If you are receiving financial aid, you need to be aware of the following rights and responsibilities.
You have the right to know the following
- What financial aid programs are available.
- The deadlines for submitting application for each financial aid program available.
- How financial aid will be refunded.
- How financial aid eligibility was determined – this includes how costs for tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, travel, personal and miscellaneous expenses are considered in establishing the cost of education.
- Which resources (such as parent contribution, other financial aid, personal assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation of need.
- How much of your financial eligibility, as determined by the institution, has been met.
- The college’s refund policy.
- What portion of your financial aid received must be repaid and what portion is grant aid – if the aid is a loan, you have the right to know what the interest rate is, the total amount that must be repaid, the repayment procedures, the length of time allowed to repay the loan, and when repayment begins.
- How the college determines Satisfactory Academic Progress and the consequences to financial aid when not making reasonable academic progress.
The following items are your responsibility
- Completing applications and promissory notes and submitting them on time to the appropriate place.
- Providing accurate information. In most instances, misrepresenting information on financial aid application forms is a violation of law and may be considered a criminal offense, which could result in indictment under the U.S. Criminal Codes.
- Returning all additional documentation, verification, corrections and/or new information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or the agency to which the application was submitted.
- Reading and keeping copies of all forms signed.
Notifying the Financial Aid Office of the following information
- changes in name.
- changes in factors used to determine eligibility including residency, housing plans, marital status, number of dependents, undergraduate/graduate/professional classification and major.
- other sources of financial aid received during the period covered by the award letter.
- withdrawal from the college after a semester is in session.
- Complying with the financial aid program application deadlines. Each successive year of enrollment requires a renewal application for financial aid, which is available Oct. 1 every year via the FAFSA.
- Notifying the Admissions and Records Office of any change in address.
- Checking your Germanna Community College (VCCS) email and MyGCC student accounts regularly for the most up-to-date financial aid notifications.
- Making Satisfactory Academic Progress.
- Knowing the difference between dropping and withdrawing from classes and the impact that has on your financial aid.
As a recipient of Financial Aid, you also
- Affirm that you authorize that the financial aid funds that you have accepted may be used to pay for other institutional charges in addition to tuition, fees and approved bookstore charges,
- Affirm that you agree to pay the tuition, fees and bookstore charges in full upon notice from the College if you lose eligibility for the aid awarded or fail to abide by the terms and conditions to receive the awards,
- Affirm that you will not receive a Federal Pell Grant from more than one college for the same period of time,
- Affirm that you have not borrowed in excess of the loan limits, under the Title IV programs at any institution,
- Affirm that you understand that if you lose eligibility for financial aid due to changes in enrollment or other factors, that you will be held responsible for any charges not paid by financial aid,
- Affirm that you understand that you will be required to repay financial aid and bookstore charges for courses that you did not attend. (To avoid financial penalty, you must take action to drop course(s). If after the last day to drop a course to qualify for a refund you completely withdraw from all your course(s), you may owe a substantial portion of your award back to the College and/or the Department of Education,
- Affirm that you understand that financial aid is not allowed to cover audited courses, basic skills courses, repeat courses that exceed your second attempt, and courses outside of your curriculum,
- Affirm that you understand that your aid may be adjusted if an additional aid exceeds your demonstrated financial need,
- Affirm that you understand that your grant(s) will not be recalculated for enrollment status changes that occur after the last day to drop a course to qualify for a refund of the 16-week session (fall/spring) and 10-week session (summer). This includes adding a second 8-week course(s).