The Office of Financial Aid encourages students and parents to watch the FA videos to better understand the financial aid process.
We hope you will seek our assistance while preparing for college and throughout your entire college experience.
StudentAid.ed.gov can assist you in planning your education and finding the means to pay for school. Additionally, it offers information on career development and military services.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA on the Web) Learn more about federal student aid and apply for a Parent FSA ID and a Student FSA ID at fsaid.ed.gov. Adrian College’s FAFSA school code is 002234.
The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid can help you estimate your student’s eligibility for need-based financial aid. It also contains links to information on scholarship opportunities (FastWeb!) and updates on potential scholarship scams.
The U.S. Department of Education contains many resources and tips to help parents and students from kindergarten through high school.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
The Higher Education Act of 1976, as amended, requires Adrian College to develop and apply a consistent and reasonable standard of academic progress for all students who receive federal financial aid in order for those students to continue to receive such assistance. This standard must contain all elements specified in the regulations and must be at least as strict as the academic standards of the College used for all students. Students who fall behind in their coursework or fail to achieve minimum standards for grade point average and completion of classes, risk losing their eligibility for federal and state financial aid, external scholarships/grants/loans, and Adrian College scholarships and grants.
SAP is assessed both qualitatively (by cumulative grade point average) and quantitatively (by earned credit hours). Students must also complete their degree within a Maximum Time Frame of 150% of the published program length. A student is not permitted to receive federal student aid if the attempted credit hours exceed the Maximum Time Frame of 150%. Progress is measured at the end of each term to determine a student’s financial aid eligibility for future enrollment periods. Students not meeting SAP standards will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid (both by mail using their self-reported permanent address and through their Adrian College email account).
In order to maintain satisfactory academic progress (to be in good standing academically) a student must do two things:
Maximum Timeframe (150% Rule)
- Qualitative Measure – Maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA (undergraduate students), or a 3.0 cumulative GPA (graduate students); and
- Quantitative Measure – Successfully complete (i.e., pass) 2/3 of the credit hours attempted.
Students are not permitted to receive federal student aid for a period no longer than 150 percent of the published length of the program.
Grade point averages are calculated by dividing total quality points by quality hours (i.e., credit hours attempted). Hours for courses for which grades of NG, NC, W, or I are excluded from the hours attempted to obtain quality hours.
Hours successfully completed includes all credit hours attached to course grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D and D-. Hours attempted includes those successfully completed as well as those attached to courses in which grades of F, I, W, NG, and NC were assigned.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS WARNING
The first time a student does not meet SAP standards they will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the next semester. This means they are one term away from losing their financial aid eligibility but are still eligible for financial aid for the subsequent semester. Failure to meet SAP standards in the semester in which the student is on Financial Aid Warning will result in Financial Aid Suspension.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS SUSPENSION
Students who do not meet satisfactory academic progress requirements at the end of the financial aid warning period will be placed on a financial aid suspension and will not be eligible for financial aid (both federal and Adrian College scholarships/grants) without appealing.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS ACADEMIC PLAN & APPEAL PROCEDURE
Any student denied financial aid due to the policy may appeal to the Office of Financial Aid. An appeal application and instructions will be included with the SAP notification letter from the Office of Financial Aid. Students wishing to appeal will be required to submit a formal letter explaining why he or she is not currently making Satisfactory Academic Progress. The letter should also include the students plan to sufficiently improve their academic status. Students will also be required to meet with their academic advisor to review their academic plan and sign off on the student’s appeal application.
Appeal applications should be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid prior to the start of term and must be submitted prior to the end of the second week of the term for which they are applying. After an application for appeal is received, the student will be notified in writing of the results of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal. Reinstatement of aid for a subsequent period will be determined on an individual basis.
Students who do not meet the terms of satisfactory academic progress, and who either elect not to file an appeal, or who failed to meet the terms of their academic plan will be required to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards before regaining eligibility for financial aid.
Students are limited to two (2) SAP Appeal submissions during their enrollment at Adrian College.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS PROBATION
Students will be assigned this status if they fail to meet satisfactory academic progress at the end of SAP Warning period but successfully appeal. Students will be permitted to receive financial aid for one additional term with continued eligibility to be reviewed and determined at the term’s end. Students on SAP financial aid probation are monitored for improvements and are required to adhere to their terms and conditions of probation.
INCOMPLETES, WITHDRAWALS, FAILURES AND REPETITIONS
Classes graded with failure (“F”), “academic dishonesty”, “incomplete”, “no credit”, or “withdraw” will be evaluated as courses attempted, although not successfully completed. Repeated courses will count toward academic progress.
TRANSFER CREDIT, ADRIAN COLLEGE CREDIT HOURS AND ACADEMIC PROGRAM
When determining if a student is within the requirements of Adrian College’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, the Financial Aid Office will consider credit hours that are accepted by the Registrar’s Office as transfer credit or that were taken at Adrian College, and that are applicable to the student’s academic program. The number of transfer credit hours accepted will be used to calculate a student’s remaining eligibility according to the maximum timeframe standard (150% rule) and will be included in the quantitative calculation which includes number of credits attempted and completed. Transfer credit grades are not considered in a student’s GPA. The GPA used for Satisfactory Academic Progress policy only considers classes taken at Adrian College.
Return to Title IV Policy
For financial aid purposes there are two types of withdrawals: Official and Unofficial.
The Office of Financial Aid is required by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended in 1998, to determine the amount of financial aid that a student “earned” for an academic semester when the student does not complete at least one course within that semester. When the “earned” aid is less than the disbursed aid, the institution and student are responsible for returning the “unearned” disbursed funds to the appropriate agency.
Withdrawal Types
Official (student initiated withdraw) – A student begins the withdrawal process or otherwise provides official notification of intent to withdraw. The official withdrawal process can be found on the college website and within the academic catalog.
Unofficial (college initiated & administrative withdrawal) – Official notification not provided by the student because of circumstances beyond the student’s control, expulsion and all other instances where a student withdraws without providing official notification.
Leave of Absence Related – A student takes an unapproved leave of absence or does not return from an approved leave of absence. Additional information can be found within the academic catalog and by contacting the Registrar.
General Information
Federal funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student’s enrollment status changes, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of aid that the student was originally scheduled to receive.
Any student who does not complete at least one course within an academic semester for which financial aid is received, or could have been received, will be reviewed for a Return of Title IV Funds calculation. This includes students who drop, officially or unofficially withdraw, are dismissed or take a leave of absence during a semester.
The Federal Return of Title IV Funds policy determines the amount of aid earned by dividing the number of calendar days up to the withdrawal date by the total number of calendar days in the enrollment period.
Withdrawal Date Determination
When a student is withdrawn from a course, regardless of the withdrawal type, the Registrar’s Office will consult with college administration to determine the students last date of attendance at an academically related activity. College administration may include but is not limited to; the student’s instructors, academic advisor, the Academic Services Department, or the Academic Dean.
Approved Leave of Absence
A leave of absence (LOA) must meet certain conditions to be counted as a temporary interruption in a student’s education instead of being counted as a withdrawal requiring a school to perform a Return calculation. Please refer to the Leave of Absence Policy for eligibility requirements and application procedures. A student granted an LOA is not considered to have withdrawn, and no Return calculation is required. Upon the student’s return from the leave, he or she continues to earn the federal student aid previously awarded for the period.
Consequences of Not Returning from a LOA
• If a student on an approved LOA fails to return, the student will be considered withdrawn.
• The school must report to the loan holder the student’s change in enrollment as of the withdrawal date.
• A student’s grace period for a Title IV program loan might be exhausted. After a grace period has expired, the repayment period begins.
The Calculation
Adrian College uses the U.S. Department of Education’s Return of Title IV Aid Web product to calculate and determine the amount of aid a student is eligible to receive.
The Return of Title IV Funds is based on the premise that students “earn” financial aid for each calendar day that they attend classes. For example, if a student attends 32 days of a semester that is 80 calendar days in length, the student will have “earned” 40 percent of his or her aid.
Students who complete more than 60 percent of the semester are considered to have earned 100 percent of their financial aid.
If the student receives more aid than the amount earned, the school, the student, or both must return the unearned funds in a specified order. The specified order is listed below.
The “unearned” portion of aid is refunded to the appropriate programs in the following order:
• Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Subsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal SEOG
• TEACH Grant Funds
Post-withdrawal disbursement
If the student receives less federal student aid than the amount earned, the school must offer a disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. This is called a post-withdrawal disbursement.
A school is required to make (or offer as appropriate) post-withdrawal disbursements.
A school must disburse grant funds no later than 45 days after the date of the school’s determination that the student withdrew.
A school must offer any post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds within 30 days of the date the school determined the student with withdrew. In addition, the school must disburse loan funds within 180 days of the date of determination.
Returning Unearned Aid
When a Return of Title IV funds is due, the school and the student may both have a responsibility for returning funds. Funds that are not the responsibility of the school to return must be returned by the student.
Return Due from the School
The school must return the unearned aid for which the school is responsible as soon as possible but no later than 45 days after the date of the school’s determination that the student withdrew.
Return Due from the Student
A student is responsible for all unearned Title IV program assistance that the school is not required to return. A school should notify the student within 30 days that he or she must repay the overpayment or make satisfactory payment arrangements.
A student must take action to resolve the overpayment within 45 days of the date the school sent or was required to send notification.
A student does not have to repay a grant overpayment of $50.00 or less for grant overpayment resulting from the student’s withdrawal.
The student loans that remain outstanding are repaid by the student according to the terms of the student’s promissory note.
Consequences of Not Resolving an Overpayment
A student who does not take positive action during the 45-day period becomes ineligible for Title IV funds. The student will remain ineligible until the student enters into a satisfactory payment agreement with the Department of Education.
Calculating “Earned” Institutional Aid
Adrian College uses the results from the Federal Return of Title IV calculation to determine the amount of earned institutional aid a student is eligible to receive.
Example: If a student earned 50% of their federal aid (as determined by the federal calculation), the institutional scholarships and grants will also be reduced to 50%.
Tuition Refund
If a student withdraws from college, the payment agreement made at the time of registration is still in effect and subject to the Tuition & Fee Liability Schedule. Please note that the refund of Tuition, Room and Board charges is a different calculation than the Return of Title IV Funds calculation. The Tuition & Liability Schedule and Refund Policy establishes the amount you will be charged for the semester if you withdraw. The Tuition & Liability Schedule and Refund Policies can be found in the academic catalog and online. In addition, students can contact the Student Business Services Office for additional assistance.
The Return of Title IV Funds Policy calculates how much Federal financial aid you are allowed to keep to help pay your adjusted charges. Therefore, both calculations must be completed before you will know your financial account balance.