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Student Rights (Fairness & Advocacy)
- Know what financial aid is available, including information on all federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs.
- Expect fair and equitable treatment from the LCC Financial Aid Office staff. It is the goal of the office to assist all students promptly and professionally throughout the financial aid process.
- Know the interest rate on any student loan the student borrows, the total amount that must be repaid, the length of time the student has to repay, when the loan(s) must be repaid, and what cancellation or deferment provisions apply.
- Request consideration of the financial aid package. If the student’s financial circumstances have changed, the student must submit a Special Circumstance Appeal form to the Financial Aid Office.
- Know how Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is measured and how students can reestablish eligibility for federal and state financial aid if they fail to meet the standard.
Student Responsibilities (Obligations & Action)
- Understanding if financial aid does not completely cover the tuition bill, the student is responsible for setting up an installment plan or making full payment immediately to the Fiscal Office. The student must realize that until all requested information has been submitted, reviewed, and verified, financial aid will not be credited to the student account.
- Being admitted into a degree-seeking program during the term(s) that the student wishes to receive financial aid. Not all classes or majors are eligible for financial aid, including student loans.
- Reapplying for financial aid each year. Students cannot receive financial aid from two schools during the same year.
- Understanding that at any time enrollment drops below 6 credit hours prior to Federal Direct loan disbursement, the Federal Direct Loan will be cancelled. The student will be responsible for any remaining balance.
- Understanding that if the student completely withdraws from school or receives all Fs due to stopping-attendance, a Return to Title IV calculation will be processed, and the student may be required to repay a portion of the Federal Title IV aid.
- Consulting with a financial aid advisor before dropping courses and be aware of the Return of Title IV Funds Policy.
- Paying any remaining balance after any earned aid is applied when dropping classes.
- Understand the Fiscal office has 14 days to issue excess financial aid to the student after the Federal Title IV credit balance is created from financial aid disbursing to the student account. Refund amounts are based on any balance remaining after tuition, fees, book charges, and other authorized charges are paid, and are subject to enrolled hours.
- Understanding that Federal Direct Loan programs require enrollment in a minimum of 6 credit hours.
- Understanding that a financial aid advisor may request additional documentation at any time.
- Not being in default on any loan previously received at any institution.
- Obtaining the information on when and how financial aid funds will be disbursed.
- Providing all requested documentation to the Financial Aid Office accurately and timely.
- Completing an entrance and exit counseling for any student loans received at LCC.
- Understanding the college's refund policy.
- Paying any balance from a prior semester.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Satisfactory Academic Progress is made up of 3 components
- GPA: Students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
- Course Completion Rate: Students are required to complete at least 67% of the credit hours they attempt. The completion rate is calculated by dividing the cumulative earned hours by the cumulative attempted hours, as printed at the bottom of the last semester on the transcript.
- Maximum Timeframe: Students may not receive financial aid to attempt more than 150% of the minimum credit hours required to complete their primary program of study.
ex. If a program requires at least 60 credit hours to complete, the student is eligible for financial aid while they attempt up to 90 credit hours (60 x 150% = 90).
Academic Progress is evaluated at the end of each semester at which time students will be placed in one of 3 SAP Statuses
- Satisfactory: A student satisfies all 3 of the components above. This status is eligible for financial aid.
- Warning: A student fails to meet either of the GPA or Course Completion Rate components. This status is still eligible for financial aid.
- Suspension: A student fails to meet either of the GPA or Course Completion Rate components while on Warning status or once the student exceeds the maximum timeframe. This status is ineligible for financial aid for all future enrollment at LCC.
There are only 2 ways to regain financial aid eligibility after being placed on Suspension
- A student would regain financial aid eligibility once they meet all 3 components above, after continuing to enroll without financial aid.
- The student may submit a SAP Appeal if there were extenuating circumstances that prevented the student from satisfying any of the components above.
Additional Notes
Transfer coursework that is accepted by LCC will be added to the cumulative attempted and cumulative earned credit hours; however, the grades will not be calculated in the cumulative GPA. This means transfer coursework can only positively impact the completion rate and will have no impact on the GPA.
While transfer coursework will positively impact the completion rate, it can accelerate the student's maximum timeframe.
Repeated coursework will impact both the cumulative GPA and the completion rate. Only the grade earned in the most recent attempt will count in the cumulative GPA. Additionally, only the earned credit hours from the most recent attempt will be counted in the cumulative earned hours while the credit hours for each attempt will be counted in the cumulative attempted hours.
This means repeat coursework has the potential to significantly improve a student's cumulative GPA; however, it will only negatively impact a student's completion rate.
When a student drops a course during the add/drop period of the semester, those credit hours will not be counted in either cumulative attempted hours or cumulative earned hours.
If a student withdraws from a course after the add/drop period of the semester, those credit hours will be added to the cumulative attempted hours; however, those credit hours will not count in the cumulative earned hours.
Additionally, the cumulative GPA will not be affected by either a drop or a withdrawal.
This means that if a student drops or withdraws from a course, they can preserve their cumulative GPA; however, it may negatively impact the student's completion rate.
The LCC Financial Aid Office encourages all financial aid applicants to read this policy carefully. Any student thinking about withdrawing from all classes in one semester should contact the Financial Aid Office to determine how withdrawing will affect their financial aid for that semester and what the impact will be for future eligibility.
Click here for a copy of the LCC Return of Title IV Funds PolicyFinancial Aid Code of Conduct
Luna Community College (LCC), as a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) adheres to the standards established in NASFAA's "Statement of Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct for Institutional Financial Aid Professionals", found at https://www.nasfaa.org/Statement_of_Ethical_Principles. In addition, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 requires institutions of higher education participating in the administration of educational loan programs to develop and publish a Code of Conduct. Any LCC employee who has responsibilities with respect to student general financial aid and educational loans is required to comply with this Code of Conduct as outlined below.The following Code of Conduct was last updated by a vote from NASFAA's Board of Directors in November 2020, and published in January 2021. Subject to enforcement procedures that went into effect July 1, 2015, NASFAA institutional members of NASFAA will ensure that:
- No action will be taken by financial aid staff that is for their personal benefit or could be perceived to be a conflict of interest.
- Employees within the financial aid office will not award aid to themselves or their immediate family members. Staff will reserve this task to an institutionally designated person, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
- If a preferred lender list is provided, it will be compiled without prejudice and for the sole benefit of the students attending the institution. The information included about lenders and loan terms will be transparent, complete, and accurate. The complete process through which preferred lenders are selected will be fully and publicly disclosed. Borrowers will not be auto-assigned to any particular lender.
- A borrower's choice of a lender will not be denied, impeded, or unnecessarily delayed by the institution, even if that lender is not included on the institution's preferred lender list.
- No amount of cash, gift, or benefit in excess of a de minimis amount shall be accepted by a financial aid staff member from any financial aid applicant (or his/her family), or from any entity doing business with or seeking to do business with the institution (including service on advisory committees or boards beyond reimbursement for reasonable expenses directly associated with such service).
- Information provided by the financial aid office is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
- Institutional financial aid offers and/or other institutionally provided materials shall include the following:
- Breakdown of estimated individual Cost of Attendance components, including which are direct (billed by the institution) costs vs. indirect (not billed by the institution) costs;
- Clear identification and proper grouping of each type of aid offered indicating whether the aid is a grant/scholarship, loan, or work program;
- Estimated net price;
- Standard terminology and definitions, using NASFAA's glossary of terms;
- Renewal requirements for each aid type being offered as well as next steps and financial aid office contact information.
- All required consumer information is displayed in a prominent location on the institutional web site(s) and in any printed materials, easily identified and found, and labeled as "Consumer Information".
- Financial aid professionals will disclose to their institution any involvement, interest in, or potential conflict of interest with any entity with which the institution has a business relationship.
- LCC does not maintain a preferred lender list for private student loans.
- The college shall not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender.
- No officer or employee of the college, who is employed in the Financial Aid Office of the college or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans, shall solicit or accept any gift, gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than a de minimus (normal) amount from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.
- An employee who is employed in the Financial Aid Office of the college or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall not accept from any lender or affiliate of any lender any fee, payment, or other financial benefit as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
- The college shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the college providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with specified loan number or volume or a preferred lender arrangement for educational loans.
- The college shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or Financial Aid Office staffing.
- An employee who is employed in the Financial Aid Office, or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid of the college, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such advisory board, commission, or group.