Federal Aid

A student who receives federal aid, (Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant [FSEOG], Subsidized Stafford Loan or Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or Parent Loan) and withdraws during the first 60% of the trimester or enrollment period will have his or her federal aid adjusted, based on the amount of time the student was enrolled. The amount of federal aid a student earns will be directly proportional to the percentage of time enrolled. The student who withdraws after the 60% period will be able to keep all of his or her federal financial aid.

The unearned amount of federal aid will be returned to the source, using the following distribution priority:

  1. Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
  2. Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
  3. Federal PLUS Loan
  4. Federal Pell Grant
  5. Federal SEOG
  6. Other federal aid

If FHCHS is not required to return all of the unearned loan funds, the student must return the remaining amount. Any loan funds that the student has to return will be repaid according to the terms of the promissory note.

If a student is responsible for returning federal grant funds, only 50% is required to be returned. A student retains eligibility for 45 days from the date that FHCHS sent notification to the student that he or she owes the overpayment. During the 45 days, students will have the opportunity to continue their eligibility for federal aid by repaying the overpayment in full to the College or by signing a repayment agreement with the U.S. Department of Education. If the student does not take one of these two actions during the 45-day period, he or she becomes ineligible for future funding on the 46th day. Additional information regarding signing the repayment agreement may be obtained from the Financial Aid Office.

If a student withdraws from the College during a trimester and the total amount of federal funds the student earned is greater than the total amount disbursed, the student may be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement. For the post-withdrawal disbursement, the College can credit grants and loans for tuition, fees, room and board (without authorization) and for other educational charges (with authorization from the student or parent). The College will send written notification to the student or parent within 30 days of the date that the College determined that the student withdrew. Confirmation must be received before the funds can be credited to the account or directly disbursed. The written notification will:

  1. Include the grant and/or loan to be credited and the grant and/or loan available as direct disbursement.
  2. Explain that the student or parent may accept or decline some or all of the post-withdrawal disbursement.
  3. Explain the student’s or parent’s obligation to repay the loan.
  4. Explain that no post-withdrawal disbursement will be made if the student or parent has not responded within 14 days of the written notification date.

If the student and/or the parent responds to the FHCHS notice within 14 days and instructs the College to make all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement, the funds will be disbursed in the manner specified in the response within 120 days of the date that the College determined that the student withdrew. If the student and/or the parent does not respond to the FHCHS notice, no post-withdrawal disbursement will be credited to the account or disbursed directly.