OFFICE OF FINANCIAL AID

CONTACT PERSON
Director: Laura Hughes, MS
E-mail: lhughes@lcsc.edu
Office: RCH 208
Phone: (208) 792-2224
Fax: (208) 792-2063
Web: http://www.lcsc.edu/financialaid

OVERVIEW
The Financial Aid Office provides students, who would otherwise be unable to pursue post-secondary education, with access to financial resources. These resources include grants, scholarships, loans, part-time work-study employment and veteran education benefits.

APPLICATION PROCESS
The financial aid process at LCSC is designed to help meet the financial need of all eligible students who are enrolled in a degree or certificate program. The document used for determining the family contribution is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). A FAFSA must be filed each year that a student wishes to be considered for aid. The amount of assistance may increase or decrease from one year to the next depending on the financial circumstances of the student and his or her family. All financial aid applicants must use the FAFSA for federal financial aid. Some students may be required to submit tax forms and other documentation, if needed, prior to award determination.

LCSC 2010-2011 STUDENT FINANCIAL AID BUDGETS

Student financial assistance programs include out-of-state tuition waivers, scholarships, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Stafford Student Loans, Federal Nursing Loans, Federal, State and Institutional Work-Study Programs, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Veteran Education Benefits, and Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program Grants. The basic criteria for selecting financial aid recipients is the student’s financial need. Scholastic standing is also criterion for scholarships and waivers. Students receiving financial aid must be enrolled in a degree or certificate program and be making normal academic progress toward that degree or certificate as detailed in the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. Priority in the granting of campus based financial aid is given to full-time undergraduate (12 credits per term) academic and technical students.

FINANCIAL AID DEADLINES
An application for financial assistance must be received by the Federal Processor by March 1 to ensure priority consideration for financial aid. Please note that applications will be considered as priority only when both the FAFSA and all admission material have been submitted to LCSC by March 1 and any requested documents are submitted to the Financial Aid Office by April 30.

Application materials received after the priority service date will receive full consideration, but only to the extent that financial aid funds are available after initial awards have been determined. Awards are granted for one academic year. Determination of subsequent eligibility requires the completion of a renewal application each academic year. A full copy of student rights and responsibilities, financial aid brochures and applications may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office or viewed at www.lcsc.edu/financialaid.

EARNING MORE THAN ONE DEGREE
Students may pursue more than one degree simultaneously. Completion of a baccalaureate degree has an extreme effect on student’s aid eligibility. Students pursuing more than one baccalaureate degree must see the Financial Aid Director and the Registrar BEFORE making this decision.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY
Students who receive Financial Assistance through Federal, State, or Institutional Financial Aid Programs have a legal responsibility to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) towards a degree objective. This requires the Financial Aid Office to determine whether or not applicants are eligible for financial assistance based on their prior academic record. These guidelines represent minimal standards. They do not necessarily coincide with the requirements students must fulfill to initially receive aid or the number of credits a student is expected to earn in order to complete a degree in the allowed time frame. Students will be considered in good standing and eligible to receive financial assistance by maintaining normal academic progress toward their degree as required by Federal and State regulations and the following policies and conditions.

DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY
Students are only eligible for financial aid assistance for a specific number of attempted credits, regardless of whether any aid is received and regardless if any credits are earned. Federal regulations allow a maximum of 150% of the credits required to complete your stated degree. This includes ALL previously attempted LCSC credits and ALL credits accepted by LCSC upon admission, regardless of time
lapse or successful completion. Credits for which any standard grade or demarcation used to measure enrollment will be used in this calculation. Examples include withdrawn (W), incomplete (I) or no credit (NC) grades. Credits earned from means other than direct enrollment are not included in this calculation. Military credit or Advance Placement credit are examples of credits not used.

TRANSFER STUDENTS
Federal regulations allow a maximum of 150% of the credits required to complete a declared degree. This includes ALL previously attempted LCSC credits and ALL credits accepted by LCSC upon admission, regardless of time lapse or successful completion. All accepted credits from previously attended institutions are used in the calculation of a student’s duration of eligibility even if the student did not receive financial aid at the other institution(s).

POST-BACCALAUREATE STUDENTS
PB students are allowed a maximum of sixty-four (64) credits beyond the first baccalaureate degree to obtain a second baccalaureate degree.

NON-DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENT
Students not in a declared degree program are not eligible to receive financial aid.

SATISFACTORY COMPLETION
Satisfactory completion means a student has received a minimum grade of D or P. Grades of I (incomplete), F (failure), W (withdrawal), K (missing grade), NC (no credit) or other non completion grades are not adequate or acceptable in maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress. Inappropriate selection of courses is not an acceptable reason for not maintaining SAP. Students should contact their academic advisor for assistance in choosing coursework.

REPEAT COURSES
Repeat courses will be counted in attempted and completed credits. The Financial Aid Office has the right to refuse aid to students who abuse the inclusion of repeat courses to obtain funding. Repeats are only encouraged when a D or F grade was the initial grade for the course.

INCOMPLETES
Incomplete courses will be counted as non-satisfactory when determining SAP. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office when an Incomplete has been finished. At that time, eligibility will be re-assessed.

REMEDIAL COURSES
Remedial coursework will be counted in determining financial aid eligibility, enrollment status and satisfactory academic progress. These courses will be included in duration of eligibility calculations. Remedial courses do not count towards the total number of credits needed for graduation. Students will be limited to no more than thirty (30) remedial credits for financial aid eligibility.

MINIMUM CREDIT COMPLETION
Students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. The minimum credit standards per semester are outlined below:

Status	Enrollment	Credits	Progress/Status
Full-time	12+ Credits	12 or more	Satisfactory
		6-11	Probation
		0-5	Suspension
3/4-Time	9-11 Credits	9 or more	Satisfactory
		6-8	Probation
		0-5	Suspension
1/2-Time	6-8 Credits	6-8	Satisfactory
		less than 6	Suspended
<Half time	1-5 Credits		**

**All credits must be completed or aid will be suspended for the next term.

FINANCIAL AID PROBATION
Probation is a warning that the student has not completed the minimum credits or has a cumulative GPA below a 2.00. Students who are on probation may still receive financial aid; however, students who do not pass the minimum required credits during the next semester will be suspended from financial aid and will be ineligible to receive further financial aid.

FINANCIAL AID SUSPENSION
Financial Aid recipients will be automatically placed on Suspension Status if they (1) withdraw from LCSC; (2) fail to satisfactorily complete the minimum credit hours for enrollment status or (3) fail to achieve satisfactory progress while in a Probationary Status. Students on suspension for the first time must successfully complete credits, at their own expense, to correct the deficiency.

APPEAL OF SUSPENSION
Students may appeal in writing to the Financial Aid Office. It is the responsibility of the students to know if their grades, when compared to the Satisfactory Progress Standards, will cause immediate suspension of their financial aid. It is not the responsibility of the Financial Aid Office to notify the student. Further, it is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office when reinstatement conditions have been met or to initiate an appeal.

REINSTATEMENT OF FINANCIAL AID
Students whose suspension time has elapsed or who have successfully corrected the deficiency, must notify the Financial Aid Office and submit a grade transcript for review. Reinstatement of aid will be subject to funds available at the time the completed file is reviewed. Reinstatement of awards can take up to three weeks to process.

WITHDRAWAL/REFUNDS/REPAYMENTS
Financial aid recipients who drop classes, which results in a reduction of fees paid are subject to LCSC’s Refund/Repayment Policy. Refund monies will be used to repay any financial aid awards before any refund is made to the student. Students may be required to repay financial aid if they withdraw early in a semester. The amount of repayment is determined according to Federal and institutional regulations, which take into account the number of class days attended and the total dollar amount of aid received.

CHANGES IN SATISFACTORY PROGRESS STANDARDS
Changes to any of the specific provisions regarding these policies may be made at any time, without publication, due to changes in Federal, State and/or Institutional Regulations or Policies. Questions should
be addressed to the LCSC Financial Aid Office.

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
Many scholarships require higher academic standards than outlined in this policy. Students unable to maintain minimum acceptable standards should contact the Financial Aid Office.