FERPA (Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act)

Student information is confidential and will not be released to anyone other than the student without written permission. Detailed award information (including award amounts) will not be disclosed over the telephone. This is to protect your right to privacy.

Award Notification and How it Links to the Tuition Payment

Students eligible for the following types of aid will receive an Award Letter from the Financial Aid Office:

• Pell Grant
• S.E.O.G. (Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant)
• Part-Time State Scholarship
• Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized, Unsubsidized and PLUS)
• Student Employment
• Maryland State Scholarship
• Institutional Scholarship

The Bursar will do one of the following:

If the aid awarded covers the entire bill (tuition, fees and book credit), no further action is required.

If there is any money remaining after deductions, a check will be mailed to you approximately the 5th week of the semester. If your award is processed later than the 5th week of the semester, your refund check will be mailed two weeks after funds are disbursed to your account.

If the aid awarded only covers part of the bill, you will be responsible for the difference.

You may:

• Pay the difference immediately or
• Make partial payments using Facts Tuition Management. See Tuition Payment Plans for details

Registration Deadlines for Financial Aid

Students registering for classes after the dates listed below will not receive financial aid for those courses. This includes all late start and special session courses.

The last day to register for a class and receive financial aid is:

Required Program of Study

All students receiving financial aid must be enrolled in an acceptable degree or certificate program of study. Undecided and Personal Enrichment are not acceptable and no aid will be disbursed to students with this on their college application.

Credit Requirements

Most types of financial aid require enrollment in at least 6 billable hours. Only Pell Grant and FSEOG may be awarded for less than half-time (1 - 5 billable hours) enrollment. The Maryland Part-time Grant requires that the student be enrolled in 6 to 11 billable hours per semester.

Audits

Students will not receive financial aid for any courses audited or changed to audit before disbursement.

Canceled Classes

If the college cancels a class due to lack of enrollment, it is the student's responsibility to replace the class, or the aid for that class will be canceled, even if the aid has already been disbursed. The student is obligated to re-pay any money due if a class is canceled after the disbursement of financial aid.

Withdrawals and Non-attendance

Students will not receive a financial aid disbursement for any classes dropped during the refund period of the semester. During the fall and spring semesters, the refund period is the first three weeks of the semester. If it is made known to the Financial Aid Office, at any time, that a student never attended a class, the Financial Aid Office is obligated to cancel the financial aid for that class. The student will be obligated to re-pay any money due as a result of the cancellation of this aid.

Students receiving federal financial aid who withdraw from all classes or stop attending prior to the completion of 60% of the semester, will be responsible to repay all or a portion of federal grants and loans received. The Financial Aid Office will calculate the amount of federal aid that students have 'earned' based on the number of days they attended. All unearned financial aid will be returned either to the Department of Education or, in the case of loans, the lender.

Any unpaid tuition, fees and book charges on the student's account that is created by the return of funds will be billed to the student. Students will not be allowed to enroll in future classes until the bill is paid in full. The Financial Aid Office suggests that students talk to an academic adviser before withdrawing from classes. The Office of Learning Support Services provides tutoring and other services to help students be successful in their courses.

The following is a detailed explanation of the Return of Title IV Funds Policy provided by the Department of Education:

"The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to recalculate federal financial aid eligibility for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. The federal Title IV financial aid programs must be recalculated in these situations.

If a student leaves the institution prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term, the financial aid office recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds. Recalculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV funds formula:

Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid.

Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula:

Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term.

If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mine that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution.

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement which must be paid within 120 days of the student's withdrawal. The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 30 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student's withdrawal.

Refunds are allocated in the following order:

Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
Federal Parent (PLUS) Loans
Federal Pell Grants for which a return of funds is required
Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a return of funds is required
Other assistance under this Title for which a return of funds is required (e.g., LEAP)"

Student Employment

Students awarded either Federal Work Study (FWS) or Institutional Work must obtain a position within two weeks of receiving an award. Available positions are posted in the Job Placement Office of each campus. Employment awards will be canceled for students who fail to obtain a position. Students who work without an award or without completing all required paperwork will not be paid.

Consortium Agreements (Attending more than one college)

Students may not receive federal financial aid from two schools for the same semester or period of enrollment. If a student receives federal aid from CCBC and another institution for the same semester, either CCBC or the other college must return the funds disbursed and the student will be billed for the funds returned.

Summer Financial Aid

Pell Grant recipients who enrolled less than full-time (less than 12 billable hours) for either the fall or spring semester, may have Pell Grant money left that can be used toward summer classes. After registering for summer classes, students should bring a copy of their Schedule/Bill to the Financial Aid Office so that Pell eligibility may be determined.

Students enrolling in 6 or more billable hours in the summer, may be eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan. Student needing this type of assistance for the summer must contact the Financial Aid Office of the campus they are attending to obtain the necessary forms.