 Federal
Programs
School Code (Pell): 010051
Federal Programs Website
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
- You should NEVER reveal your PIN
(the code you enter to renew/sign
your FAFSA online) to anyone, no
matter who asks and regardless of
whether the request is made by
phone, e-mail, or in person.
- Use your own email (LaGuardia student
email) when requesting the PIN.
Do not use someone else's.
And
remember: no one from Student Financial
Services will ever ask you for your PIN. |
Federal Pell Grants:
Application Procedures:
The completed paper application takes at
least six weeks to process while the Web
application takes maximum two weeks to
process. A processed Student Aid Report
(SAR) will be sent to the applicant via
mail or email. The
amount of the applicant's award is
determined from the SAR by the office of
Student Financial Services. Upon
enrollment, funds are paid directly to
the applicant or applied to the
students' tuition bill.
Selection of Recipients and
Allocation of Awards: The
Federal Pell Grant is an entitlement
program. Eligibility and award amounts
are based on need rather than academic
achievement. The applicants must
demonstrate need and must attend their
classes.
Financial need is determined by a
formula applied to all applicants. It
was developed by the U.S. Department of
Education and is reviewed annually by
Congress. The Expected Family
Contribution (EFC) is calculated by this
formula.
Award Schedule:
2008-2009 awards range from $261.50 to
$2,365.50 per semester. The amount of
the award will be affected by costs of
attendance and full-or part-time
enrollment status. The Federal Pell
award does not duplicate State awards.
Rights and responsibilities
of Recipients: Students must
continue to make satisfactory academic
progress in the degree program in which
they are enrolled to receive funds. Students must not owe
any refunds on Federal Pell Grants or
other awards paid, or be in default on
repayment of any student loan.
Award payments made by checks are
mailed to the student's address on file
with the Financial Aid Office. Payment
Schedules are also available in the
office of Student Financial Services.
Students must attempt 24 credits
during the academic year in order to
earn the full Federal Pell award.
Therefore, enrollment status for Federal
Pell will be as follows:
| Full-time |
3/4 Time |
1/2 Time |
LTHT |
| 12 Cred/Eq |
9 - 11.5 Cred/Eq |
6 - 8.5 Cred/Eq |
1 - 5.5 Cred/Eq |
Full-time 12 credits (or equivalent); 3/4
time 9 through 11.5 credits (or equivalent); 1/2
time 6 through 8.5 credits (or equivalent); and
less than half time 1.0 through 5.5 credits (or
equivalent).
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
Selection of Recipients and Allocation
of Awards: The applicants must:
1) have exceptional financial need and
2) be enrolled at least half-time (6
credits minimum).
Award Schedule: The
awards can range from $400.00 to $800.00
in 2008-2009.
Rights and Responsibilities of
Recipients: The student must continue to
make satisfactory academic progress, and
meet all the requirements for the Pell
Grant.
Academic
Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
Selection of Recipients and Allocation
of Awards: The applicants must:
1)
be a U.S. Citizen
2) be a Federal Pell Grant recipient
3) be enrolled full-time in a degree-program
4) be enrolled in the first or second year of a
program of study
5) have completed a rigorous secondary school
program of study and graduated after January 1,
2005.
6) if a first-year student, not have previously
enrolled in an undergraduate program
7) if a second-year student, have at least a
cumulative 3.0 Grade Point Average on a 4.0
scale for the first academic year.
Award Schedule: The
awards can range up to $750.00 the first
year of academic study and $1300.00 for the
second year.
Rights and Responsibilities of
Recipients: The student must continue to
make satisfactory academic progress, and
meet all the requirements for the
Academic Competitiveness
Grant.
Federal Perkins Loan (FPL)
Selection of Recipients and Allocation
of Awards: Loans are available to
students enrolled at least half-time (6
credits) in a degree program and in approved post-secondary
institutions. LaGuardia students must be
enrolled at least half-time in their current
session in order to receive the Direct Loan
funds. Online pre-loan entrance and exit
counseling is required.
Award Schedule:
Awards can range up to $3,500.00 for
each year of undergraduate study. The
total debt cannot exceed $20,000 as an
undergraduate.
Rights and Responsibilities
of Recipients: Continued
eligibility is dependent on maintenance
of satisfactory academic progress. The
current interest rate of 5% is payable
during the repayment process and begins
six months after graduation or leaving
school and may extend over a period of
10 years. Payment is not required for up
to three years of active U.S. military
service or service in the Peace Corps,
VISTA, or similar national program.
Eligibility of Defaulted
Borrowers: 674.2, .9(i) A
borrower who defaults on a loan made
under the Federal Perkins Loan Program
is ineligible for further assistance
until he or she has:
- voluntarily made six consecutive
monthly payments; (payments obtained by
income tax offset,
wage garnishment, income or asset
execution, or pursuant to a judgment are
not "voluntary".)
- voluntarily made all payments
currently due;
- repaid the full amount due, including
any accrued interest, late fees, and
collection costs;
- received a deferment or forbearance
based on a condition that predates the
borrower reaching a
240 or 270-day past due status;
- had the loan cancelled due to
permanent and total disability;
- had the loan discharged in bankruptcy;
- had the loan forgiven due to a closed
school situation; or
repaid the loan in full under the
compromise repayment provision under
674.33(e).
A defaulted Perkins borrower may use
satisfactory repayment arrangements (
i.e., the making of six consecutive
monthly payments on time) to regain
Title IV eligibility only once.
Federal Perkins Loan
Rehabilitation Program 674.39, .47(e)(5):
Effective July 1, 2000
- Once a borrower has made twelve
on-time, consecutive monthly payment (as
defined by the
institution), a defaulted loan is
rehabilitated. A borrower may
rehabilitate a defaulted
loan only once.
- Within 30 days of receiving a
borrower's twelfth payment,
- the borrower returns to regular
repayment status;
- the borrower's 12 payments are
consider as the first year's payment
under the 10-year repayment
maximum; and
- credit bureaus to which the defaulted
loan was reported are notified to remove
the default from the
borrower's credit history.
Under a rehabilitation program,
collection costs charged to a borrower
may not exceed 24% of the unpaid
principal and accrued interest.
NOTICE: If you have
been awarded a Federal Perkins Loan for
the 2008-2009 academic year, and accept
this loan, you are required to bring to
the office of Student Financial Services
(C-107) proof
that you have completed pre-loan
counseling on-line. Log on to the
Financial Aid Office’s web page,
http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/FinancialAid
click on Resources, then click on the
link for Entrance & Exit for Perkins
Loan.
Pre-loan counseling will give you the
opportunity to review the terms of your
loan and your rights and
responsibilities once you have received
the loan.
You will not receive your
Perkins Loan check until you have
completed the pre-loan counseling
session and have completed the necessary
forms.
Please call (718) 482-5191 to speak to the Perkins Loan Coordinator
Federal Work-Study Program (FWS)
Selection for Recipients and
Allocation of Awards: The
applicant must be enrolled at least
half-time (6 credits or tuition units).
Employment is reasonably available to
all eligible students who are in need of
financial aid in the institution. In the
event that more students are eligible
for FWS than there are funds available,
preference is given to students who have
greater financial need and who must earn
a part of their educational expenses.
Award Schedule: The
office of Student Financial Services arranges jobs on
campus or off-campus, with public or
private nonprofit agencies, such as
hospitals, for up to 20 hours a week,
based on the availability of funds.
Factors considered by the
office of Student Financial Services in determining whether, and for
how many hours, the recipient may work
under this program are:
-
financial need,
class schedule, and academic progress.
The minimum wage is $8.00 for 2008-2009.
Rights and Responsibilities
of Recipients: Satisfactory
academic progress must be maintained,
and all the requirements of the Pell
Grant must be met.
Federal Direct Loan Program (FDL)
http://www.ed.gov/DirectLoan
- Interest Rate Update 2008 - 2009 (New
Loans)
Fixed Interest Rates for
Federal Student Loans disbursed on/after
July 1, 2008 are:
- 6.00%
During in-school,
Grace and deferment- 6.80%
During repayment
- 8.50% for Federal Plus Loan
Application Procedures:
Application is made through the
office of Student Financial
Services by completing a
Loan Origination Request Form. The
applicant is required to first file and
receive a response from a FAFSA.
A counseling session and, the
completion of a Direct Loan Entrance
Interview Quiz are required. When the
loan is approved, a promissory note is
signed by the student.
( The Direct Loan Entrance Counseling
Quiz can be completed on the internet at
Entrance
Counseling for Borrowers ) follow by
an online master promissory note at
http://dlenote.ed.gov
(A Student loan Ombudsman office is
available for assistance with loan
problems at 1-877-557-2575 or
http://ombudsman.ed.gov
)
Selection of Recipients and
Allocation of Awards: To be
eligible for a Federal Direct Loan, a
student must be:
- a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident
alien.
- enrolled in or admitted as a
matriculated, at least half-time in
their current session, six (6)credits or tuition units.
Loan Schedule: The loan
amounts vary and are based on class
year: for example, $3,500.00 during the
student's freshman year, $4,500.00
during the sophomore year, etc. All
students are eligible to receive
interest benefits on their loans unless
they choose to waive them. Some students
are eligible for a full interest subsidy
on a subsidized loan during the time He/She is enrolled in school at least
half-time, and for a following six month
grace period before repayment must
begin. An "Origination Fee" of
3% of the loan amount is subtracted in
full at the time the check is issued.
Rights and Responsibilities
for Recipients: Students may
borrow at a relatively low interest rate
(currently 2.77%) with no repayment as
long as they remain enrolled at least
half-time, and for six months after they
cease to be at least a half-time
students. Payment of the principal may
further be deferred during study under a
graduate fellowship program approved by
the U.S. Commissioner of Education,
during up to three years as a full-time
Peace Corps or VISTA or similar national
program volunteer.
Six months after ceasing to be at
least a half-time student, the borrower
must make formal arrangements with the
loan service to begin repayment. The
following regulations apply:
Federal Direct Loan for Undergraduate
Students (FDPLUS)
Enables either natural or
adoptive parents of dependent
undergraduate students to borrow per
child up to the cost of education, for
each academic year at federally approved
schools. The amount borrowed in any year
cannot be greater than the cost of going
to school during that year, minus all
other financial aid received for the
period of the loan. Costs that may be
covered include tuition and fees, room
and board, books, transportation, and an
allowance for personal expenses. FDPLUS
loans for which the first disbursement
was made on or after July 1, 1993 have
no aggregate loan limit. Interest rates
are variable and change every July 1st.
Repayment of the loan must begin
within 60 days after the date funds are
distributed. Borrowers have 10 years to
repay. The loan servicer may charge an
Insurance Premium of up to 4% on the
loan principal. This premium is deducted
from each loan disbursement. Application
is made through the office of Student
Financial Services
by completing a Loan Origination Request
Form. Parents will be eligible for the
same authorized deferments described in
the Federal Direct Loan Program.
Academic Requirements for Federal Aid (Title IV)
Federal regulations stipulate that a
student at LaGuardia Community College
may remain eligible to receive Title IV
assistance upon achieving at least a
"C" average, or its equivalent
according to the College’s retention
policy, and accumulating credits towards
the degree according to the following
standards:
1) a student's
earned credits are equal to or greater
than
two-thirds of the credits the student
has attempted
at the institution;
2) the credits a
student has attempted are not more than
150 % of the credits normally required
for completion
of the degree. If the standard in:
If 1) and 2) are not met, eligibility
may be retained by
meeting the following conditional
standard.
the credits the student has earned
are equal to or greater than .875 of the
total amount of credits attempted minus
21.
Students who fail to meet the
conditional status will lose Title IV
eligibility. They may file a Financial
Aid Waiver Appeal through the Academic
Standing Committee. The decision of the
committee is final.
Special Value Courses:
To be eligible to receive Title IV, you
must, according to Federal guidelines,
be "making significant progress
toward your degree", meaning that
you must be earning credits at a
sufficient rate. The federal guidelines
for achieving full-time status in a
semester do allow you to include, along
with credits, the tuition units of the
"special value" courses, but
there is a limit: after you have
registered (and received Title IV money)
for thirty or more "special
value" tuition units, Title IV
programs will not pay for any additional
"special value" courses. For
example, if you register for Basic
Writing 099 and Math 095, those two
courses count for a total of 10.0
"special value" tuition units.
If those units are used in calculating
your Title IV award for the semester,
you will have 20.0 "special
value" tuition units remaining in
your account.
If, however, you register for other,
"non-special value" courses
which make you full-time without using
the "special value" tuition
units, you would still have 30
"special value" tuition units
in your account.
Once you have used up your 30
"special value" tuition units,
you can only receive Title IV money for
"non-special value" courses.
Any future awards will be based on the
credit values of regular courses only.
It is therefore to your advantage to try
to take "special value"
courses along with regular courses, if
you have met the prerequisites.
Note: Although ESL
courses are listed as "special
value" courses, those courses do
not count toward the Title IV maximum.
Probation: Students
who do not meet the college's minimum
grade point average (GPA) will be placed
on academic probation. They will be
given one semester to achieve the
minimum grade point average. During the
probationary period students who make
satisfactory academic progress will
continue to maintain their academic
standing with the college and their
concurrent eligibility for financial
aid.
Additional Regulations:
For Federal Pell awards, students under
24 years old as of January 1st must
prove their independence if they claim
to be independent of their parents. They
must also have unusual circumstances
which must be documented.
Students are reminded that attendance
is a requirement for receiving financial
aid. Failure to attend classes could
result in a reduction or loss of
financial aid. If students charge
tuition and/or books and attend classes,
they are still liable for the costs and
will be billed accordingly.
Permanent residents who have not had
their status confirmed by INS/DOH must also
submit a copy of their permanent
resident card. Students who have an
I-94, with the following endorsements,
are no longer eligible for Title IV Aid:
a) Adjusted Applicant, b) 245 c) 245
Applicant, d) Applicant for Permanent
Residence, e) Voluntary Departure, and
f) Deferred Action.
Total Withdrawals and The Return of Title IV
Funds:
The Higher Education Act of 1965 as
amended in 1998 (Public Law 105-244)
revised the rules to return Title IV
funds (e.g. federal Pell ) for students
who completely withdraw from a term of
enrollment. The new rules in
effect since Fall 2000 assume that students
earn their Financial Aid based on the
period of time they remain enrolled.
During the first 60% of the term,
students earn Title IV funds in
proportion to the time they are
enrolled. If a student received more aid
than he/she earned, the unearned portion
must be returned to the Department of
Education. If a student received less
aid than the amount earned he/she may be
eligible for a late disbursement.
The portion of aid the student is
entitled to receive is based on a
percentage by comparing the total number
of days in the semester to the number of
days completed before the withdrawal.
For example if you completed 20% of the
semester, you would have earned 20% of
your Title IV aid. If you received 100%
of your Title IV aid you would have to
return the unearned portion. The
regulation stipulates that the amount to
be returned is to shared by the college
and the student in proportion to the aid
that each possessed. The college's share
of the excess funds is the lesser of:
- the total amount of unearned aid or,
- institutional charges multiplied by
the percentage of aid that was unearned.
The college's share is allocated to the
Title IV programs as determined by
statute. The student's share is the
difference between the total unearned
amount and the college's share. This is
also allocated to the Title IV programs
as determined by statute. The law
provides that any amount that the
student returns to a grant program be
reduced by half. The amount to be
returned is also considered an
overpayment and must be returned within
30 days to the Department of Education.
If the student does not repay the
overpayment in full or make a
satisfactory payment arrangement within
45 days from the date of notification,
the student will become ineligible for
future Title IV funds.
Students who remain enrolled beyond
the 60% point of the term are considered
to have earned all their aid and do not
have to return any Title IV funds.
Effects of Withdrawing on your Title IV Aid:
Federal Pell Grant - If
you withdraw from one or more of your
classes after the first day of classes
but before the official withdrawal date
listed in the schedule of classes and
remain with at least 1.0 tuition unit
through 5.5 tuition units, the amount of
Pell funds you receive for the session
will be reduced. If this amount is less
than the amount you charged or credited
towards tuition/fees and a book voucher,
you will immediately have to pay the
difference to the Bursar's Office.
Federal Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG),
Federal Perkins Loan (FPL), Federal Work
Study (FWS) -If the class or
classes you withdraw from by the
official withdrawal date reduce (s) your
enrollment status to less than half-time
status (as described in the Schedule of
Classes) you will not receive any funds
for the session from these programs. If
you work in the Federal Work Study
Program, you must stop working the day
you withdraw-officially or unofficially
- to below half-time status.
Federal Direct Loan Program (FDL)
- You must maintain at least a
half-time enrollment status (as
described in the Schedule of Classes)
throughout the semester, otherwise you
are not eligible for funds from the
above loan programs. If you drop to less
- than a half -time status, you
immediately start using your grace
period and must contact your loan
service for an Exit Interview and
repayment information.
Use the following examples to help
determine your eligibility for Financial
Aid.
Example I. Withdrawing
from all classes.
Student originally registers as a
full-time student. After the last day of
the tuition refund period, the student
withdraws from all of the classes.
Students is currently receiving payment
#2 from TAP.
Title lV Aid-Pell Grant -
During
the first 60% of the term your award
will be pro-rated based on the number of
days completed before the withdrawal.
FSEOG, FPL, FWS, FDL -
Same as Pell Grant.
College Discovery - not
eligible for C.D. funds because student
withdrew from all classes and dropped
below full-time status.
TAP
- will pay for the
session from which all classes have been
withdrawn since it is after the last day
of the tuition refund period. The
student will be seeking TAP payment #3
when the student returns the following
semester.
In order to receive TAP payment (#3),
the student would have to have earned 6
credits or more, have a GPA of at least
1.00 and complete 50% of the courses in
the semester the student received TAP
payment #2.
Therefore, since the student withdrew
from all classes and did not complete
50% of the courses in the semester for
which the student received TAP
payment #2, the student would not be
eligible for TAP payment #3 in the next
semester. (See Progress and Pursuit
Chart.)
Example II. Withdrawing
From One Class After the Last Day of the
Tuition Refund Period.
Student originally registers as a
full-time student and withdraws from a
class after the last day of the tuition
refund period. The student becomes 3/4
time with 9 credits/9 tuition units.
Student is currently receiving payment
#3 from TAP.
Title IV Aid - Pell
Grant would be reduced from full-time to
3/4 - time payment. If Session II brings
student back up to full-time, remaining
payment then could be received.
FSEOG, FPL, FWS, FDL -
would remain okay to pay.
College Discovery -
not eligible for C.D. funds because
student dropped below full-time status.
If Session II brings student back up to
full-time, payment then could be
received.
TAP - will pay for the
session since it is after the last day
of the tuition refund period. The
student will be seeking TAP payment #4
when the student returns the following
semester.
In order to receive TAP payment (#4), the
student would have to have18 credits or more
and with GPA of at least 1.20 and complete
75%or all 9 credits that remained in the
session after the students withdrew from the
once class. Any credits earned in Session II
may also count toward TAP credit totals.
(See Progress and Pursuit Chart).
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