Financial Aid Eligibility

Establishing Eligibility
Students must attend the course to establish eligibility for financial aid. Enrollment in a course does not guarantee the payment for the course. Financial aid will not be paid for any class for which the student has been reported as not attending.

Losing Eligibility/Return of Title IV Funds Calculations
Students who do not complete any courses successfully may be required to repay a portion of the financial aid funds received. Students will have to repay a portion of aid if:

• Student received federal student aid, i.e., Pell Grant, SEOG, ACC, and Federal Student Loans; and
• Student withdraws, or fails to attend classes, or is dropped by the faculty from all courses prior to the eleventh week of the semester; fails every course enrolled in for the term; or any combination of any of the above. The amount of repayment will be prorated based on the percent of the semester not completed.
• Students can avoid repayment of aid if they remain in attendance in at least one course through the eleventh week of the semester. If the student ceases attending that class, the faculty may withdraw the student and the student will be required to repay financial aid.
• The last date to attend is posted at each campus and on the website. Students are required to contact the Financial Aid Office prior to any complete withdrawal for information on the amount that may have to repay.

Standards of Academic Progress
Federal law requires Spoon River College to establish satisfactory progress standards for federal and state financial aid applicants. These laws, United States Department of Education regulations (Public Law 99-498), and Federal Regulations 34CFR, Part 668, as well as published rules of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission are to ensure that any student who receives or applies for federal financial aid is making progress toward a degree. In order to maintain eligibility for financial aid, a student must meet the Standards of Progress as published annually by the Financial Aid Office. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the loss of all Title IV and state aid until action is taken to regain eligibility.
Aid programs affected are:

Federal Pell Grant	Federal Stafford Loan
Federal SEOG-Supplemental	Federal PLUS Loan
Educational Opportunity Grant	Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA)
FWSP – Federal Work Study Program	Illinois Veterans Grant
State Monetary Award Program (MAP)	Illinois National Guard Grant
MIA/POW Scholarship	Montgomery GI Bill

Requirements
Students must meet the following academic requirements of progress. Progress is reviewed following each term.
• Complete 67% of Enrolled Credit Hours. This is the minimum cumulative percentage of enrolled credit hours which the student must successfully complete for each term in which s/he is enrolled. Only grades of "A," "B," "C," "D" are considered successful completion. Grades of "I," "W," "F," or "U" do not count as successful. Enrolled credit hours represent the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled at the end of the 100% refund period.
• Maximum Hours Permitted to Complete Degree/Certificate. The maximum hours permitted to complete a program is 150% of the total number of credit hours required for each individual program. Hours transferred to Spoon River College count toward the maximum timeframe.
• Maintain Grade Point Average. The minimum cumulative grade point average for financial aid for all terms of enrollment is 2.00. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office of any grade changes that may effect their Standards of Academic Progress.

Not meeting academic requirements can result in the following:
• Financial Aid Probation (FAP) - The first term the student fails to meet the standards, the student will be placed on financial aid probation and will have one term to re-establish eligibility under the standards requirements. During probation the student may not receive any Stafford Student Loans without submitting an appeal.
• Financial Aid Denial (FAD) - Students will not receive any financial aid after denial but are responsible to pay all costs of education to the college. Students who do not successfully complete any course for a single term will automatically be placed on financial aid denial. Students will be notified in writing if they are placed on either financial aid probation or financial aid denial status.

To regain eligibility, a student must complete the following:

• Increase GPA to 2.00.
• Raise completion rate to 67%.
• Complete a degree program to regain eligibility.
• Pay for classes themselves.

Financial Aid Appeal Process
If special circumstances exist, the student may submit a letter of appeal to the Financial Aid Office stating the reasons the Standards Requirements were not met. Attach any appropriate documentation. Appeals submitted without proper documentation will not be reviewed. Appeals involving maximum hours must be accompanied by a Degree Audit Form signed by the academic advisor. The financial aid appeal committee will review the appeal. If approved, eligibility for federal financial aid will be reinstated for the next term of enrollment. All committee decisions are final.

College Return to Title IV Funds and a Complete Withdraw from College
A student may notify Admissions and Records in person or verbally of their intent to completely withdrawal from the college. The student must then complete the withdraw form and obtain the required signatures and return it to Admissions and Records. The Financial Aid Office will use the verbal notification date from Admissions and Records to determine any unearned amount of aid that the student must repay. The student’s academic record will reflect the withdrawal date submitted on the form.