FINANCIAL AID

Student Eligibility - Continued

• A student must NOT OWE A REFUND or REPAYMENT on a federal grant at any institution, and
• A student must NOT BE IN DEFAULT on a federally-funded or insured student loan.

STATE OF FLORIDA PROGRAMS

For a student to be eligible for State of Florida financial aid (i.e. FSAG) at OWCC -

• A student must have demonstrated a FINANCIAL NEED (Complete the FASFA application), and
• A student must have met the ADVERTISED DEADLINE, and
• A student must have been a RESIDENT OF FLORIDA for one-year, and
• A student must have a 2.0 or higher GRADE POINT AVERAGE on all previous college work, and
• A student must have earned 24 SEMESTER HOURS of college work during the terms of the academic year in which aid was received, and
• A student must have met CLAST requirements, and
• A student must enroll as a full-time student (minimum 12 semester hours).

NOTE: An applicant who believes State financial aid has been wrongly denied has certain rights to appeal. The applicant may appeal if he believes the Department of Education has made an error in determining eligibility or in failing to transfer an award. Detailed information about filing an appeal is available from the OWCC Financial Aid Office.

Additional Information and Requirements

Financial Aid Suspension. Students who do not meet eligibility standards shall be suspended from federal financial aid until they have regained eligibility in accordance with the Academic Standards of Progress. (See FEDERAL PROGRAMS eligibility criteria listed under Standards of Satisfactory Progress on previous page in this section for more information.)

Notification. The Financial Aid Office will send a letter to all current financial aid recipients who are to be suspended. This letter goes to students not meeting standards of satisfactory progress or academic good standing. Suspended students will not receive financial aid for the following semester even if already enrolled. The notice will be addressed to the student's most current local address on file with the Office of the Registrar. IT SHALL BE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT TO KEEP OWCC INFORMED OF A CORRECT MAILING ADDRESS AT ALL TIMES. The cost of enrollment during financial aid ineligibility must be borne by the student. Financial aid will not be available.

Reinstatement and Appeals Process. A student who loses eligibility has an opportunity to appeal through an appeal process. The appeal must be submitted to the Director of Financial Aid IN WRITING by the student. (Special appeals forms are available in the Financial Aid Office.) Members of the Student Financial Aid Committee will act as an appeals committee. The appellant is required to provide documentation as necessary for determination of financial aid eligibility and shall fulfill reasonable requests by the committee with reference to time of meeting, personal appearance, and supporting evidence. The committee will determine if mitigating circumstances exist. Mitigating circumstances are defined as:

1. Death of a close relative affecting the student's academic performance.
2. Illness of the student or close family member having direct effect upon the academic record.
3. Poor past record resulting from youthful carelessness, social or psychological immaturity.
4. Special circumstances of a specific and substantial nature of a unique kind as determined by the committee.

If mitigating circumstances are found to exist, the student may be restored to satisfactory academic standing for one semester after which the general standards will apply. Further restoration to satisfactory standing may occur only if progress during the intervening semester(s) clearly gives sound, documented evidence of progress. Progress must be acceptable to the appeals committee.

Incompletes. A student who carries a recorded ¨Incomplete¨ at the time of evaluation will be given a one-semester grace period when meeting eligibility requirements and Standards of Progress. The student's record will be held in suspense, and a re-evaluation will be made at the end of the next semester for which the student is enrolled. If the ¨Incomplete¨ has not been changed to a letter grade at the time of re-evaluation and the Registrar's Office has not been notified of an extension, the student will be assigned a grade of ¨F.¨ Such a grade may readily contribute to suspension of financial aid eligibility.