Policies and Procedures

Verification, Disbursement of Aid and Satisfactory Progress

Verification

The Financial Aid Office is required by Federal guidelines to verify certain types of information submitted by a student on the FAFSA. Students are randomly chosen for this verification audit and, if selected, should follow the instructions on their Student Aid Report and submit the required information to the Financial Aid Office. A verification worksheet will be sent to any student selected for verification from the Financial Aid Office. When additional documents are required in order to complete verification, the student will be sent a notification from the Financial Aid Office. Students should submit the requested information in a timely manner and by the stated deadline to prevent any delays in the processing of their awards. Failure to submit the requested documents will result in cancellation of all federal financial aid programs. Students are advised to retain copies of any document submitted to the Financial Aid Office. If corrections or updates are required as a result of the verification process, award notification and receipt of federal financial aid funds may be delayed.

Payment Periods

Financial Aid is awarded one academic year at a time. A student's first academic year will begin on the day the student starts school.

Undergraduate Students:
A payment period is defined as consisting of 2 terms (16 weeks of instruction time). There are 2 payment periods in the undergraduate academic year. For the purposes of determining aid eligibility, full time is defined as at least 12 credits per payment period, 3/4 time is defined as at least 9 credits per payment period , 1/2 time is at least 6 credits per payment period, and any number of credits under 6 is considered less than 1/2 time.

Graduate Students:
A payment period is defined as consisting of 4 terms (20 weeks of instruction time). There are 2 payment periods in the graduate academic year. For the purposes of determining aid eligibility, full time is defined as at least 12 credits per payment period and 1/2 time is defined as at least 6 credits per payment period, and any number of credits under 6 is considered less than 1/2 time.

Disbursement of Aid

All financial aid is applied directly to the student account for the appropriate payment period. The following conditions must be met before any federal or institutional financial aid will be disbursed:

1. The student must be meeting all financial aid eligibility criteria as outlined above;
2. The student's enrollment status has been determined as either full time, 3/4 time, 1/2 time, or less than 1/2 time, and all appropriate aid adjustments have been done. (This will be done mid point in the payment period.)

If the student is selected for verification, all documents required for verification must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office and verification must be completed. In addition, there may be requirements specific to a specific award that must be met before that award can be applied to the student account.

Satisfactory Academic Progress and Financial Aid

NECB's standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) can be found in the Academic Catalog (.pdf). For the purposes of eligibility for Financial Aid, SAP is reviewed at the end of each academic year. If a student does not meet SAP, he/she will be placed on probation for the following payment period. The student will continue to maintain financial aid eligibility and to receive financial aid funding for the probationary payment period. At the end of the probationary payment period, the student's SAP will be reviewed again and must be brought up to an appropriate level or the student's eligibility for federal financial aid programs is terminated.

If a student's financial aid eligibility is terminated due to SAP, he/she does have the right to appeal this termination. The student may appeal the determination if special or mitigating circumstances exist. Any appeal must be in writing and must be submitted to the Director of Financial Aid within 10 calendar days of receiving notification of his or her loss of eligibility. The student should explain what type of circumstances contributed to his/her academic struggles and what plans the student has to eliminate these potential problems or circumstances in the future. The Director of Financial Aid may grant the student a second probationary payment period, during which they can continue to receive federal financial aid programs. The decision of the Director of Financial Aid is final and may not be further appealed.

Students who are ineligible for aid due to SAP may only regain eligibility if one of the following occurs:

• By attending a subsequent term at his/her own expense and improving hours and/or CGPA to meet the required standards. Students who comply with this method, should submit to the Financial Aid Office a written request asking that their eligibility for financial aid be reinstated.
• The student appeals and the appeal is granted, allowing the student one more probationary payment period.

Reinstatement

A student who has been reinstated after an academic dismissal does not automatically regain eligibility for Financial Aid. Students who have been reinstated by the Vice President of Academic Affairs should contact the Director of Financial Aid to find out about the appeal process.

Entrance/Exit Counseling

Entrance Counseling

Students who choose to borrow from a federal student loan program as part of their financial aid package are required to complete the appropriate student loan entrance counseling forms prior to completing a promissory note for their student loans. Students may complete this requirement online at Studentloans.gov.

Exit Counseling

Students who borrow from a federal student loan program during their enrollment at NECB are required to complete the appropriate student loan exit counseling forms when they cease to be enrolled in a degree program at least half-time. Students who borrow a Federal Subsidized/Unsubsidized Stafford Loan may complete this requirement online via the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). Student borrowers who fail to complete the required student loan exit counseling session may not receive their official diploma or an official academic transcript from NECB.

Withdrawal from the College

The official process for withdrawing from NECB is described in the academic catalog. Federal financial aid awards will be adjusted according to federal regulations, which stipulate that a student who withdraws retains aid in proportion to the percentage completed of the enrollment period in which he/she was enrolled. If the student withdraws during the first 60% of the payment period, a portion of his/her federal funds must be returned. The percentage of aid earned is determined by dividing the number of calendar days the student attended during the payment period by the total number of calendar days in the payment period. For example, a student who has attended 10% of her payment period will have earned 10% of her federal financial aid award. The remaining 90% of her federal financial aid award must be returned. The student and NECB will share responsibility for returning these funds. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period, no adjustment to the financial aid award is necessary. State and institutional funds will be adjusted according to the regulations governing these programs.

Students are strongly encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office and the Student Accounts Office prior to withdrawing to determine the financial impact of their withdrawal from NECB.

Students who borrow a federal student loan program during their enrollment at NECB are required to complete the appropriate student loan exit counseling forms when they cease to be enrolled in a degree program at least half-time. Students who borrow a Federal Subsidized/Unsubsidized Stafford Loan may complete this requirement online at National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS). The student's deferment period for all federal loan programs will begin based on the student's effective date of withdrawal. Students are allowed only one 6 month grace period for each Federal Stafford Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan. Consequently, a student who withdraws and then returns to NECB or another institution may not be eligible for an additional 6 month grace period prior to the start of loan repayment.