First-year and transfer students who file the FAFSA by the March 1 deadline, have been admitted to the College, and have submitted any other required documents within 30 days of the request, should expect to receive notification by April 30. Continuing and graduate students who apply for financial aid by the on-time deadline normally will receive notice by June 30.

Students whose FAFSAs are filed after March 1 prior to the academic year are considered to be late applicants regardless of admission or billing status. Late applicants will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis after all on-time applicants have been awarded. Late applicants should not expect to receive notification before semester bills are due.

In addition, all late applicants need to be aware that because financial aid is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, many of our funds are depleted once on-time applicants have been awarded. Therefore, it may not be possible for a late applicant to receive all of the funding for which he/she has need.

If a student is offered a Perkins Loan or KSC Tuition Loan, he/she will be required to sign a promissory note agreeing to repay those funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of the note. If the award notification includes a Stafford Loan, the student must take additional steps to actually receive the loan. It is important for the student to follow the instructions provided with the award notification.

A student must provide any and all additional requested information from Student Financial Services (SFS) within 30 days. Failure to respond to a request for additional information will result in the deactivation of the student’s financial aid application.

The College reserves the right to adjust a student’s financial aid awards if any of the following condi¬tions exist:

1. Inaccurate information is provided by the family on theFAFSA.IfSFSreceives informationwhichindicates that any of the financial data provided on the FAFSA is inaccurate, we will increase or decrease the student’s awards according to any change in the student’s need level. Depending upon the extent of the error(s), any part of the aid package may be changed.
2. Receipt of funds (awards/scholarships) not reported on the FAFSA or not anticipated when the original aid offer was made.
   • Students often receive unexpected awards/scholarships from local agencies after applying for financial aid. It is the student’s responsibility to notify SFS promptly of the amount and conditions of the award(s). Students can normally expect a revision to the original aid offer which will reduce the loan or work component of the award package if such scholarships are received.
   • Student Financial Services will usually estimate the amount of the student’s eligibility for scholarship moneys to be received from the student’s home state. This estimate is based on the most accurate information available at the time of the original offer. Should this estimate be inaccurate, the student may receive an adjustment to other financial aid.
     
     Note that it is to your advantage to notify the SFS as soon as possible if either of these conditions exists to ensure that revisions are made promptly and prior to the due date of semester fees.
   • Changes in the family’s financial situation. SFS will revise a student’s financial aid package if a parent dies or becomes unemployed, due to a separation or divorce, or if some other circumstance which affects the family’s financial situation occurs after the original application was filed. Students with these types of special circumstances should plan to meet personally with a financial aid counselor.

Higher Education Amendments of 1998 have provided for the creation of a federal Ombudsman appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to act on behalf of students in the resolution of Title IV federal financial aid program issues. If you have questions or issues with federal financial aid programs you may contact this person at 1-877-557-2575 or online.

If a student is receiving federal financial aid (federal Pell Grant, federal SEOG Grant, federal Perkins Loan, federal Stafford Student Loan, and federal PLUS Loan and LEAPP -state grants) and withdraws or takes a leave of absence within 60 percent of the enrollment period, a portion of the awarded federal aid must be returned according to the Higher Education Amendment of 1998.

The determination of the return of these funds is calculated by Student Financial Services, normally within ten days of the withdrawal or leave of absence. The calculation may result in the student’s owing a balance to the College and/or the federal Title IV financial aid program.

Sample return of Title IV funds worksheets are available for review in the Dean of Students Office in Elliot Hall.

Financial Assistance (including Stafford/PLUS Loans) is based on the student’s enrollment status at the time of application. Students who reduce or fail to register for the anticipated number of credits can normally expect a reduction in financial assistance as well. It is the student’s responsibility to notify Student Financial Services of any change in enrollment status.

On-campus student employment is available preferentially to students who have been awarded College Work-Study (CWS) employment eligibility as part of a financial aid package. Other students may be allowed to seek employment on campus, if eligible, usually no sooner than two full weeks after the start of each semester. The actual date of availability will be posted on the Student Financial Services web site.

All students wishing to work on campus must first obtain an Employment Authorization from Student Financial Services. Once the student has been determined eligible to work, check “On-Campus Employment” for available jobs. No student is guaranteed on-campus employment. It is the student’s responsibility to find his/her own job. Students will be paid for hours worked beginning as of the date Student Financial Services has authorized employment. All students will be given Conditions of Student Employment when they obtain an Employment Authorization. The conditions outlined on this form must be read carefully and followed with strict adherence.

In accordance with requirements of the Federal Higher Education Amendments of 1976, Keene State College has established certain standards for measuring whether a student, who is otherwise eligible for aid under any Title IV and/or institutional aid program, is both maintaining good academic standing and making satisfactory progress. Good Academic Standing takes precedence over all other required standards and is defined in the College Catalog under Academic Policies as follows:

A matriculated student is required to maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 to be in good academic standing. A minimum GPA of 1.00 is required of first-semester freshmen, transfer, and re-admit New Start students at the conclusion of their initial semester. Students who earn a GPA less than 1.00 at the conclusion of their first semester will be academically suspended.

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined as Item 3 under the heading Graduation Requirements as part of the same catalog section, and is stated as follows:

Degree candidates are allowed a maximum of five full academic years (see Definitions) in one curriculum. In addition to Item 3 as stated above, effective January 1, 1984, further evidence of satisfactory academic progress is required (34 CFR Part 668.16 [e]) and the following criteria apply:

1. During any academic year in which the student is enrolled full-time (12 credits per semester/term), the student must complete 24 credits.* A student who has not completed 24 credits will be placed on financial aid probation, but will continue to receive financial aid for the following academic year. At the end of this probationary period, if the student has not completed enough credits to meet the cumulative number required, he/she will be suspended from receiving financial aid. The student may then:
   • accrue the necessary remaining credits, without financial aid, to reestablish aid eligibility. The credits may be for courses completed either at KSC or acceptable for transfer credit in accordance with the policies defined in the College Catalog.
   • in exceptional cases where documented extenuating circumstances have prevented normal progress, appeal in writing to the Director of Student Financial Services for exception to policy for prior periods or an extension of the financial aid probation period to the next measurable increment. This will be reviewed by the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Committee.
2. All requirements and procedures outlined above apply to a part-time student with the following exceptions:
   • Halftime (6-8 credits per semester/term) students must complete 12 credit hours per year.
   • Three-quarter-time (9-11 credits per semester/term) students must complete 18 credit hours per year.
3. Summer sessions I and II are considered to be one combined semester or term only for the purposes of implementing financial aid policies.

*Academic year is defined as two semesters plus summer sessions.

In accordance with requirements of the Federal Higher Education Amendments of 1976, Keene State College has established certain standards for measuring whether a student, who is otherwise eligible for aid under any Title IV and/or institutional aid program ,is both maintaining good academic standing and making satisfactory academic progress.

Good Academic Standing takes precedence over all other required standards and is defined in the College Catalog under Degree Requirements as follows:

Completion of the minimum course requirements as specified in the program with an average grade of B or higher (3.0 on a scale of 4.0). No grade of less than C is acceptable and no more than two grades less than a B count toward a degree.

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined in the same section of the catalog as follows: ...work toward the graduate degree or program must be completed within six years from the time the ap¬plicant is officially admitted to graduate study.

In addition to the above, effective January 1, 1984, further evidence of satisfactory academic progress is required (34 CFR part 668.16 [e]). For the purposes of establishing these measurable criteria the following definitions apply:

Academic year – two semesters plus summer sessions, within one 12-month period.

Full-time, graduate – enrollment in a minimum of 9 credits per academic semester (12 credits for a student with a graduate assistantship).

Part-time – enrollment which is less than full-time and a total of nine or more credits per academic year.

During any academic year in which the student has indicated the intention to enroll full-time, that student must complete 18 credits (12 credits with assistantship).

During any academic year in which the student has indicated the intentiontoenroll part-time,that student must complete 9 credits.

A student who has not completed the required number of credits will be placed on financial aid probation, but will continue to be eligible to receive financial aid for the following academic year. At the end of this probationary period, the student who has failed to complete sufficient credits to meet the cumulative number required will be suspended from receiving financial aid. The student may then:

• accrue the necessary remaining credits, without financial aid, to reestablish aid eligibility. The credits may be for courses completed either at KSC or acceptable for transfer credit in accordance with the policies defined in the College Catalog, or
• appeal in writing to the Director of Student Financial Services, when documented extenuating circumstances have prevented normal progress, for exception to policy for prior periods or an extension of the financial aid probation period to the next measurable increment. These will be reviewed by the Satisfactory Progress Appeals Committee.