Carroll Community College

General Provisions Common to all Programs

In order to be eligible to receive federal student financial aid, a student must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen; must have a high school diploma or its equivalent; must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an eligible program of study; and must be pursuing a credit degree or certificate. Each Federal Student Financial Aid Program  also has specific requirements regarding such factors as financial need and enrollment status.

In addition to these general and specific requirements, there are several conditions which must be met before a student can receive funds from any Federal Student Financial Aid Program . All students who receive federal financial aid must be making satisfactory academic progress in an eligible program of study, must not be in default on a Federal Title IV Student Loan, and must not owe a refund on a Federal Title IV Grant at any previous institutions they have attended. Male students must also be registered with the selective service (or be exempt from registration according to U.S. Department of Education criteria).

Student Selection Procedures

Each institution is responsible for determining the eligibility of students appying for or receiving each Federal Student Financial Aid Program (PELL Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Federal Work-Study). PELL Grants, Academic Competitiveness Grants (ACGs) and National Science and Mathematics to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants are considered entitlement funds and awarded to students who meet the eligibility criteria set by the U.S. Department of Education. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS) are considered campus-based funds, which are awarded based on the extent of available funds given to each institution.  

In the event that the number of students eligible for campus-based funds exceeds the funds available, Carroll Community College will give preference to those students who demonstrate the greatest financial need. In determining who has the greatest financial need, the institution will take into consideration grant assistance that has been provided to the student by any public or private source and funds to which the student is entitled under the PELL Grant Program.

To receive maximum consideration for campus-based programs at Carroll Community College, students should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by March 1 each year. Students who apply after this deadline will continue to be considered for campus-based funds as long as funds remain available.

Please note that National SMART Grants are for the third and fourth year of study in an eligible four-year program and are not available to students at Carroll Community College.

Coordination of Other Aid Sources

When developing each student's financial aid package, the Financial Aid Office will consider assistance received from all sources intented for education-related expenses. If the Financial Aid Office becomes aware of a new source of assistance after developing the student's financial aid package, the student will receive a revised financial aid package that includes the new source of assistance. If the new source of assistance creates an overaward situation, the student will be notified that they must return the overawarded funds for reallocation to the appropriate program(s).

Disbursements of Awards

Annual awards from PELL, ACG, SEOG, state, and institutional programs are divided into two equal amounts and credited to student accounts in two separate installments. Awards made for a single term of study are provided in their entirety for that term. If a student fails to begin attendance prior to the posting of awards to the student's account, the awards are canceled. Awards are normally transmitted to the student's account in the fourth week of Fall, Spring and Summer terms. Awards made to the student by the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) are posted to the student's account when the College has received payment from MHEC.

Payments of wages earned through FWS are made bi-weekly to the student and are based solely on the number of hours worked.

Some students may receive financial aid in excess of direct charges for tuition and fees. Cash disbursements to students can be made only after all funds have been posted to the student's account. 

Enrollment Changes and Consequences for Financial Aid

Students who make changes to their enrollment within the term receive a revision to their Financial Aid Package through the 60% point of the term. This includes enrollment changes due to grades of W and AT. It is very important to contact the Financial Aid Office prior to making changes to your enrollment status.

Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) Policy for Complete Withdrawal

Federal student aid recipients who withdraw from all coursework during a term is subject to the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) policy. The policy calculates how much Title IV aid the recipient earned for the term in which the withdrawal occurs. At the college, Title IV aid subject to R2T4 includes the Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant.

A. Attendance

Financial aid recipients are required to regularly attend class for the entire term. Financial aid is awarded on the assumption that financial aid recipients adhere to this requirement.

B. Types of Withdrawal

Students are not required to submit a written request for complete withdrawal of coursework. Students are considered officially withdrawn when they submit a written request to the Records Office to be withdrawn from all coursework. Students are unofficially withdrawn if they ceased attendance in all coursework during the term.

C. Basic Calculation

The student’s total number of days attended in a term is divided by the total number of days in a term. For example, if a student attended 45 days of a term with 105 days, the student attended 42.9% of the term and has earned 42.9% of the federal student aid awarded for that term. Students who attended more than 60% of the term earn 100% of the federal student aid awarded for that term. The 60% point for each term is listed on each student’s Financial Aid Award Letter. The Financial Aid Office offers sample R2T4 calculations at the student’s request.

D. Financial Aid Office Procedures

Class attendance rosters are verified and returned to the Records Office by all instructors during each term. The Records Office notifies the Financial Aid Office of students who did not begin attendance in one or more courses. Financial aid awards are adjusted for financial aid recipients who do not begin attendance in one or more courses. Fnancial aid recipients who do not begin attendance in any course recieve writen notification that their financial aid award has been cancelled. Student are responsible for the full balance of their tuition and fee account.

Every three weeks beginning with the first week of the term, the Financial Aid Office runs an enrollment verification report to verify student enrollment changes. In cases where federal student aid recipients have officially withdrawn from all coursework through the Records Office, the Financial Aid Office uses the official withdrawal date to determine if  federal student aid must be returned to the appropriate program. The college returns any funds that must be returned and notifies the recipients by mail that the R2T4 policy has been applied to their account and they must repay the college. The college returns the funds and notifies the recipients within 45 days of their official withdrawal.

At the end of each term, the Financial Aid Office reviews academic transcripts. Federal student aid recipients with all F grades or a combination of F and W grades are considered an unofficial withdrawal until proven otherwise by the instructors. Each instructor recieves a memo requesting to report the student’s last date of class attendance or online class participation in within 30 days of the term ending. When all dates have been returned, the Financial Aid Office uses the latest date of attendance to determine if any federal student aid must be returned to the appropriate program. The college returns any funds that must be returned and notifies the recipients by mail that the R2T4 policy has been applied to their account and they must repay the college. The college returns the funds and notifiies the recipients within 45 days of the deadline to determine the student’s last date of attendance.

E. Order of Return of Funds

The College returns unearned Title IV funds to the appropriate program in the order specified by the U.S. Department of Education. Since the college does not participate in the Federal Student Loan Programs or offer four-year programs eligible for the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant, the order for returning funds will be:

• Federal Pell Grant (PELL)
• Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

F. Post-withdrawal Disbursement

Students who officially withdrawal after beginning attendance in all coursework and prior to the transmittal of federal student aid may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. The Financial Aid Office makes disbursements and/or notifies students who are due a post-withdrawal disbursement within 30 days of their withdrawal date.

If verification is not complete at the time the college completes the R2T4 worksheet for the student, the student is not be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement. If the student completes verification by the verification deadline, a new R2T4 worksheet is completed.

Verification Policy and Procedures

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Student Aid Report (SAR), which is produced from the FAFSA, may be selected by the U.S. Department of Education or the institution of higher education for review in a process called verification. As part of this process, the student must submit certain financial documents and other materials to the College. Each student selected for verification will be notified in writing of the specific documentation that must be submitted. Documentation includes photocopies of Federal Income Tax Returns for the student and parents (if applicable). Failure to submit the required materials may result in the student being judged ineligible for student financial aid during the academic year covered by the FAFSA.

If verification shows that FAFSA or SAR information is accurate, the student will be notified of eligibility for student financial aid. If corrections are necessary, the College will submit the corrections directly to the U.S. Department of Education and the student will receive a corrected SAR. All documents provided by a student for verification will be retained in the student's file for auditing purposes.

Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Recipients

Students receiving any federal, state or institutional student financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress in their chosen credit degree or certificate program of study. Satisfactory academic progress is reviewed at the end of each term and is determined by (1) the number of credits completed divided by the number of credits attempted and (2) the minimum cumulative grade point average for the number of credits attempted.

A. Completion Rate and Minimum Grade Point Average

In order to retain financial aid eligibility, the student must meet the following completion rate and minimum cumulative grade point average:

NUMBER OF CREDITS ATTEMPTED (a)	REQUIRED COMPLETION RATE FOR NUMBER OF CREDITS ATTEMPTED (b)	REQUIRED MINIMUM GRADE POINT AVERAGE FOR NUMBER OF CREDITS ATTEMPTED(c)
1 – 12	50%	1.500
13 – 29	60%	1.750
30 or more	70%	2.000

 

(a) Attempted credits include repeated courses, transitional courses and courses that allow for only grades of Audit (AT), Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U). Courses without credit, such as certain transitional courses, will be assigned a credit equivalent. 

(b) Grades of Incomplete (I), Unsatisfactory (U), Audit (AT), Withdrawal (W), and Fail (F) do not count toward completed credits.

(c) Courses without credit, such as certain transitional courses, will be assigned quality points based on the grade received and will be considered in the grade point average for financial aid satisfactory academic progress.

Although the required completion rates and minimum grade point averages for financial aid recipients are the same for students who are not receiving financial aid, the progress policy for financial aid recipients includes transitional, repeated and failed courses in the minimum grade point average calculation. Therefore, the academic progress policy for financial aid recipients is stricter than the academic progress policy for students not receiving financial aid.

B. Maximum Time Frame for Receiving Federal Student Financial Aid

Students may receive federal student financial aid for no more than 150% of the published length of their chosen eligible degree or certificate program. If the program requires the student to complete 70 credits, the student's maximum time frame for federal financial aid eligibility is 105 attempted credits (70 multiplied by 1.5). Credits that are transferred into the student's program of study at Carroll Community College must be included as attempted credits in the maximum time frame calculation at Carroll Community College. Attempted credits include transitional courses and those courses with grades of I, U, AT, W and F. Attempted credits for which the student did not receive financial aid are included in the maximum time frame calculation.

C. Financial Aid Suspension and Appeal

Financial aid recipients who fail to meet the satisfactory academic progress standards listed above in section A will be placed on financial aid suspension and will be notified in writing. In order to regain financial aid eligibility, the student would need to meet the standards listed above in section A. Students with mitigating and unusual circumstances will be given one chance to appeal their financial aid suspension status. Appeals require both a written explanation of the mitigating and unusual circumstances (with appropriate documentation of the circumstances) and a meeting with an academic advisor. If granted, the appeal may have conditions and require follow-up advising sessions.

The following procedures apply to the financial aid suspension appeal process:

(a) A student whose academic transcript contains only F grades (or a combination of F and W, AT or U) must take and pass with a C grade or better at least one course at Carroll Community College. This course is at the student's expense. Once this has been accomplished, the student may file his/her one-time appeal by submitting a signed and dated letter and any applicable documentation to the Director of Financial Aid.

(b) A student whose academic transcript contains only W grades or some passing grades may file his/her one-time appeal immediately upon receiving written notification of financial aid suspension. The student must submit a signed and dated letter and any applicable documentation to the Director of Financial Aid within two weeks of receiving financial aid suspension notification.

D. Credit Equivalent for Transitional Courses

MAT 098 will be assigned a 1.5 credit equivalent.

ENG 091, ENG 096, MAT 091, MAT 097 and READ 091 will be assigned a 3 credit equivalent.

Please contact the Financial Aid Office for the credit equivalent of any other course for which the student will not receive credit on their academic transcript.

E. Changing or Completing a Program of Study

If a student changes their program of study, all previous attempted credits will be included in the calculation for satisfactory academic progress and maximum time frame. A student may not continue to receive federal financial aid for a program of study that has been completed, even if the degree or certificate has not yet been received.

F. Transfer Students

Transfer students with no previous coursework at Carroll Community College are considered to be in good academic standing with respect to financial aid at the time they matriculate at Carroll Community College. Transfer students with attempted coursework at Carroll Community College must meet the standards listed above for all coursework attempted at Carroll Community College. Credits that are transferred into the student's program of study at Carroll Community College must be included in the maximum time frame calculation at Carroll Community College.