2011-12 College Catalog - South Florida State College

sfcc
weeks of fall and spring terms or the first 10 days of the
summer term; (3) course changes to equalize class size;
(4) course changes resulting from a college administrative
action; or (5) approval of your appeal by the Academic
Appeals Committee. Written documentation is required
before any of these changes can be made. Exception to
the college refund policy is made pursuant to the federal
rules and regulations regarding as follows:
Federal Title IV Policy on Withdrawals and Return of
Financial Aid - As part of the Higher Education Amendment
of 1998, Congress passed provisions governing what
happens to your federal financial aid when you completely
withdraw from school in any term. The policy governs
all federal grants and loan programs, including the
Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG), the Pell Grant,
the SEOG, the Stafford Loans, and the Parent Loan for
Undergraduate Students (PLUS). It does not affect the
Federal Work Study.
This law assumes that you earn federal financial aid
awards in direct proportion to the number of days of the
term attended. If you receive more aid than you earn,
the unearned excess funds must be returned to the
Department of Education. However, if you receive less
aid than the amount earned, you may be able to receive
those additional funds. NOTE: Federal award checks not
cashed will revert to the granting federal program 180 days
after they are issued regardless of eligibility.
Return of Federal Financial Aid Calculation Method-
Return of Title IV funds are calculated as follows: The
portion of federal grants and loans you are entitled to
receive is calculated on a percentage basis by comparing
the total number of days in the term to the number of days
completed before withdrawal.
3. The midpoint (50 percent) of the term if you withdraw
without notifying the college.
4. The last date of attendance at an academically related
activity as documented by the college.
Any award money you are required to return is designated
as a federal grant overpayment. Unearned federal aid (the
amount that must be returned to the appropriate programs)
will be returned to the following programs in the following
order as prescribed by federal rules and regulations:
1. Federal Unsubsidized Loans
2. Federal Subsidized Loans
3. Federal PLUS
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Federal ACG
6. Federal SEOG
If the return of unearned federal aid causes any portion
of tuition and fees to become a liability to the college, the
college will bill you the new balance due. You will lose Title
IV eligibility unless you return the amount of unearned
aid (overpayment) in full to SFCC within 45 days from
the date SFCC notifies you of the overpayment. After the
45th day of an unpaid balance, you will be referred to the
U.S. Department of Education.
Refund/Academic Appeals - Refunds requested for
academic appeals can only be granted for refunds not
involving Title IV financial aid. Federal law currently does
not provide for an appeal of this repayment policy.
For example, if 30 percent of the term is completed, 30
percent of the scheduled aid is earned and 70 percent
of the scheduled awards remain unearned and must be
returned to the federal government. The total number of
calendar days in a term excludes any scheduled breaks of
more than five days. After the 61 percent point of the term,
you have earned all (100 percent) of the aid. If withdrawal
from the college occurs on or before completing 61 percent
of the term, you may have to repay any unearned federal
money that was already disbursed. The law provides
that if you must repay grant funds, the amount of the
repayment will be reduced by 50 percent. A withdrawal
date will be determined by the college when one of these
four occurrences:
1. The instructor initiates the withdrawal process (for
more information refer to Withdrawals in this College
Catalog).
2. The date the student officially notified (verbally or in
writing) the Registrar’s Office of intent to withdraw.
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