General Catalog - John F. Kennedy University

General InformationMaximum Time Frame. Students will be ineligible for furtherfinancial aid when they exceed 150 percent of cumulative unitsattempted of their program length. Because of the time limit oneligibility, students are cautioned that excessive instances of withdrawals,incompletes, or repeated or failed courses may result infuture ineligibility for financial aid. For example, if a student isenrolled in a 60-unit program, he or she cannot receive federal aidfor more than 150 percent of the cumulative units, which, in thiscase, is 90 units (60 units x 150 percent = 90 units). Students arealso cautioned to be aware of limits on each student aid fund andnot to exhaust eligibility through slow progress.Financial Aid Probation/Disqualification. Any student who failsto meet the satisfactory progress standards for either GPA or unitscompleted percentage will be notified and placed on financial aidprobation for one academic year (three terms). Students are stilleligible to receive federal aid while on financial aid probation.By the end of the probationary period, the student’s cumulativeGPA and units completed percentage must meet the minimum:• 2.0 GPA for an undergraduate or for undergraduate coursescompleted during linking• 3.0 GPA for a graduate student or for graduate coursescompleted during linking• a score of 70.0 for law students.The student must also have completed at least 80 percent ofcumulative units attempted. That being the case, the studentwould have met the conditions of the probation and financial aidwould continue.When grades have been posted for the final term of the probationaryperiod, any student still failing to meet either the qualitativeor quantitative standards for satisfactory academic progress willbe disqualified from receiving further financial aid. In addition,students are granted only one probationary period. Once a studenthas used his or her probationary period and subsequentlyre-establishes eligibility, he or she will automatically be disqualifiedif he or she ever falls below the required minimums again.Students who are dismissed by the university become ineligible forfinancial aid and all aid will be immediately discontinued.Appeal Process. Any student who feels that unusual or mitigatingcircumstances contributed to his or her being placed on financialaid probation may file an appeal, along with appropriatedocumentation of the mitigating circumstances, to the directorof financial aid. Mitigating circumstances may include an illness,accident, or death in the family or other factors that are outsideof the student’s control. The Financial Aid Appeals Formis available in the JFKU financial aid office in Pleasant Hill. Thedirector of financial aid will review each appeal on a case-by-casebasis within 30 days upon receipt of the appeal. If the directorapproves the appeal, additional term(s) of probation may beoffered. If the appeal is denied, the student may submit an additionalappeal in writing to the financial aid appeals committee. Thecommittee will respond to the student, in writing, within 30 daysupon receipt of the additional appeal.Reinstatement. If, after a student has been disqualified fromreceiving federal aid, the student feels that he or she has improvedhis or her standing to comply within the financial aid academicstandards set above, the student may petition the directorof financial aid to have his or her financial aid eligibilityre-established from that point forward. Students may re-establisheligibility only one time.These policies are subject to federal, state, and institutional changewithout prior notice. The financial aid office will make everyattempt to advise students of impending change but cannot guaranteesuch notice. All students are subject to current standards,not the standards which were in effect at the time of enrollment.This is necessary to comply with any change in federal or statestatute, regulation, or policy regarding student aid eligibility.Return of Title IV FundsReturn of Title IV funds is federally mandated policy that appliesonly to students who receive federal financial aid and who fullywithdraw, drop out, or are dismissed prior to completing 60percent of a term. Return of Title IV funds will be used to determinehow much aid, if any, must be returned to Title IV programs (federalStafford loans—subsidized and unsubsidized, federal PLUSloans—graduate or dependent, Perkins loan, Pell Grant, AcademicCompetitiveness Grant, National SMART Grant, and FSEOG).The return of Title IV funds calculation identifies two types offederal aid, earned and unearned. Earned aid is based on a percentagecalculated by dividing the number of days the studentcompleted by the number of days in the payment period.( total # of calendar days in term )# days completed up to the withdrawal date% earned = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60 percent pointearns all disbursed (received) and disbursable aid. Disbursable aidincludes aid received and the aid that could have been (but wasnot) disbursed as of the withdrawal date. If earned aid exceedsdisbursed aid, a post-withdrawal disbursement may be made.JFKU will first credit post-withdrawal disbursements towardunpaid tuition and fees. JFKU will offer the student any part ofthe post-withdrawal disbursement not credited to school charges.Within 30 days of determination that the student withdrew, thefinancial aid office will provide the student with notification ofany post-withdrawal funds that are available to the student. Nopost-withdrawal disbursements will be made if the student doesnot respond within 14 days of the notification.Unearned aid is any disbursed aid that exceeds the amount ofTitle IV aid the student earned. The unearned aid amount is to bereturned to the lender, a responsibility shared by JFKU and thestudent. JFKU is responsible for returning the lesser of the totalamounts of unearned aid or the JFKU institutional charges multipliedby the percentage of unearned aid.amount of aid disbursed(100% – % earned) x(toward institutional charges)JFKU’s charges used in the return of Title IV funds calculationinclude the amount that had been assessed to the student’saccount before the student’s withdrawal. The student is responsiblefor the difference between the total unearned amount andthe JFKU share.John F. Kennedy UniversityGeneral Information 25