Policies

Financial Aid Policies

Please take a moment to review the polices that the Financial Aid Office has provided to help students succeed.

Terms and Conditions of Your Financial Aid Award PDF

Satisfactory Academic Policy (SAP) PDF

Repayment Policy PDF

Terms and Conditions of Your Financial Aid Award

By accepting Financial Aid funds, I am stating that I have read, understand and will comply with the following Financial Aid Terms of Agreement.

Student Terms of Agreement

I understand that:

1. Funds on your Financial Aid Offer Notification are tentative and based on full-time enrollment status in approved college credit classes. Funds are subject to adjustment, if you are enrolled in less than full- time (12 units) and your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) limitations. Classes that begin after the students’ first disbursement or added classes will be paid on the subsequent disbursement. My financial aid payments may be adjusted if my enrollment changes.

Enrollment Status Units
Full time 12 or more
Three-quarter-time 9 to 11.9
Half-time 6 to 8.9
Less-than-half-time Less than 6

2. Disbursements: Eligible Chaffey College students will receive their financial aid disbursements via BankMobile disbursement services a technology solution, powered by BMTX, inc. Please visit their website to learn more about selecting a refund preference at https://bankmobiledisbursements.com/refundchoices/

The Office of Financial aid reserves the right to review, modify, and/or cancel financial aid awarded at any time during the year due to changes in your financial status, including but not limited to, eligibility for financial aid and/or Satisfactory Academic Progress.  In addition, your financial aid awarded may be void, cancelled or modified if the aid awarded was based on any error in determining eligibility or the amount of financial aid awarded, whether or not the error was made by you or the Chaffey College Office of Financial Aid.  Students who fail to cash financial aid refunds that were issued as a paper check by the check's expiration date, will have the funds returned to the aid program in which the refund was created.

3. Please be aware that Chaffey College is required by federal regulations to establish a Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP). Financial aid is provided for students seeking a degree, transfer status or certificate. I have read and understand the Satisfactory Academic Progress polices listed below. Students who do not meet the SAP standards will lose their eligibility for financial aid. The complete SAP policy can be found below.

4. I agree that I must promptly report to the Financial Aid Office any changes in my financial, marital, residency or academic status. 

5. I must report any changes in my information promptly to the Financial Aid office including name, mailing address, enrollment status, any additional earning or funding resources not included in my award offer from any other outside sources.

6. I must be enrolled in an eligible program leading to a degree (AA/AA-T, AS/AS-T), transfer or eligible certificate to receive financial aid. (Certificates less than 16 units are not approved for Title IV Financial Aid).

7. I understand that all financial aid awards are contingent upon the availability of funds. This award has been based on the documented information I submitted at the time I applied for financial aid.  It is my responsibility to inform the Financial Aid Office if that information changes. 

8. Chaffey College reserves the right to revise the student’s Financial Aid award.  Modification of this offer may be reduced due to lack of necessary state or federal funding, academic progress, corrections or changes in the data reported to the institution by parents and/or students, receipt of additional awards by non-college sources, unintended error, student changes in unit load, change in residence, or other reasons consistent with Chaffey College’s procedures.  It may be necessary for the Financial Aid office to alter the types of assistance I have been awarded so that the funds in each of our programs may be fully utilized by students qualifying for particular types of aid.

9. I will be considered to have received an overpayment of financial aid funds if:

  • The student is selected for verification by the Department of Education after receiving Title IV disbursement.
  • Students, who drop any classes after receiving their first disbursement (but do not drop all of their classes during the term) may be in overpayment penalty per Federal Title IV regulations due to reduced enrollment.
  • Other income discrepancies caused by students revising their FAFSA due to conflicting information.
  • Payments are made to me and I already have a Bachelor's degree (or the equivalent from a foreign country) - for Federal Pell or SEOG grants, loans and state Cal or Student Success Completion grants (SSCG) only;
  • Payments are made to me when I receive financial aid from Chaffey College and from another institution during the same enrollment period. I must notify the Financial Aid Office if I am receiving financial aid for attendance at another institution while attending Chaffey College. Further, I cannot receive financial aid payment that exceeds the maximum annual award.


Financial Aid recipients are advised to consult with their Chaffey College Financial Aid Advisor before dropping classes, or making changes to their FAFSA.

10. I cannot receive financial aid funds if I am in default of Title IV educational loans made to attend any college and/or owe an overpayment of Title IV grant to the college and/or U.S. Department of Education.

11. I must have a high school diploma or a GED.

12. Release of Information: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) provide students with certain rights regarding their educational records, including information on the student’s financial aid application. As a rule, the Chaffey College Financial Aid office cannot release information to anyone other than the student. If you want Chaffey College Financial Aid office to release information to someone else, please visit the Financial Aid office virtually or in person and request a Student Release Information Form. To make this request, you must present this form along with your Student ID, and a current California ID or California Driver’s License. A signed Student Release of information form is required before any student information will be disclosed to anyone other than the student. Please understand that by doing this, you are authorizing someone other than yourself to inquire about your financial aid information and status.

13. Federal financial aid (“Title IV funds”) is awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded and enroll in classes in their eligible program.

14. Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4): Federal Title IV financial aid funds are awarded under the assumption that a student will remain in attendance for the entire semester for which the funds were awarded. Students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all classes prior to completing more than 60% of the enrollment period are subject to having their federal aid recalculated. These funds include Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity (SEOG), and Federal Direct Loans.

15. Assembly Bill-2248 Notification to Cal Grant B & C Recipients: Cal Grant offer is limited to four academic years, except for students enrolled in an institutionally required five-year undergraduate program or for students with baccalaureate degrees admitted to and enrolled in a program of professional teach preparation. A student needs to take 15 units per semester or quarter, or 30 semester units or the equivalent quarter units per academic year, in order to graduate within four years.

16. My financial aid payment schedule may be adjusted or delayed depending on when I enroll for a class, or the start date(s) of my class(es) for the term.

17. I cannot receive financial aid payment for any units completed as a result of Credit by Examination. I cannot receive financial aid payment for any courses taken for Audit.

18. I can only receive financial aid payment once when repeating a previously passed course.

19. I understand I cannot receive financial aid payment for waitlisted courses until I am officially enrolled in the course.

20. If I fail to begin attendance in at least one course in which I was enrolled, or I fail to appropriately or promptly withdraw from a course which I am no longer attending, I may owe funds back to the college and/or U.S. Department of Education.

21. In the event of financial aid overpayment, regardless of the cause, I must repay the funds. This includes students who received financial aid funds and are later determined to be ineligible.

22. The Federal Pell Grant has a lifetime limit of up to 6 years / 12 full-time semesters (600%) or until a Bachelor’s Degree is earned, whichever comes first. I understand when I have reached 600% in Federal Pell Grant funds; I will no longer be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant. I understand this limit will be monitored by the U.S. Department of Education and I can check my status by logging into the Federal Student Aid website

23. Correspondence from the Office of Financial Aid will be emailed to my college assigned email address or mailed to the mailing address on file with the Admissions and Records Office. All changes in name and/or address must be reported directly to the Admissions and Records Office.

24. I understand the Financial Aid office reserves the right to revise my Financial Aid award during any time of the year if there are changes to my financial aid eligibility.

25. The Financial Aid Terms and Conditions and Satisfactory Academic Progress Policies may change any time during the semester. In the event of changes, I will comply with all the new policies. I also understand changes will be posted on the college website

26. It is my responsibility to complete a designated program of study within the maximum time frame as specified in the Satisfactory Academic Progress Regulations and ensure all classes I take will fulfill my educational goal requirements.

27. I understand that my Pell grant will be in two disbursements for Chaffey College for Fall, Spring and Summer terms.

Satisfactory Academic Policy (SAP)

The U.S. Department of Education requires that students applying for financial aid, must demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward an AA/AS degree, transfer requirements, or certificate program. This Policy applies to all students whether or not they were recipients of financial aid at Chaffey College or at any other College.

Chaffey College requires students to meet both a qualitative and a quantitative standard for academic progress. All students will be evaluated at the end of each semester to determine if they are meeting SAP standards. In order for students to receive any federal or state financial aid, students must adhere to all of the following SAP standards:

Financial Aid SAP Status

A student is meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress as long as the student:

  • Maintains a minimum 0 cumulative GPA (Qualitative Standard), and
  • Completes a cumulative 67% of all attempted units (Quantitative Standard) and
  • Completes educational program within 150% of the published length of the program (Maximum Time Frame). For instance, if the published length of a program is 60 units, the student may receive financial aid for up to 90 attempted units (60 units x 150% = 90 units). If students are unable to finish their program within the Maximum Time Frame, as explained, they may lose eligibility for Title IV aid.



Grade Standards
  • Attempted Units include: A, B, C, D, F, CR, P, NC, NP, FW, W, I, IP
  • Completed units are units with a grade of: A, B, C, D, CR, P



Repeated, Audited, Transfer, or Remedial Coursework
  • Transfer credits from other institutions will be included as attempted and completed units in the SAP calculation, whether or not this is the first time a student is applying for financial
  • Courses in which a student receives a grade of F, I, NC, NP IP, W, or FW will not be counted as completed units for SAP purposes, but will be counted as attempted
  • Financial aid may be awarded for the cost of courses previously taken if the course is being taken to improve a sub-standard grade of D, F, NP or NC. Financial aid will be awarded a maximum of two times for repeated classes in which a student receives a passing grade (A, B, C, D, CR and P grades are considered passing for financial aid purposes). Repeated units will count toward the 150% maximum units
  • Students on Approved appeal may repeat a course they have previously failed if it is necessary for completion of the degree or certificate, listed on their educational plan and approved by a counselor. Students may repeat, with financial aid, the previously failed course or courses until they receive a passing grade in the course (no F, I, W, EW grades). Students may repeat a course they have previously passed one time only if it is necessary for the degree or certificate, listed on the Educational Plan and approved by a counselor (grades of F on the retake course count as the one allowable retake and no further retakes will be funded). Students may submit and SAP Updated Educational Plan form requesting the addition of a course previously taken (while on approved appeal) and must meet the same criteria as the other repeats: the course must be necessary for the degree, listed on the Educational Plan and approved by a counselor.
  • EW (Excused Withdrawal) are not part of the calculation. EW's are not considered in completed credits or a student's cumulative grade point average (GPA).
  • Up to 30 semester units will be accepted within the maximum time frame.

 

Adding and/or dropping units after the first grant disbursement will require a review and possible adjustment of any future disbursements. Chaffey College Financial Aid office follows all Title IV regulations in relation to financial aid for repeated courses and IP grades.

Students that are meeting Qualitative and/or Quantitative SAP standards and who reach 45 units will receive a Monitoring notification to ensure they are on track for completion within the allowable time frame and taking courses they need to reach their academic goal before reaching 150% maximum time frame. Students remain eligible for financial aid.

SAP Warning Status

Students who have not earned a 2.0 cumulative GPA or did not complete 67% of all units attempted will be placed on automatic Warning status for the subsequent semester, during which time, they will maintain financial aid eligibility.

  1. On the first non-consecutive occurrence, the student will be sent a Financial Aid Warning Notification informing the student they did not meet the satisfactory academic progress standards. In order for students to continue receiving financial aid the following semester they must improve and meet the minimum requirements to avoid being determined ineligible.
  2. On the second consecutive occurrence (while on Warning) the student will receive a Financial Aid Termination status notification indicating they failed to meet the terms of the Financial Aid Warning Notification and therefore will no longer be eligible to receive further financial aid (federal or state, with the exception of the California College Promise Grant).
  3. Warning status does not apply to maximum unit timeframe. Some students will be automatically ineligible based on previous academic history once they have exceeded the 150% Maximum Time.
Ineligible Status

If after warning status, a student failed to achieve the minimum Quantitative and/or Qualitative SAP standards will be placed on Termination status and will not be eligible for future financial aid. A student can become ineligible for two reasons:

  • Student failed to meet SAP standards after their “Warning” semester and/or
  • Student exceeds the 150% Maximum Time Frame of program of study.

Students who come to Chaffey College with a prior AA degree will be determined ineligible and must appeal for aid (Maximum Timeframe appeal). Students who come to Chaffey College with a prior bachelor’s degree will be determined ineligible and must appeal for aid (Federal Direct Loans and Federal Work Study only). 

Reinstatement

Students who have are ineligible and now have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and a cumulative 67% of all attempted units or greater, may be reinstated automatically during evaluation period prior to exceeding the Maximum Time Frame. Reinstatement is not retroactive, and you will not receive aid for any semester that you are ineligible.

Appeal Process

Students who become ineligible may appeal their financial aid termination status. All students appealing must submit a complete Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal packet to the Financial Aid Office with appropriate documentation by the deadlines listed below. Complete appeals are forwarded to the SAP Appeals Committee. Incomplete appeals will be returned to the student unprocessed. Students will be notified once a decision is made via the assigned Panther email. Appeals must be filed during the term of enrollment. Regulations prohibit students from appealing retroactively for prior terms. Any appeals evaluated after the semester deadline will not be eligible for aid for that term. To appeal, students must document the circumstance for not meeting SAP and must provide official documentation.

2023-2024 SAP Appeals Deadlines

Fall 2023 -11/6/2023

Spring 2024 - 04/8/2024

Summer 2024 -7/8/2024

A student who has is determined ineligible due to failure to make SAP after Warning status may file an appeal, known as a SAP APPEAL. An appeal will be reviewed only for documented extenuating circumstances. Appeals not meeting the definition of "extenuating circumstances" will not be accepted. Submission of an appeal does NOT GUARANTEE reinstatement of a student's financial aid. If an appeal is approved, the student will receive financial aid for the semester at the soonest payment date following approval.

Examples of extenuating circumstances that must be supported by documentation:

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE: DOCUMENTATION:
Death of an immediate family member Attach copy of death certificate or obituary

Serious physical or emotional illness of

student or immediate family member
Attach medical documentation confirming onset and duration of illness or condition
Accident or injury (Self, child, or parent) Provide medical and/or other documentation verifying the date and duration of the occurrence
Victim of a crime or unexpected disaster that impacted student’s attendance Provide documentation of insurance claims or other 3rd party information and nature of disaster
Student made significant improvement during warning or probation status, completed a term of at least 6 units, with a minimum 2.00 GPA and 67% completion rate OR if in Ineligible status student completed ONE term unaided and met term SAP of 2.00 and 67% Only for students who significantly improved in prior semester. Complete the Appeal process. Grades for preceding semester will be verified by the Financial Aid Office. Spring 2023 appeals may be submitted to the Financial Aid Office beginning January 9, 2023

 

Examples of students appealing for exceeding the Maximum Time Frame:

  • Completed ESL courses
  • Up to 30 units for remedial (non-degree applicable) coursework
  • High unit majors (Nursing, Vocational Nursing)
  • High unit transfer majors (Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Engineering)
  • Completed Military or AP courses/credit.

 

Students who exceed the maximum unit timeframe for their educational goal are no longer eligible for financial aid. Students who are determined ineligible for exceeding time frame requirements may submit an Maximum Timeframe Appeal. Appeals will be accepted only from students who meet both GPA and Pace requirements. Complete instructions are included on the appeal form.

The Financial Aid Office may determine to extend a student’s maximum timeframe for continued eligibility of financial aid for courses listed on an approved Maximum Timeframe appeal provided that the courses in which the student is enrolled apply to the students program of study or the courses are required for transfer. 

Complete SAP appeal packets include the following items and are submitted via Campus Logic at https://chaffey.verifymyfafsa.com

  1. A detailed statement via Campus Logic that explains the reason for not meeting SAP.
  2. Complete GetSAP Counseling session https://chaffey.get-counseling.com/take-session/16757/intro and upload verification that you have completed the SAP Counseling session. Must complete “The Key Components to the Satisfactory Academic Progress(SAP) Financial Aid Appeal Process"
  3. Supporting documentation that supports your statement for the term(s) you did not meet SAP progress.
  4. Upload a copy of Current Comprehensive Student Educational Plan (SEP) Meet with an academic goal, what remaining classes you need to obtain that goal. Please bring this form when you meet with a counselor. 
Probation

Students who are not meeting SAP and have successfully appealed are considered to be on Probation. Students will be reinstated for financial aid and placed on “Probation” or on an Academic Plan. In order to  remain eligible for financial aid, the student must comply with the conditions of the approved appeal and academic plan. Students on Probation must meet the SAP standards (2.0 GPA & 67% Completion Rate) beginning with the semester of approval in order to maintain their Probation Status. If students fail to meet SAP while in a Financial Aid Probation Status, they will become Ineligible to receive financial aid until they bring their SAP up to Qualitative Standard of 2.0 GPA and 67% completion rate prior to exceeding the Maximum Time Frame.

Academic Plan

Probation students will only receive financial aid for courses that are listed on their Approved Student Educational Plan (SEP), which is submitted with the student’s SAP appeal request. If an appeal is submitted in the academic year and approved, funding will only be disbursed for the semester in which they were approved and forward. Eligibility for federal, state and institutional eligibility will be determined after the appeal has been approved. No retroactive disbursements will be made.

If an appeal is approved, students will be monitored after each term. The Appeals Committee may  impose conditions for a student’s continued eligibility to receive Federal Title IV aid. Students will be advised by email of the appeal’s outcome.

Important reminder: Students who are on Warning, Monitoring, Approved appeal or may have been reinstated after Summer, Fall and Spring terms grades posted, may experience a financial aid disbursement delay in their next semester until is evaluated.

Repayment Policy

If you receive a Grant and then withdraw from one or all of your classes, you will owe money back to the federal program. Here's how it works:

REDUCED ENROLLMENT
If you receive a grant and you withdraw from one or more of your classes, you will owe back money. 

EXAMPLE: If you were enrolled in 12 units and received a Pell grant of $3,247, then you withdraw from 2 classes (6 units) you would then owe $1,623.00.

Return to Title IV Funds
Federal Title IV financial aid funds are awarded under the assumption that a student will remain in attendance and successfully complete the entire semester for which the funds were awarded. The funds include, Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG).

Chaffey College is not required to take attendance. Students who are not able to complete a course have an obligation to withdraw officially. A student may drop or withdraw only before 61% completion of the class. An instructor may also drop or withdraw a student for lack of attendance only before 61% completion of the class. After census, students should not rely on instructors to drop or withdraw them from a class.

A student’s withdrawal date is:

  • Official withdrawal: The date the student dropped his/her last class in the Admissions Office of his or her intent to withdraw, or
  • Unofficial withdrawal: The midpoint of the semester for a student who leaves without notifying the college (and received all FW grades; combination of all FW and/or W grades), or
  • The student’s last date of attendance in a documented academically-related program

 

Students who withdraw from all of their classes, are dropped by all of their instructors, and/or receive all FW grades for the semester may be subject to repayment of federal funds and the Return of Title IV will be calculated assuming attendance at the 50% point of the semester. 

If a student withdraws after completing 60% of the term, the student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds awarded/received. 

If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement. The student will receive a Post Withdrawal Disbursement notification letter informing the student of the award eligibility, and the amount that the student is eligible to receive and when funds will be available.

 

Payment of a Refund or return of Title IV (Section 8.3)

Chaffey College is required to perform a Return to Title IV calculation within 30 days of the date the school learns that a student has completely withdrawn. Federal regulations require that the Financial Aid Office performs a calculation to determine how much financial aid a student has earned. The Financial Aid office uses a federal formula to determine how much aid a student earned based on his/her last day of attendance.

A student who withdraws from courses after receiving Federal Aid may be required to return a portion of the funds to the US Department of Education.

The institution would also be required to return a portion of the funds. The institution must return the portion of Title IV funds for which it is responsible to the U.S. Department of Education no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student’s withdrawal.

  1. In the event that a student has not earned all of the aid that was disbursed, he or she may be required to return some of the financial aid received. Students will be notified in writing of the requirement to return financial aid funds.
  1. A repayment notification will be sent with the amount due. The student will have 45 days from the date on the notification to repay the funds directly to the school. After the 45thday, the overpayment will be reported to the US Department of Education for collection.  The student will be ineligible for any additional Title IV funds until the repayment is resolved. Once the balance owed is transferred from the college to the U.S. Department of Education, the student can contact the Department of Education by calling 1-800-621-3115.

Any unearned portion will be returned by the college and/or the student in accordance with the method prescribed in regulations. The amount will be returned in the following priority order: 

  1. Federal Pell Grant
  2. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

Any wages paid to a student from the Federal Work Study program are wages earned and do not need to be paid back.

 

Calculation of Return to Title IV Funds

Example:
Step 1
Determine the total amount of federal funds for the semester:
Student receives $1,524 Pell Grant award and could have received an additional $1,523 if you had completed the semester, equaling a total of $6,095 for the semester.              

Step 2
Determine the percentage of funds earned by the student:
There are 120 days in the semester and the student withdraws from all classes on the 15th day of the semester.
15/120=12.50% of funds earned

Step 3
Amount of the semester funds earned by the student
The Financial Aid office will calculate what students earned and did not earn:
$1,524 grant money received + $1,523 that could have received = $3,047 X 22% = $661.20 earned
$1,524 grant money received - $661.20 earned aid = $862.80 unearned aid (78.30%)

An additional portion of the grant must be repaid by the college based on your total institutional charges at the time you withdrew

For Example, you took 13 units for the semester at $46 per unit. Your total institutional charges = $640 $640X 78.30% (unearned) = $501.12 the college has to pay back to the federal program

Students will return the unearned amount minus 50% of the total aid that was disbursed and aid that could have been disbursed.

$862.80 unearned aid - $501.12 that the college returns = $361.68 which is the initial amount of unearned aid due from you. $3,047 total aid disbursed/could have been disbursed X 50% = $1,523.50. $361.68 - $1523.50 = $0 student returns to the federal grant program.

If a student receives financial aid, contact the Admissions and Records Office and the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from classes to discuss alternative options. There are programs and/or services to assist students in staying on track with their educational goals.