Issues That May Affect Your Aid

The College strongly advises students to consult with the Financial Aid Office if they are contemplating a change in enrollment status.

Registering for Classes and Schedule Adjustments
The deadline to register for semester classes and be eligible for financial aid consideration for those specific classes is the last day of the schedule adjustment (drop/add) period. Adding a class after this period will not increase your financial aid eligibility as determined at the end of the schedule adjustment period. If you are not enrolled after the schedule adjustment date at the beginning of every semester, your entire financial aid award will be cancelled.

If you enroll in fewer than 12 credits, or drop below 12 credits, during the schedule adjustment period, you financial aid award will be adjusted based on your level of enrollment. If you drop all of your courses before or during the schedule adjustment period at the beginning of each semester, your financial aid award will be cancelled.

Withdrawing from the College
If you withdraw from all courses during a semester, you are considered withdrawn from the College and will have your financial aid eligibility recalculated. This may cause you to owe a balance to the College. Arrangements must be made with the Student Payment Office to repay these funds.

Students that fail to pass any of their classes during a semester may be subject to a financial aid recalculation. If do not receive a passing grade in at least one of your classes, your financial aid will be adjusted unless you are able to document your attendance in classes for the full semester. This recalculation may cause you to owe a balance to the College.

The U.S. Department of Education requires colleges to determine whether financial aid is being utilized in the most productive way in assisting students to achieve their goal of attaining a degree or certificate. Money is finite; taxes to fund federal and state financial aid programs even more so. Because of this the U.S. Department of Education wants funds awarded to students who are academically progressing towards achieving this goal.

It is the duty of the BHCC Financial Aid Office to monitor each financial aid applicants’ academic work and to confirm the student’s academic success and continued financial aid eligibility or to determine that if a student is not academically progressing toward the goal of degree attainment, to limit those finite funds until a time when (and if) a student is academically eligible again.

What can affect my financial aid eligibility?

Students who are not achieving academic progress as measured by the BHCC Financial Aid Office usually have experienced one (or a combination of several) of the following academic difficulties:

• receiving failing grades,
• receiving incomplete grades,
• repeating courses,
• withdrawing from courses,
• changing majors,
• and withdrawing from the college

How does the BHCC Financial Aid Office measure my academic progress?

In order to continue to receive financial aid consideration at Bunker Hill Community College, students must continue to make satisfactory progress towards a degree or certificate. Students are considered to be achieving academic progress if they complete at least 66 percent or more of the total number of credits that they have attempted at BHCC and are meeting the following minimum cumulative grade point average:

Finally, you must successfully complete the credits required for your degree within 150 percent of the standard length of your academic major. For example, if you are majoring in an associate degree that requires 60 credits for completion, you must complete your degree requirements by the time you have attempted 90 credits or you would lose your financial aid eligibility.

What happens to my financial aid if I fail or withdraw from classes for which I am registered?

To remain eligible for financial aid, you must successfully complete a minimum of 66 percent of the total of all your classes since you began your studies at BHCC and maintain a minimum GPA as listed above. Since this measurement is based upon your cumulative academic work at BHCC, your performance in an individual course may have no impact on your financial aid eligibility. HOWEVER, accumulation of failed courses, withdrawals and incomplete grades could affect your eligibility.

What if I drop some or all of my classes before and/or during the semester drop/add period – could this affect my academic progress?

No. The credits that you drop during that period of time will not be counted as credits attempted when calculating the percentage of credits completed to determine if academic progress has been achieved.

Can withdrawing from a course now affect my financial aid eligibility in later semesters if I withdraw from some, but not all of my courses after the drop/add deadline?

In most cases, your financial aid eligibility for the current semester will not change. However, as mentioned above, accumulated withdrawals could affect your eligibility as all course withdrawals decrease your completion rate that must be maintained above 66% for financial aid eligibility to continue for subsequent semesters.

What happens to my financial aid eligibility if I withdraw from all of my courses after the drop/add deadline?

Withdrawing from all courses after the drop/add deadline is considered withdrawing from the college. If you do this before 60 percent of the academic semester has passed, your financial aid eligibility must be recalculated per federal and state regulations. This recalculation will determine how much of your financial aid awarded has been earned during the weeks before your official withdrew from courses. When the recalculation is done, a balance could be owed to the BHCC Student Payment Office.

Can my financial aid be affected if I don’t officially withdraw from the college but I stop attending all of my semester classes?

The U.S. Department of Education mandates that students who fail all of their courses during an academic semester must prove that they continued their attendance in those courses past the 60 percent point of the semester. BHCC complies with this requirement by requesting students to submit graded homework, quizzes and/or tests to prove continued attendance past the 60 percent point of the semester. Failure to do so will require the financial aid office to recalculate a student’s financial aid eligibility and will cause a balance to be owed to the college for the semester; this is true even when a refund check had been issued to the student for the semester.

How can changing majors affect my financial aid eligibility?

Changing your major may mean that you need to take additional courses and that could cause problems finishing your degree or certificate within the 150 percent of the standard length of your academic major. Also, when students change their academic major from degree seeking to certificate seeking, the previous classes the student attempted will be counted in the determination of your financial aid eligibility. For example, a certificate requires 30 credits for completion, for financial aid consideration to continue you must finish the degree by 45 credits attempted.

If you should have additional questions, please contact the BHCC Financial Aid Office.

Financial aid awards are based on student eligibility and enrollment level at the end of the schedule adjustment period (drop/add). The schedule adjustment deadlines are posted in the course catalog and throughout the college.

Withdrawal from a Course

Students that are enrolled in multiple courses and withdraw from one course during a semester will generally not see a change in Pell grant status. However, changes may be made to the status of your MASSGrant, Federal Direct loan, or Federal Work-Study amounts based on your new eligibility level. If you are concerned about the impact withdrawing from a course may have on your financial aid award, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Please be aware that withdrawing from multiple courses may cause you to fail the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements listed in the College catalog and may cause you to become ineligible for financial aid in the future.

NA Grades

Students who are reported as not attending a class may receive a grade(s) of NA. You are not eligible for financial aid funds for a class in which you receive an NA grade. The financial aid office will recalculate your financial aid award for the semester. Please be aware that this may cause you to owe a balance to the College.

Withdrawal from the College

Students who withdraw from all classes for which they are registered during a semester may have their federal and state aid award recalculated. This is done in compliance with federal and state regulations. The percentage of aid earned is determined by dividing the number of days a student was enrolled by the number of days in the semester. If the student withdraws from all courses after the 60 percent point in the semester, Title IV aid is viewed as 100 percent earned. Students that withdraw before the 60 percent point of the semester may owe a balance to the College. For more information on how your financial aid will be recalculated, please visit the Federal Financial Aid Refund Policy section below.

Students who receive loan funds while students at Bunker Hill Community College are required to complete an exit loan interview session before leaving the college.

Please be aware that withdrawing from multiple courses may cause you to fail the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements listed in the College catalog and may cause you to become ineligible for financial aid in the future.

Failing all Courses for a Semester

Students that fail to pass any of their classes during a semester may be subject to a financial aid recalculation. If do not receive a passing grade in at least one of your classes, your financial aid will be adjusted unless you are able to document your attendance in classes for the full semester. For more information on how your financial aid will be recalculated, please visit the Federal Financial Aid Refund Policy section below. This recalculation may cause you to owe a balance to the College.

The calculation of the return of Title IV Funds is determined by the date that the student withdraws, which is:

• The date the student began Bunker Hill Community College's withdrawal process, or;
• The date the student officially notified the institution of intent to withdraw, or;
• The midpoint of the enrollment period for a student who leaves without notifying the institution (an unofficial withdrawal), or;
• The student's last date of attendance at a documented academically related activity.

Title IV aid and all other aid is earned during the time a student is attending Bunker Hill Community College. The percentage of aid earned, up to a maximum of 60 percent, is determined by dividing the number of days a student was enrolled by the number of days in the semester. If the student withdraws from all courses after 60 percent of the semester is completed, Title IV aid is viewed as 100 percent earned. Return of Title IV funds is no longer necessary after that point. If a student withdraws before 60 percent of the semester is completed, however, the student may owe a portion of his or her financial aid, if the Financial Aid Office determines the student has received an amount larger than the earned amount.

The term "Title IV Funds" includes the following programs:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
• Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
• Federal Parent PLUS Loan

In accordance with federal regulations, financial aid funds are returned and allocated in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Loan
2. Subsidized Direct Loan
3. Parent PLUS
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Federal SEOG Program
6. Other Title IV programs
7. Other state, private, and institutional aid
8. The student

Bunker Hill Community College will return any funds necessary to Title IV based upon the calculation. Based upon the return of Title IV Funds calculation, students are responsible to repay to the Title IV or state programs any funds that were disbursed directly to them and for which the student was determined to be ineligible.

The procedures and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change. Please contact Student Central if you have any questions about the new policy.