Atchison, Kansas

Financial Aid – Policies & Procedures

Eligibility | Awards | Standards of Academic Progress | Return of Title IV Funds

ELIGIBILITY
By applying for admission, prospective students will be considered for institutional forms of aid while the FAFSA determines the student’s eligibility for federal need-based financial aid. Institutional aid is offered in the form of scholarships and awards and is based on the student’s academic achievement, performance or special talent. When the FAFSA is submitted, the federal government analyzes student and family income, family size and assets to determine financial need. Most federal and state aid is based on financial need.

To receive the maximum amount of aid from most federal and state programs, students must be enrolled in at least 12 semester hours per semester. To be eligible for institutional funds, students must enroll in at least 12 semester hours per semester. The Federal Pell Grant can be prorated for less than full-time enrollment. Students are required to be enrolled at least half-time (6 semester hours) per semester for Federal Stafford Loan eligibility.

To be eligible for federal and state financial aid and institutional academic awards students must be:

  • U.S. Citizens or eligible non-citizens.
  • Pursuing a degree or diploma program. Non-degree seeking students are not eligible for federal financial aid. If students earned previously an undergraduate degree, they are not eligible for institutional aid.
  • Making satisfactory academic progress. See Financial Aid FAQ for a further explanation.

AWARDS
Terms and Conditions
The enclosures with your award discuss eligibility requirements and other information important to your financial aid and constitute student notification of such. You are responsible to read and understand all information included.

Award
Your award is based on full-time enrollment. You must attend class to be eligible for financial aid. Benedictine College is required to prorate, adjust or revise your award in accordance with federal regulations and institutional policy.

Drop, Non-Attendance of Class, or Withdrawal of Class
If you drop, do not attend class, or withdraw from classes within an award period or term, your award(s) may be recalculated and we may be required to reduce or cancel your award(s).

If you have been awarded a loan for a specific award period or term and do not enroll for that term, the loan funds will be returned to the lender.

Renewal of Financial Aid
Financial aid does not automatically renew from one academic year to the next. You must reapply and are responsible for the reapplication process. Early application is important. The Financial Aid Office recommends that you reapply for financial aid as soon as possible after January 1 each year for the following academic year.

Awards from governmental and private sources are dependent upon receipt of funds from the appropriate entities. You are responsible for application renewal processes, requirements and deadlines. You will not receive any aid for which the College has not received funds on your behalf. The College will not replace funds lost due to non-renewal of applications, missed deadlines, or for not having received funds on your behalf.

Notification of Changes in Financial Circumstances
It is your responsibility to immediately notify the Financial Aid Office of any changes in your financial circumstances. This includes any additional external awards or financial assistance received such as outside scholarships, tuition assistance, veteran’s assistance or Montgomery GI benefits.

Financial aid funds will not be credited to your account or disbursed until all required applications for financial aid are complete, and monies have been received from the funding agencies.
All federal funds have been awarded on the condition that you do not owe a repayment and are not in default on any federal loans.

You must be degree seeking and maintain satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of your degree in order to remain eligible for financial aid. See Benedictine College’s Programs and Policies document details.

If you have questions, please contact the Financial Aid office.

STANDARDS OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS
According to the United States Department of Education regulations and Kansas Board of Regents, all students applying for federal and/or state financial assistance (as well as some private, credit-based loans) must meet and maintain satisfactory academic progress in a degree program to receive funding. Satisfactory progress is measured in terms of qualitative, quantitative, and maximum time standards. All prior coursework at Benedictine College is applied to these standards.

Qualitative Measure
The quality of a student’s progress is measured by grade point average (cumulative GPA). The minimum cumulative GPA for Financial Aid recipients is the same as the academic standard for Benedictine College:

Cumulative Attempted Hours    Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average
 0 – 24  1.80
 25 – 48  2.00
 49 or more  2.00
 Graduate Program  3.00


Quantitative Measure
The quantity of a student’s progress is measured by the Cumulative Completion Rate (hours earned divided by hours attempted). Students are required to complete 2/3 of attempted hours while at Benedictine College. Students who receive an I (incomplete), F (failing), W (withdrawal), or WE (excused withdrawal) for a course in a semester or session will have those courses included in the cumulative attempted hours (for definition of grades please see academic policies, regulations, and procedures in the academic). The Cumulative Completion Rate will be calculated in December and May to determine eligibility for financial aid for the following term. All courses will be included in the Cumulative Completion Rate calculated.

Please note the following:

  • Repeated courses will add total hours attempted but not hours completed; the grade will simply be replaced. The new grade will be included in the cumulative GPA calculation, which will be considered when progress is again checked; therefore, the repeated course will be included in both qualitative and quantitative calculations.
  • Withdrawals, including excused withdrawals, will count toward hours attempted for the Cumulative Completion Rate as well as cumulative GPA.
  • Audit and Pass/Fail courses will count toward the Cumulative Completion Rate.
  • Transfer credit (including that received during consortium study) will count in the calculation of both cumulative attempted credit hours and cumulative completed credit hours. Transfer credit will not count toward the Cumulative Completion Rate. Transfer credit does not count in the calculation of GPA.

Maximum Time Measure
Financial Aid recipients must complete an educational program within a time frame no longer than 150% of the published length of the educational program. All attempted withdrawn, and/or transferred credits that apply to a student’s program count toward this maximum time limit. For example, a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree requiring 120 credit hours may attempt up to 180 hours before Financial Aid eligibility is suspended (120 x 150% = 180).

Financial Aid recipients that have reached 100% of the published length of the educational program will be notified in writing that they are approaching their maximum time frame. These warnings will continue to be sent each time academic progress is reviewed until a student reaches 150%. At 150% the student will no longer be eligible to receive federal financial aid. The Financial Aid Office will review the academic progress of financial aid recipients once per academic year (in May). A student may appeal the suspension of aid.  Appeals should be sent to the Director of Financial Aid.  Responses will be sent in a timely manner.

Financial Aid Probation and Suspension
Failure to meet the minimum academic progress requirements will result in Financial Aid Warning and Suspension.  Students are notified in writing of any academic deficiency soon after spring grades are posted and have one semester to make any deficiency up.  If the deficiency has not been made up within the prescribed grace period, the result is a loss of federal and state aid, and a reduction of institutional aid for the following term of enrollment.

Reinstatement
Financial Aid may be reinstated when all academic deficiencies have been met.

Appeal Procedure
Students whose financial aid eligibility have been suspended may make a written appeal for reinstatement of eligibility if extenuating, catastrophic circumstances have contributed to their inability to meet the requirements for satisfactory progress. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Death of an immediate family member
  • Severe injury or illness of the student or an immediate family member
  • Emergency situations such as fire or flood
  • Legal separation from spouse or divorce
  • Military reassignment or required job transfers or shift changes

Students who do not meet the above criteria and/or cannot thoroughly document such situations must reestablish eligibility through reinstatement before any additional federal or state aid will be disbursed.

Students who have extenuating circumstances may submit an appeal in writing to the Director of Financial Aid.

RETURN OF TITLE IV FUNDS
This policy applies to students who complete 60% or less of the enrollment period (i.e., Fall, Spring or Summer session) for which they received Federal Title IV aid. A student who drops a class but still completes one or more classes does not qualify for the Return of Title IV Funds policy. The term “Title IV aid” refers to the following Federal financial aid programs: Unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans, Subsidized Federal Stafford loans, Federal Perkins loans, Federal PLUS (Parent) loans, Federal Pell Grants, and Federal SEOG (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant).

To conform with the policy, Benedictine College must determine the student’s withdrawal date. The withdrawal date is defined as:

  • The date the student began the withdrawal process or officially notified Benedictine College of their intent to withdraw; or
  • The last date of attendance at an academically-related activity by a student who doesn’t notify Benedictine College

The calculation required determines a student’s earned and unearned Title IV aid based on the percentage of the enrollment period completed by the student. The percentage of the period that the student remained enrolled is derived by dividing the number of days the student attended by the number of days in the period. Calendar days (including weekends) are used, but breaks of at least 5 days are excluded from both the numerator and denominator.

Until a student has passed the 60% point of an enrollment period, only a portion of the student’s aid has been earned. A student who remains enrolled beyond the 60% point is considered to have earned all awarded aid for the enrollment period.

Earned aid is not related in any way to institutional charges. In addition, the College’s refund policy and Return of Title IV Funds procedures are independent of one another. A student who withdraws from a course may be required to return unearned aid and still owe the college for the course. For more information on the Benedictine College withdrawal and institutional charges’ policies, please consult the Benedictine College catalog.

The responsibility to repay unearned Title IV aid is shared by Benedictine College and the student. For example, the calculation may require Benedictine College to return a portion of Federal funds to the Federal Title IV programs. In addition, the student may also be required to return funds based on the calculation. A student returns funds to the Federal Stafford loan programs based on the terms and conditions of the promissory note of the loan. A student who receives a Federal Pell Grant may be required to repay 50% of the funds received. The return of Federal aid is in the following order: Unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans, Subsidized Federal Stafford loans, Federal Perkins loans, Federal PLUS (Parent) loans, Federal Pell Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National SMART Grant,  FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant), and the TEACH Grant..

How to Handle an Overpayment
Students who owe funds to a grant program are required to make payment of those funds within 45 days of being notified that they owe this overpayment. During the 45 day period students will remain eligible for Title IV funds. If no positive action is taken by the student within 45 days of being notified, Benedictine College will notify the U.S. Department of Education of the student’s overpayment situation. The student will no longer be eligible for Title IV funds until they enter into a satisfactory repayment agreement with the U.S. Department of Education.

During the 45-day period, the student can make full payment to Benedictine College of the overpayment. The college will forward the payment to the U.S. Department of Education and the student will remain eligible for Title IV funds. Please make check payable to Benedictine College, Attn: Financial Aid.

If a student is unable to pay his or her overpayment in full, he or she can set up a repayment plan with the U.S. Department of Education. Before doing this, please contact the Benedictine College Financial Aid Office. You will need to make sure we have referred your situation to the U.S. Department of Education before any repayment plan can be set up.

For examples of the Return of Title IV Funds calculations or questions regarding the overpayment policy, please contact the Financial Aid Office.