Withdrawal and Return of Title IV funds

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

CSN Financial Aid Office believes that the establishment and enforcement of reasonable satisfactory progress standards are instrumental in ensuring the equitable distribution of limited program funds and therefore protect the integrity of Title IV programs. Satisfactory progress regulations were intentionally formulated as parameters in order to preserve institutional discretion and ensure that specific standards remain an institutional matter.

CSN Financial Aid Office agrees that our satisfactory academic progress policy should:

• Reflect and be consistent with the institution’s missions, goals and philosophies.

• Take into account the unique characteristics of our student body.

• Provide for the proper stewardship of public funds by ensuring that students who receive Title IV funds are progressing toward their educational goal.

• Be a shared institutional responsibility.

• Be written clearly and given to all affected students.

• Be supported by clear procedures that ensure compliance with all aspects of CSN’s policy.

To receive Title IV funds from CSN, the student must maintain satisfactory academic progress in his or her course of study according to the school’s satisfactory academic progress policy.

CSN Financial Aid Office is required to evaluate a student’s academic progress based upon a qualitative component and a quantitative component. This means that we will be looking at the student’s grade point average, credit hours attempted, credit hours completed, and the percentage of credit hours with a W, I, U, or F grade.

Satisfactory academic progress will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Office at the end of each Spring semester. If at that time the student is not making satisfactory academic progress, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension for the following term.

Qualitative Measure (CSN uses a fixed standard)
Students who receive financial aid must maintain a CSN cumulative grade point average of 2.0. If a student’s GPA drops below a 2.0 for two semesters, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension for the upcoming term. If a student’s total grades of F, W, I, U, and AD exceed 50% of credit hours attempted overall, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension.

Special note for Scholarship recipients:
Scholarship recipients must maintain, at minimum, a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to receive scholarship funds unless otherwise stated by the specific scholarship.

Quantitative Measure
Students receiving financial aid must meet the following quantitative measure with a minimum 2.0 G.P.A. during the period being reviewed:

Students must petition for continued financial assistance after completing 150% of the credit hours required for completion of their program of study. For example, if a student’s program requires completion of 60 credit hours, a student enrolled in this program can be funded, if eligible, for up to 90 credit hours. After completion of 90 credit hours, the student will be required to petition for continued financial assistance. The petition must be completed and returned to the Financial Aid Office with a credit evaluation from an academic counselor listing required courses or areas where the student is required to do additional work for completion of his or her program. If no additional work is required, then the student’s financial aid eligibility at CSN will be suspended. If additional work is required, then the student will be funded only for course work required as certified by an academic counselor.

Summer term: When a student receives assistance for courses taken during the summer, then this satisfactory academic progress policy applies to that term as well.

If a student takes summer school courses and does not receive financial assistance for that period, the stud3ent may use summer as a means to regain satisfactory academic progress.

Repeating courses:  Financial Aid may be used to cover the cost of courses already taken.  However, this occurrence may effect a student's satisfactory academic progress.  Transfer courses are not included in determining satisfactory academic progress, but they are considered in the 150% maximum time frame.

Loan only:  Students who receive "loans only" are still required to meet satisfactory academic progress standards. 

APPEAL PROCESS      
A student who has been suspended from receiving financial aid may appeal.  Appeals will be considered by the Financial Aid Advisory Committee once per month.  Appeals must be submitted by the first Friday of the month.  All appeals must be in writing, to the Financial Aid Office, using a petition/appeals form and must include supporting documentation.  The student will be notified in writing of the results of the appeal within 21 days. 

AUTOMATIC REINSTATEMENT PROCEDURES
A student who has lost financial aid eligibility may be automatically reinstated after meeting one of the following conditions:

A. The student has completed (without federal funds) at least 12 credit hours with a 2.0 GPA or greater.

B. The student has cleared up academic occurrences which contributed to the failure to make satisfactory academic progress (i.e., grades of incomplete, incorrectly reported grades, grade changes, etc.)

It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office of possible eligibility for automatic reinstatement.