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 Enrollment Services. 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 substantial nature or 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 Office of Enrollment Services 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.

Repeated Courses. A student may use financial aid to repeat a course in which an "N", "D", or "F" has been earned. A student may not repeat a course for credit in which a grade of "C" or better was earned (unless permission of the Vice President for Instruction is obtained). The student may improve a grade in a course and the repeat credit(s) will be included in the total number of credits when determining enrollment status. The student must be making satisfactory progress.

Remedial Courses. Okaloosa-Walton Community College approves remedial courses for the use of financial aid and includes remedial courses where necessary when determining a student's enrollment status. Admission placement testing requirements will determine if remedial courses are needed in a student's degree program.

Verification. The U. S. Department of Education randomly flags a student's Student Aid Report (SAR) for verification. Students selected must provide all the necessary documents needed for this process (i.e. income tax forms, W-2 forms). Okaloosa-Walton Community College's Financial Aid Office retains the right to request supporting documents it deems necessary from any student to determine financial aid eligibility. For this reason, OWCC suggests that students do not file financial aid applications until the tax forms for the family are complete and correct. Inaccurate estimates of income and taxes paid may require extensive processing delays and verification of corrected data. All financial information reported MUST BE CORRECT. Penalties or delays may occur if the data is incorrect or incomplete.