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ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID

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Award programs affected by the federal standards include: Federal Pell Grants Federal Perkins Loans Federal College Work/Study Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) Federal Family Education Loan Program - includes: Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized) and the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) Good Academic Standing Good Academic Standing standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress and Grade Point Average must be met in order to be eligible to receive federal financial aid. Satisfactory Academic Progress Students must make satisfactory progress to maintain eligibility for federal financial aid. The college's Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) table is used to determine eligibility for federal aid programs. Students who do not accumulate the number of credits specified on the college's SAP table may still receive federal aid. However, if a student does not accumulate the minimum number of credits within the next 16 credits of enrollment, the student loses federal aid eligibility. A student who is permitted to reenroll because of an exception to the satisfactory academic progress policy is not eligible for federal financial aid. However, if there are mitigating circumstances, the student may appeal as described in the mitigating circumstance section. Grade Point Average Students who opt to receive grades must maintain a minimum G.P.A. of 2.0 after having completed 8 graded credits at Empire State College. If after earning 8 graded credits, the G.P.A. falls below 2.0 and the student can restore the G.P.A. with 16 graded additional credits, the student is eligible to receive federal financial aid. If the student cannot or does not restore the G.P.A. to 2.0 after earning 16 additional graded credits, s/he is ineligible for federal financial aid. Students in the narrative only evaluation option are not required to meet the G.P.A. expectations. A student who is permitted to reenroll because of an exception to the G.P.A. expectations is not eligible for federal financial aid. However, if there are mitigating circumstances, the student may appeal as described below. Regaining Federal Financial Aid Eligibility A student who is academically dismissed and is subsequently reinstated by the college must accumulate the number of credits required to meet the college’s satisfactory academic standards and earn at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average in order to regain federal aid eligibility. The Effect of Withdrawal ]If a student withdraws from a course of study, his/her enrollment status (full or part time) and/or SAP rate may be affected, depending on the effective date of the withdrawal. Each of these may in turn affect federal aid eligibility. In calculating enrollment status and rate of academic progress, “credits attempted” is the number of registered credits after day 28 of the enrollment term. Thus, the date of withdrawal affects whether the credits are counted in the number of credits attempted. For example, if a student first enrolls for 12 credits and then withdraws from one 4-credit study on or before day 28, the enrollment status for the term changes to part time and the progress rate is calculated on 8 credits attempted. If the student withdraws after day 28, the enrollment status for the term is still full time and the progress rate is calculated on 12 credits attempted. Withdrawal at any point in the term may reduce the student’s award or require the student to pay back some of the federal financial aid already received. Student Financial Services calculates such award adjustments individually using federal formulas. Further information may be obtained from Student Financial Services. [ The Effect of Withdrawal from All Studies Withdrawal from the college prior to the end of an enrollment term will cause you to use a full financial aid award period’s eligibility. You will be ineligible for additional financial aid of the same type if re-enrolling within the same financial aid award period. All financial aid will be adjusted using federal and state guidelines for the cycle in which you withdraw. In accordance with rules established by the U.S. Department of Education, schools must adhere to provisions regarding the treatment of Federal title IV Financial Aid for students that withdraw from school completely for any term. These rules govern all federal loan and grant programs, including Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Perkins Loans, and Pell and SEOG Grants. In general, the new law assumes that a student must earn federal financial aid awards directly in proportion to the number of days of the term attended. In other words, a student earns financial assistance as they complete their studies throughout a term. If a student completely withdraws from all studies during a term, the college must calculate the portion of the total scheduled financial assistance earned. If the student received (or the college received on behalf of the student) more assistance than was earned, the unearned excess funds must be returned to the federal programs. The portion of federal loans and grants the student earned is calculated on a percentage basis comparing the total number of calendar days in the term to the number of days completed before withdrawal. (Scheduled breaks of five consecutive days orlonger are excluded from the calculation.) The calculation for unearned aid is required for students attending classes less than 60 percent period of that term. For example: a student enrolls with an enrollment period of 05/21/01 to 09/02/01. The enrollment period is 105 days. The student withdraws from all coursework on 07/03/01 – which isthe 44th day of the enrollment period. The student has earned 42 percent of the Title IV aid awarded (days attended/enrollment period, or 44/105, which equals 42 percent). Whatever percentage of the term the student attends is the percentage of Title IV that is earned. Once the student exceeds the 60 percent point of the enrollment period, the student has earned 100 percent of the Title IV aid. In the above example, if the student withdrew as of 07/24/01 100 percent of the aid would be earned and no return calculation is required (07/24/01 would be day 65 of the term, so 65/105 equals 62 percent – which is beyond the 60 percent point of the term). Unearned federal financial assistance must be returned to program funds up to the amount of assistance that the student has received from the program in the priority order established by regulation: Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Perkins Student Loan, PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG and other Title IV programs. The school takes the responsibility on behalf of the student to return unearned federal financial aid assistance funds that were applieddirectly to institutional charges. Institutional charges at the college that are no longer covered by financial assistance immediately become the responsibility of the student. The student is also responsible for return of unearned federal financial funds that were disbursed directly to him/her. To prevent undue hardship, allowances have been made if the unearned assistance repayment owed by the student is due to a loan program. Funds due for repayment to a loan program permit the student to repay according to the terms of the promissory note. In addition, if the student is directly responsible for repayments of unearned assistance to a federal grant program, only one-half (50 percent) of the calculated repayment is required. The Effect of Administrative Withdrawals Federal guidelines establish attendance expectations. An administrative withdrawal (ZW) outcome may reduce the student's award or require the student to pay back some of the federal financial aid already received. The amount depends on the last date of contact or attendance and the federal programs involved. Further information may be obtained from the Student Financial Services Office. Mitigating Circumstances Occasionally, students do not meet the good academic standards for reasons beyond their control or because of "mitigating circumstances" such as serious family problems or extended illness. Under such circumstances, a student may appeal for continued eligibility for federal financial aid. Approval of a federal financial aid appeal is not automatic. Usually students may only appeal for his/her most recent enrollment. Approval of an appeal occurs in two parts: 1. The dean of the center or program verifies the student’s academic eligibility 2. The director of student financial services determines if the request meets federal requirements for continued eligibility for federal financial aid. The Director of Student Financial Services approves the appeal only if both parts of the process are complete and the academic and federal requirements are met. Students must submit the information required for both parts to the dean, using the required form. The director of student financial services has the authority to approve a financial aid appeal request. However, that approval is dependent on the verification of the student’s academic eligibility. The dean is responsible for determining the student’s academic eligibility. If the dean determines that a student does not meet academic eligibility requirements, the director of student financial services cannot approve the appeal. Students are rarely granted more than one appeal for mitigating circumstances. Note: The appeal has no direct effect on enrollment eligibility, which is an academic determination upon which the appeal approval is contingent. Federal 150% Rule Federal regulations limit aid eligibility to 150% of the published length of the educational program. For example, given that a bachelor’s degree at Empire State College requires 128 credits, an Empire State College student pursuing a bachelor’s degree cannot be awarded federal aid for more than 192 credits attempted. For transfer students, the maximum is based on the number of transcript credits accepted by Empire State College plus the number of credits attempted at Empire State College. Federal guidelines do not allow waivers for mitigating circumstances that would extend a student’s aid past the 150% limit. Final Enrollment Term Federal regulations do not allow a student in the final enrollment term to receive federal aid for studies that are not required to complete a degree. Federal “C” Average Expectation Federal guidelines require that a student achieve a minimum of a "C" average in order to maintain federal financial aid eligibility. For students opting for narrative only evaluations, meeting the college’s satisfactory academic progress standards is considered the equivalent. The college's GPA policy means the student is achieving the equivalent of a C average or better after 8 graded credits at Empire State College. Notification of Ineligibility for Federal Financial Aid The Student Financial Services Office notifies students regarding their ineligibility for further federal financial aid. Students may obtain information on their financial aid status by contacting the Student Financial Services. Adopted: February, 2002 Revised: April, 2003 and May 2005,May 2007