It is a pleasure to inform you that you have been awarded financial aid for the 2011-2012 academic year. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION CAREFULLY.  Keep this information and the Financial Aid Award Letter for your future reference.  If you have any questions concerning your financial aid award, please contact the Glenns Campus Financial Aid Office at 804-758-6735 or the Warsaw Campus Financial Aid Office at 804-333-6743 or Carolyn Ward, Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs Officer at 804-758-6737. 

A.    SELECTION OF AWARD RECIPIENTS AND DETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE

Applicants for financial aid are evaluated on the basis of demonstrated financial need and Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). A student must be enrolled in a program leading to a degree or eligible certificate to qualify for financial aid. Financial need is defined as the difference between the amount you and your parents/spouse can contribute from income and assets and the cost of attending Rappahannock Community College (RCC). A student’s cost of attendance (COA) is determined based on full-time enrollment, dependency status, and residency status. Standard student expense budgets have been established which include average charges for tuition and fees and estimated allowances for books and supplies, room and board, transportation, and personal/miscellaneous expenses. The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) toward educational costs is determined using the results from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

At the time your application was evaluated, you were automatically considered for all federal and state grants available. The College does not participate in the Direct Loan Program which includes the Federal Family Educational Loan Program and the Federal Stafford and Federal Plus Loans. The College Financial Aid Office determined your eligibility for each type of aid and assigned a combination of assistance to meet your need. Awards are initially based upon full-time (12 semester credits or more) enrollment unless the student received his/her award retroactively after classes began. The type of grants included in your aid package is dependent upon the availability of funds and your demonstrated financial need. All awards are contingent upon federal, state and local appropriations for student aid programs and receipt by the College of these funds. Adjustments may be made if you change your enrollment, fail to attend classes for which you are enrolled or fail to continue to meet standards of satisfactory progress.

The College Financial Aid Office reserves the right to request documentation to verify any information used to determine eligibility for financial assistance.

B.  RESPONSIBILITIES OF FINANCIAL AID RECIPIENTS AND RENEWAL APPLICANTS

Financial aid recipients are required to notify the College Financial Aid Office of any additional financial aid (church or community scholarships, etc.) you receive from sources outside RCC. Receipt of additional financial aid may result in an adjustment of the financial aid offered.

Students receiving financial aid who find it necessary to add, drop or audit classes, who have classes canceled, or who do not begin attendance in any classes for which they are enrolled must notify the College Financial Aid Office of such action immediately. Financial Aid students can not audit courses as financial aid WILL NOT cover an audited course. Financial aid WILL NOT pay for classes you have never attended. Instructors will report to the registrar prior to the “Last Day to Drop with Refund” date any student who NEVER attended class. Students will be dropped (DELETED) from any unattended class or classes. Necessary adjustments and/or possible refunds will be handled at that time and there may be an effect on your ability to meet the standards of satisfactory academic progress for financial aid.

Financial aid recipients are required to notify the College Financial Aid Office of any change in name, state residency classification or other changes related to attendance at RCC.

C.  ENROLLMENT

When a student receives an official financial aid award notice from the College Financial Aid Office, tuition and fees for the STANDARD 16-week semester are paid in full if the award is greater than or equal to the total tuition and fee charges. If it is not, the student must pay the additional amount to avoid being dropped. Please remember the financial aid award must be prorated if enrollment is less than full-time (9-11 credits eligible for 75% of semester aid, 6-8 credits eligible for 50% of semester aid, and 1-5 credits must contact the financial aid office for eligibility).  If an aid recipient decides to drop a class, he/she must drop using the RCC Student Information System, see his/her advisor, or go to the RCC Counseling Office. If the aid recipient does not take proper action to drop a class, he/she may be held financially liable for tuition and fees.

D.  DISBURSEMENT PROCEDURES

The total dollar amounts listed on the Financial Aid Award Letter are yearly awards that are divided in equal amounts (unless specified otherwise) between the fall and spring semesters. Students can charge tuition, fees, books, and required educational supplies against most grant or scholarship awards. If the amount of financial aid is greater than tuition, fees and book charges, a balance remaining check will be issued. Fall remaining balance checks are distributed to students in October and Spring remaining balance checks are distributed in March.  Please see the RCC financial aid office or monitor our website on actual disbursement dates during the semester. These disbursement date(s) are dependent on the receipt of funds from the funding agency.  A message will be sent to students via College website, on-campus PLASMA TV screens, and sign postage alerting students as to when checks are available.

E.  SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (Revised for 2011-2012)

Effective with the Fall 2011 term, a revised Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy will be initiated.  New federal regulations required that we review and revise the RCC policy.  All recipients of Federal and/or State aid are required to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in their course of study.  SAP will be evaluated at the time an application (FAFSA) is received and at the end of every semester. All enrollments at RCC and all applicable transfer credits will be considered whether or not aid was awarded or received.  If eligibility for financial aid is suspended for lack of Satisfactory Academic Progress, a student has the right to appeal.  A student may appeal their loss of financial aid eligibility if it is due to unusual mitigating circumstances. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, sudden illness of the student or an immediate family member, death of a family member, or other unusual circumstances.

If a student wishes to appeal a loss of financial aid eligibility, he/she should follow the instructions outlined in the Rappahannock Community College Catalog on the RCC Website www.rappahannock.edu.

Failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress does not prohibit enrollment at the College.  A student may still enroll in classes at RCC but without financial aid assistance until such time as eligibility is regained by meeting the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

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:

1. Minimum Qualitative Progress Standards  (GPA Rule)

Effective when grades are posted end of Fall 2011 term

2. Minimum Quantitative Progress Standards  (67% Rule)

-Financial aid recipients must satisfactorily complete 67 percent (%) of all course work attempted.

Completion Rate (67% Rule): Students must, at a minimum, receive satisfactory grades in 67% of cumulative credits attempted. This calculation is performed by dividing the cumulative total number of successfully completed credits by the cumulative total number of credits attempted. All credits attempted at the College (except audits, which must be entered as such by the class census date) are included. Developmental coursework is included in this calculation. All credits accepted in transfer count as both attempted and successfully completed credits. This evaluation will be made prior to aid being awarded and after grades are posted at the end of each semester a student is enrolled at the College. Credits with satisfactory grades at the College are those for which a grade of A, B, C, D, S, or P is earned.

3. Maximum Timeframe (150% Rule)

In order to continue receiving financial aid, a student must complete his/her program of study before attempting 150% of the credits required for that program.  Developmental and ESL coursework are excluded in this calculation. Attempted credits from all enrollment periods at the College plus all accepted transfer credits are counted. All terms of enrollment at the College are included whether or not the student received financial aid and regardless of the age of the coursework.

Additional Considerations for Quantitative or Pace of Completion Standards

• Withdrawals (W grades) that are recorded on the student’s permanent academic transcript will be included as credits attempted and will have an adverse effect on the student’s ability to meet the requirements of the completion rate for financial aid.
• Incomplete Grades: Courses that are assigned an incomplete grade are included in cumulative credits attempted. These cannot be used as credits earned in the progress standard until a successful grade is assigned.
• Repeated courses enable the student to achieve a higher cumulative grade point average. Students can repeat courses with financial aid until successfully completed but repeating courses adversely affects the student’s ability to meet completion rate requirements.  Financial aid can be considered for successfully completed classes that are repeated to achieve a higher grade but for only one additional attempt.  Only the latest attempt will count toward the cumulative grade point average.

Additional Standards

1.       Developmental Coursework: Students may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 semester hours of Developmental Studies courses as long as the courses are required as a result of placement testing, the student is in an eligible program of study, and SAP requirements continue to be met.

2.       English as a Second Language (ESL): Credits are unlimited in number as long as they are taken as part of an eligible program and SAP requirements continue to be met.

3.       Audit Coursework: 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.

4.       Repeated Coursework: Students can repeat courses with financial aid until successfully completed.  There is no limit assuming all other SAP requirements are met.  Repeated coursework will be included in the evaluation of completion rate and maximum timeframe.  Students may only repeat a passed course once as long as it is in order to meet an academic standard (i.e., a higher grade is required for graduation or their program of study).

5.       Students who drop classes or audit classes are highly advised to schedule a meeting with the financial aid office to determine the impact of the changes on their financial aid.

6.       Students should schedule a meeting with the financial aid office prior to requesting a curriculum/program/plan change.

7.       New financial aid recipients who have previously been enrolled at the college and returning students will be evaluated for satisfactory academic progress based on prior performance at RCC regardless if they received financial aid previously or not.

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

9.       (150% Rule)  A student receiving financial aid must take no more than 150% of the published amount of credits required to complete his/her program and be able to meet the 2.0 cumulative grade point average by the time the student completes graduation requirements.  Developmental and ESL course work are excluded in this calculation. Attempted credits from all enrollment periods at the College plus all accepted transfer credits are counted.  All terms of enrollment at the College are included whether or not the student received financial aid and regardless of the age of the coursework.

Automatic Warning Period

Students who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress for the first time (excluding students who have already attempted 150% of the credits required for their programs of study) will be automatically placed in a Warning Status for one (1) term and are expected to meet SAP requirements by the end of that term. Students who fail to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements at the end of the warning status term will lose their eligibility for financial aid. However, with a successful SAP appeal, those students will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and will retain financial aid eligibility.

Financial Aid Probation

Students who have successfully appealed the loss of their financial aid are placed on probation.  Students on probation are eligible to receive financial aid for one (1) semester, after which they MUST be meeting all of the satisfactory academic progress standards or the requirements of an academic progress plan that was pre-approved by the College Financial Aid Appeal Committee.

Reinstatement and Appeals

Students who have lost their eligibility for financial aid due to their GPA, completion rate, or 150% timeframe 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 suspension/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. The student will need to complete the “Appeal of Unsatisfactory Academic Progress Status for Financial Aid Students” form that can be picked up at either campus Financial Aid Offices. 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.

F.  CONSEQUENCES FOR OFFICIAL OR UNOFFICIAL WITHDRAW FROM ALL CLASSES

Financial aid is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend college for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded.  When a student withdraws (officially or unofficially) from ALL classes after beginning attendance, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of aid that the student was originally scheduled to receive. The College is required to determine the earned and unearned portions of Federal (Title IV) and/or State aid as of the date the student ceased attendance based on the amount of time the student spent in attendance. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, THE STUDENT WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAYING THE UNEARNED FUNDS. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, he or she is eligible to receive a post-withdraw disbursement of the earned aid that was received.  RECOMMENDED: For the complete policy please go to www.rappahannock.edu/financialaid and read the information concerning Withdrawing from courses and the Return of Title IV Financial Aid Funds Policy.

G.   Compliance Certification for Receipt of Funds under the CSAP Program

CSAP funds may be Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Grants funded by the Federal Government, the State, and where applicable, other contributing partners.

H. CHARGING FINANCIAL AID OR SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS IN THE RCC BOOKSTORE – Procedures for 2011/2012

After tuition and fee charges are applied to financial aid awards, if a balance is remaining, students may charge against those funds in the RCC Follett Bookstore. Students are only allowed to charge books and required educational supplies. The student will be personally responsible for any unpaid books/supplies not covered by financial aid. 

NOTE: Bookstore Charging for Fall 2011 Semester has ended. 

For the Spring 2012 Semester, students can charge books and/or supplies to financial aid or scholarship awards from January 4, 2012 thru January 24, 2012.  For the Spring 2012 Semester, financial aid and scholarship students who receive this literature should go directly to the RCC Follett Bookstore at either campus from January 4^th thru January 24^th, and the bookstore staff will be able to assist you, the student, in charging financial aid for your books and/or supplies. 

Students must know their RCC Student ID number, present any form of picture identification along with a copy of their class schedule (these items are a requirement) to the Bookstore staff. 

Note: Picture identification could include, for example, driver’s license, passport, and/or military ID. 

Note: Be sure to check with the RCC Follett Bookstore on Bookstore Hours of Operation.

                                                                        Effective December 2011