Enrollment Status
The Federal Pell Grant will be reduced proportionally for a student enrolling less than full-time (less than 12 semester hours). If a student completely withdraws from a class or classes, he or she will likely have to repay some or all of their financial aid. If a student completely withdraws before 60% of the semester has been completed, a percentage of aid will be returned to the Federal program based on the length of the time the student is enrolled prior to withdrawing. For example, if a student withdraws when 50% of the semester has elapsed, then 50% of the funds received by the student will be returned to the Federal program. After 60% of the semester has passed, a student is considered to have earned all aid received for that semester.
Student loan amounts are awarded based on assumed full-time enrollment; however, your disbursement amount will be reduced, when the semester begins, based on actual credit hours that you enroll in and may be less than your award if you do not enroll full-time. In order to receive a student loan, a student must enroll and have attendance confirmed in at least 6 (half-time) or more semester hours.
Attendance
Title IV funds (Federal Pell Grants, Direct Student Loans and SEOG) are awarded to a student based on the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period that the funding was allocated. A student begins earning Title IV funding (Federal Pell Grant) on his or her first day of attendance. Calhoun Community College instructors are required to verify attendance the first day of class. Students enrolled who do not attend within the attendance verification cycle will not be eligible to receive Federal Pell Grant, SEOG and/or Federal Student Loan funding.
Attendance is important. If a student registers and begins class after the first class date, it is the student's responsibility to complete all coursework assigned from the first day of class. The individual course syllabus states the specific policies and guidelines of the course and the student will be held accountable to the individual course syllabus.
Instructors may withdraw a student if he/she exceeds the number of absences outlined in the course syllabus. If a student fails to officially withdraw from a course, a grade of "F" may be assigned and this can adversely affect a student's financial aid. Withdrawing from a course is the student's responsibility.
Return of Title IV Policy
If a financial aid student completely withdraws from a class or classes, he or she could be liable for a Title IV return/repayment. Our Return to Title IV Policy outlines how that repayment is determined.
Higher Education Amendments of 1998: A student who received Title IV funding ( ex: Pell grant, FSEOG, student loans, or federal work-study) and withdraws from all classes prior to the 60% point of the semester will owe funds back to the U.S. Department of Education and to Calhoun Community College.
Calhoun Community College conforms to the Federal Return of Title IV funds regulations. Title IV funds refer to the following federal financial aid programs (subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans, Federal Direct PLUS loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal SEOG and TEACH Grants). Federal Work Study funds are excluded from the refund calculations.
Official Withdrawal: A student who received Title IV funding ( ex: Pell grant, FSEOG, student loans, or federal work-study) and withdraws from all classes prior to the 60% point of the semester will owe funds back to the U.S. Department of Education and to Calhoun Community College.
Unofficial Withdrawal: A student who received Title IV funding (ex. Pell grant, FSEOG, student loans, or federal work-study) and unofficially withdraws (stops attending and does not receive a passing grade in at least one class) from all classes may owe funds back to the U.S. Department of Education and to Calhoun Community College. If the student attends beyond the 60% point, the student is considered to have earned 100% of the Title IV aid received.
The concept behind the policy is that the college and the student are allowed to retain only the amount of Title IV funding (federal aid) that is earned. If a student withdraws or is withdrawn or stops attending classes, whether any credits are earned for the class or not, a portion of the aid received is considered to be unearned and must be returned to theTitle IV program from which it was received. For Title IV purposes, the withdrawal date is the last date of attendance as determined by attendance records or withdrawal form.
Return to Title IV Policy: The first step is a series of formulas to determine the amount of aid which must be returned. Following the determination of the withdrawal date, the school must calculate the number of days attended and the total number of days the student was scheduled to complete within the term; weekends count and any periods of no classes which are five days in length or greater are excluded. Days attended are then divided by the days in the term the student was scheduled to complete. If an unofficial withdrawal equal to or less than 60%, 50% is multiplied by total aid for which the student is eligible (aid that was disbursed and that could have been disbursed) to determine the amount of aid earned (50% completed x total aid = earned aid). If an official withdrawal, the calculated percentage is multiplied by total aid for which the student is eligible (aid that was disbursed and that could have been disbursed) to determine the amount of aid earned (% completed x total aid = earned aid). Total aid - earned aid = unearned aid (aid to be returned).
The next step is for the school to determine total institutional charges and multiply that figure by the percentage of unearned aid (100% - % completed = % unearned). Institutional charges are generally defined as charges for tuition and fees, room and board (if applicable), costs of books and materials, and other educational expenses that are paid to the school directly up to the date of the student's withdrawal. If institutional charges are changed after a student withdraws, those changes do not impact the changes nor aid earned in the Return to Title IV calculation. It makes no difference which type of resources actually paid the school bill; the law assumes that Title IV aid goes first to pay the institutional charges. Institutional charges x % unearned = amount returned by school. The school must then return the amount of unearned aid, up to the maximum received, to each of the Title IV programs in the following order:
- Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan
- Subsidized Direct Stafford Loan
- Federal Perkins Loan (Calhoun does not participate)
- Direct Plus Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplement Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Other Federal Grants
The school then calculates the amount for which the student is responsible by subtracting the amount returned by the school from the total amount which is unearned. That remaining amount is the student's share and is allocated in the same order as above. Total amount unearned - amount returned by school = $ amount the student is required to return to Title IV funds. Once the school determines the dollar amounts owed to the student to the US Department of Education, the student will be notified of what he or she owes. Funds that must be returned by the student to the loan programs can be paid in accordance with normal loan repayment terms. If the student's portion of unearned Title IV funds includes a federal grant, the student has to pay no more than 50% of the initial Pell award that the student is responsible for returning. A student has 45 days to make repayment and does not have to repay a grant overpayment of $50.00 or less. Unpaid balances will be reported to NSLDS, the National Student Loan Database system, and turned over to the U.S. Department of Education for collection. Until overpayments are repaid or satisfactory repayment arrangements have been made, student will be ineligible for further Title IV awards at any institution.
Once the school determines the amount Calhoun Community College is required to repay the U. S. Department of Education, the school returns the funds and bills the student for the amount of money the school had to repay. This policy is separate from the school's institutional refund policy. Unpaid balances due to Calhoun Community College that results from amounts returned to Title IV programs and other sources of aid will be charged back to the student. The student is also responsible for paying all outstanding tuition balances to the college. The student's account will be placed on HOLD for registration and transcripts until the balance is paid in full. If a student does not attend any classes or ceases attendance during the 100% refund period, aid may have to be reduced to reflect appropriate enrollment status prior to recalculating Return to Title IV funds. The Financial Aid Office processes the Return of Title IV Funds calculation. A student who has questions regarding the calculation should contact the Financial Aid Office at 256-306-2628. Forms, worksheets, and examples of calculations are available in the Financial Aid Office.