share is the lesser of:
IX. The student’s share is the difference between the total unearned amount and the institution’s share.
X. The institution’s share is allocated among the Title IV programs, in an order specified by statute before the student’s share:
XI. After the student’s share is fully allocated among the Title IV programs, the amount owed to a grant program is reduced by 50%.
XII. The institution must return its share of unearned Title IV funds no later than 30 days after it determines that the student withdrew.
XIII. Students return their share of unearned aid attributable to a loan under the terms and conditions of the promissory note.
XIV. The student will have 45 days after notification of the Return of Title IV funds, to set up a satisfactory repayment option with the institution for the student’s share of unearned aid attributable to a grant (after the 50% reduction).
XV. After 45 days have lapsed, the account will be turned over to the Department of Education for an overpayment of Title IV funds. Students who owe an overpayment of Title IV funds are INELIGIBLE for further disbursements through the Title IV federal financial aid programs.
XVI. The student may rescind his or her withdrawal, if the student declares in writing his or her intent to complete the period of enrollment and continues attendance. However, if the student does then withdraw before completing the period, the withdrawal date is the later of:
