Casper College’s Enrollment Services administers and coordinates a variety of institutional, state, federal, and private financial assistance programs for qualified students. Financial assistance programs include scholarships, grants, loans, and student employment. Casper College offers a variety of financial assistance programs for students based on merit and income. Awards recognize scholastic achievement, assist low-income students, and provide funding so students can reach their graduation goals. Detailed information on all financial aid programs is available from Enrollment Services located on the third floor of the Gateway Building, at 307-268-2323, or on the web at www.caspercollege.edu/financial_aid. Financial aid policies and procedures may change without notice.
Enrollment Requirements for Federal Aid Eligibility
- Enrollment Status: Students must be fully admitted and enrolled as degree seeking students in an approved degree or certificate program to be eligible to be considered for federal aid. In addition, loan applicants must be enrolled in at least six credit hours approved for federal funding.
- Dual Enrolled Students: Students enrolled in two or more institutions simultaneously can only receive federal funding from one of them. Generally the institution from which the student wishes to earn their degree should be the home institution. The student would then complete the home institutions consortium form so all hours from all institutions can be considered for aid funding.
- Census Date: Generally the 10th class day of each semester (5th for summer) is the official census date. Students need to have their classes finalized by this date as aid awards will be recalculated and aid increased, reduced, or canceled as necessary (see section on Withdrawing and Non-attendance: Impact of Financial Assistance)
Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs
Eligibility for most federal student aid programs is limited to fully admitted, degree-seeking students with documented financial need who meet academic and satisfactory progress requirements. A student who is in default on a federal student loan or owes a repayment to any institution of any funds received under Title IV federal programs is not eligible to receive additional Title IV federal funds at any school until those funds are repaid or until satisfactory repayment provisions have been met. A description of the federal programs available to Casper College students is provided below. For more specific information, check our website at www.caspercollege.edu/financial_aid with links to the Department of Education.
Note: To apply for federal grants, loans, or work-study at Casper College, students must complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Additional steps are required for loans and work-study.
The FAFSA form can be completed and submitted at www.caspercollege.edu/financial_aid. Students who do not have Internet access should contact Enrollment Services or their high school guidance offices for assistance. Students must complete a new FAFSA each year.
Casper College encourages students to apply for federal aid early each year. Typically, March 1 is our priority due date. Documents received prior to this date will have priority consideration.
Grant Programs
The Federal Pell Grant is the foundation of the federal aid programs, to which aid from other federal and non-federal sources might be added. Eligibility is based on the federal calculation of need and is applied for using the FAFSA. The Federal Pell Grant program is for qualified undergraduates. The federal government establishes the dollar limit for the Federal Pell Grant program each year.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is a limited fund grant awarded to undergraduates with specific financial need requirements.
Federal Work-Study (FWS)
This is a limited fund, need-based program. Students may work up to 15 hours per week. Most positions are on-campus. Enrollment Services determines Federal Work-study eligibility and the Career Center completes placement.
Federal Direct Stafford Loan
These are loans made directly to students. Repayment of the loan principal is deferred until the borrower either completes the education program or ceases to be enrolled at least half time. There is a four-step process for first time borrowers. The FAFSA serves as the primary application form. A Master Promissory Note (MPN) and entrance loan counseling are required and available on the Casper College financial aid website under the Loan link. Students must complete a student loan request each year.
Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
Parents may be able borrow for a dependent student. Repayment begins within 60 days for a parent borrower. Applications can be initiated from Casper College’s financial aid website under the Loan link.
Standards of Satisfactory Progress for Federal Student Financial Aid
In accordance with Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and all relevant amendments, students receiving federal assistance, (i.e. Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, Federal Work-Study, etc.) must meet and maintain academic and satisfactory progress standards to remain eligible to receive such assistance each term. Although the following information list the main standards that must be evaluated, students should check with Enrollment Services for the current policy as these standards are subject to revision. Standards are evaluated at the end of each term.
This evaluation includes all terms attempted regardless of whether or not the student received financial assistance.
- Grade Point Average (GPA): Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
- Pace: Students must successfully complete on a cumulative basis at least 67 percent of the courses they attempt. Satisfactory progress ratios are calculated by dividing hours earned by hours attempted. For example, if 12 hours are attempted and 9 hours are earned, the ratio is 9/12 = 75 percent. Grades of A, B, C, D and S qualify as earned and attempted hours. Audits, incompletes, withdrawals, drops, F and U grades are attempted hours but are not earned. Repeat courses count as attempted each try, but count as earned only once. Additional restrictions exist on multiple repeats.
- Maximum Hours Attempted (Maximum Time Frame): Federal regulations require students to complete their program of study within a reasonable time. The time frame is defined as 1½ times the minimum credit hours required to complete a program. For programs requiring 64 credit hours, the regulations would allow up to 96 credit hours to be attempted. The student should determine the number of credit hours required for their selected program. All hours attempted are counted, whether on aid or not. Transfer students hours earned at other schools are included in this count. If at any point it is determined that the student can no longer complete their program by the maximum hours, the student is no longer eligible for federal assistance.
Eligibility Status
Satisfactory: Satisfactory status is achieved when all criteria explained above are being met or when a student is meeting the requirements established under an individual academic action plan.
Financial Aid Warning: A student on Financial Aid Warning may receive Title IV funds (possibly lose other assistance) for one payment period. During this payment period, the student must meet the required standards to avoid Financial Aid Suspension.
Financial Aid Probation: A status assigned by the institution to a student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress and who has appealed and has had eligibility for aid reinstated under the conditions of an individual academic action plan.
Financial Aid Suspension: Students on Financial Aid Suspension cannot be paid Title IV federal assistance.
Mitigating Circumstances
Federal regulations allow students whose failure to meet the required standards was caused by 1) the death of a relative of the student; 2) an injury or illness of the student; or 3) other significant extenuating circumstances, to submit a written appeal for reconsideration by the college. Circumstances need to be of sufficient magnitude and generally outside of the student’s control for the request to be approved. If approved an academic action plan will be established for the student. The student must agree to and meet the requirements of the action plan to be funded, until they are once again meeting the overall standards of progress requirements. The Request for Reinstatement of Financial Aid form is available from Enrollment Services.
Withdrawing and Nonattendance: Impact on Federal Financial Assistance
Students who alter their enrollment status (drop or add courses) during a semester are subject to have their eligibility for federal financial assistance recalculated, and could be required to return some, if not all, of their federal assistance. Students should review the following explanations carefully.
- Enrollment Changes prior to the Census Date
A student’s official enrollment status is measured at the end of the 10th class day of each semester (the fifth day for summer session) term. This is the “census date.” Previously offered assistance for the term will be reevaluated and will either be increased, decreased, canceled, or left unchanged based on the student’s status as of the census date. An increase in hours after this date cannot reinstate certain types of assistance lost because of inadequate enrollment on the census date. New awards calculated after the census dates are based on the student’s actual enrollment status as of the date of the calculation.
- Nonattendance
Students must attend classes to be eligible for federal assistance. Students who fail to initiate attendance in some or all courses, must have their eligibility for federal assistance recalculated, excluding those courses, regardless of the student’s enrollment status. Students who never attend class must return all over-awarded funds. Students who claim federal funds and never attend class are subject to referral to the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Education for possible federal fraud investigation. Written examples of return of funds calculations are available at Enrollment Services. Enrollment Services reserves the right to modify or change the above policy as necessary. Return of funds regulations for students with Title IV federal funds are provided by 34 CFR 668.22.
- Dropping Out, Withdrawing or Being Expelled
Students who unofficially withdraw (drop out, walk away, etc.), officially withdraw, or are expelled, will have the percentage of aid earned (the amount of federal assistance the student can keep) calculated based on the percentage of the term actually completed. For example, if a student completes only 20 percent of a term, 20 percent of their aid is considered earned and 80 percent is considered unearned and subject to return. The date used to calculate this percentage is the official withdrawal date, or for those who unofficially withdraw it is either the mid-point of the term (50 percent return) or the last day the student participated in a documented, academically related activity. Students who withdraw after completing at least 60 percent of the term are considered to have earned 100 percent of their federal assistance. (Students are still subject to the standards of progress evaluation.)
Verification Policies and Procedures for Federal Student Aid Applications
An applicant will be required to verify or validate, by documentation, FAFSA application information, if the application is selected for verification in the federal processing and edit systems, if Enrollment Services has reason to believe that any application information critical to the calculation of the student’s expected family contribution (EFC) is inaccurate, or if application information is in conflict with other information. If an application is selected for verification, Enrollment Services will notify the applicant. The notice will specify what information items must be verified and detail what documents and procedures are required for verification. It will specify the period within which the applicant shall provide the required documentation and advise the applicant of the consequences of the applicant’s failure to comply within the specified period. The period granted to the applicant for completion of required documentation may vary with the complexity of the requirements and with the time remaining in the school term for which funding is sought. Normally, the student is afforded 30 days from the request date to provide verification documents to Enrollment Services.
Generally, the deadline for submission of verification documents must be at least 30 days prior to the end of the school term for which funding is sought to allow for processing and correction. Should the applicant fail to provide required documentation within the specified period, the application is considered invalid and the applicant will forfeit assistance eligibility from the Federal Title IV student aid programs for the program year for which the invalid application was filed.
If the verification documents are provided within the specified period and confirm the accuracy of all application items requiring verification, the application is finalized, and if all other requirements have been met, a letter is sent to notify the applicant. If the verification documents reveal inaccuracies in the application, the Student Aid Report/Institutional Student Information Report (SAR/ISIR) will be corrected and submitted electronically for reprocessing. If incomplete or inadequate verification documents are submitted, the applicant will be notified of deficiencies and instructed on how to correct them. Enrollment Services must refer the student for investigation to the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Education if the review of an application for Title IV student aid indicates that the applicant may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with his or her application. Examples of such information include, but are not limited to, false claims of independent student status, false claims of citizenship, use of false identities, forgery of signatures or certificates, and false statements of income.
Casper College Scholarships
Casper College administers/coordinates state, institutional, foundation, private agency, service club, and individual scholarships. Students can access most applications January 15 to March 15 of each year. For a current listing of available scholarships refer to the Casper College website: www.caspercollege.edu/financial_aid/scholarships or the Scholarships section in the catalog. Scholarship information, including specific criteria, application requirements, and deadline dates are available on the web site. |
