The student financial
aid program at Beaufort County Community College is designed to assist
deserving students in meeting the costs of attending college. The program
consists of four major types of aid: scholarships, grants,
loans, and
student employment. An eligible student may receive one or more of these
types of financial aid.
In making award decisions,
the Financial Aid Office first determines the student's financial need for
college attendance. The need is the difference between the resources of the
student and his or her parents and the costs of attending college. Students
are obligated to report to the Financial Aid Office any additional resources
such as loans, scholarships, and gifts, which may be used for educational
purposes. Any student who has completed the financial aid application
procedure is considered for all types of financial aid without regard to the
student's sex, race, color, disability, or national origin. In all financial
aid awards, the student has the right to accept, reject, or appeal the aid
he or she has been offered.
Eligibility is based on
taxable income, untaxed income and benefits, assets, family size, and the
number of family members attending post secondary educational institutions,
as well as other factors. Other eligibility criteria include your academic
record, enrollment status, state residency, and student loan borrowing
history.
College Transcript Requirement
To calculate satisfactory academic process, determine trnsfer credit and prevent payment for previously completed coursework, official transcripts from all previously attended colleges must be submitted to the Financial Aid office.
Distance Learning and Financial Aid Recipients
Financial aid recipients
follow the same procedures regarding registration and purchase of textbooks,
as do recipients enrolled in traditional classes. Remember that federal
student aid awards are determined by enrollment status (full-time,
three-quarter time, half-time, less than half-time) and are based only on
those courses that are within the student’s program of study.
Program of Study
All associate degree programs, Cosmetology, Practical Nursing and Basic Law Enforcement are eligible. Most diploma and certificate programs are not. Also, special credit students and students in the Division of Continuing Education students are not eligible for financial aid. If you are unsure about aid eligibility and the program you are considering, contact the Financial Aid Office for clarification. Also, Federal financial aid will not pay for courses that are not program requirements as listed in the College catalog.
Withdrawals, Refunds and Repayments
The law specifies how BCCC must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Federal Direct Student and Parental Loans, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).
When you withdraw during a period of enrollment, the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or the College or your parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the College and/or you.
The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a prorata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a Post-withdrawal disbursement. If your Post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, BCCC must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. The College will automatically apply your Post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds against any outstanding balance of tuition and fees. The school needs your permission to use the Post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission, you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the College.
There are some Title IV funds that you may be scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you will not receive any Federal Direct loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.
If you receive (or the College or your parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of (1) your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or (2) the entire amount of excess funds. The College must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.
If BCCC is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.
Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You must make arrangements with your school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.
The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from the refund policy of the College. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. BCCC will also charge you for any Title IV program funds that it is required to return. You may contact the College Cashier’s Office for information on the school’s refund policy. The Registrar can also provide you with the requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from school.