Payment Plan
NFC now offers a payment plan approved by the District Board of Trustees. Students
wishing to utilize this plan must make a down payment of at least 25% of fees assessed
at registration. A processing fee will be charged. Interested students should visit
the Office of Financial Aid to complete the necessary paperwork.
Disbursement of Aid
The electronic data management system utilized by NFC automates the award and disbursement
of aid, utilizing parameters set locally and programmatically as required by the US
Department of Education’s award eligibility and defined levels. Student aid is initially
‘authorized’ to their student account prior to the finalization of the registration
process. This process is not considered ‘completed’ until the end of the drop/add
period and the process of attendance verification is completed by the Office of Enrollment
Services.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The Office of Financial Aid at NFC gains access to individual student information
regarding grades, credit hours completed each term, as well as term and current grade
point averages by utilizing the electronic data management system, as shared by all
departments. Input of individual grades are the responsibility of each instructor,
and maintenance of the student record system is the responsibility of the Office of
Enrollment Services. Rules for satisfactory progress have been coded in this data
management system utilizing the parameters as outlined in the US Department of Education’s
Handbook.
An electronic process which programmatically determines a student’s SAP status is
run at the end of each term. Students are notified in writing when ‘Suspense’ status
is reached.
Appeal Process
The electronic process utilized to determine student status is run at the end of every
term. All students not coded as ‘new’, ‘satisfactory’, ‘warning’ or ‘probation’ will
be coded ‘suspense’ and required to have an approved appeal prior to aid disbursement.
There is no deadline for a student to request an appeal, however, fees must be paid
in some other manner than a financial aid award by the posted deadline or the student
will be dropped for non-payment.
Students are required to complete the standard request form generated by the Office
of Financial Aid, or submit a letter of appeal, each term for which an appeal is requested.
They are further required to attach any relevant documentation of their extenuating
circumstances, based upon availability.
Appeals may only be granted by the Director of Financial Aid. Should a student wish
to protest this decision, the Financial Aid Committee will be activated and the student
will be given hearing before this group. Their decision is final.
Valid reasons for appeal may include, but are not limited to, the following: Illness,
accident, illness or death of a close relative or friend, courses dropped or failed
as a younger student (by a returning mature student), family and life stress, transportation
or babysitting problems or changes of program emphasis which cause excess hours. Consideration
will also be given to subsequent appeals if a student has shown progress but still
does not meet the requirements as previously described. Further, a student may be
allowed to appeal the payment of PELL funds for hours or specific courses necessary
for completion of a degree when the maximum number of hours awarded has been met.
Care will be taken not to allow continued payment for remedial courses repeated more
than two times. An appeal may be granted for a student who has exceeded the maximum
numbers of hours allowed for receipt of a degree or certificate under certain circumstances.
However, a graduation check will be required and only courses necessary for the completion
of the desired degree/certificate will be utilized in calculating the amount of aid
disbursement.
College Complaint Procedure Information
Federal regulations and State laws require that public colleges in The Florida College
System have processes for students, employees, and applicants to file complaints against
any respective college. All persons are encouraged to work through the internal complaint
and appeal processes at their respective institutions as the first step in filing
a complaint.
If you believe that your complaint has not been addressed satisfactorily at your local
institution after exhausting the college's complaint or grievance procedures, you
may contact the following personnel at the Division of Florida Colleges for additional
information:
For complaints related to financial aid, please contact:
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Office of Student Financial Assistance Florida Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1314 Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400 Telephone: 1-800-366-3475 Website: http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ E-mail: OSFA@fldoe.org |
Federal Student Aid Ombudsman U.S. Department of Education 830 NE First Street, Fourth Floor Washington, DC 20202-5144 Telephone: 1-877-557-2575 Fax: 202-275-0549 |
For additional information on the State Division of Florida Colleges' College Complaint
Procedure Information, visit
http://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/about-us/complaints.stml
For information on NFC's internal complaint or grievance procedures related to Financial
Aid, contact Financial Aid at 850-973-1621 or financialaid@nfc.edu.
Verification
The NFC Office of Financial Aid verifies all applicants selected by the US Department
of Education. Additionally, the internal data management system has been coded to
locally select applicants who report, when filing their FASFA, that they, or their
parents, have zero income or that have not yet filed their Form 1040.
The verification process begins when the electronic ISIR is received. Again, the data
management system has been coded to create a letter for all selected applicants. This
letter is mailed on the same day that the ISIR is received, with a copy of the relevant
ED produced verification worksheet. No disbursements are made until verification is
complete.
Items which must be verified include: Household size, Number enrolled in college,
Adjusted Gross Income, U.S. income tax paid, and Untaxed income and benefits. Additionally,
the Office of Financial Aid may select verification of additional information.
Acceptable forms of verification include, but are not limited to:
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Household Size: |
Signed Verification Worksheet or signed statement |
Number Enrolled: |
Signed Verification Worksheet or signed statement |
AGI & Taxes Paid: |
Tax Return, signed statement or institutional certification |
Untaxed Income & Benefits: |
Signed statement or official agency documentation |
FAXED forms are accepted, but must be signed by the student and parent (If applicable).
Tax forms must be signed by at least one applicable tax filer or documented by stamp
or signature of prepare AND the tax preparers SSN, Taxpayer ID, or Employer ID. No
signature is necessary if the tax and income documentation comes directly to the school
from the IRS.
Conflicting Information
In situations where the Office of Financial Aid has knowledge of information which
appears to be inconsistent with that provided on the FASFA or verification worksheet,
all possible effort will be made to investigate and correct errors.
Professional Judgment
The US Department of Education authorizes Financial Aid Administrators at individual
schools to utilize the process of professional judgment to aid students in seeking
and receiving Federal Title IV aid within their special circumstances. The following
elements may be adjusted during this process: Cost of Attendance, Expected Family
Contributions, Dependency status, and Loan Certification Requirements (N/A at NFC).
Applicants wishing to apply for a professional judgment based on their circumstances
must complete apply for such to the Office of Financial Aid. There is no deadline
for this request, and aid will be adjusted based upon approved requests as long as
the student is still enrolled for the academic year for which the adjustment is requested.
Valid reasons for requesting Professional Judgment may include, but are not limited
to: Loss of job, one time income or assets listed on form 1040, but unavailable during
academic year, excessive medical cost, natural disaster, illness or disability, change
in marital status, excessive educational related cost, and elective loss of job by
students in certain concentrated programs or with home situations not conducive to
working while in school (i.e. single parents of young children). Dependency overrides
may be granted for situations involving abuse, abandonment or estrangement, death
of parent, or when a student is unaware of the location of their parents.
The following reasons are not valid for requesting a change from dependent to independent
status: Parent’s refusal to contribute funds for education, Parent’s refusal to provide
information needed to complete a FASFA or the verification process, Parents not claiming
the student as a dependent for income tax purposes, and a demonstration of self-sufficiency
by a student.
Return of Title IV Funds
The office of financial aid at NFC is committed to complying with the US Department
of Education’s requirements regarding this process. The Office of Enrollment Services
is requested to monitor withdrawals and to require from instructors a last date of
attendance for input in the electronic data management system. They are further requested
to informing the Office of Financial Aid when a student’s incremental withdrawal process
constitutes a full withdrawal. Student requesting a full withdrawal will be required
to complete a sign-off form for Enrollment Services, with a copy being given to the
Office of Financial Aid. Within 30 days of knowledge of full withdrawals prior to
the 60% point each term, the US Department of Education’s automated process will be
utilized to calculate the repayment due, with that amount credited to the local fund
as an integral part of the process.
Additionally, instructors are requested to input into the electronic data management
system with final grades, a last date of attendance for all students who are not successful
completing their course. An automated list is then requested by the Office of Financial
Aid and the process as describe above is followed for all students who stopped attending
prior to completing 60% of the term.
Overaward/Overpayment
When the Office of Financial Aid has knowledge of overpayments and/or overawards,
repayment will be immediately be credited to the relevant internal Title IV fund the
student will be invoiced.
Private Loans
It is the goal of the Office of Financial Aid at NFC to assist students in securing
enough grant or scholarship aid to cover their cost of attendance without the use
of loan funds. Because NFC does not participate in Federal and State loan programs,
only private loans are available to students. A private loan is offered solely by
a private lender such as a bank or credit union. Unlike Federal loans, a private loan
comes with a variable interest rate that is not set by the federal government. Private
loans can become expensive and should only be used as a last funding option.
To apply for a private loan, you will be required to have a credit check. Your credit
rating may influence your interest rate, therefore it is beneficial, and sometimes
necessary, to utilize a co-signer. Repayment typically begins six months after you
leave school, although some private loans require repayment to begin sooner, possibly
while the student is in school.
Private loans are certified by the school, which means that cost of attendance, enrollment
status and other aid received. This process helps to determine how much a student
can borrow.
The Office of Financial Aid will maintain a list of entities who will potentially
make these loans available as an information item for students. In the case of student
in receipt of Title IV aid, the loan amount will become an integral part of their
package. However, when calculating need for private loans, the PELL Grant award will
not be included.
Residency
Responsibility for establishing the residency of students is the responsibility of
the Office of Enrollment Services. The Office of Financial Aid will accept the residency
status as documented in the electronic data management system by that office.
High School Diploma - Responsibility for establishing the high school graduation status
of students is the responsibility of the Office of Enrollment Services. The Office
of Financial Aid will accept the graduation status as documented in the electronic
data management system by that office. A hold has been created which will block disbursement
of Title IV Funds until satisfactory status has been established.
Citizenship
This status is set by the US Department of Education during the FASFA approval/disapproval
process. Student for whom this process does not verify citizenship will be notified
by the Office of Financial Aid in writing. Status will be adjusted and awards made
only after that student has produced adequate documentation of acceptable status.
Prior Year Payment
Students wishing to have delinquent fees from a prior year with current year Title
IV Funds must make written request to the Office of Financial Aid. The amount of this
prior year payment will be limited to $200.
Annual set-up of the Electronic Data Management System – It is necessary on an annual
basis that current parameters, fund definition, and rules be ‘rolled’ from one academic
year to the next. This is accomplished by the Director of Financial Aid utilizing
the documentation as provided for that purpose by SunGard Banner. Should technical
assistance be needed, the services of RTS Services, Inc. will be utilized, as they
are under contract for professional database analyst services.
Financial Aid Awarding Process
Financial aid award priorities and need will be determined on an individual case by
case basis at NFC within the parameters of each individual fund awarded. Students
receiving Federal Title IV aid will be awarded within the limit as set by their Cost
of Attendance, with the exception of private awards made through the NFC Foundation,
Inc. Need will be assessed for students receiving private loans, however, the established
Expected Family Contribution shall not be a factor. For non-Federal Title IV aid recipients,
need shall not be a factor.
Academic Year
The definition of Academic Year utilized at NFC will be 24 credit hours and 30 week.
A student is considered to have freshmen status until completion of 24 credit hours,
at which time sophomore status is granted. Full time is defined as 12 or more credit
hours, three-quarter time is defined as 9 through 11 credit hours, one-half time is
defined as 6 through 8 hours, and less than half time is defined as less than 6 hours.
Year Round Pell
The Office of Financial Aid will begin granting year round PELL Grants to students
enrolled in term 3A of the 2010-2011 academic year. PELL recipients who have been
disbursed their annual award in its entirety by the end of the spring semester, and
who have completed at least 24 credit hours, enrolled in at least 6 credit hours in
one summer term, will be granted a second annual award, with the disbursement(s) based
on enrollment status within each given summer term. For transfer students, the assumption
method, which utilizes the awards and disbursements previously made to determine hours
completed, will be used to determine eligibility for a second award.
Payment Plan
The Office of Financial Aid makes available to students a term based payment plan,
approved by the District Board of Trustees. This payment plan is not considered a
student loan and is not available for the shorter summer terms.
Students wishing to participate in this plan must complete paperwork in the Office
of Financial Aid, documenting their intent to make full payment, the deadline for
this payment in full, and their knowledge of the penalty for non-compliance. Students
who default in this process will not be granted access to the payment plan in subsequent
terms.
NSLDS - National Student Loan Data System
The Office of Financial Aid has access to the National Student Loan Data System through
their internet based system. A secure logon id and password has been obtained for
this purpose. This system is utilized for reporting over awards and overpayments,
updating enrollment rosters as requested by the US Department of Education, and for
obtaining data regarding student’s information as available. Examples include the
status of repayment for previous loans, individual overpayments, and enrollment status
for potential, current or previous students.
Student Drug Violations
Students will be warned regarding penalties for illegal drug violations while receiving
Federal Title IV Aid through the NFC Student Handbook and by the US Department of
Education during the FASFA application process. The NFC Office of Financial Aid will
assist students in determining their individual status and timeline for regaining
aid eligibility as requested by the student on a case by case basis.