Financial Aid Updatefor Adjunct Faculty

Ben Burton

Chief Student Financial Services OfficerFebruary 2013

Agenda• Repeating Coursework

• Return to Title IV (R2T4)– Dropping Prior to Census Date– Reporting “active participation”, FWs– Late “No Shows”

Repeating Coursework• Federal financial aid rules allow students to

receive aid for repeating a previously-passed course ONCE– A failed course can be repeated with aid until it

is passed, then it can be repeated once with aid– “D” is considered passing regardless of

institutional policy or program requirements– Official withdrawals are not considered repeats

What Can Be Repeated, When?

FW is a “fail” due to unofficial withdrawal. It is considered a completed attempt, just like an F.

Note: failing and withdrawing may be “ok” for repeating courses with aid, but will soon get a student into trouble with Satisfactory Academic Progress standards!

Repeats: What’s the Big Deal?• After repeating a previously-passed

course once, course cannot be included in hours covered by financial aid

• This cannot be appealed, like Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards

• Repeating courses impacts “completion rate” component of SAP

Return to Title IV (R2T4)

What does this mean? If a student receives federal financial aid and doesn’t complete the semester, they owe a prorated amount back to the Title IV program/s.

But . . . If they completed more than

60% of the term, they’ve “earned” all the aid.

So, we need to know if/for how long student attended.

R2T4: Dropping Prior to Census Date

• Student drops course during the 100% refund period

• Instructor receives e-mail: “click on link”– Banner screen asks: did student ever attend?

• If yes, student earned part of his/her aid• If no, we look at all courses

– If all are NW/DA, student gets NO aid

R2T4: Active Participation?

• At 60% of course, instructor receives e-mail: “click on link”– Banner screen asks: is student still actively

participating?

• At end of course, instructor submits grades, including FWs– No LDAs needed! LDA LDA

What is “Actively Participating”?• Attending class in person

• Turning in projects/assignments

• Taking quizzes/exams

• Participating in discussion group

• Course-related contact with instructor

! Logging in to an online course is not enough !

“No Shows”

• If student does not attend a course during 100% refund period, they must be reported as NW upon census date

• If all courses are NW, aid is canceled

Example: Late “No Show”

Pell Grant is reduced after the NW is reported but if it’s reported late, student and funds are gone!

Late “No Shows”: Why It Matters• When we don’t know until the end of the

semester that a student didn’t attend:– Aid gets disbursed– We miss the opportunity to advise student to

enroll in late-start classes– We don’t calculate the return of funds until

after the semester ends• It’s VERY difficult to collect receivables from high-

need students after the funds are already spent

R2T4 Attendance Reporting Summary