Financial Aid Policies
Federal Return of Funds/Repayment Policy (Federal Regulation 668.22)
Under changes made by the Higher Education Act of 1998, this policy focuses on the amount of Title IV program funds to be returned when a student withdraws from all classes and does not complete the semester. This Federal Return of Funds/Repayment Policy applies only to students receiving Title IV aid (federal Pell Grants, federal SEOG, and federal subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans).
During the first 60% of the enrollment period, a student “earns” Title IV funds in direct proportion to the length of time s/he remains enrolled. If a student withdraws totally from the College without completing 60% of the enrollment period, he or she will be required to repay a portion of the aid received within 45 days. *Federal law requires that all or part of the Federal Financial Aid has to paid back if the student withdraws from ALL classes before attending at least 60% of the semester. This is about 9.5 weeks after the start of a 15 week semester.
For example, a student who withdraws after completing 10% of the enrollment period may need to repay up to 90% of the federal funds that were awarded to them. Please refer to the College Catalog or contact our office with questions concerning cessation of attendance and impact on other sources of financial aid.
Repeated Coursework
Students may receive federal financial aid to pay for a repeated course if the student has not previously passed the course. A student may receive financial aid for the repeat of a previously passed course one time only to improve the prior grade. The rule applies whether or not the student received aid for the earlier enrollments in the course. If the student passed the course then subsequently failed or withdrew, the student cannot receive financial for the course a third time.
Standards of Satisfactory Academic Performance
Failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress may result in the suspension of aid. To maintain satisfactory academic progress, a student must comply with all three standards. Standard One: Maintain a career grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 or higher. Standard Two: Complete 67% (percent) of all attempted credits. Standard Three: Not exceed 150% (percent) of the attempted credit hours for certificate or degree. Please refer to the College Catalog for the complete policy.
Financial Aid Office Code of Conduct
The Office of Financial Aid follows Kirtland’s Employee Code of Conduct (POL 5.005) which prohibits conflicts of interest. In addition, as a member of the National Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) we follow the NASFAA Statement of Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct for Institutional Financial Aid Professionals.
