Kirkwood Library: Financial Aid: Terms & Conditions

Terms and Conditions

You must be enrolled in a program that leads to a diploma or a degree to receive federal and state financial aid. The amount of all federal and state aid is based on the number of credits you are enrolled in for your program. Classes that are not part of your program will not be used to determine eligibility for federal and state aid.
Please note that we mail financial aid checks based on enrollment as of 10 days into the semester.
The Pell Grant, the Vocational Technical Grant, the Kibbie Grant, the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, and the GEAR UP Iowa Scholarship are pro-rated based upon the number of credit hours enrolled. While loans are not pro-rated, to qualify for the entire loan amount, you have to be enrolled at least half-time.

Enrollment Status	Credits
Full time	12 credits
3/4 time	9-11.5 credits
1/2 time	6-8.5 credits
Less than 1/2 time	5 credits or less

Students who are enrolled less than full time are considered part-time students. For part-time students, a lower cost of attendance will be used to determine eligibility for financial aid awards. If your attendance level changes up to the end of the second week of classes, this may change the amounts of your awards.
Students may receive no more than 600% of the Pell Grant award, where 100% is generally considered the equivalent of one year of full-time Pell Grant.
The Pell Grant amount will be determined after the Pell Recalculation Date for the semester. Classes added or dropped after that date will not change the Pell Grant award.
Federal Direct Loans must have at least two disbursements. If your loan is for one semester only, the second disbursement will be at the midpoint of the semester. To remain eligible for a Federal Direct Loan, you must be enrolled at least half-time during the entire period for which the loan was processed. Therefore, if you drop below half-time, any remaining disbursements will be canceled. If you return the following semester, a new loan may be created based on remaining eligibility.
Your award is based on projected funding from institutional, state, and federal sources, and is subject to change. Specifically, state programs are subject to the availability of funding from the state and can be reduced if that funding is reduced by the state. This applies to the Iowa Vocational-Technical Grant, the Kibbie Grant, the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, the Last Dollar Scholarship, the Education and Training Voucher, and the Iowa National Guard Service Scholarship.
If other sources of assistance or additional resources are received after your financial aid application is completed, you are required to notify the Financial Aid Office immediately.
If a student is in default status on a Federal Student Loan or has an unpaid overpayment for previous financial aid awards, they are ineligible for additional financial aid.
One of the requirements for receiving financial aid is that you attend the classes for which you are registered. Attendance is monitored in all classes. We will disburse financial aid based on the number of credits you have been reported as attending. If you have late start classes, some of your pro-rated awards will not be sent until you are attending those late start classes.

Terms and Conditions

Return of Title IV Funds

If any amount of tuition is paid with funds from a Title IV Program and the student withdraws during the established refund period, the Title IV program funds will be adjusted and any unearned aid will be returned in the following order: Loans: Federal Unsubsidized, Federal Subsidized, and Federal Plus. Grants: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Other Title IV programs. Under federal law, Kirkwood must return the funds as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after Kirkwood determines the student’s withdrawal date.

A student’s financial aid is based on the number of classes the student is enrolled in and the number of days the student is enrolled in classes. When a student initiates a withdrawal from one or more classes, the amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive is affected. The Return of Title IV funds to the federal government is based on a calculation that determines how much aid the student is eligible to receive and how much the student is no longer eligible for because he/ she is no longer enrolled in school. This calculation is applicable until the student has completed more than 60 percent of the semester. Once the student has completed more than 60 percent of the semester, all financial aid is considered earned.

For example:

If a student completed 20 percent of the semester, the student will have earned 20 percent of the financial assistance awarded for the semester. Any aid above and beyond the 20 percent is considered unearned and must be returned to the federal government.

As prescribed by federal law, Kirkwood is required to return the lesser of:

The unearned amount of financial aid; or
An amount equal to the student’s total institutional charges for the semester, multiplied by the percentage of unearned aid.

As prescribed by federal law, the amount the student must return is:

The unearned amount of Title IV assistance minus any funds Kirkwood returned. If the student is required to repay unearned loan funds, these funds will be repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, through scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

If the student is required to repay unearned Pell and/or SEOG Grant funds, the law provides that the student is only required to return grant funds if the final grant overpayment amount exceeds 50 percent of the total grant assistance the student received for the payment period.

Any unearned grant money must be repaid by either making arrangements with Kirkwood or with the U.S. Department of Education.

If a student withdraws from Kirkwood prior to completing 60 percent of the semester, the student is responsible for paying any outstanding tuition and fee charges that remain after Kirkwood has repaid any unearned financial aid to the federal government.

Terms and Conditions

Bookstore Funds

If there is aid available after your tuition has been paid, you may use that amount at the bookstore as long as you have your EagleCard and book list.

First time Stafford Loan borrowers’ loan funds cannot be deposited/mailed until the mandatory 30-day wait period from the start of the semester ends. However, those funds are available at the bookstore if the loan has been accepted and all checklist steps are completed.

You can view your amount available at the bookstore by clicking Account Summary in MyHub and scrolling down the page.

Terms and Conditions

Direct Deposit

You'll set up your direct deposit information in MyHub:

Choose "My Bill” under Student Links, then “Direct Deposits” under Refunds Section
Choose "Refunds" from the toolbar at the top, then "Set up Account." Select an account type and input the corresponding bank account and routing information.
Review the agreement and click "Agree" to finalize your direct deposit. The account is now set up and will show under "Refunds" as a direct deposit account.

Things to keep in mind about your direct deposit

Once funds are released from us to your bank it can take 3 – 5 business days for the funds to show in your account.
Direct Deposit is not guaranteed, if there is an issue with your account (wrong account number, prepaid card, etc.) you will receive a paper check.
Please ensure the account you are adding will accept ACH deposits.

If you choose not to set up a direct deposit, the balance of financial aid will be mailed to your local address on file when your attendance is verified. Please allow 3 – 5 business days to receive the check via mail. Checks must be cashed within 90 days of issue.

Terms and Conditions

Verification

Each year, the Department of Education selects a number of financial aid applicants for a process called "Verification." The Financial Aid Office is required to check the accuracy of information submitted on financial aid applications (FAFSA forms) with the information contained in official documentation such as federal income tax returns, Social Security statements, statements regarding untaxed income and other necessary documents. In addition, to those students selected by the U.S. Department of Education, the Kirkwood Financial Aid Office reserves the right to select additional students for the process of verification at its discretion. This discretionary selection may be generated randomly, due to conflicting information, or due to concerns that data may not be accurate or complete. The following policies and procedures for verifying information contained in a student aid application are implemented in accordance with federal regulations: 34 CFR 668.53 General Provisions, Federal Register 10/31/89 Vol. 54, No. 209, p.45997 "Policies and Procedures," and the Application and Verification Guide for Title IV Financial Aid Programs.

Notification and Communication

Students selected for verification must submit documentation for the process of verification in order for official financial aid eligibility to be determined. When a student is selected for verification, the student will be notified as follows:

1. The U.S. Department of Education will notify the student on their Student Aid Report.

2. Kirkwood will provide written electronic notification to the student identifying the documents required for the verification process. This notification will be sent to the student by the Financial Aid Office no later than three weeks from the time the Financial Aid Office receives official notification from the U.S. Department of Education that the student was selected.

3. Kirkwood also provides secure 24 hour access to information showing verification document requests for each student at www.kirkwood.edu/eaglenet on the EagleNet system.in the Student Forms system.

4. As a courtesy, Kirkwood’s Financial Aid Office may contact students on a weekly basis using emails and letters to give updates on requested verification documents. However, Kirkwood will not send more than 12 emails/letters over a 12 week period.

5. As a courtesy, Kirkwood’s Financial Aid Office may contact students by phone to encourage them to submit documents to complete the verification process.

Minimum Documentation required (varies by verification tracking group)

Dependent Student	Independent Student
Signed Verification Worksheet	Signed Verification Worksheet
IRS Return Transcripts	IRS Return Transcripts
Certain untaxed income and benefits	Certain untaxed income and benefits
Child support paid	Child support paid
High school completion and ID/Statement of Purpose	High school completion and ID/Statement of Purpose
Additional documents as requested by Kirkwood	Additional documents as requested by Kirkwood

Deadlines

Verification documentation should be submitted no later than 30 days prior to the planned term of enrollment. Submitting the required documents by the due date mentioned, facilitates the college's ability to verify all information in a timely manner, ensure that financial aid packages and reconciliation of funds are accurate, and that financial aid is posted to the student’s account in a timely manner.

Failure to submit the required documentation (or submit it in a timely manner) will delay or eliminate the disbursement of federal, state, and institutional financial aid funds.

Families who file federal tax filing extensions must forward a copy of the federal request for extension form to the Kirkwood Financial Aid Office along with copies of W2’s and other income statements. The Financial Aid Office may request other documentation to verify income.

Loss of Aid Eligibility

No financial aid will be disbursed to a student’s account if the student is selected for verification and the verification process is not complete. If financial aid has already been disbursed and the student is subsequently selected for verification, further disbursements are stopped until which time the process is complete. Failure to submit the required documentation (or submit it in a timely manner) may eliminate the eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid funds.

Conflicting Information Policy

The Kirkwood Financial Aid Office exercises its right to seek additional information whenever there is conflicting information in a student file. Conflicting information must be resolved before financial aid funds may be fully processed and/or disbursed. Failure to reach resolution within the enrollment period (which requires written documentation for the student’s financial aid file) eliminates aid eligibility. In some cases, resolution of conflicting information within 30 days of the end of the enrollment period may not provide sufficient time to process financial aid for that enrollment period. Therefore, aid eligibility could be eliminated.

The Financial Aid Office will notify the student in writing if there is a need for further documentation to satisfy verification requirements. This notification will occur within two weeks of the initial review of submitted documentation by the Financial Aid Office. The student and/or parent(s) must respond within two weeks of the date of the notification. For information on the consequences of failing to provide the additional requested documentation, please refer to the Verification Policy section entitled "Loss of Aid Eligibility."

Overpayments of federal and state aid, if they occur, are resolved when Kirkwood makes subsequent adjustments to the student's account. If, in the event that an adjustment cannot be made by Kirkwood to the student's account, Kirkwood will refer the overpayment to the proper federal and/or state agency.

Correction of Information

Kirkwood will submit the verified corrections to the U.S. Department of Education electronically or online with the CPS. This will ensure that corrections are made known to all parties and that the needs analysis will be updated accurately and according to federal standards. Additionally, the student is required to update any subsequent or related applications such as state grant information, private scholarship forms, and other related institutional applications.

Misuse of Financial Aid and Referral Process

The Kirkwood Financial Aid Office will report any suspected fraud or falsified information (on the part of the student, the parent, preparer of financial aid applications, or related parties) to the U.S. Department of Education and all other related parties for immediate action. This information will be forwarded to authorized agencies in addition to the U.S. Department of Education for investigation such as the Office of Inspector General. Anyone who suspects fraud or abuse may make a confidential report by contacting the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or by email at oig.hotline@ed.gov. Students are provided contact information for the OIG on Kirkwood’s financial aid website.

Award Change Notification

The Kirkwood Financial Aid Office will notify a student of the results of verification if, as a result of verification, the student's expected family contribution changes and results in a change in the student's financial aid. If changes are made prior to the student receiving a Notice of Award, the student will be notified of any corrections from verification by receiving a new Student Aid Report (SAR) from the U.S. Department of Education. If changes are made after the student has received a Notice of Award and those changes affect financial aid, in addition to receiving an updated SAR, Kirkwood will notify the student by email no later than 30 days after the verification is complete.

Rejected ISIRs and C-Codes

The Financial Aid Office resolves all rejected ISIR issues and "C" code issues before awarding financial aid to a student.

When a student's ISIR is flagged with a "C" code because of the need to resolve a database match or any other reason, Colleague assigns a communication code to the student's record. The student receives an email requesting action to resolve the issue. Like with verification, documentation received to resolve issues with a student's ISIR are submitted through Student Forms. These documents are worked by Financial Aid Advisors and Financial Aid Program Managers. Once the issue is resolved, any necessary corrections are made to the ISIR, and Kirkwood will receive an updated ISIR if needed.