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• Student Responsibility for Financial Aid
• Financial Aid Services
• Financial Aid and Summer Term
• Return of Title IV Funds
• Academic Progress Standards For Financial Aid Recipients
• Additional Standards
• Monitoring
• Termination of Eligibility
• Reinstatement and Appeals
• Veterans' Benefits and Standards of Progress

Financial aid applicants whose application files are complete before registration may charge tuition and books against their award. Any amount remaining in the award after charges will be given to the applicant in the form of a check later in the semester.

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Return of Title IV Funds
All students receiving Title IV Federal financial aid funds (which includes PELL, ACG and FSEOG Grant) who completely withdraw within the first 60% of a term, payment period, or period of enrollment are subject to a refund and repayment provision effective Fall 2000 called the RETURN OF TITLE IV FUNDS Policy. Section 485 of the 1998 Higher Education Amendments changed section 484B of the HEA of 1965, as amended, to reflect Title IV recipients who totally withdraw from an institution during a semester (period of enrollment). When a student receives Title IV program funds to attend an institution and subsequently completely withdraws, stops attending, takes an unapproved leave of absence, is expelled, or otherwise fails to complete the period of enrollment for which he or she was charged, federal law and regulations require the institution to calculate the percentage and amount of Title IV assistance the student did not earn and return those funds to the Title IV programs. The difference between the total amount of unearned Title IV aid and the amount the institution is required to return is the amount for which the student is responsible. The amount of Title IV aid (PELL, ACG and FSEOG) that a student must repay is determined by the Federal Formula for Return of Title IV funds as specified in Federal Regulations of HEA. This law also specified the order of return of the Title IV funds to the programs from which they were awarded. A repayment may be required when cash has been disbursed to a student from financial aid funds in excess of the amount of aid the student earned during the term. The amount of Title IV aid earned is determined by multiplying the total Title IV aid (other than FWS) for which the student qualified by the percentage of time during the term that the student was enrolled. If less aid was disbursed than was earned, the student may receive a late disbursement for the difference. If more aid was disbursed than was earned, the amount of Title IV aid that must be returned (i.e., that was unearned) is determined by subtracting the earned amount from the amount actually disbursed. The responsibility for returning unearned aid is allocated between the college and the student according to the portion of disbursed aid that could have been used to cover college charges and the portion that could have been disbursed directly to the student once college charges were covered. RCC will distribute the unearned aid back to the Title IV programs as specified by law. The student will be billed for the amount the student owes to the Title IV programs and any amount due to the college resulting from the Return of Title IV funds used to cover college charges. Student records will be frozen if unearned aid is not repaid to the College. Students will not be allowed to return to RCC until the account is cleared. Students will not be eligible for financial aid until the federal portion of unearned aid is repaid.

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Academic Progress Standards For Financial Aid Recipients
To be eligible to receive financial aid at Rappahannock Community College, students are required to make satisfactory progress towards successful completion of the program of study to which they have been admitted. Cumulative grade point averages and completion rates must be in compliance with the following minimum standards:

Minimum Qualitative Progress Standards

Minimum Quantitative Progress Standard Financial aid recipients must satisfactorily complete 67 percent of all course work attempted.

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Additional Standards

1. A student can receive financial aid for only two enrollment attempts in the same developmental course and for a maximum of 30 semester hours of developmental courses.

2. A student cannot receive financial aid for an audited course. Changing from credit to audit will reduce financial aid eligible courses by the number of credits changed to audit.

3. A student can receive financial aid for only two enrollment attempts in any course unless mitigating circumstances exist.

4. A student cannot receive financial aid for a class that is being repeated for which the student received a passing grade unless a higher grade is required for graduation.

5. Students who drop classes or change classes from credit to audit must schedule a conference with the financial aid officer to determine the impact of the changes on their financial aid.

6. Students should schedule a conference with the financial aid officer prior to requesting a curriculum change.

7. New financial aid recipients who have previously been enrolled at the college and returning financial aid students will be evaluated for satisfactory academic progress based on prior performance at RCC.

8. A student cannot receive financial aid for noncredit and credit courses in ineligible curricula.

9. The College has established a maximum time frame in which students must complete a degree or certificate. A student must take no more than 150% of the published amount of credits required to complete his/her program, and must be able to meet the 2.0 cumulative GPA by the time he/she completes graduation requirements.

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Monitoring

The Financial Aid Office will review progress at the end of every spring semester and may review progress at the end of other semesters. Students who do not maintain satisfactory academic progress standards in the current semester may be placed on financial aid probation for the following semester, and will be so notified.

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Termination of Eligibility

All financial aid will be suspended for subsequent semesters if students fail to meet minimum GPA/completion rate standards by the end of their probationary semester. If a student completes and receives grades of A, B, C or S for all courses attempted in the current semester they will not be suspended even though minimum GPA may not have been attained.

A student on financial aid suspension due to noncompliance with the satisfactory academic standards is not eligible to receive any financial aid funds, and will be so notified in writing.

Students who failed to complete their degree program within 1½ times the number of credits required for that program will not be eligible to receive any additional financial aid at RCC.

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Reinstatement and Appeals

Students who have lost their eligibility for financial aid due to their GPA or completion rate may request that their eligibility be reinstated once they have brought their averages into compliance with minimum standards. Students who have mitigating circumstances which prevented them from meeting the minimum standards may appeal their termination of eligibility by writing to the Financial Aid Officer. Conditions for reinstatement of aid will be determined by the Financial Aid Officer on an individual basis, and may include one or more semesters of satisfactory progress funded by the student.

Students whose appeals have been denied by the Financial Aid Officer have the right to pursue final appeal through the Student Affairs Committee. This appeal must be in writing to the Dean of Student Development, and will require an appearance before the committee.

If any case arises not specifically covered by this policy that is considered an abuse of the financial aid program, the student may be placed on financial aid probation or have eligibility for financial aid terminated by the Financial Aid Officer. If such an occasion arises, the student will be notified in writing. The student will have the right to appeal to the Student Affairs Committee. The Student Grievance Procedure is included in the student handbook.

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Veterans' Benefits and Standards of Progress

Students using veterans' educational benefits must enroll only in Veterans' Administration approved curricula and may only take required prerequisites and courses for the curriculum in which they are officially enrolled. All courses must be taken for credit. Audited courses cannot be taken using VA benefits. Students who take courses which are not required by the curriculum in which they are enrolled must reimburse the Veterans' Administration for benefits received for those courses. A curriculum change can be made so long as no significant loss of credit occurs. To remain eligible for VA educational benefits, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress. A student who is placed on academic suspension or dismissal will be reported to the VA as making unsatisfactory progress. Rappahannock Community College grading policies will be used to determine whether veterans' are maintaining satisfactory progress. The Veterans' Affairs Office will also report to the Veterans' Administration as soon as possible any change in the status of veterans', whether that is a change of curriculum, reduction or increase in course load, or withdrawal. Students receiving veterans' benefits should always contact RCC's veterans affairs office to complete the appropriate VA paperwork when making a change to their status or curriculum.

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