In order to uniformly determine the need of students applying for financial assistance, all applicants must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Early filing of a FAFSA is encouraged because some sources of financial assistance are limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Financial Aid Office will notify eligible students of their financial aid awards. The student may accept or reject the aid in total or in part. Federal student loans are offered in a pending status and must be accepted by the student in order for the loan to be disbursed. Students may also be required to complete entrance counseling and a master promissory note.

Private loans are not offered to all students. Students seeking private loans must apply with the lender of their choice.

Financial aid is disbursed to the student’s Clarkson College account at the beginning of each semester or as soon as funds are available. Students must meet all eligibility requirements for each award before funds can be disbursed.

Federal student loans, grants, and non-federal financial aid funds received by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or paper check will be applied to the student’s account within three (3) days of receipt of the funds. Federal funds can be applied to a student’s account up to ten (10) days prior to classes starting.

Financial aid will be applied to tuition, fees, on-campus housing charges (if applicable), and bookstore charges (if applicable) before funds are released to the student for other educational expenses.

If the financial aid received exceeds the semester charges, the student will receive a refund. If a balance remains after financial aid is received, the student must pay the outstanding balance by the tuition payment due date

Clarkson College has established a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy in accordance with federal financial aid regulations. These regulations require that students maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress in their degree program to receive federal financial assistance. The purpose of these regulations is to ensure that limited federal financial assistance is disbursed only to those students who are meeting academic and regulatory standards.

The following standards apply to students in undergraduate and graduate programs and to continuing and former students. All students must meet the academic standards before federal assistance is certified and disbursed to them. Federal financial aid regulations state that all periods of enrollment count when assessing progress, regardless of whether aid was received.

Timing and Frequency of SAP Calculation
SAP for financial aid recipients will be calculated after each term of attendance once grades have been verified by the Registrar’s Office.
Standards

As required by federal financial aid regulations, Clarkson College’s SAP policy has three standards by which a student’s cumulative academic record must be compared. To be considered compliant, a student must meet all three standards outlined in this policy, showing progression toward graduation.

Standard 1: Pace of Completion (Percentage of attempted credit hours completed successfully)
A student must achieve a minimum pace. Pace is the percentage of total attempted credit hours that are completed successfully. Pace is calculated by dividing the cumulative number of successfully completed credits by the cumulative number of attempted credits. Grades of A, B, C, D, and P are considered successfully completed for purposes of financial aid. Grades of F, W, WP, WF, NP, and I are considered attempted and not successfully completed for financial aid purposes.

Undergraduate and Graduate Standards: minimum pace of 67%
Calculations of pace will be rounded using standard rounding rules.

Standard 2: Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)
A student must achieve a minimum cumulative GPA. Refer to the Grading System section of the Clarkson College Academic Catalog for more information on calculating cumulative GPA.

Undergraduate Standard: minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
Graduate Standard: minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0

Standard 3: Maximum Timeframe
A student may not receive financial assistance once he or she has attempted 150% of the credit hours required to complete the degree. The total number of credit hours includes courses taken at other institutions, which are applied to Clarkson College degree requirements. For example, if the degree requires 100 credit hours for completion, the student may receive financial aid for up to 150 credit hours.
Undergraduate and Graduate Standards: A student may attempt up to 150% of the credit hours required to complete his or her degree.

SAP Statuses:
Good Standing: Students who meet all three SAP standards will be considered to be in Good Standing. To remain in Good Standing, a student must meet all three SAP standards each term. Good Standing is a status that is eligible for financial aid.

Warning: A student who fails to meet one or more of the SAP standards will be placed on financial aid warning for one semester. At the end of the warning period, the student’s academic progress will be verified. Warning is a status that is eligible for financial aid.

Suspension: A student who fails to meet SAP standards at the end of the warning period will be placed on suspension. Suspension is a status that is not eligible for federal and non-federal financial aid.

Probation: A suspended student is placed on probation after a successful appeal. Probation is an eligible status for financial aid. The Appeal Process section in this policy provides more details on the process.

Appeal Process
Students who are suspended have the right to appeal. Appeals will be considered if the student has experienced circumstances that significantly contributed to his or her failure to meet the minimum standards. Supporting documentation from a physician, counselor, Enrollment and Academic Advisor, or faculty member may be included but is not required. Students must submit the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form sent with the notice of suspension.

The SAP Committee will review the student’s appeal for reinstatement of financial assistance. The student will be notified by mail of the committee’s decision. An appeal denied by the Financial Aid Committee may be forwarded to the Director of Financial Aid for further review. The Director’s decision will be final.

Treatment of the Following Types of Courses for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Audit Courses:  Audit courses are ineligible for financial aid and do not count toward the number of attempted credits or the number of earned credits.

Repeated Courses:  Repeating a course will count as attempted credit hours (for each time the course is taken) and if credit is earned (repeats as well) then it will also count as completed/earned credit hours in Pace and Maximum Timeframe calculations.

Incomplete Grades:  An Incomplete course counts as credit hours attempted but does not count as credit hours completed or earned until a passing grade has been assigned. An incomplete grade can negatively affect a student’s Pace and financial aid eligibility in the same manner as a withdrawn course. Once an Incomplete course has been assigned a final grade, a student’s SAP status will be recalculated. The student will be notified of any changes to his or her SAP status.

Withdrawn Courses:  A course from which a student withdraws (grades of W, WP, or WF) counts as credit hours attempted but does not count as credit hours successfully completed.

Transfer Courses:  Credits transferred to Clarkson College from another institution count as attempted and earned credits as well as toward the maximum timeframe but do not affect cumulative GPA.

Advanced Standing Courses:  Advanced Standing Credit is a method by which students can earn credit without completing a course. Credit is granted after the student earns a satisfactory score on an examination or a satisfactory evaluation of the portfolio on the first attempt. Such credits count as attempted and earned credits as well as toward the maximum timeframe but do not affect cumulative GPA.

Changing Majors or Earning an Additional Degree
Change of Major:  Clarkson College does not limit the number of times a student may change his or her major. Credit hours earned for all degrees will be used to calculate SAP standards.

Notification:  Once SAP is calculated after the end of each semester, students placed on warning or suspension will be notified of their status through a notice sent to the student’s official Clarkson College email.

Reinstatement of Good Standing
A student who has failed to maintain SAP standards may regain financial aid eligibility (Good Standing) by successfully completing sufficient semester hours and/or attaining the required cumulative grade point average. A student remains ineligible for financial assistance until the semester following his or her attainment of the SAP standards.

If a student withdraws from or drops all courses, a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation determines the amount of federal aid that must be returned.

Any resulting balance is communicated immediately. Students receiving federal loans are also notified of repayment and exit counseling requirements.

When a student graduates, transfers or is no longer enrolled half time at Clarkson College, the student will be responsible for repayment of all Direct loans and Federal Nursing loans. Payments will start within six (6) months of leaving for direct loans and nine (9) months for Federal Nursing Loans. A student reenrolling in another college within six (6) months after attending Clarkson who is at least a half time student may qualify for deferment of his loans while he is a student at the other college.