FERPA (Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act)

To protect your right to privacy and confidentiality, your student information will be released only to you. If you wish to release information to another party, including your parents, you will need to provide CCBC with written permission to do so. Detailed award information (including award amounts) will not be disclosed over the telephone.

Award Notification and Tuition Payment

If you are eligible for any of the following types of aid you 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 awarded aid covers the entire bill (tuition, fees and book credit), no further action is required.

If there is any balance due to you 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 awarded financial aid covers only part of the bill, you will be responsible for paying the balance to the college.

You may:

• Pay the balance immediately OR
• Sign up for the tuition payment plan in the Bursars office. See Tuition Payment Plans for details

Registration Deadlines for Financial Aid

You are required to register for classes, including late start and special session courses, by the following dates to receive financial aid:

Required Program of Study

To receive financial aid you need to be enrolled in a degree or certificate program of study. Undecided and Personal Enrichment are not acceptable and aid will not be disbursed for these selections.

Credit Requirements

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

Audits

You will not receive financial aid for any course that is audited, or changed to audit, before disbursement.

Cancelled Classes

If the college cancels a class because of low enrollment, it is your responsibility to replace that class. Financial Aid for the cancelled class will be canceled even if the aid has already been disbursed. You are obligated to re-pay any balance due to the college if a class is cancelled after financial aid is disbursed. Meet with an advisor to find an approved class for your program of study.

Withdrawals and Non-attendance

You 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 the Financial Aid office learns at any time that you never attended a class, the Financial Aid office is obligated to cancel financial aid for that class. You will be obligated to re-pay any balance due to the college as a result of the cancellation of this aid.

If you receive federal financial aid and withdraw from all classes or stop attending prior to the completion of 60% of the semester, you will be responsible to repay all or a portion of any federal grants and loans that you received. The Financial Aid office will calculate the "earned" amount of federal aid based on the number of days you attended classes. All unearned financial aid will be returned either to the Department of Education or, in the case of loans, the lender.

You will receive a bill for any unpaid tuition, fees and book charges on your account that is created by the return of funds. You will not be allowed to enroll in future classes until the bill is paid in full. The Financial Aid office suggests that you talk to an academic adviser before withdrawing from classes. You may also want to consider contacting Student Support Services for tutoring to help you achieve success in your 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

If you are awarded either Federal Work Study (FWS) or Institutional Work you will need to obtain a position within two weeks of receiving an award. Positions are posted in the Job Placement office of each campus. Employment awards will be canceled if you do not obtain a position. If you work without an award or without completing all required documents, you will not be paid.

Consortium Agreements (Attending more than one college)

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

Summer Financial Aid

If you received a Pell Grant and enrolled less than full-time (less than 12 billable hours) for either the fall or spring semester, you may have a Pell Grant balance that can be used to support enrollment in summer classes. After you register for summer classes, bring a copy of your Schedule/Bill to the Financial Aid office so that Pell eligibility may be determined.

If you enroll in 6 or more billable hours in the summer, you may be eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan. If you need this type of assistance for the summer classes, contact the Financial Aid office on your campus to obtain the necessary forms.