The Financial Aid and Scholarship Office has a PRIORITY DEADLINE of May 15th preceding the academic year for which you are applying. This means that if a student turns in all documents needed to complete their file by the priority deadline, they will be given first consideration for all grants, student employment, and loan programs for the following school year. Files completed after the priority deadline will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis with funds still available. If you want to have your financial aid in place for Fall term you need to have your file complete with us by July 1^st.

Financial aid eligibility is calculated by mathematical formulas beginning with Federal Methodology (FM). FM is the Federal formula that calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on the information that you provide on the FAFSA, and is calculated by the Central Processing System (CPS).  Your EFC is the amount you and your family are expected to pay toward your educational expenses. The next step in the eligibility calculation process is done by NCC.  NCC, using several methods, determines how much it costs to attend NCC for an academic year. This figure is called the Cost Of Attendance (COA).

The COA and EFC are used to determine all of your financial aid awards. We calculate aid as follows: COA - EFC = remaining need. The Federal PELL Grant award is based on the EFC. All other programs are based on remaining need. Your aid package cannot exceed your financial need, however, some forms of aid may be used to meet your EFC. The FINANCIAL AID ESTIMATION FORM can be used to prepare an estimate of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and financial need.

All financial aid disbursements occur by direct deposit or mail beginning the 6^th day of each term.  Subsequently, aid will be disbursed, by direct deposit or mail, 3 times per week during the term.   If your aid exceeds your charges, it will be credited to your account and the balance will be disbursed to you.  If your charges exceed your aid, it will be credited to your account and you must pay the balance due within 10 days. 

DIRECT DEPOSIT: To have any excess financial aid funds direct deposited to your checking or savings account, complete the on-line Direct Deposit Authorization form.  Processing of this form requires two weeks lead time prior to disbursement.

All students payroll checks will be direct deposited to the student's checking/savings account.

You must maintain eligibility for the aid programs to receive the awards.  You must be enrolled and regularly attending classes.  If you will not be attending Normandale YOU MUST drop all classes prior to the 5th day of the term to avoid financial penalty. 

You can view your financial aid awards and the amount credited to your account at Your Info on the WEB.

Normandale offers a book charging service for students who are receiving financial aid and need to purchase their books prior to when aid is disbursed.   You may only take advantage of this service if you have received your Award Letter, are registered, and your total aid exceeds your tuition and fees.

YOUR CLASS SCHEDULE MUST BE FIRM AND YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES AFTER THE 5th DAY OF THE TERM OR YOU RISK AID REDUCTIONS. If you decide to add a course after the 5th day of the term your Pell Grant cannot be adjusted for the increase in credits. If you drop a class and add another class that is the same number of credits after the 5th day of the term, your aid will be negatively affected, as the add will not be recognized.

Students have the responsibility to submit forms on time, keep financial aid appointments, check the Financial Aid and Scholarship Web Page, Financial Aid and Scholarship Bulletin Board, and the Weekly Bulletin regularly for updates and new information and use the aid for the purpose of attending college and related expenses.

If you are interested in learning more general information about financial aid, good sources on the Internet are:

• Office of Post Secondary Education
• The Guide to Federal Student Aid
• The Financial Aid Information Page
• Minnesota Office of Higher Education
• Hope Scholarship / Lifetime Learning Information

To learn more about financial aid at NCC:

• Financial Aid Guide
• call 952-487-8250
• email finaid@normandale.edu

You are responsible for paying your full tuition/fees by the established payment deadline unless your are eligible to receive a deferment through the Business Office or have signed up for the FACTS payment plan with the Business Office.

Fall and Spring Terms:
The Business Office will defer your tuition/fees if you have submitted your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) AND Normandale has recieved the results of the FAFSA application from the Central Processing System. If you have a consortium agreement and are recieving your aid at another school or you have had your financial aid cancelled because of unsatisfactory academic progress, you will NOT be deferred.

Summer Term:
The Business Office will only defer your tuition/fees IF you have received a Summer Award Letter and you are going to receive aid at your registered credit level. If your summer aid includes loans, the loans must be certified by the Financial Aid and Scholarship Office (allow three business days from the time you complete LoanApps Online and request a summer loan). If you have a consortium agreement and are recieving your aid at another school or you have had your financial aid cancelled because of unsatisfactory academic progress, you will NOT be deferred.

If you do not meet the above criteria, you MUST pay your full tuition/fees by the established payment deadline or your courses MAY BE DROPPED.

Financial aid recipients who completely withdraw from a term or stop attending prior to the 60% point of that term are subject to the federal return of Title IV fund rules for any federal aid not earned and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education refund calculation for Minnesota State Grant and SELF Loan. Examples of both calculations are available in the Business Office at the student's request. The student may also be eligible for a refund of a portion of the tuition and fees paid to Normandale for the semester, according to the Normandale refund policy. If the student received financial aid, then a portion of the refund will be returned to the grant or loan program from which it was received and the student may owe Normandale for a portion of the tuition and fees.

If a student will be withdrawing completely from a term, they must do so according to Normandale's withdraw policies. The transaction must be completed in person or via Normandale's online system. If done through the online system, the student MUST contact the Business Office at 952-487-8227. The withdraw must be completed by the published deadlines and the student is responsible for understanding the impact of such action on their student account.

Normandale's Refund Policy exists for calculating the refund of institutional charges. The federal "Return of Title IV Funds" formula dictates the amount of federal Title IV aid that must be returned to the federal government by the school and the student. Normandale's Refund Policy is as follows:

* Or one class day (next business day) after first class session for late starting or weekend classes.

For Summer Term: Refer to the summer class schedule.

The federal formula requires a return of Title IV aid if the student received federal financial aid and withdrew or stopped attending all classes on or before completing 60% of the semester. The percentage of Title IV aid to be returned (that which is unearned) is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks of more than four consecutive days are excluded.

The responsibility to repay unearned aid is shared by the institution and the student in proportion to the aid each is assumed to possess. The institution's share is allocated among the Title IV programs, before the student's share, in the following order: Federal and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal and Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal and Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant and Federal SEOG. Any remaining unearned aid is the responsibility of the student, must be collected from the student, and then allocated among the Title IV programs in the order indicated above.

Normandale will calculate and return its share of unearned Title IV funds and notify the student no later than 30 days after it determines that the student withdrew and return the funds within 45 days. Students return their share of unearned aid attributable to a loan under the terms and conditions of the promissory note. Normandale may allow the student to repay unearned aid attributable to a grant under a payment arrangement satisfactory to Normandale. However, the student is not responsible for returning funds to any grant program to which they owe $50 or less.

NOTE: Progress will be evaluated after EACH term, so read the following policy carefully.

Federal and state law requires that a recipient of state or federal financial aid make satisfactory academic progress towards a degree or certificate to remain eligible for aid. In compliance with federal and state law the college has established and will apply the following standards of academic progress to all financial aid recipients.

Students bear primary responsibility for their own academic progress and for seeking assistance when experiencing academic difficulty. Students are encouraged to keep a file of their grades and transcripts.

I. Requirements

Qualitative Measure: All financial aid recipients are required to meet the minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) shown on the chart below. Grades of A, B, C, D, F, FN and FW will be included in the GPA calculation.

Quantitative Measure: All financial aid recipients are required to earn a minimum of 67% of cumulative registered/attempted credits. Grades of F, FN, FW, I, N, NC, W, Z and IP (or blank/missing) are treated as registered credits but NOT earned credits and thus negatively impact the % of completion.

Formula: % earned = cumulative earned credits divided by cumulative registered credits

Maximum Time Frame: All financial aid recipients are expected to complete their degree/certificate at NCC within an acceptable period of time.  The maximum time frame for financial aid recipients is 150% of the published credit length of the program.  Financial aid recipients may continue to receive aid through their cumulative registered credits that equal 150% of the required number of credits needed to complete their degree/certificate at NCC.

II. Evaluation Period

Normandale Community College will evaluate satisfactory academic progress after each term which includes fall, spring and summer.

III. Probation and Notification

 Academic progress will be monitored as follows:

• All students with registered credits during a term will be evaluated at the end of that term.
• Any student who fails to meet the minimum GPA and/or % completion satisfactory academic progress requirements will be placed on probation for one term and notified in writing (letter or email) of their probationary status.
  

A student on probation is eligible to receive financial aid funds.

IV. Suspension and Notification

Students who, during their probationary term, earn a 2.50 term GPA and/or a 100% term completion rate (as determined by the cause of their probationary status), but who were unable to meet the cumulative standards, will remain in a probationary status until such time as:

• they meet the cumulative standards and are removed from probation; OR
• they fail to subsequently meet the above term standards at which time the student will be suspended from financial aid eligibility immediately upon completion of the review; OR
• Normandale determines that it is not possible for a student to meet the minimum cumulative standards prior to completing their degree/certificate objective at Normandale at which time the student will be suspended from financial aid eligibility immediately upon completion of the review.

The student will be notified in writing (letter or mail) of their suspension. The college may immediately suspend a student in the event of extraordinary circumstances, such as a student who was previously suspended and whose academic performance falls below acceptable levels during a subsequent term, or a student who demonstrates an attendance pattern that abuses the receipt of financial aid either at Normandale or prior institutions attended, etc.

V. Appeals

A student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress and is suspended from financial aid has the right to appeal based on special, unusual or extenuating circumstances causing undue hardship such as death in the family, student's injury or illness or other special circumstances as determined by the institution.

Appeals must be submitted in writing on a form available from the Financial Aid & Scholarship Office. The appeal must include an explanation of the special, unusual or extenuating circumstances causing undue hardship that affected progress as well as what the student's plans are to correct the deficiency. If requested, the appeal must include supporting documentation beyond the written explanation.

Appeals must be directed to the Associate Dean for Financial Aid and Scholarships. The appeal will be considered and a written decision on the appeal will be provided to the student. The decision is final.  If an appeal has been denied, it may be resubmitted for consideration by an Appeal Committee.

Important: If you were also suspended from the college and are appealing to the Registrar, YOU MUST ALSO complete and submit the Financial Aid Appeal. They are not the same!

VI. Reinstatement

A student who has been suspended from financial aid may have their aid reinstated after an appeal has been approved or the minimum cumulative standards have been achieved.

VI. Additional Elements

Credits: The unit by which academic work is measured.

Registered (Attempted) Credits: The total number of credits for which a student is officially enrolled in at the end of the registration drop period each term.

Cumulative Registered Credits: Cumulative registered credits are the total number of credits registered for all terms of enrollment at the college, including summer terms and terms for which the student did not receive financial aid.

Earned Credits: Earned credits include letter grades of A, B, C, D and P. They are successfully completed credits that count towards the required percentage of completion (67%) as defined by the quantitative measure.

Attempted, NOT earned: Letter grades of F, FN, FW, I, N, NC, W, Z and IP (or a blank/missing) will be treated as credits attempted but NOT successfully completed (earned).

Academic Renewal: Credits for which a student has been granted academic renewal WILL be included in all financial aid satisfactory academic progress measurements.

Audited Courses: Audited courses are not aid eligible courses and are not included in any financial aid satisfactory academic progress measurements.

Consortium Credits: Consortium credits are those credits for which a student is registered at another college, which are accepted in transfer by this college and are included for purposes of processing financial aid at this college. These credits are included in all financial aid satisfactory academic progress measurements.

Developmental Credits: Developmental credits are those awarded for remedial course work (below 1000 level).  Students may receive financial aid for developmental credits up to a maximum of 30 credits hours (excluding ESL). These credits are included in all financial aid satisfactory academic progress measurements. However, up to 30 developmental credits are excluded from the maximum timeframe calculation.

Repeat Credits: Repeat credits are credits awarded when a student repeats a course in order to improve a grade.  A student may repeat a class as allowed by the institution.   The institution will determine, based on its Repeated Courses policy, which grade will become the grade calculated in the GPA.  All repeated credits are included in the % of completion and maximum time frame calculations.

Transfer Credits: Transfer credits are credits earned at another college which are accepted by this college.  Transfer credits are not included when calculating the qualitative or quantitative requirements, but are included when calculating maximum time frame.

Withdraw: The mark of "W" (withdraw) is assigned when a student withdraws from a class after the drop period. It is not included when calculating grade point average or earned credits.  Thus, it does not impact GPA but will negatively impact earned credits and, therefore, negatively impact the student's percent of completion.

Incompletes: The mark of "I" (incomplete) is a temporary grade which is assigned only in exceptional   circumstances.  It will be given only to students who cannot complete the work of a course on schedule because of illness or other circumstances beyond their control.  An "I" grade will automatically become an "F" grade at the end of the next term (not including summer sessions) if requirements to complete course work have not been satisfactorily met.  Instructors have the option of setting an earlier completion date for the student.