Vocabulary

Gordon Email

The Financial Aid Office uses the Gordon email service as the primary means of communicating with students. All students at Gordon are provided free email accounts along with their network accounts. (See the Gordon Email section on the Information Technology web site for instructions on accessing your Outlook email account)

In order to provide more timely responses to your application for financial aid, the Financial Aid Office will use your Gordon State College email address to inform you that new information is available for you to review on the Application Status option under the Student Financial Aid menu on the Gordon State College website.

Gordon State College reserves the right, on behalf of the College, to revise and/or cancel Awards at any time if you fail to meet the requirements of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Student Financial Aid Recipients or because of changes in your financial or academic status, academic program, resident status, enrollment status, etc. All student financial aid Awards are also contingent on the availability of funds.

Academic Year Definitions for Federal Student Aid Purposes

Two fifteen (15) week semesters for a total of 30 weeks during which the average undergraduate student is expected to complete a minimum of thirty (30) credit hours. Enrollment in a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester is required in order to be considered a full-time student for Title IV federal aid purposes.

Learning Support Courses

Only the first thirty attempted semester hours of Learning Support Courses are counted when determining a student's enrollment status for aid purposes. Beginning with the fall 2011 semester, Learning Support Courses will no longer be included in the calculations for HOPE. Also, HOPE will no longer pay for Learning Support Courses effective fall 2011 semester. Any Learning Support Courses attempted prior to the fall 2011 semester will be included in the aforementioned calculations. Voluntary Academic Assistance and audit hours are not considered in determining aid eligibility.

Summer Aid

Students who plan to first apply for aid in the summer must transmit their FAFSA in time for it to reach the Federal Processor no later than June 30th of that particular year. Also, your FAFSA must be processed by The U.S. Department of Education while you are still enrolled and otherwise eligible. No federal aid can be awarded if either of these deadlines is missed.

Summer aid is very limited. If you receive a refund of financial aid during the academic-year and plan to enroll in summer, you should plan to save some of the funds from your refunds to help pay for your summer charges.

Retroactive Federal Student Aid

To be considered for a retroactive Federal Pell Grant award for the fall, spring or summer of the Award Year, the U. S. Department of Education must receive and process your FAFSA and issue your Student Aid Report (SAR) reflecting a Pell eligible Expected Family Contribution (EFC) while you are still enrolled in the same Award Year. If the semester(s) for which you are requesting Federal Pell Grant consideration has ended AND you are no longer enrolled in that Award Year, you will not be eligible for a retroactive Pell Grant award.

If you meet the preceding criteria but were selected for and have not completed the Verification Process when the semester ends, you MAY be eligible once Verification is complete.

Full Time/Half Time Enrollment

Your enrollment status affects your eligibility for various types of assistance. Your official Gordon State College enrollment status is determined each term by the number of hours in which you are officially registered at the end of (Drop/Add) Registration. For example, if you enroll full time, receive aid that was contingent on full time enrollment and then drop to less than full time before the closing of Drop/Add Registration your aid will be adjusted accordingly.

Part Time: 6-11 credit hours

Full Time: 12+ credit hours

Loans & Enrollment Status

If you receive a Federal Stafford Loan or your parent receives a Federal Stafford Parent (PLUS) Loan you must maintain at least half time enrollment at all times (see Full Time/Half Time Enrollment table). Dropping below half time enrollment at any time may result in the cancellation of subsequent loan disbursements. If you later re-enroll at least half time, you must contact us to confirm your loan status.

Dropping Courses vs. Withdrawing

As stated above under Full Time/Half Time Enrollment, your official Gordon State College enrollment status is determined each term by the number of credit hours in which you are officially registered at the end of Drop/Add Registration.

Dropping a class(s) prior to the end of Drop/Add Registration will result in a review of your enrollment status and a probable recalculation of your financial aid eligibility for that term. Dropped course hours are not included in determining HOPE eligibility or Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards as no courses or grades are posted to your academic transcript for dropped hours. Tuition and related fee charges for the dropped course(s) are returned to the appropriate financial aid program.

Conversely, hours from which you withdraw or are withdrawn (W, WP, WF) after the completion of the Drop/Add Registration period will be considered as enrolled and attempted hours for purposes of determining federal aid and HOPE eligibility and will be included in both the quantitative and qualitative portions of the SAP standards.

In addition, if you withdraw (or are withdrawn) from all your courses prior to completing more than 60 percent of the term, federal regulations will generally require you to repay a portion of the federal student aid received during the term. The amount of any required aid repayment is calculated by Student Accounts according to a federally prescribed formula.

Incomplete Grades

When a grade of incomplete is replaced with a final grade your eligibility for the HOPE Scholarship and/or other aid will be reviewed again. This may result in a request for repayment of aid already received and/or cancellation of future aid. Please read the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for additional information regarding the potential adverse impact of incomplete grades on financial aid eligibility.

When Students Fail to Earn a Passing Grade in Any of Their Classes

Federal regulations require students who have been awarded any type of federal student aid to fulfill their academic requirements. Occasionally a student will receive all "F" and/or "U" grades for a term and we are required to determine if the student "unofficially withdrew" from the Gordon State College. An "unofficial withdrawal" occurs when a student stops attending all classes and stops participating in any academic activities beyond the date he/she last attended classes. Depending on the date of the student's "unofficial withdrawal", it may be necessary for the Gordon State College and/or the student to return some or all of the financial aid the student received during the term.

Also review the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Student Financial Aid Recipients for additional information regarding the potential adverse impact of these grades on continued financial aid eligibility.

Admission Classification

Provisionally admitted students are not eligible for federal or state student financial aid. Transient students interested in receiving financial aid should contact the Gordon State College Financial Aid Office for information regarding eligibility.

Additional, Different Bachelors Degree, or Teacher Certification or Prep Course Work

Students who have earned a bachelor's degree and are enrolling in another degree program at Gordon State College may be eligible for Federal Stafford Direct Student loans. Approved students must be enrolled in at least six applicable hours each semester to receive any awarded Federal Stafford Direct Student Loans.

Fee Payment & Aid Disbursement

If you pre-register for classes, note the Payment Deadline on your Student Schedule as well as on the Gordon State College Website. Failure to pay by the deadline will result in the cancellation of your current schedule.

If all aid eligibility requirements have been met, any refunds due students are disbursed to the student's bank account or mailed in a check within 14 days after the date of disbursement of aid. The refunding date will be posted on the Gordon website under My Gordon Announcements and the Business Office webpage under Tuition, Fees and Payment Information.

College Savings Plan

College Savings Plans are qualified educational benefit plans such as "529" college savings plans, other prepaid tuition plans offered by a State, and Coverdell education savings accounts. The value of these plans is reported on the FAFSA as an asset of either the student applicant or the parent, as follows:

If you (the student) are reporting parental information and your parents own a qualified educational benefit plan, or education savings accounts - including "529" college savings plans and Coverdell savings accounts - report the current balance of the plan as a parent asset. The amount to be reported for a state prepaid tuition plan is the "refund value" of the plan.
If you (the student) are reporting parental information and you (the student) own a qualified educational benefit plan - do not report the value of those plans.
If you (the student) are not reporting parental information and you own (or if married, your spouse owns) any of these qualified educational benefit plans - report the current balance of the plan as a student/spouse asset. The amount to be reported for a state prepaid tuition plan is the "refund value" of the plan.

The Gordon State College Financial Aid Office reminds all students to carefully review the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Student Financial Aid Recipients.

Eligible Non-Citizen Confirmation

Please see Non-Citizen Information.

Selective Service Registration

Males ages 18 through 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System (SSS) to be eligible for Federal and state of Georgia financial aid funds. Any male student age 18 through 25 who has not yet registered with the SSS can do so when they complete the FAFSA or can register via the SSS Web site at http://www.sss.gov.

Aid and Taxes

If your gift aid (grants and scholarships) exceeds the cost of your tuition, fees, books and supplies, consult federal and state income tax instructions or your tax preparer when completing your tax returns.

Study Abroad

Students regularly enrolled in a Gordon College degree program who enroll in a Gordon State College Study Abroad program may receive financial aid if they are otherwise eligible. Contact us if you wish to document additional allowable expenses you will incur for the Study Abroad program.

Since Study Abroad grades are generally not posted by the end of the enrolled semester, your Satisfactory Academic Progress can be adversely affected resulting in loss of financial aid eligibility until the Registrar (or Undergraduate Admissions for non-Gordon State College study abroad programs) receives the grades and we are able to reconsider your Academic Progress.

Employee Tuition Assistance Program

Amounts received under the Board of Regents' Employee Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) will be reflected on the Award of any student receiving other student financial aid. The dollar value of TAP must be considered when determining aid eligibility and can result in the reduction of student financial aid already awarded.

Fee Waiver

If you receive an in-state and/or an out-of-state fee waiver after a semester begins, you may be required to repay aid already disbursed in order to reduce or eliminate an overaward. We are required to consider any fee waiver(s) you receive when determining your eligibility for other types of student financial aid.

Student Aid Links

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