Financial Aid

Terms and Conditions

Financial aid awards are based on you maintaining satisfactory academic progress as outlined in the College catalog.

The student aid office reserves the right to adjust your award due to changes in your eligibility or the availability of funds. 

The student aid office will certify your enrollment status at the end of the add/drop period for each session. If you register for classes but do not attend beyond the add/drop period, you must officially drop the course or you may be responsible for all charges incurred. All awards will be adjusted at this time to reflect your actual enrollment status. If you choose to take classes outside your primary program of study, you may be required to cover the cost from your own resources. 

You must be enrolled at least half-time (six credits) in order to be eligible for Stafford Student Loan (FFEL), Star Opportunity Grant (formerly Institutional Needs Fund), Part-Time FSAG, PSAV Grant, and to receive priority funding for College Work Study (CWS), and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG). In order to receive the Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG), you must be enrolled full-time (12+ credits) and be in an A.A., A.S. or A.A.S. Degree program. In some cases, you may be eligible for a Pell Grant if you are less than half time.

Financial Aid does not pay for audited classes or challenged exams.

You are required to notify the enrollment services/financial aid office if you receive financial assistance such as a scholarship, grant, or loan from an outside source since this may affect your eligibility for financial aid. You must also notify the enrollment services/financial aid office if you change your name or address. The College will use your financial aid funds to pay for outstanding tuition, fees, and other charges incurred. The first source of funds received by the College will be used to pay these outstanding charges. Remaining funds will be disbursed during the semester.

If you receive aid you are not entitled to, it will be your responsibility to repay those funds. If you are taking classes at two different colleges you can only receive aid at one institution.

Qualifying for Aid

To be eligible for federal, state and institutional aid students must meet the following criteria:

  1. Demonstrate financial need (may not be required for some loan and institutional programs).
  2. Have a standard high school diploma, high school equivalency degree or ATB (Ability to Benefit) on file.
  3. Be enrolled in a college credit program or an eligible vocational program.
  4. Maintain financial aid standards of academic progress in program of study.
  5. Not be in default or owe a repayment of Title IV funds.
  6. Have a valid Social Security number.
  7. Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen with permanent residency status and an alien registration identification number (may not be required for some institutional programs).
  8. Be registered with Selective Service (males between the ages of 18 and 25).
  9. Have not borrowed in excess of loan limits under the Title IV program.
  10. Federal regulations require that students may only receive financial aid if they are maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (see details below).
  11. Must have all requested documents on file before disbursements are made.

Conditions Affecting Eligibility

All financial aid recipients will be required to repay a percentage of funds disbursed if they officially withdraw from college or stop attending all classes before 60 percent of the term has been completed. Transfer students funds cannot be disbursed until all academic electronic financial aid transcripts have been received and evaluated. Financial aid funds will be terminated if a student is in violation of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Corrections made to your Student Aid Report (SAR) can cause changes in award amounts. If you are attending two institutions, your financial aid funds can only be processed at one institution. Awards are based on your current or estimated enrolled hours. Dropping or withdrawing can cause your financial aid to be adjusted or cancelled.

Note: For all semesters:

Credit Hours
Status
12 credits or more Full-time status
9–11 credits 3/4 time status
6–8 credits 1/2 time status
1–5 credits Less than 1/2 time status


Financial Aid Repeating Courses Policy

A new federal regulation limits the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course.

If a student gets a 'W' or an 'F' in a course, that student is allowed to repeat the course and receive financial aid (assuming he/she is meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress) until he/she receives a 'D' or better. Once the student has received a 'D' grade or better, he/she can repeat the course a second time and still receive federal aid. The third time the student repeats a course in which he/she has earned a 'D' or better, this course is no longer eligible for Title IV funds. The hours associated with the repeated course will be excluded from the student's enrollment status for financial aid purposes. However, this attempt is not excluded from the calculation for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Listed below are a few scenarios for example purposes:

Grades Earned
D, C If the student repeats the course again, that course is no longer eligible for financial aid.
F, F, D, W, B If the student repeats the course again, that course is no longer eligible for financial aid.
F, F, D, B If the student repeats the course again, that course is no longer eligible for financial aid.
F, D, W, F, C If the student repeats the course again, that course is no longer eligible for financial aid.

If a student retakes a course that is not aid eligible, a recalculation of aid is completed to exclude the credits for the repeated course.

This rule applies whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.

All repeated courses affect financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations. A repeated course, along with the original attempt, will be counted as attempted credit hours.

Title IV Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students are only allowed to attempt a limited number of credit hours under federal financial aid guidelines. Credits may include college or workforce credits, transfer credits, and all other credits attempted at Florida State College. All students receiving Title IV financial aid funds must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Academic history is reviewed for all students applying for financial aid, regardless of whether financial aid has been previously received.

Florida State College at Jacksonville Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
  1. Students pursuing an associate degree are not eligible for aid if they exceed 180 credit hours attempted. All transfer credits and credits attempted from a previous major will be included in the SAP calculation. This SAP status cannot be appealed.
  2. Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree are not eligible for aid if they exceed 240 credit hours attempted. All transfer credits and credits attempted from a previous major or associate’s degree will be included in the SAP calculation. This SAP status cannot be appealed.
  3. All academic history, with the exception of thirty (30) hours of remedial coursework and English as a Second Language courses, is included when reviewing a student’s SAP status whether or not Title IV funds were received during the period of enrollment. Academic history includes transfer and vocational coursework.
  4. Each student’s progress will be evaluated each term.
  5. Students will be allowed a financial aid warning period of one term. During this term, students will maintain financial aid eligibility even though they are not currently meeting SAP standards. Students on financial aid warning will not be awarded aid for subsequent terms until academic progress is in compliance or an approved appeal is processed. 
  6. The College will monitor quantitative and qualitative criteria to determine satisfactory academic progress. Students are deemed “meeting SAP standards” if they are in compliance with criteria listed below: 
    1. To meet quantitative SAP standards, students must successfully complete 67 percent of all courses attempted and must not attempt more than 150 percent of the coursework required to complete their degree or certificate program.
    2. To meet qualitative SAP standards, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. For financial aid purposes, the cumulative GPA may include repeated courses, transfer hours and grades that were removed through the college’s academic forgiveness policy.
Appeal Process

If a student who was previously not meeting SAP criteria brings his/her academic progress back into compliance prior to the next time SAP is calculated, no appeal is required. The student’s eligibility for financial aid will be automatically reinstated. Students who are not meeting SAP criteria and who are not eligible for a financial aid warning period are no longer eligible for financial aid. Students no longer eligible for financial aid who have documented extenuating circumstances may submit an appeal to have their aid reinstated. If the appeal is approved, the student may have financial aid reinstated for either the current or subsequent term and will be considered to be on financial aid probation. Appeals are approved for one term only and cannot be approved retroactively. If the appeal is approved, the student may have financial aid reinstated for the current or subsequent term and will be considered to be on financial aid probation. Students must make other arrangements to pay their tuition and fees if their financial aid is terminated and they do not appeal or their appeal is denied. Students are responsible for any debt incurred as a result of financial aid awards being cancelled for failure to meet SAP standards. 

Student appeals must include, in the students’ own words, why they are not meeting SAP standards and what has changed that will enable them to successfully complete all courses attempted going forward. Appeals may be approved for extenuating circumstances only. 

The definition of extenuating circumstances includes:
a.   Death in the immediate family.
b.   Medical conditions such as a family member needing round-the-clock care by the student.
c.   Extended illness of student or immediate family.
d.   Military duty.
e.   Other documented extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the student.

Students may obtain an appeal form from a Student Success Advisor after meeting with the advisor to discuss the appeal process and other options that may be available to the student to continue his or her educational goals. Students must complete the appeal application, and submit the completed packet to the campus financial aid office. All appeals will be reviewed by a financial aid committee and a decision will be posted in Connections within 45 days upon receipt of the appeal. Appeal decisions are final and may not be appealed by the student.

Incomplete appeal applications will not be reviewed. An appeal application is considered incomplete if any requested information is omitted, the appeal form is not filled out completely or supporting documentation is not attached. Supporting documentation must be appropriate for the extenuating circumstance; e.g., death certificate for death in family, physician’s note for illnesses or hospitalization, military orders, etc.

Students whose appeals are approved must successfully complete all courses attempted. Successfully completed grades include: A, B, C, D, S, NG.)  Students may also receive additional stipulations such as limitations on the number of allowed hours of enrollment.

Students who received an approved appeal, but are not meeting SAP standards after one term, are no longer eligible for financial aid and will have all awards cancelled for the next term. Students may submit an academic plan to have their financial aid eligibility reinstated. An academic plan consists of:

  • a degree audit which lists all courses required for completion of the student’s program of study. The student should log on to Connections to print his/her degree audit to review with an academic advisor. 
  • a timeline of what courses will be taken each term for the next three enrollment periods.
  • an estimated date of graduation.
  • an estimated date at which the student will attain a clear SAP status.
  • a signature from the student acknowledging he/she understands that continued financial aid eligibility is contingent upon adherence to the academic plan and appeal guidelines.

Students must not deviate from the academic plan without prior written approval from an academic advisor.  

If an appeal is denied, the student cannot resubmit the appeal until he/she has successfully completed at least one academic semester/mini-session with the equivalent of 6 credit hours and earned a term GPA of 2.0 or higher.

Re-establishing Eligibility for Financial Aid

A student will be reinstated for financial aid eligibility at such time as he/she successfully completes sufficient hours (67 percent of attempted hours) and has a sufficient grade point average (2.0) to meet the minimum requirements for eligibility as set forth in this policy.

Repayment of Title IV Funds

Students receiving federal financial aid who completely withdraw within the first 60 percent in a payment period are subject to the federal return provisions.  The financial aid office will use a formula to determine the amount of federal financial aid funds a student has earned as of his/her last day of attendance. During the first 60% of the payment period, the student “earns” Title IV aid in proportion to the length of time he/she remains enrolled. The percentage of financial aid funds earned will equal the percentage of the calendar days completed in the payment period prior to the withdrawal date or the last day of attendance. After the student has completed 60 percent of the payment period, he/she has earned 100 percent of the financial aid funds disbursed.

Percentage Earned

The percentage of federal financial aid funds earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period completed as of the last day of attendance.  Federal regulations require a formula be used based on number of calendar days in the payment period and the number of days attended by the student before withdrawal to determine how much financial aid was “earned” by the student.

Percentage Unearned

The total federal financial aid funds disbursed, minus the amount of federal financial aid funds earned determine the amount of federal financial aid loan and grant aid that is unearned and must be returned.

Funds Returned

The school and/or the student may be required to return a portion of the federal funds disbursed to the student. Florida State College will return the amount of federal financial aid funds that the student does not earn. Funds will be returned to the federal financial aid programs in the following order:

  • Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans and Subsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans

If funds remain after repaying loan amounts, those remaining funds must be returned in the following order:

  • Federal Pell Grant
  • Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

The student must repay loan funds in accordance with the terms of the loan and any grant funds as an overpayment.

If disbursement has already been made to the student, it is the student’s responsibility to repay all funds due to Florida State College and/or the Department of Education. 

Withdrawal Date Policy

Official and unofficial withdrawal dates will be determined using the federal regulation definition for a withdrawal date. The official date will be determined by the earlier of one of the following:

  1. Date the student begins the withdrawal process;
  2. Date the student provides official notification of intent to withdraw;
  3. Students who fail to officially withdraw are assumed to have completed at least 50 percent of the payment period unless an earlier or later date is determined by the school based on federal definitions of academic activity.

Students who do not make satisfactory arrangements for payments in a timely manner will have their debts submitted to the U.S. Department of Education for collection. Failure to do so may result in a loss of eligibility for federal financial aid and/or a hold on future registration at Florida State College until the debt is paid in full.

Information on the Return of Title IV Funds policy is available at each campus enrollment services/financial aid office.

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