You must be a U.S. citizen; a national or permanent
resident of the U.S., the Northern Mariana Islands or the Republic of
Palau; or be in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose. In
compliance with new Patriot Act laws, we may ask some students
to provide documentation of citizenship. Our office will contact
you if necessary. Students who have nonimmigrant visa status (indicated
by F, J, L, or G visas) are not eligible for federal and state financial
aid. If you are a male over the age of 18, you must also be registered
with The Selective Service System in
order to receive Federal and State Based Aid.
Each semester of the academic year, you must be enrolled at least half
time in an eligible program. In most cases, enrollment status is determined
by the number of credits for which you are registered on the day of
the last day of free drop/add. Enrollment guidelines are also noted
on your "Notification of Financial Aid" award letter that
is sent to each student. If you plan on dropping a class that may make
you less than full time (less than 12 credits undergraduate) or half
time (less than 6 credits undergraduate) please contact our office for
guidance.
The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to recalculate
federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out,
are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of
a payment period or term. The federal Title IV financial aid programs
must be recalculated in these situations.
If a student leaves the institution prior to completing 60% of a payment
period or term, the financial aid office recalculates eligibility for
Title IV funds. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid
using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:
Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days
completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the
payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted
as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage
of earned aid.
Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage
of unearned aid using the following formula:
Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus
the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid
that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.
If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would
be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be
required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title
IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance
to the institution.
If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution
would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid
within 120 days of the student's withdrawal.
The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which
it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination
of the date of the student's withdrawal.
Refunds are allocated in the following order:
Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans (other than PLUS loans)
Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans
Federal Perkins Loans
Federal Parent (PLUS) Loans
Direct PLUS Loans
Federal Pell Grants for which a Return of funds is required
Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a Return of funds
is required
Other assistance under this Title for which a Return of funds is required
(e.g., LEAP)
