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Basic Financial Aid Information The Student Financial Service at Pontotoc Technology Center is organized to assist qualified students to meet the costs of their education. Financial Aid should be considered assistance to supplement the income of students and parents while attending school. The Office of Student Financial Aid was established to coordinate all financial assistance offered by the school and to ensure that the established principles are observed in the administration of student aid programs at the Pontotoc Technology Center . The Pontotoc Technology Center offers financial assistance through the Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Supplement Educational Grant and the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant. Pontotoc also has applications for the Oklahoma Career Tech Foundation Scholarship Program. Applications for these programs are available in the Financial Aid Office.
The Federal Pell Grant is a federally funded grant program, which provides up to $4,310.00 for the year 2007-2008 to post secondary students enrolled in a Full Time Adult program. Free applications for Federal Financial Aid may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office. Pontotoc Financial Aid Office utilizes the Title IV program with the Department of ED and therefore, is capable of retrieving ISIR information via modem. The ISIR information can usually be drawn down within 3 weeks of the Department of ED processing Center receiving the application from the student. The ISIR will include a summary of application information and the determination of the EFC figure. The EFC figure is the result of computations involving the financial and non-financial data submitted on the application. The method of computation is applied to all students uniformly. Pontotoc Technology Center Financial Aid Office has the capability to submit corrections to a students SAR electronically. NON-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT: Pontotoc Technology Center, in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972, does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, sex, religion, handicap, marital or veteran status or the presence of non-job related medical conditions or handicaps in any of its practices, policies or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid and student services. FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL GRANT (FSEOG) PROGRAM Description: The FSEOG program is designed to provide assistance for the student with the exceptional need in the form of a grant to help pay for their post-secondary education. Students must meet all applicable deadlines and eligibility criteria in order to be considered. All necessary documentation must be submitted to the PTC financial aid office. Application Procedure: All students interested in obtaining financial aid must complete a financial aid application. Students (including part-time and independent) who have enrolled and completed their application at PTC will be considered for an FSEOG award based on their need. PTC distributes the funds equally, 50% in the Fall Semester and 50% in the Spring Semester. PTC evaluates this process on an annual basis. Awards will be granted until all FSEOG funds have been exhausted. Criteria for Selection of FSEOG Recipients: PTC defines exceptional need for FSEOG program as those students with the lowest expected family contributions (EFCs) who will also receive Federal Pell Grants in that award year. This will be considered the first selection group. If any FESOG funds remain after the first selection group, PTC will award FSEOG funds to those eligible students with lowest EFCs who will not receive Federal Pell Grants in that award year. Any student who is selected to be a recipient of financial aid will receive an award letter showing the amount of aid offered. The student will be expected to sign, date and return the award letter to the PTC financial aid office signifying their acceptance of the aid. Criteria for Determining Amount of Student Aid: Effective with 2007-2008 award year students eligible for a FSEOG will receive an amount determined by the number of eligible students with a maximum of up to $500 for the award year or the amount of their remaining need whichever is less. Method and Frequency of Distribution: A student who has been awarded a FSEOG will receive one check in the amount of his/her FSEOG award, during the first semester of the program. As indicated in PTC's award notification policy, the financial aid office awards and authorizes the amount of the student's FSEOG. PTC's business office draws down all federal funds and disburses it when notified by the financial aid office. FSEOG Records: PTC maintains student records in a hard copy format in the financial aid office. Only authorized personnel may have access to student records. Authorized personnel include financial aid staff, independent auditors, accreditation officials and representatives from the U.S. Department of Education or the Comptroller General of the United States . Records are kept for a period of three years after the end of an award year that is audited, unless there is a question in the audit related to program expenditures. Basic eligibility requirements for Grants are:
In addition
In order to receive Federal Financial Aid at Pontotoc Technology Center a student must be: Enrolled and admitted as a post-secondary student in an *accredited program. (An *accredited program has met the standards essential to qualify under federal financial aid guidelines. See the financial aid office for more specific details)
HOW TO APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID AT
After a student begins class, an initial award letter with disbursement dates is issued. Students are paid once each payment period. Programs that are 600 hours need to see the Financial Aid Office on disbursement dates. Pontotoc Technology Center issues four Federal Pell disbursements during the school year: 1 st disbursement in October 2 nd disbursement in December 3 rd disbursement in March 4 th disbursement in May Practical Nursing disbursements maybe different see Financial Office for details. Under Federal Regulation 34 CFR 668, Subpart E all schools issuing Federal Financial Aid funds based upon the student's EFC some applications are selected for verification. At Pontotoc Technology Center an applicant who is accepted for admission may be required to furnish one of all of the following items:
If your application for Financial Aid is selected for verification there will be an asterisk*symbol next to your EFC number. If you are selected for verification, you will receive a written notice from the PTC Financial Aid office. The notice will state the required documents you must bring to the school to meet the verification requirements. Once you are notified that you must provide verification, you must produce the required documents within 30 days of the receipt of the notice to supply documentation. The school will not issue a financial aid payment until all documentation requirements are met. Failure to provide the required documentation will result in forfeiture of aid for that award period. If the award amount is changed due to a correction that must be made based upon the documentation, the student will receive a written letter from the PTC Financial Aid Office stating the adjusted award amount. Required Correction Procedure: If a correction must be made due to documentation of verification, the student must make the correction and resubmit a corrected FAFSA (Financial Aid Application Form). An award payment will not be made until the correction process is completed. The student will be informed in writing when the corrected award will be issued. If the correction requires a Return of Funds due to an overpayment made to the student, PTC will follow the following procedure:
DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS The following items will be accepted for documentation/verification purposes:
If a student is selected for verification the student will be notified by the Financial Aid Office. Students must return verification documentation to the Financial Aid Office within 10 days from the date forms were requested. If the student does not comply with the requests from the Financial Aid Specialist within this time period, no disbursements will be made . If a student withdraws before the Financial Aid Specialist reviews other documentation the Department of Education Federal Financial Aid Policies allows an individual 90 calendar days from the last date of enrollment to provide verification documentation. For all of the Pontotoc Technology Center District #14 area, if a student drops a program before completion, tuition refunds will apply as follows: No tuition refund will be given for program courses that the student has completed. If a student withdraws before classes begin a full refund will be given less a $10 processing fee. If the student has begun classes but not yet completed and drops or withdraws, a partial tuition refund may be given depending upon how far the student has progressed in the program.
No refunds will be given for books, supplies, fees, or any other non-tuition costs. Refunds are disbursed by the Business Office within ten business days after notice of a student withdrawal has been received from the Financial Aid Office. Notification of a refund is done by mail through the Business Office. If a student's tuition has been paid by an agency or through financial aid assistance, refunds will be processed in accordance with the rules and policies of the tuition source. Return of Title IV Funds According to Title IV regulations, PTC will determine the amount of federal student aid to return based on a prorated portion of tuition, fees, and other institutional charges for a student who withdraws, drops, or is dropped by the school for any reason. Contact: Jannice Williams at 580-310-2223 Official Withdrawal Students who wish to withdraw must contact the Director of Student Services to officially withdraw from school. A withdrawal form will be given to the student to sign in addition to obtaining the signature of the instructor(s). The student will need to return the signed withdrawal form to the main office to be processed. Contact: Phillip Whitlock at 580-310-2250. Unofficial Withdrawal Any student who has missed five consecutive days without any contact to the school will be administratively withdrawn. Office Notification and Return Order If a student has officially withdrawn, the Director of Student Services will notify the financial aid office of the withdrawal. On unofficial withdrawals, the instructor or registrar will be responsible for notification to the financial aid office. The financial aid director will determine the student's withdrawal date and will be responsible for doing the return of Title IV funds calculation. If the calculation determines the student received more assistance that was earned, the unearned excess funds must be returned to the Federal Government. The order of the return amount will first be paid back to the Federal Pell Grant program and then to the Federal Supplemental Educational Grant Program. Any additional return would go to the agency which paid tuition on behalf of the student and finally to the student. Withdrawal Date For students receiving financial aid at PTC, the student's withdrawal date is the student's last day of class attendance. Charge to Students Students at PTC are charged at each 9-week payment period intervals. PTC will use the defined payment period for a program for the basis of determining what aid was earned or unearned. Payment Period Definition PTC has four equal payment periods per standard school year. Percentage Earned This is equal to the percentage of the payment period the student completed as of the student's withdrawal date. If a student withdraws before he/she has completed 60% of the clock hours scheduled to be completed for the payment period, the percentage of time completed is the amount or percentage earned. The student may also need to return any unearned funds as determined by the return calculation. . The student will be billed for any unearned funds including the amount of institutional charges (tuition, books, supplies, fees) the school had to return on their behalf. If the student withdraws after completing more than 60% of the payment period, the student has earned 100% of the clock hours scheduled to be completed within the payment period. Example : Pell is disbursed by payment periods. Amount of Pell that could have been disbursed is $1,012.00 for the payment period in which the student withdrew. Percent of Title IV Aid Earned: 80 (hours scheduled to complete) ÷ 262.5 (total hours in period) = 30.48% Amount of Title IV Aid Earned by Student 30.48% x $1,012.00 = $308.46. $308.46 is the amount of aid earned by the student. If the student doesn't have any outstanding tuition or fee balance, $308.46 would be the amount that will be disbursed to the student. Once the amount of Title IV aid is determined by the Financial Aid Office the student will receive a letter stating how much Title IV aid was earned. The letter will also explain if the student has an outstanding balance that is owed to the school for tuition, fees and any other institutional charges and the due date for the payment. The student must realize that tuition and fees may be offset from the amount earned by the student if the institution so chooses. Return Due Date PTC is required to return unearned funds, for which it is responsible, no later than 45 days after the date that it determines that the student has withdrawn. Title IV Credit Balances When a student withdraws during a period and a Title IV credit balance exists, PTC will not release the credit balance until the Return of Title IV Aid calculation has been performed. Any grant overpayment that may be owed by the student as a result of the student's current withdrawal will be reduced first by the student's credit balance. Any remaining credit balance funds will be used to pay authorized charges at the institution and finally disbursed to the student. PTC does not participate in any of the loan programs. Post-Withdrawal Disbursements Occasionally, a student will withdraw and be eligible for an additional disbursement of funds referred to as a post-withdrawal disbursement. Before a post-withdrawal disbursement is given, PTC will determine if any outstanding charges exists on the student's account such as tuition and fees and other charges if the student contracts with the school. All or a portion of the post withdrawal disbursements may be used to offset these type charges. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY Once financial aid is awarded, in order to continue to receive federal financial aid, a student must be making satisfactory progress. A student is normally considered to be making satisfactory progress if he/she is making a cumulative grade of “C” or above (qualitative measure) and is making timely progress toward the attainment of a Program Completion Certificate (quantitative measure). Satisfactory Academic Progress checked at the end of each nine week period . Students may take up to 50% longer than the normal time of their program to complete that program and still be regarded as being in good standing. However, a student will no longer be eligible for Title IV federal financial aid once he/she has received aid for the number of hours in the program. (Example: 1050 clock hour for most programs) The maximum time a student can attend Pontotoc Technology Center in a 1050 hour programs is 1575 clock hours which is equivalent to an additional 4 ½ months.. Example: a full-time student would normally complete a 1050 clock hour Program in nine months (August through May). An eligible student would receive Title IV aid for 1050 clock hours during the school year. The student could take an extra semester at full time status (extra 525 clock hours, 4 1/2 months) to complete the program if the student was not able to complete in nine months (and providing there is space in the program) but that student WILL NOT receive Federal Financial Aid The student would be charged tuition for the extra semester. However, the student would not be eligible to receive additional Title IV aid for the additional 525 clock hours. In no instance can the student receive aid for more hours than the program is accredited for. QUALITATIVE MEASURE (GRADES)
QUANTITATIVE MEASURE
PROBATIONARY PERIOD If a student receives an unfavorable progress report that is not in compliance with the SAP requirements as outlined above, the student has failed to maintain satisfactory progress. The student will be informed in writing due to his/her failure to maintain SAP. The student will then be placed on financial aid probation for the next evaluation increment (i.e., 262.50 hours for a 1050 hour program). During that time, the student is responsible for completing the required cumulative amount of curriculum with at least a letter grade of “C” or higher. The student must also have met the required cumulative clock hours for the evaluation period. During this probationary period the student will continue to receive financial aid. Students who are unable to meet the required grade or attendance cumulative minimums at the end of this financial aid probationary period will be suspended from further financial aid due to failure to maintain satisfactory progress. RE-ESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY In the event a student is suspended from financial aid due to his/her failure to maintain satisfactory progress, the student must re-establish his or her eligibility for aid. For instance, if the average cumulative grade is not at least a “C”, the student must bring the average cumulative grade up to at least a “C” or above within the designated pay period in order to re-establish his/her eligibility for further aid. If the student has not completed the required work/hours up to that point in the program, the student must complete the work or hours before the end of the pay period. If a student, who was suspended from financial aid, leaves the institution and then returns, that student will not be eligible to receive financial aid until such time that the time has reestablished eligibility by meeting all satisfactory progress requirements. WITHDRAWALS, DROPS, TRANSFERS AND OR INCOMPLETES Students who receive payment and withdraw or drops before a payment period is completed and does not owe a refund or has not been overpaid must sit out one whole payment period before being re-admitted. The student must complete the course work already paid for before receiving more financial aid. The request for re-admission must be made in writing and must be approved by the Director of Student Services before the student is re-admitted. Former PTC students who have completed a program may not be re-admitted to the same program within a two year time frame. Transcripts from other schools, colleges and accredited institutions will be evaluated by the director and the instructor involved and credit may be given for appropriate units of instruction. Financial aid will be adjusted accordingly in approved programs. A grade of “I” is regarded as unsatisfactory academic progress for the purposes of Title IV COURSE REPETITIONS AND REMEDIAL COURSES
APPEAL PROCESS Students who receive notification that financial aid has been suspended due to unsatisfactory progress have the right to appeal. Students receiving a suspension notice will also receive written procedures to follow to appeal the decision of the Financial Aid Office. To appeal, a student must file a written appeal with the Financial Aid Office. This appeal must be in writing and submitted within two calendar weeks of the notice of denial indicating the extenuating or mitigating reason for not making satisfactory progress. (Mitigating or extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to: illness or injury of student or a member of the student's immediate family; death in the student's immediate family; or some other traumatic situation that can be documented.) The decision of the appeal will be made by the Financial Aid Appeal Committee. The student will either be denied aid on the grounds of unsatisfactory progress or aid will be granted on a probationary basis for the next evaluation increment. The student will be notified in writing of the appeal decision with ten days of receipt of the student's written appeal. Failure of the student to meet appeal deadlines will result in denial of the student's appeal. All decisions made by the Financial Aid Committee are final. STUDENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIESYou have the right to ask a school: What financial assistance is available? Cost of attending and refund policy Criteria for selection of financial aid recipients How financial need is determined? Explanation of various programs in student aid package Determination of satisfactory progress You have a responsibility to: Review and consider all school and aid information before enrolling Make application accurately Return all documentation, verification, corrections and new information to the Financial Aid Office to which you submitted your application Accept responsibility for all agreements that you sign Know and comply with school refund policy Notify Financial Aid Office if you withdraw from school OTHA GRIMES/FRANCIS TUTTLE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIPScholarships are reserved for adult students who have initiated formal training to achieve vocational career objectives. Applicants must use the authorized application forms. These applications are available through your Financial Aid Office. This scholarship is administered by the Oklahoma Vocational-Technical Foundation. This scholarship is unique in that it is reserved for deserving adult students who may not quality for other scholarships or student assistance programs. It is awarded more on the basis of need and commitment rather than on good grades alone. This scholarship will normally be awarded to one or more deserving adult students each year. Scholarship awards will stipulate that the applicant's school applies the money toward books, tuition, and other direct expenses incurred for training. The number of scholarships and the dollar amounts may vary with the availability of foundation funds and with the special needs reflected among the applications. Who may apply Scholarships are unrestricted with the respect to occupational area. Applications must be submitted through your school Financial Aid Office. Guidelines for Applicants Must be at least 18 years of age. Must be enrolled in and making satisfactory progress in a full-time program. Must exhibit an evident need for scholarship assistance. Must declare an intention to complete a career objective in the stated vocational-technical program. Applications must be filed with the Financial Aid Office by September. Dislocated Worker Workforce Investment Act – Contact the WIA office at 332-5081 Chickasaw Nation and/or other tribal educational services Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitative Services – 332-2785 Worker's Compensation – State Insurance Fund BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) Physician's Manpower (Matching or Non-matching) Veterans Financial Assistance – Contact PTC Financial Aid Office Wells Fargo Education Connection (This is not a Federal Title IV Loan) Students who are receiving financial aid assistance through other agency funding will be allowed to begin classes only after official notification of funding from that particular agency, unless previous arrangements with the Financial Aid Office are made. Students who receive Financial Aid assistance from other agency funding will have to meet the particular guidelines of that agency in order to continue in the program for which they are enrolled. PELL GRANT DISBURSEMENT AUTHORIZATIONSTUDENT ACKNOWLEDGMENT I understand that I requested my unpaid tuition be deferred to my Pell Grant Award. This request was approved by Pontotoc Technology Center Financial Aid Office, based upon my submission of a valid Student Aid Report and a completed financial aid file. I understand that all unpaid tuition and all charges for books/supplies/equipment/fees will be deducted from my Pell disbursement and the Business Office in the form of a check will disburse the remaining amount to me. I understand that I am responsible for reporting any changes in enrollment status or other changes that could affect my Pell Grant to the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible. I understand that I am responsible for and must abide by the policies and procedures in the Pontotoc Technology Center Student Handbook and the Financial Aid Guidelines, which I received when I enrolled. I understand that my enrollment date will determine the number of disbursements made to me and the date(s) of those disbursements. I further understand that my first payment will be based upon my enrollment and attendance in an eligible program; each payment covers a specified number of clock hours of training. I will receive the disbursements if I have maintained satisfactory academic progress during disbursement terms. See Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. I understand that if I do not maintain satisfactory academic progress, as stated above, I will be ineligible to receive my next Pell Grant disbursement until I have completed a disbursement term achieving satisfactory academic progress. I understand that if denied aid for failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, I may file a written appeal, accompanied by supporting documentation with the Financial Aid Office. A Financial Aid Committee will review the appeal and an exception may or may not be granted; I will receive written notification of the appeal decision. All decisions executed by the Financial Aid Committee are final. I understand that future Pell payments will be canceled if I withdraw/drop prior to completing my program of study. I understand that as a Title IV financial aid recipient, if I withdraw/drop prior to completing a disbursement period a refund must be calculated according to Federal regulations. Depending upon the amount of time attended, a tuition balance may remain of which I will be responsible for resolving. Also, if I received a cash disbursement, I may be responsible for repayment of an unearned portion of the cash disbursed. ____________________________ Student Signature & Date Revised 7/17/07
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| Last updated November 8, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||