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APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS SEEKING AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE, DIPLOMA OR OTHER FEDERAL PELL ELIGIBLE PROGRAM
Students who will be enrolled in a Federal Pell eligible program must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All students must use their legal name as it appears on their social security card. Using anything other than their legal name will result in major delays during processing. Altamaha Technical College’s Title IV Institution Code is 030321. Instructions on how to complete the form are included with the application. Once complete, it may be mailed to the address listed, processed on-line (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov), or may be returned to the Financial Aid Office. Other Altamaha Technical College forms may need to be completed and returned to the Financial Aid Office.
If the FAFSA application is mailed, the student can expect to receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the processing center in four to six weeks. All pages of the SAR must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office.
If the FAFSA application is processed on-line, the student must either mail their signed signature page to the address provided or electronically sign the application with a pin number provided by the department of education. The Central Processing System will then determine eligibility for financial aid within 72 hours. A SAR will be mailed to the student.
If the FAFSA application was submitted to the Financial Aid Office for web enhanced processing, the student may contact the Financial Aid Office two weeks after it has been submitted in order to review the results called an Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR). The student will also receive a one-page summary from the federal processor approximately two weeks following submission. The student should review the summary to verify the accuracy of the submitted information.
If a FAFSA has been submitted and processed, there is no need to submit a separate application for the HOPE Grant or Scholarship. This is due to the Federal and State processing centers sharing information. Determination of eligibility will be made once all required forms and documents are received and processed.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR STUDENTS SEEKING A NON PELL ELIGIBLE PROGRAM
Students who will be enrolled in a non-Pell eligible program must either complete a FAFSA or the HOPE Application. The HOPE application is a multi-year application that may not need to be completed each year. This form, as well as any other forms, must be completed, submitted, and processed before the determination of any eligibility can be made by the Financial Aid Office. If a student’s schedule or major changes after registration, the financial aid award is subject to change.
VERIFICATION
Students who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid may be selected by the processor for verification. If selected, the student must provide documentation that certain items of the SAR or ISIR are accurate. Documentation may include (but is not limited to):
- Verification Worksheet
- Signed copy of student’s Federal Income Tax Return
- Signed copy of parent’s Federal Income Tax Return
- W-2’s of student, spouse, or parent
- Student’s Social Security Card
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefit reports
- Child Support Received Report
- Copy of divorce or separation document
- Statement from the Social Security Administration on total benefits received for the year
- Other documents that provide proof of income or asset value
- Birth Certificate
A student’s application that is chosen for verification will be placed in a pending status and will receive no further processing until all requested materials have been received.
FUND DISBURSEMENT
Students may authorize Altamaha Technical College to deduct their tuition and fees from their award. The balance of the award will be paid directly to the student during the term. The check(s) will be mailed to the student’s last reported address.
ALTAMAHA TECHNICAL COLLEGE REFUND POLICY
During the first three instructional calendar days of each term, 100% of tuition and fee charges will be refunded if the student withdraws. Any refunds will be returned to the appropriate financial aid program. No refund of tuition or fees will be made after three instructional calendar days. Examples of refund calculations are available in the Financial Aid Office.
FEDERAL REFUND POLICY FOR STUDENTS WHO WITHDRAW (RETURN OF TITLE IV AID)
Students receiving assistance from Title IV programs (Federal Pell Grant and FSEOG) are entitled to receive an amount of aid depending upon the amount of aid earned. If a student completes more than 60% of the term, he or she will earn 100% of the aid for that period. If a student completes 60% or less of the term, the percentage of the period completed is equal to the percentage of aid earned. The percentage completed will be calculated by counting the number of days attended up to the point of withdrawal divided by the total number of days in the term. This percentage will be applied to Title IV funds for which the student established eligibility prior to the withdrawal date.
The Title IV aid earned is first used to pay the tuition, fees, and bookstore charges the student has deferred to their Title IV aid account. If any funds remain after deducting these charges, the student will receive the balance. If the amount of Title IV aid earned is insufficient to cover these charges, the student is liable for these charges. Examples are available in the Financial Aid Office.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is a standard of measure that must be applied to all students as a determination of continued financial aid eligibility. This standard assesses academic progress for classes taken at Altamaha Technical College and includes all credit courses, regardless of whether aid is received. To maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), students must satisfactory complete at least two-thirds of the class credit hours attempted, and maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 (“C” average).
Students must satisfactorily complete at least two-thirds of the class credit hours attempted each term to maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) and continued financial aid eligibility. Students who fail to satisfactorily complete two-thirds of the class credit hours attempted are placed on financial aid warning for the next term they are enrolled. Students that do not satisfactorily complete the warning term are placed on financial aid suspension and are not eligible for financial aid. Grades of A, B, C, D and S are considered satisfactorily completed class credit hours while courses with grades of U, F, W, WP and WF are considered not satisfactory. The following grades are not considered when determining two-thirds satisfactory completion: IP, I, EX and AU.
Students are required to have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of a 2.00 (“C” average) to maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) and continued financial aid eligibility. Students who fail to maintain the minimum cumulative GPA are placed on financial aid warning for the next term they are enrolled. Students have one term to remove themselves from financial aid warning status by raising their cumulative GPA to a 2.00 or higher. Financial aid is extended for the probationary term. Students who do not raise their cumulative GPA by the end of the probationary term are placed on financial aid suspension and not eligible for financial aid. Grades of A, B, C, D, F and WF will impact a student’s GPA.
Students must complete their educational objective within a maximum time-frame of one- and one-half times the length of the program in which they are enrolled or within the maximum credit hours allowed. This means that students will no longer be eligible to receive financial aid once they have attempted one- and one-half times the number of credit hours required for graduation in the program enrolled. This includes all credit hours attempted and transferred whether or not they are completed or passed.
If a course is repeated, all hours attempted will be counted for purposes of the two-thirds requirements and maximum credit hours allowed, and all grades will be used in calculating the cumulative GPA. A student can receive Title IV Federal student financial aid for a previously passed course one time.
Eligible students required to enroll in remedial classes are allowed to receive financial aid for no more than 30 semester/45 quarter credit hours of developmental classes.
Academic progress determinations will be made each term after grades have been posted. Students placed on financial aid suspension must pay for credit hours attempted the term the student returns and will remain ineligible for financial aid until cumulative minimum requirements have been met.
For purposes of determining financial aid eligibility, transfer students will be considered to be maintaining satisfactory progress during their first term of enrollment. After the first term, the transfer student will be responsible for meeting all Altamaha Technical College academic progress requirements.
Students have the right to appeal a finding that they are not making satisfactory progress if there are extenuating circumstances that have prevented them from meeting the specified requirements. Mitigating circumstances may include the student becoming very ill or severely injured, a relative dying, or a situation where the student’s grades have made a significant improvement during the financial aid warning or probationary term. Appeals must be written, must specifically address the extenuating circumstances, should address what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow the student to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress at the next evaluation and must include supporting documentation of the extenuating circumstance. The appeal must be filed with the Financial Aid Office for review by the Appeals committee. The student will be notified of the decision.
If a student’s financial aid suspension appeal is approved following a term on financial aid warning, the student will be placed on financial aid probation. If it is determined that the student cannot meet the requirements of the satisfactory academic progress policy (SAP) by the end of the probationary term he/she will be placed on an academic plan. Students who successfully appeal their financial aid suspension following a term on financial aid probation, will be placed on an academic plan and must successfully meet the requirements of the approved academic plan to continue receiving financial aid.
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