Financial Aid Policies and Procedures - Bridges Christian College & Seminary

Financial Aid

Refund Policy for all Non-Federal Funds

(See Federal Financial Aid Policy below for Refund Schedule on Federal Funds)

An adjustment will be made to the student’s account when the student withdraws from the college with the proper documentation approval. The student must complete an official Withdrawal Form (available in the Academic Dean’s Office, on the BCC website, or in the student handbook) at the time he/she is leaving the college. Refunds are effective as of the date of the submission of the withdrawal form. Tuition refunds are based on the total tuition for the trimester and will be refunded according to the following percentages:

Prior to the first class	100%
1st week of classes	75%
2nd week of classes	50%

No refund after the second week of classes. Students who do not attend class in the first two weeks of school and do not communicate with the school during this time are automatically withdrawn and do not receive a refund.

Important note: This policy does not pertain to the $200.00 technology fee due at the beginning of each trimester that covers each student’s registration costs to the school. This fee is non-refundable.

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM OFFERED: FEDERAL PELL GRANT

BCC DOES NOT PARTICIPATE IN TITLE IV STUDENT LOANS PROGRAMS.

General Eligibility Requirements and Deadlines

A student seeking financial aid must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen; be seeking a degree, diploma or certificate; have a high school diploma, GED, or prove ability to benefit by passing an approved test; not be in default on any educational loan; not owe a refund on a federal grant; agree to use federal aid solely for educational purposes; and make satisfactory academic progress. Applications for federal student aid must be submitted on an annual basis. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Institutional Financial Aid Application should be filed as soon after the first of the year as possible. Priority consideration is given to students who submit these documents by March 1 and complete their files by April 15 for the next academic year. The Financial Aid office can also provide a hard copy of the FAFSA to complete.

Federal Pell Grant: This is a federally funded grant based on financial need. A Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be filed annually to determine eligibility. The FAFSA may be completed online at www.fafsa.gov. The amount of the grant depends on the student’s (a) family contribution, (b) enrollment status, and (c) length of time enrolled during the academic year.

Application Dates

Applications for financial assistance are available after January 1 of each year for the following academic year (August-May). The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be submitted online at www.fafsa.gov and should be completed by March 1. Priority is given to students whose FAFSA’s are submitted by March 1 and whose files are accurate and complete by April 15. To have funds ready at registration, the following deadlines are suggested: Apply by May 1 and have a complete and accurate file by July 1. Students planning to attend summer school need a FAFSA filed for the academic year preceding the summer session. Students are required to apply for institutional aid prior to the end of late registration each trimester. After the end of late registration, students cannot be awarded any additional institutional financial aid even if otherwise eligible.

Verification

Some students that complete the FAFSA may be selected for a process called verification. If selected for verification, federal regulations require that BCC verifies certain things that a student has stated on their FAFSA form. Students will be notified through their BCC email if selected for verification and what items are required.

Verification must be completed by the earlier of:

120 Days after the last day of student enrollment
The federally set deadline which has not yet been released for the 2022-2023 school year.

If a student fails to submit the requested documentation by the deadline, the student is no longer eligible for their Pell Grant disbursement. BCC will notify students of their expected family contribution and Title IV amounts, as well as any changes resulting from verification, through the student’s BCC email.

Financial Aid Eligibility

The financial aid lock in date is the last day a student can receive a 100% refund. This date will determine Pell Grant eligibility. Classes added after this day will not be eligible for additional federal aid. Federal Pell Grants will prorate by the number of credit hours registered for on this day. Students receiving Pell funds are required to attend at least one class period in each course to become eligible for funding. Please see the Financial Aid Office for these program requirements.

Return of Title IV Federal Funds

Introduction

If the student withdraws from the college, federal law and regulations specify how BCC must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that the student has earned. To qualify for Title IV financial aid, the student must attend a class. Though the student aid is posted to the student’s account at the start of each trimester, the student earns the funds as he/she completes the trimester. If the student withdraws during the trimester, the amount of Title IV program assistance that he/she has earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If the student received less assistance than the amount that he/she earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds. If the student received more assistance than he/she has earned, the excess funds must be returned by BCC and/or the student. A return of Title IV (R2T4) funds calculation is performed when a student who is awarded federal funds withdraws from a trimester or the college. When a student files an official withdrawal from all courses or the college, that date provides the “Withdrawal Date” and the “Date of Determination” for R2T4. When a student fails to attend any of the courses during the first two weeks of a trimester, the student is automatically withdrawn from the trimester and NO financial aid is awarded. The student can appeal this decision, if extenuating circumstances are present, and the student can make up the missed course lectures, forums, and assignments. Students are required to complete 75 percent of a course’s lecture and forum participation. If a student misses greater than 25 percent of ALL course lectures and forum requirements and does not have extenuating circumstances that are approved by the academic dean, the student will be withdrawn from the trimester. When the institution discovers that a student has failed to meet the attendance requirement for ALL classes, the student will be provided with a withdrawal notice for the trimester based on non-attendance. The “Date of Determination” will be the date the college discovers that the student has failed to meet the institution’s attendance requirements for all courses. Once the “Date of Determination” is established, the institution must R2T4 all unearned funds within 30 days.

The Financial Aid Office uses software provided by the U.S. Department of Education to complete this calculation. The student’s account statement and financial aid record is used in conjunction with this software.

Estimate of Aid Earned or Aid That May Need to be Returned

The amount of assistance that the student has earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if the student completed 30% of the trimester, the student earns 30% of the assistance the student was originally scheduled to receive. Once the student has completed more than 60% of the trimester, the student earns all the assistance that the student was scheduled to receive for that trimester. This means that if a student receiving federal Title IV aid withdraws after completing 60% of the trimester, no Title IV funds will be returned. The student is considered to have earned 100% of the Title IV aid for the trimester. Here’s an example of how the student can estimate the percentage of Title IV aid that the student has earned in a trimester (enrollment period).

Enrolled Days

___________________________________

Days in the Enrollment Period =%Title IV Earned By Student

The student can also compute a rough estimate of the amount that he/she may be required to repay prior to withdrawing by using the U.S. Department of Education’s Treatment of Title IV Funds When A Student Withdraws form

Unofficial Withdrawals and Earning All Non-Passing Grades

If the student fails to earn a passing grade in at least one of his/her courses (i.e. all F’s, NC’s, all I’s or a combination of non-passing grades during a trimester, the student is considered to have, for purposes of federal Title IV funds, unofficially withdrawn from the College. As a result, a federal withdrawal calculation must be performed to determine the amount of Title IV funds that the student must repay. The only exception is when BCC can document (within 30 days of the end of the trimester) that the student should not have been considered unofficially withdrawn. For example, that a student was academically engaged after the 60% point of the trimester or that a student did not meet the requirements for administrative withdrawal in an online course. Once trimester grades post, and if a student fails to earn a passing grade in at least one of his/her courses, BCC will perform the federal withdrawal (Return of Title IV) calculation.

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement

If a student did not receive all the funds that he/she earned, the student may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. BCC may automatically use all or a portion of our post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). BCC needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges, and this permission is received each trimester by each student when the student approves his/her bill and agree to the terms and conditions of registration in the student’s BCC student portal. There are some Title IV funds that the student may have been scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to him/her once the student withdraws because of other eligibility requirements.

Returning Title IV Funds

If a student or BCC receive excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, BCC must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

The student’s institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of the student’s funds, or;
The entire amount of excess funds.

BCC must return this amount even if BCC didn’t keep this amount of his/her Title IV program funds. If BCC is not required to return all of the excess funds, the student must return the remaining amount.

Overpayments

Any amount of unearned grant funds that the student must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that the student must repay is half of the grant funds the student received or was scheduled to receive. The student does not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the overpayment is $50 or less. The student must make arrangements with BCC or the Department of Education to return any unearned grant funds.

Non-Attendance

If a student is a Pell Grant recipient, federal regulations require the student to have begun attending the courses for which he/she is enrolled and receiving these grants. If on the final roll sheet distributed to instructors to confirm attendance, the student’s instructor indicates that the student is not attending a course, the student is assumed not to have begun attendance for that course. The student’s grant will then be adjusted or cancelled based on the courses the student has begun to attend. If the student fails to begin attendance in all the courses for which the student is registered, the student will have failed to establish eligibility for financial aid. In this situation, the student will be required to repay all the financial aid that he/she has received.

Last Date of Attendance Determination for Programs.

The Financial Aid Office uses the student’s last date of attendance in calculating whether or not Title IV funds have to be returned to Federal Student Aid. These attendance records are received through CampusSIS.com, BridgesEcampus.com, or instructor records. Additionally, other academic records in BridgesEcampus.com may be used to help determine the last date of attendance, such as when a student submitted an assignment or completed an assessment in BridgesEcampus.com.

Federal vs. Institutional Refund Policy

The requirements for federal Title IV program funds when the student withdraws is separate from any refund policy that BCC has regarding institutional grants and scholarships or other non-federal financial aid. Therefore, federal funds may not cover all unpaid institutional charges due to a student’s withdrawal, and the student may still owe funds to BCC to cover any unpaid institutional charges. BCC may also charge the student for any Title IV program funds that BCC are required to return. If the student is not familiar with BCC’s refund policy, he/she should contact the Student Billing Office at Business@BridgesChristianCollege.com email or phone 855-702-7434 to ask for a copy.

Withdrawal Requirements and Procedures

The student may contact the Registrar’s Office by email (registrar@bcc.edu or phone 855-702-7434) so that they can provide the student with the requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from school. When considering withdrawing from the College, students are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office first to see how the withdrawal could affect their aid. The Financial Aid Office will assist the student in making an informed decision. Students can contact Financial Aid at financialaid@BridgesChristianCollege.com or by calling 855-702-7434.

Requirements and Deadlines for R2T4 Calculations and Return of Title IV Aid

The following list outlines the requirements and deadlines for the return of Title IV funds:

Determining withdrawal date: 30 days after the end of or earlier of the following: (1) Trimester (payment or enrollment period), (2) Academic year in which the student withdrew, or (3) Educational program from which student withdrew.
Return of unearned Title IV funds: No later than 45 days after the date BCC determined the student withdrew.
Post-withdrawal disbursement to student’s account: No later than 180 days after the date BCC determined the student withdrew.
Written notification providing the student the opportunity to accept all or part of a post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV `student’s account: Within 30 days of BCC’s determination that the student withdrew.
Written notification of student’s eligibility for a post-withdrawal disbursement of Title IV Pell Grant funds in excess of outstanding current (educationally related) charges: Within 30 days of BCC’s determination that the student withdrew.
Post-withdrawal disbursement to student for earned Title IV funds in excess of outstanding current (educationally related) charges: From the date BCC determined the student withdrew, no later than 45 days for grants.
Notification to student of grant overpayment: Within 30 days of the date BCC determined that the student withdrew.
Referral of student to Debt Resolution Services: As soon as possible.
Student deadline to submit response instructing BCC to make a post-withdrawal disbursement: Deadline is given in writing when BCC makes the offer of a post-withdrawal disbursement.
Notification to student of outcome of late request for a post-withdrawal disbursement to student: As soon as possible.
Student’s deadline to return any unearned Title IV funds: within 45 days of the date BCC sent or was required to send notice (whichever is earlier)

Federal Financial Aid Pell Grant Disbursements to Students

Once BCC receives Pell Grant Funds, students who have qualified for pell grants will be notified by e-mail that their pell grant disbursement will be posted to their student ledger in CampusSIS, and they will also be notified if any possible credit balance is owed to them for the corresponding trimester.
1. Please note that any Late Payment Fees or Late Registration Fees CANNOT be paid by Federal Financial Aid Pell Grant Funds and will always need to be paid by students out-of-pocket.
After notifications are sent out, Student Disbursements will be entered into Student Ledgers within 3 business days of BCC receiving the federal funds from the government.
Students with a credit balance from the corresponding term will be issued Credit Balance checks—checks will be written within 14 calendar days from the disbursement date detailed on the Student Ledger posting in CampusSIS and mailed and postmarked within 5 business days from date check is written. Please note: credit balance checks are only issued after pell grants have covered the student’s tuition costs.
If a student withdraws during the trimester, a portion or all pell grant funds may need returned to the federal government–please see Student Financial Aid Policy for more info on the Return to Title IV (R2T4) process.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP) – Undergraduate

Bridges Christian College is required by law to formulate standards to gauge the progress of students receiving financial assistance through federal, state, or institutional aid programs by applying both qualitative and quantitative measurements to academic work [34 CFR 668.16(3)]. These measurements shall be used to determine a student’s eligibility for all federal Title IV aid and for other need-based financial assistance, unless the terms of a particular grant or funding source states otherwise.

Time Frame Used in Measuring Progress

All SAP measurements are calculated annually at the end of the spring trimester for all programs. Financial Aid Suspension will go into effect at the start of the following fall trimester.

Qualitative Progress Measurement: Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average

A cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.0 or higher must be attained by the end of the student’s first spring trimester. Students that transfer credits from other institutions will also have this GPA calculated in the CGPA. This average must be maintained at the end of each subsequent spring trimester for a student to continue to receive financial aid. Students who do not meet this minimum CGPA requirement will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. According to BCC academic grading policy, only the latest grade for a repeated course is calculated into the CGPA. More detailed information on how the CGPA is calculated can be found under the Academic Policies in the catalog.

Quantitative Progress Measurement No. 1: Number of Credit Hours Required to Complete

When students enroll for classes and receive financial aid to pay for them, students are expected to complete those classes. If students do not complete at least 67 percent of the credit hours that are attempted during the year, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. Only passing grades count as successful completion. Incomplete or other grades that do not result in earned credits will not count as completions.

Hours Attempted	Hours Required to Complete	Hours Attempted	Hours Required to Complete
24	18	23	16
22	15	21	14
20	14	19	13
18	12	17	12
16	11	15	11
14	10	13	9
12	8	11	8
10	7	9	6
8	5	7	5
6	4	5	4
4	3	3	3

Quantitative Progress Measurement No. 2: Maximum Time to Complete a Degree

Students must select a program/degree of study before they can receive financial aid. When students receive financial aid to help pay for a program/degree of study, they are expected to complete that program without taking a lot of time. A student’s progress may be evaluated for only one program at a time.

Each financial aid applicant must select a primary program/degree of study prior to receiving financial aid payments. A student who is concurrently completing more than one program or major may request additional time to complete the program. A request for additional time must be submitted in writing to the Financial Aid Office.

To make sure that students complete their program in a reasonable amount of time, a limit set by law has been placed on the number of hours that students can attempt in order to complete the program/degree. That limit is 150 percent of the minimum number of hours required to complete the program/degree. (For example, if you are in a program/degree that takes 66 hours to complete, you must finish your program within 99 attempted hours. If you are in a program/degree that takes 120 hours to complete, you must finish your program within 180 attempted hours.)

Once students reach the 150 percent limit, they will no longer be able to receive additional financial aid payments. There are many variables that go into calculating that limit, including, but not limited to:

All attempted credit hours are counted regardless of whether or not financial aid was received to pay for them.
Any transfer hours that are accepted from other colleges toward completion of the program are counted. If you are a transfer student, you must submit transcripts from all previous colleges.
If a course is repeated, all attempts are counted.
If a student withdraws from a course, it is still counted as an attempt.

Note: If a student cannot complete the program within the 150 percent limit, they will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension when that determination is calculated. Students have the ability to submit an appeal for this determination.

Financial Aid Suspension

If a student fails to meet any one of the SAP measurements described above, they will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. While on suspension, students will not be eligible to receive any financial aid. Students will be notified of this via their campus email address.

Reinstatement Procedures

To regain financial aid eligibility, a student must pay the expenses related to at least half-time enrollment (6 or more hours in a trimester) during the period of suspension and satisfy all SAP requirements. After meeting all SAP requirements, the student must request reinstatement of eligibility in writing to the Financial Aid Office.

Appeal Process

Students placed on Financial Aid Suspension may petition the Financial Aid Department to consider mitigating (special) circumstances that resulted in the inability to meet the SAP requirements. The appeal must be typed and must include the Suspension Appeal Form, an explanation with supporting documentation (i.e., medical statements, divorce documents, letters of unemployment, etc.) of the reason(s) the minimum academic standards required by SAP policy were not achieved within 14 days of notification. Additionally, each appeal must be submitted with a letter of endorsement from a BCC faculty/staff member. The appeal narrative and documentation should also demonstrate that the adverse circumstances have been resolved. All appeals will be reviewed within 7 business days of the Financial Aid Office’s receipt of a complete appeal (appeal form, student’s appeal letter, endorser letter and supporting documentation). Notification of the review will be sent via BCC email. For appeals that have been approved, students will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for one academic year, beginning with the next fall trimester. SAP will be calculated again at the end of the spring trimester; if the cumulative standard is met, students will be placed back in good standing. Students that meet SAP for the academic year, yet are not meeting the cumulative requirement, will remain on Financial Aid Probation until the requirement is met. For students that have been denied, there is another level of appeal. The student must request, in writing, a review by the Financial Aid Committee. Appeals that have been approved at this level will be required to see an academic counselor in order to tailor the class schedule for student success.

Summer Enrollment and the SAP

When calculating the SAP status, summer attempted hours will be counted toward the 150 percent maximum, and summer grade points earned will be calculated as part of the cumulative grade point average. The rule pertaining to the completion of a minimum number of attempted credit hours will not be calculated for summer enrollment.

Financial Aid Will Not Pay For:

Any credit hours in excess of the 150 percent maximum program limit (see discussion of Quantitative Measurement No. 2 above)

Courses taken by audit
Credit hours earned by placement tests
Courses registered for after the official certification date of the trimester (last day to receive 100% refund)

Additional Questions

If the student has questions about his/her Title IV program funds, the student can contact the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@BridgesChristianCollege.com or phone 855-702-7434. The student may also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at (800)4-FEDAID [(800)433-3243]. TTY users may call (800)730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the web at www.studentaid.ed.gov.