STUDENTS’ FINANCIAL AID

RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES

Students who have applied for financial assistance must READ AND COMPLY with the information included in this “Financial Aid Students’ Rights & Responsibilities” document and must COMPLETE AND RETURN the LCC Financial Aid Application and Federal Refund/Default Certification to receive and ensure continued assistance. Financial assistance includes Federal Pell Grants, Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), Plus Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), Scholarships and any institutional aid.

The U.S. Department of Education believes that the responsibility of a student’s education lies first with the student and/or the parent. Therefore, financial assistance is meant to “assist” a student, not to cover 100% of student expenses while attending school.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the student’s responsibility to:

1. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) www.fafsa.ed.gov.

For assistance please contact the Financial Aid Office or email financialaid@labette.edu

2. Provide Financial Aid Office (FAO) with a completed Financial Aid Application providing current local and permanent contact information.

3. Provide the Financial Aid Office (FAO) with all supporting documents requested for verification purposes. Original documents are usually required. The student must submit requested documents within two weeks after the request is made. Failure to do so may result in termination of aid and being dropped from your courses.

4. Provide and maintain a current listing of all names of ALL postsecondary institutions attended by the student.

5. Provide the FAO with an official academic transcript, as determined by the Registrar, from all postsecondary institutions attended, and high school transcript or GED verification.

6. Upon submitting a student loan application all students are required to complete Loan Entrance Counseling. Upon graduation or withdrawing from school students are required to complete Loan Exit Counseling. This can be done at: www.mapping-your-future.org

No transcripts will be sent to other institutions or agencies until this has been completed.

7. Students must pay back all student loans. There is a six-month grace period from the date of graduation or withdrawal from school before repayment begins.

8. Students who do not receive an award letter at least 10 business days prior to the first day of classes must contact the Business Office or go to www.factsmgt.com to set up payment arrangements, pending the completion of your financial aid.

9. Students must read and comply with the information in this document.

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

Students receiving financial aid must:

1. Be a U.S. Citizen or a citizen of a U.S. territory (except qualified scholarship recipients)

2. Be a high school graduate or G.E.D. recipient

3. Not hold a baccalaureate degree (except loan recipients)

4. Maintain satisfactory academic progress (see Satisfactory Academic Progress)

5. Be enrolled at least half time (6 credit hours)

6. Be enrolled in an associate degree program with a declared major (General Studies degree is not acceptable) or a specific certificate program of 24 hours or more

7. Be enrolled in classes that meet graduation requirements for declared degree and major

8. Not be in default on a student loan or any Title IV program

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS

There are two criteria for satisfactory academic progress (SAP):

1. Number of credit hours completed 2. Grade point average (GPA)

Credit hours completed:

Students must complete a minimum number of hours to maintain the level for which they receive financial assistance. Number of credit hours completed will be monitored at the end of each academic semester. NOTE: Program Directors may indicate that less than 12 credit hours is full-time for that program, but aid will be calculated based on the enrollment status indicated below.

Student Enrollment definitions:

ü Full-time Students – 12 credit hours or more

ü Three-quarter time Students – 9, 10, or 11 credit hours

ü Half-time Students – 6, 7, or 8 credit hours

Students who drop below the minimum credit hour completion will be considered deficient. (e.g., A student enrolls in 15 hours for the fall semester and drops to 9 hours. The same student enrolls in 15 hours for the spring semester and drops to 9 hours. This student is deficient 6 credit hours (9 + 9 = 18) since a total of 24 hours were required to be completed for the academic year.) Deficient hours must be completed in the following semester (no financial assistance will be given that semester) to remain in satisfactory standing.

All Incompletes will be counted as deficient hours (e.g., A student enrolls in 12 hours, receives an “Incomplete” in a 3 hour course is deficient 3 credit hours for the academic year.) The student is placed on probation the following fall/spring semester. Students on probation will not receive financial assistance until after the official withdrawal date as stated on the College calendar, for that semester. Students receiving incompletes, whose grade point average could become deficient if not satisfactorily completed, will not be paid until ALL incompletes are removed by satisfactory completion.

· Video and Mini classes: payment will be processed for these classes upon their satisfactory completion.

· Students who withdraw to less than six hours after receiving financial aid will have their aid terminated.

· A course from which a student has withdrawn a second time will not be used in the award calculation a third time. The student must repeat the course without aid.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Students will have six semesters or three academic years in which to complete their first associate degree whether or not they receive aid. Aid will be terminated at that point, but may be appealed to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee (FAAC.) Grades are normally monitored at the end of each semester.

An unsatisfactory GPA will result in termination of aid for the next semester attended and until SAP is attained. (Aid may not be awarded until the end of the semester in such situations.) Students failing to meet these requirements may appeal to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.

A student’s cumulative GPA is used to evaluate his/her academic progress. Students are considered to be making satisfactory progress toward an Associate Degree, or approved certificate program if they maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0.

A student whose GPA falls below Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be placed on probation for the next semester. If significant progress has been demonstrated, but the student has not quite attained a minimum of 2.0, a second semester on probation may be granted by petitioning the FAAC to request an additional semester on probation.

If the 2.0 GPA minimum has not been achieved after a second semester on probation, the student will be suspended from receiving any financial aid. Petition for reinstatement can be made after one semester has expired. During suspension, the student will be encouraged to enroll in developmental courses to assist him/her in required studies upon reinstatement. (Financial Aid is not provided in these circumstances.)

ITEMS USED IN CALCULATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE*

1. Number of credit hours student is enrolled in on 20^th day of semester**

2. In-state/border state/out-of-state residency status

3. Number of dependents up to twelve years of age for which childcare must be paid while attending classes

4. Living arrangements

5. First semester allied health student

6. Other financial assistance being received for school attendance such as WIA or scholarships from agencies other than the school. (Other agency assistance must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. Failure to report such funds will result in a reduction or cancellation of any loans requested.)

*The above items must be documented. If an outside agency is furnishing funds for childcare, this item may not be included in the calculation.

**Financial assistance eligibility is determined by the number of credit hours a student is enrolled in at the time of disbursement, which is approximately the same as the 20^th day. Courses/credit hours added after that time will NOT be considered for federal aid.

DEVELOPMENTAL/ELECTIVE COURSEWORK

Developmental Courses

These include all courses offered through the Student Success Center plus Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Reading, Foundations of Math, and Basic Writing I and II.

If the student has already been accepted into an eligible program and the developmental course is part of the curriculum then the developmental course work is included in the Pell calculation. If the student’s acceptance into the program is conditional on the completion of the developmental work, the student is not considered to be enrolled in an eligible program while taking the developmental courses.

Noncredit developmental course work may not be included in the student’s enrollment status if the coursework leads to a high school diploma or its equivalent, or if one academic year of the remedial work would not adequately prepare the student to successfully pursue postsecondary study.

Elective/Repeated Courses

Elective courses not required by the program of study may not be repeated. Students, who have taken more than two non-required electives, may not be approved by the Appeals Committee to receive aid for additional semesters. Students may receive aid up to six semesters to complete a program of study.

Aid may be paid to repeat a class only once that is required by the student’s program of study in which the student received a “D” or “F” grade.

REFUND/REPAYMENT

Labette Community College has a fair and equitable refund policy as required under Section 668.22 of the federal regulations. This policy provides that the institution make a refund of unearned tuition, fees, and other charges to a student who received Title IV financial assistance or whose parent received a PLUS loan on behalf of the student. The applicable refund will be calculated if the student does not enroll, withdraws, drops out, is expelled, or fails to complete the period of enrollment for which he or she was charged.

LCC’s institutional Tuition and Fee Refund policy is as follows:

Day Classes Amount Refunded

Drops during the 1^st week of the semester 100%

Drops after 1^st week of semester & prior to the official 20^th class day 50%

Evening & Summer Classes Amount Refunded

Drops before the 2^nd class session 100%

Drops after the 2^nd class session & prior to the 4^th session 50%

Students officially dropping courses during the first week of the fall and spring semesters will normally receive a tuition and fee refund before the end of the third week of the semester. Official drops during the remainder of the refund period will normally receive tuition and fee refunds within two weeks.

Students officially dropping courses during the summer and mini-session refund periods will normally receive tuition and fee refunds within two weeks.

NOTE: Tuition and fee payments for all classes made by check will be refunded after a 30 day waiting period.

When a Title IV recipient who received a cash disbursement for non-institutional costs ceases attendance, the Financial Aid office will determine whether the student was entitled to all of the cash he or she received. A repayment calculation will be performed if the student received funds in excess of the amount necessary to cover institutional expenses for the time he or she was in school. If so, the student will be expected to repay the calculated amount.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Attendance At More Than One Institution

Normally, students may not receive financial aid from more than one institution in a semester. However, LCC has consortium agreements with five area community colleges and PSU with the provision that the student is enrolled in 6 or more credit hours at LCC. This allows one college to combine hours and make one disbursement to the student. Students must report to LCC any credit hours to be taken at another college prior to LCC’s official 20^th class day to be considered for payment. If a student wants LCC hours sent to another school, it is the student’s responsibility for requesting this information. It is the responsibility of the student to monitor this process. NOTE: Students enrolling in the SEK Online Program should contact their home institution prior to enrollment, as some guidelines vary.

Award Letters

Award letters are sent to students who have completed the application process indicating an ESTIMATE of how much financial assistance they may expect to receive for school attendance. However, the amounts are based on information that the student has given on the original application since he/she is often not enrolled at that time. (Award letters are usually sent during the summer months.) Actual awards are not calculated until after the 20^th day of the semester.

Federal Pell Grant

Students receive Federal Pell Grants based on the information provided on the FAFSA. Students with Expected Family Contribution (EFC) amounts of 0 to 3850 may be eligible for a grant.

Students who have completed all steps of the LCC Financial Aid Application and verification process may defer charges for tuition, fees, and books at the time of enrollment. Students must obtain a voucher from the Financial Aid Office before making any charges. The charges will be withheld from their financial assistance and credited to the student’s account. A check will be written to the student for the amount exceeding institutional charges.

Grants are paid during the Fall and Spring semesters within two weeks after the 20^th day of the semester, provided the student maintains satisfactory progress and is attending at least half time at the time of disbursement. Summer grants are normally paid at the end of the 8-week session.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants

Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant funds are very limited and will be awarded to the neediest students.

Federal Work-Study*

Students who have completed the financial aid application and verification process may be eligible for a campus job. Most job placements are made the first month of each fall semester. Students must qualify for a Pell award to be eligible for the Federal Work-Study Program.

Students may work a maximum of 20 hours per week, are paid minimum wage and are paid by the Business Office on the 20^th day of each month. (Work-Study paychecks will initially be applied toward the outstanding balance on the student’s bill, prior to cash actually given to the student.)

Although the Federal Work-Study Program was initiated to assist students with school expenses, the student is required to perform a service to the employer. Student assistants perform “at the will” of their employer, and are subject to dismissal without notice or cause.

*Oftentimes Institutional Work-Study positions are available for students not eligible for Pell.

These vacancies are also maintained in the FAO.

The total amount of financial aid received may not exceed the costs of attendance. Costs, which may be used in the calculation, include tuition, fees, living expenses, books, transportation, miscellaneous expenses and childcare. All of the items have a maximum dollar amount, per federal guidelines.

Financial Aid Appeals Committee

Composed of faculty, staff and students who review documentation relative to students that are requesting an appeal to the federal regulations that prevent them from receiving aid for the current/coming semester. Documentation, in detail and from multiple sources are advantageous to the student. FAAC evaluates extenuating/mitigating circumstances and the plan the student has to address those circumstances. It has the option of requesting the student to personally appear and/or present additional documentation in rare situations. Examples of mitigating circumstances include severe illness or injury, death of a close relative, civil emergency, or switching degree programs. Being self-supporting or having parents that refuse to help you with educational expenses are not defined as “mitigating” by the federal government.

The decision of the FAAC is considered final. In rare situations, where extreme and mitigating circumstances can be specifically documented a student may seek a discretionary appeal to the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal is to be filed within ten (10) business days of the FAAC decision, with any additional documentation and rationale. An appointment may be scheduled with the Director of Financial Aid at least three but no more than five business days from submitting the appeal and documentation. The decision will be mailed to the student and is final (Overriding the FAAC rarely occurs.)

LOANS

All students must first complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order for the Financial Aid Office to determine eligibility. Upon submitting a student loan application all students are required to complete Loan Entrance Counseling. Upon graduation or withdrawing from school students are required to complete Loan Exit Counseling. This can be done at: www.mapping-your-future.org

No transcripts will be sent to other institutions or agencies until this has been completed. Students should be aware that all loans must be repaid regardless of whether they graduate, withdraw or cease attendance

Loan applications may not be completed until the student is enrolled and attending as at least a half-time student. Loans are not disbursed until 7-8 weeks after the semester begins.

Loans will be made in two disbursements whether they are for an academic semester or year. The student must be enrolled at least half time at the time the check is disbursed. If the student’s enrollment status changes between filing the application and disbursements, the amount will be adjusted. The check will be returned to the bank so that a new one may be issued for the correct amount.

Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized):

A subsidized loan is awarded on the basis of financial need. You won’t be charged any interest before you begin repayment or during deferment periods. The federal government “subsidizes” the interest during these periods.

Students need to be aware that they are requesting a loan and will be required to repay the principle plus the interest beginning six months after they cease to be enrolled at least half time. The maximum loan until at least 30 credit hours of the student’s program is completed is $2,625. Loans carry a variable interest rate based on the 91-day T-bill, with a 8.25% maximum (even if the borrower has an outstanding loan at another interest rate). The government covers the interest of the loan while the student is attending a least half time. Loans must be repaid within 10 years after payments begin.

LCC may only approve loans for grade level one and two (freshmen and sophomore). A student must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of his/her program to advance to grade level two. The loan amount may not exceed school cost less the family contribution, provided by the Student Aid Report, less any other financial aid received from the government and other entities.

Federal Stafford Loan (Unsubsidized):

An unsubsidized loan is not awarded on the basis of need. You will be charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed until it’s paid in full. Independent students who do not qualify for the maximum Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan ($2,625) and have not met school costs may borrow up to $4,000 through this loan. The amount of the loan is calculated by using the school costs less all other types of aid received including loans. A student must borrow the amount for which they are eligible through the subsidized loan first. The total of subsidized and unsubsidized and all other aid may not exceed the cost of attendance.

The loans carry a variable interest rate based on the 91-day T-bill, with a 8.25% cap (even if the borrower has an outstanding loan at another interest rate). Interest begins to accrue at the time of disbursement and is not subsidized by the government. Student must make monthly or quarterly interest payments while still attending school or capitalize the interest. It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements through the lender.

Parent (PLUS) Loan

PLUS loans are available to parents of dependent undergraduate students enrolled at least half time who are unable to meet educational costs as determined by the school through other types of financial aid. Loan payments begin immediately, and are to be made by the parent.

IMPORTANT:

Student must complete, sign and submit an LCC Financial Aid Application and Federal Refund/Default Certification form to the Financial Aid Office prior to receiving assistance.

Please keep this document in a safe place for future reference.

Rev. 04/05, 03/06