Additional Information

Attempted Hours

If students have ATTEMPTED less than 90 semester hours of college credit course work at the beginning of a given semester/term, they may receive an award for that semester/term. Students who have ATTEMPTED more than 90 semester hours of college credit course work and who enroll at the college may not be eligible to receive federal or state financial aid funds.

Mini-Terms

Financial aid will not be available to pay for any mini-terms in advance. Therefore, students should be prepared to pay for any mini-term classes with their own money. The hours earned during a mini-term can be calculated in with the next semester for enrollment status purposes. Example: A student could take 3 hours during the spring mini-term (December/January), enroll in 9 hours during the regular spring semester and be considered full-time, and receive full-time money for the spring semester.

Changing Schools

Financial aid does not automatically transfer with students when changing schools. Students planning to change schools should contact the Financial Aid Office at the new school for applications and information.

Status Change and Financial Aid

During any semester or summer term, a student's financial aid status can change. Therefore, information such as address change, course load change and financial gains or losses must be reported immediately to the Financial Aid Office.

Defaulted Loans/Grant Repayments

Students that are currently in default or owe a grant overpayment from any previous school will not be eligible for any type of financial aid. To re-establish eligibility, students must provide written proof of eligibility from a lender or the organization currently holding the loan.

Withdrawals

Withdrawing or dropping courses during the school year may result in the student being requested to repay his or her financial aid. Withdrawal during the fall semester will result in the cancellation of financial aid designated for the spring semester. All students receiving financial aid or veterans' benefits must report to the Financial Aid Office before submitting their drop slips to the Records Office and Business Office.

Refund Policy

When students withdraw from the college or drop a portion of their semester hour enrollment, a refund of tuition and fees will be made according to the refund schedule printed in the current semester schedule. Policy for Refund of Title IV Programs: Title IV programs are funded by the U.S. Department of Education. All refunds due to the Title IV programs will be refunded to the program charged in the following order: SEOG, and Pell Grant. No refund to a Title IV program will exceed the award from that program. The Financial Aid Office will calculate a prorated refund and establish the amount of aid that must be repaid and returned to the Title IV Programs for students that completely withdraw from all classes.

Repayment of Federal Funds (R2T4)

If a student receives federal financial aid and withdraws from all courses, they will be required to repay a portion of the federal aid received. If a student receives a grade of F in all courses for a semester, they will be required to repay a portion of financial aid received unless an instructor documents that they participated through the term.

Federal regulations require Title IV financial aid funds to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire period in which federal assistance was awarded.

When a student withdraws from all courses for any reason, including medical withdrawals, he/she may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that he/she was originally scheduled to receive. The return of funds is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled.

A prorated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds he/she will have earned at the time of the withdrawal. Thus, a student who withdraws in the second week of classes has earned less of his/her financial aid than a student who withdraws in the seventh week. Once 60% of the semester is completed, a student is considered to have earned all of his/her financial aid and will not be required to return any funds.

Federal law requires schools to calculate how much federal financial aid a student has earned if that student:

  • completely withdraws, or
  • stops attending before completing the semester, or
  • does not complete all modules (courses which are not scheduled for the entire semester or payment period for which he/she has registered at the time those modules began.)

Based on this calculation, Paris Junior College (PJC) students who receive federal financial aid and do not complete their classes during a semester or term could be responsible for repaying a portion of the aid they received. Students who do not begin attendance must repay all financial aid disbursed for the term.

Regulations require schools to perform calculations within 30 days from the date the school determines a student’s complete withdrawal. The school must return the funds within 45 days of the calculation. The R2T4 calculation process and return of funds is completed by the Financial Aid Office (FAO).

The following formula is used to determine the percentage of unearned aid that has to be returned to the federal government:

  • The percentage earned is equal to the number of calendar days completed up to the withdrawal date, divided by the total calendar days in the payment period (less any scheduled breaks that are at least 5 days long).
  • The payment period for most students is the entire semester. However, for students enrolled in modules (courses which are not scheduled for the entire semester or term), the payment period only includes those days for the module(s) in which the student is registered.
  • The percentage unearned is equal to 100% minus the percentage earned.

Students who provide written confirmation to FAO at the time of ceasing attendance that they plan to attend another course later in the same payment period are not considered to have withdrawn from the term. If the student does not provide written confirmation of plans to return to school later in the same payment period or term, PJC considers the student to have withdrawn and begins the R2T4 process immediately.

However, if the student does return to PJC in the same term, even if they did not provide written confirmation of plans to do so, the student is not considered to have withdrawn after all and is eligible to receive the Title IV funds for which the student was eligible before ceasing attendance. FAO will then reverse the R2T4 process and provide additional funds that the student is eligible to receive at the time of return.

Institutional funds are earned and recalculated based on the prorated policy as described for federal financial aid funds. Tuition/fee refunds also affect the recalculation of institutional financial aid.

Determination of the Withdrawal Date
The withdrawal date used in the return calculation of a student’s federal financial aid is the actual date indicated on the official drop form. If a student stops attending classes without notifying PJC, the withdrawal date will be the midpoint of the semester or the last date of academic activity determined by PJC.

Additional documentation supporting the last date of academic activity may be provided by the student if they verify a later date of attendance than determined by PJC.

For students enrolled in modules: A student is considered withdrawn if the student does not complete all of the days in the payment period that the student was scheduled to complete. Paris Junior College (PJC) will track enrollment in each module (a group of courses in a program that do not span the entire length of the payment period combined to form a term, for example, summer sessions) to determine if a student began enrollment in all scheduled courses. If a student officially drops courses in a later module while still attending a current module, the student is not considered as withdrawn based on not attending the later module. However, a recalculation of aid based on a change in enrollment status may still be required.

When a Student Fails to Begin Attendance
If a student receives financial aid, but never attends classes, the Financial Aid Office (FAO) must return all disbursed funds to the respective federal and institutional aid programs.

When a Student Fails to Earn a Passing Grade in any Class
If the student has not completely withdrawn but has failed to earn a passing grade in at least one class for the term, federal regulations require the school to determine whether the student established eligibility for financial aid. Eligibility is based on if the student attended at least one class or participated in any PJC academic-related activity.

All disbursed funds must be returned to the respective federal and institutional aid programs if the student cannot prove that he/she began attendance.

Students Who Receive all Failing Grades at the End of the Term
When the student has failed to earn a passing grade in at least one class for the term, federal regulations require the school to determine whether the student established eligibility for funds disbursed by attending at least one class or participating in any PJC academic-related activity. If the school cannot verify that the student attended PJC, all financial aid must be repaid to the federal and institutional programs. The student’s business account will be charged and the student will be responsible for any balance due.

If the student can prove to have participated in a PJC class or academic-related activity, the student will not be required to return any disbursed financial aid. The student’s business account will be updated and the student will be responsible for any other charges that may have been applied to their account.

Students who are able to verify attendance beyond PJC’s records may submit supporting documentation to FAO. The student must submit supporting documentation within 30 days from the last date of the term. Recalculations for aid eligibility will not be performed for documentation received after that date.

Repayment Calculation Process
Once grades are posted for the student who receives all failing grades, FAO will return all unearned aid back to the federal and institutional programs and the student’s business account will be charged. FAO will mail a notification letter with the repayment amount(s) to the student’s permanent address. The student’s business account will be updated, and the student will be responsible for any balance due. A statement reflecting these charges will be sent to the student by the Business Office.

Discrimination Prohibited

No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under, any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, or be so treated on the basis of sex under most education programs or activities receiving Federal assistance.

Information and Assistance

Contact the Financial Aid Office for applications, financial aid publications and detailed information about financial aid programs, federal regulations and institutional policies and procedures. Financial aid policies and procedures are subject to change without notice in order to comply with federal regulations or institutional policies and procedures. Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Mailing Address: Financial Aid Office, Paris Junior College, 2400 Clarksville St., Paris, TX 75460.