Student Handbook - Wilson Community College

• Students must attend classes beyond the 60% point in order to “earn” 100% of their Pellaward. If an overpayment is created, the student will be notified of the liability, if any,which must be repaid.• An otherwise eligible student cannot use a Pell Grant for registration if they have anoutstanding balance from a prior enrollment. Likewise, a student receiving a Pell Grantcannot use an anticipated award to repay a balance due from a prior term. For additionalinformation, contact the Director of Financial Aid.Treatment of Title IV Aid when a Student WithdrawsStudents receiving Title IV aid are required to attend through the 60% point of the semester tofully earn their award. Examples of Title IV aid are the Federal Pell Grant, Federal SupplementalEducation Opportunity Grant, and Direct Loans which are disbursed based on attendance. Ifsuch students withdraw prior to earning the aid, they may owe money back to the College,Department of Education or both. The law requires the Financial Aid office to calculate theamount of Title IV assistance earned for all students who have not attended beyond the 60%point of the semester.• For students who withdraw prior to the 60% point and before grant disbursement, a postwithdrawal disbursement will be calculated for the term based on the last date of attendance.The College may charge tuition & fees to the student’s award. As a result, such studentsmay owe the College a balance if they charged more than their prorated award.For example: John originally enrolls for fall semester in 6 credits and his grant award is$1000. He charges $438.10 for tuition & fees to his grant. He attends up to the 20% pointof the term and withdraws. Jon has earned 20% of his award, which is $200. Jon droppedafter the College’s refund period. Therefore, tuition & fees are not reduced. The Collegeapplies the $200 post withdrawal disbursement towards his charges of $438.10. Since hischarges exceed his grant, he will owe the College the difference of $238.10.• For students who withdraw prior to the 60% point and after Title IV disbursement, a returnof Title IV aid will be calculated based on the last date of attendance to determine the amountof aid for which the student or College will need to return. The return will not exceedhalf of the award disbursement. If the calculation reveals a student debt, the student willbe given 45 days to pay the College to prevent loss of future aid. In the event, the studentdoes not pay; the College will refer overpayments greater than $50 to the Department ofEducation. The student will lose financial aid eligibility until he/she resolves the overpayment.The student will retain eligibility for aid up to the point the overpayment is referredto the Department of Education or 45 days from the date of determination of withdrawal.• If the College owes an amount as a result of a return calculation, it will process the returnwithin the 45 day deadline. The return would be equal to the amount of tuition & feecharges times the unearned percentage of funds or the entire excess funds.• If a student withdraws prior to the 60% point and has a Direct Loan origination whosefunds have not already been disbursed a post withdrawal disbursement will be calculatedfor the term based on the last date of attendance; except for a student who is a first-time,first-year student who has not completed the first 30 days of their program. A letter will bemailed to the student offering the PWD and giving them 15 days to accept the loan. TheFinancial Aid Office will zero out the loan if no reply is received by the deadline.Students are advised to seek counsel and consider their options before withdrawing fromclasses. Drops can negatively affect a student’s future aid eligibility.Veterans Education Assistance (VA)The Department of Veteran Affairs provides a number of educational benefits to qualifiedveterans and/or dependents. Members of the selected reserve, war orphans, National Guard,students who have completed active tours of duty in the armed forces and qualified dependents& spouses of veterans may be eligible for assistance. To determine eligibility, students maycall the VA Educational call center at 1-888-442-4551 or online at www.gibill.va.gov. Upon38