Financial Aid Policies & Procedures

Attendance

To establish eligibility for financial aid, you must participate in academically related activities for each course. If you receive a satisfactory grade for the course, your participation in the course is documented by the receipt of a passing grade. Your financial aid will be adjusted and some or all of the award may be canceled if you are identified as a non-attending student. You will be responsible to repay any aid that was adjusted or canceled due to failure to attend/participate in class(es).

Cost of Attendance

A standard estimated cost of attendance (COA) is used to determine financial need. All budget items shown are for nine month full time attendance (tuition/fees reflect 15 credit on campus enrollment). Students attending less than full-time are eligible for financial aid; however, the cost of attendance, family contributions and maximum awards are adjusted to reflect less than full-time attendance.

The budgets for room/board, transportation, and personal expenses are based on information from the College Board.

Net Price Calculator

The Net Price Calculator is a tool that provides an estimate of what it may cost to attend NHCC. The estimate assumes that you will be a degree seeking student enrolled full-time (12 or more credits) in fall and spring semester.

Eligibility Determination

Financial aid eligibility is calculated using a formula called Federal Methodology (FM). FM calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on the information that you provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Your EFC is the amount you and your family are expected to pay toward your educational expenses. The Federal PELL Grant award is based on the EFC. Other programs are based on need. The college's COA - your EFC = your financial need. Your total need based aid package cannot exceed your financial need. Your total financial aid award cannot exceed the COA.

Over-Award Liability

If financial aid funds are disbursed to you and later it is determined to have been based on erroneous information or process errors, you are liable to repay NHCC the amount of financial aid you received in excess of your correct eligibility. Furthermore, if you are administratively withdrawn or dropped from some or all of your courses, you are liable to repay any funds that NHCC is required to return on your behalf.

Repeated Courses

Federal regulation limits the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course. A student may receive aid to repeat a previously passed course one additional time. This limit applies whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.

150% Subsidized Loan Limit

Effective July 1st, 2013, first time borrows will be subject to a subsidized loan limit of 150% of their program credit length. Students may continue receiving unsubsidized loans beyond 150% of their program credit length if other eligibility requirements are met. More information can be found through the U.S. Department of Education.

Special Circumstance Appeals

Financial aid eligibility is based on parental and/or student prior-prior year income. If a family has special circumstances, regulations allow us the option to review the financial aid application. Possible reasons for a special circumstance review include: unemployment, divorce, death of a spouse or parent, loss of child support, loss of Social Security benefits, or loss of other income benefits. The circumstance in question must be able to be documented and significantly change the ability to contribute. Appeals are typically a one-time exception. The documentation required will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Start the appeal process by completing the Appeal Special Circumstances form. The financial aid administrator’s decision on a special circumstance review is final.

Student Loan Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct for Financial Aid prohibits: revenue sharing arrangements, most lender gifts to employees of the financial aid office and their family members with certain minimal exceptions, employees from receiving fees or other compensation for consulting with lenders, the institution from using award packaging or other methods to assign a first time borrower’s loan to a particular lender, the institution from delaying or refusing to certify any loan based on the borrower’s choice of a particular lender, the request or acceptance of any funds for private education loans in exchange for benefits to the lender, such as a preferred lender arrangement, and the institution from requesting or accepting assistance from any lender for call - center staffing or financial aid office staffing financial aid employees who serve on an advisory board for any lender from receiving any compensation or financial benefit for such service, other than reimbursement or reasonable expenses. The College annually notifies employees who have responsibilities related to Title IV federal loans of the Code of Conduct for Financial Aid Personnel.

Withdraw From All Classes / Return of Title IV funds

If a student will be withdrawing completely from a term, they must do so according to NHCC’s withdraw policies. The transaction must be completed via NHCC’s online system (E-Services). The withdrawal must be completed by the published deadlines and the student is responsible for understanding the impact of such action on their student account. The outcome of a complete withdrawal depends on when the withdrawal is initiated and the type of financial aid received. A complete withdrawal may also negatively affect academic progress.

Financial aid recipients who completely withdraw from their period of enrollment or stop attending classes prior to the 60% point of their period of enrollment are subject to the federal Return of Title IV calculation for federal aid and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (MHESO) refund calculation for Minnesota State Grant, SELF Loan, Child Care Grant, Safety Officer's Survivor's Grant, Indian Scholarship, ACHIEVE Scholarship, and Learn and Earn. The percentage of Title IV aid to be returned is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the period of enrollment divided by the number of calendar days in the period of enrollment. Scheduled breaks of more than four consecutive days are excluded. Examples of both calculations are available in the Financial Aid Office.

If the student who totally withdrew (officially or unofficially) from classes received State financial aid funding (including State Grant, Child Care Grant, SELF Loan, Safety Officer's Survivor's Grant, Indian Scholarship, ACHIEVE Scholarship, and Learn and Earn), a portion of the unearned funds must be returned if the total withdrawal took place within the first 20 business days of the semester (full semester classes).

The responsibility to repay the unearned financial aid is shared by the college and the student. First the college’s share is returned to Title IV programs in the following order: Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, Federal Perkins Loan, PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Additional Pell Grant, and Federal SEOG. Any remaining unearned aid is then the responsibility of the student and must be collected from the student and returned to the Title IV programs in the order listed above.

NHCC will return its share of unearned Title IV funds no later than 45 days after it determines that the student withdrew or stopped attending classes. Students return their share of unearned aid attributable to a loan under the terms and conditions of the promissory note. Grant repayment is made to the college under the repayment guidelines identified in a notice sent to students after the recalculation is complete.

If the student has received less Title IV aid than the amount earned, the student is due a post-withdrawal disbursement. Title IV grant funds will be applied to any unpaid tuition and fees balance for the term. If Title IV loan funds are part of a post-withdrawal disbursement, the student ( or parent, in the case of a PLUS loan) will be contacted in writing to approve or decline. If the post-withdrawal disbursement creates excess financial aid on the students account, the funds will be disbursed to the student.

Students may also be eligible for a partial tuition and fees refund. Information on the college's tuition refund policy, including the dates and refund percentages, are located on the college calendar.

Official and Unofficial Withdraw From Classes

If a student will be withdrawing completely from a term, they must do so according to NHCC’s withdraw policies. The transaction must be completed using NHCC’s E-Services within the published deadlines. The student is responsible for understanding the impact of such action on their student account. The withdrawal date is the date the student begins the process. The date of the withdrawal is then used to calculate the Return of Title IV.

If a student unofficially withdraws (stops attending) from the College, there would be no official notification provided by the student. The College will determine the withdrawal date (last date of attendance-LDA) no later than 30 days after the end of the payment period. Grades of FN-1858 are reported by faculty designating the student never attended. Grades of F are reported by faculty indicating the student completed the term but failed the course. Grades of FN with an LDA reported by faculty indicate the student attended at least one class session but last attended on the LDA date. Faculty also report LDA’s for the grade of NC. NHCC is not required to take attendance. Thus the student withdrawal date is either the mid-point of the term or later, up the 60% point. The Financial Aid office, the Records Office, and the Accounting Office work together to determine which students are subject to R2T4 and the date to be used.

Withdraw From Some Classes

Withdrawing from even just one credit, can significantly change your financial aid eligibility.

• All or part of your financial aid may be reduced or canceled.
• If you did not regularly attend/participate in class(es), financial aid eligibility will be canceled.
• If you are enrolled less than half time, you will begin repayment on your student loan when your grace period ends.
• You may not meet academic progress requirements for future financial aid.
• You may have a balance due on your account because your financial aid awards may have to be adjusted.
• If you withdraw from class after the tuition refund period ends, you will responsible for tuition payment even if your financial aid is reduced or canceled.
• A hold will be placed on your account until you pay the balance in full and you will not be allowed to enroll in any future semesters or access college services (transcripts, etc.).
• If you have stopped attending class(es), you must immediately withdraw yourself from class(es). Contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions on your specific situation.

Verification

If your application is selected to be verified, we are required by law to confirm information listed on your application including: the household size, number in college, adjusted gross income, U.S. taxes paid and certain types of untaxed income and benefits.

• Applications selected for verification for the 2019-2020 award year will need to complete a Verification document, and transfer their tax data from the IRS to the FAFSA or provide copies of Federal tax transcripts.

The Financial Aid Office compares the information provided on the FAFSA to the documentation collected during the verification process. If there are errors on your application, we will update your application, recalculate your aid eligibility and send a current award letter within approximately 14 days. All information required for verification must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office no later than 14 days before the end of your first term of enrollment. If you are selected for verification and plan to withdraw from school prior to completing the verification, contact the Financial Aid Office. Students who do not provide the required verification documents will not receive financial aid.