Award Terms and Conditions
IMPORTANT NOTICE
If you attend classes before your financial aid payment has been received, you will incur University charges.
If, for any reason, your financial aid is not awarded or is revoked, you are personally responsible for, and will be
required, to pay all University charges incurred. If you should choose to separate from the University or stop attending classes,
you must complete an official withdrawal for the semester. To start the total semester withdrawal process, students must
obtain a "University Semester Withdrawal" form from the University Academic Center, located in the Prince Building, room 213F.
After the withdrawal is processed, any refund for which you may be eligible, will be calculated based on the date of the official withdrawal
and the published Tuition Refund Schedule.
- The Award Notification
- Required Minimum Hours
- Changing or Declining Awards
- Types of Financial Aid
- Financial Aid Authorization Form
- Email Communication
- Changes in Enrollment Verification
- Return of Title IV Funds and Repayment
- Summer School
- Cost of Attendance and Student Expense Budgets
The following information is provided to help you understand how your award was determined
and how you may use the financial aid that will be made available upon your
official enrollment. It is important that you read and understand the terms and
conditions that govern your award.
As you read the following information, the use of "we" or "us" or "our
office" refers to Financial Aid & Scholarships. The use of "award notification" refers to an email notification, paper correspondence,
or combination of email and paper correspondence.
The Award Notification
The electronic award notification that can be viewed on the student's webadvisor includes information
associated with award sources offered for the fall and/or spring semesters.
Summer financial aid is handled separately. By accepting the financial aid
awarded, the student certifies that (s)he will maintain the minimum standard of
academic progress to maintain general eligibility for financial aid and
understands, agrees with, and will abide by these conditions.
The standard practice of Financial Aid & Scholarships:
- assumes students will be attending full-time (12 hours undergraduates, 9 hours graduates) during both the fall and spring semester,
- assumes students will accept the awards as offered, and
- provides students and parents with all eligible aid based on the FAFSA results and other awards received (as funding allows).
- Once minimum degree requirements are completed, students are no longer eligible to receive grant or scholarship funding as an undergraduate student.
The awards listed are the amounts you should receive if you meet
all eligibility. The Federal Stafford Student Loan, subsidized or unsubsidized,
and Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS) awards may have fees deducted
from each loan disbursement. Please note that although we certify these loans,
the University is not the lender and cannot ensure that you will always receive
the amount indicated due to origination fees. Miscellaneous Loans represent Alternative (Private) loans. An award listed
as "External Aid" represents an award made by an agency other than
the University, generally an outside scholarship.
Required Minimum Hours of Enrollment
In order to receive a Federal Stafford or PLUS loan, you must enroll for at least 6 credit hours per term.
Other awards require different credit-hour minimums. Initially, your award was
made assuming full time enrollment for each semester; 12 credit hours for
undergraduates, and 9 credit hours for graduate students. If you do not enroll
as a full-time student, your award will not be credited to your account without
review. If you do not intend to enroll full-time, please contact Financial Aid & Scholarships so that your awards can be adjusted accordingly. Failure to enroll in the minimum credits required for financial aid (scholarships, grants or loans) will
result in the cancellation of your financial aid for that semester or summer
session, as well as any subsequent semester or term for which aid was awarded. Additionally,
should you drop below half time status during the semester or term, any future
disbursement of either a Stafford or PLUS loan will be canceled.
Changing or Declining Awards
- Students planning to take less than a full time course load must notify Financial Aid & Scholarships each semester. They must indicate the number of hours they plan to take. Some awards are based on full time status only and must be cancelled.
- Students declining an aid source must notify the Financial Aid & Scholarships prior to the start of each semester.
- Any aid source from outside of Coastal Carolina University, such as churches, civic organizations,
etc., must be reported to and sent to Financial Aid and Scholarships to
ensure that these sources are coordinated with Federal and State aid
and are properly credited to the student's account. It is helpful to
receive this information by July 1st for fall semester and November
1st for spring semester. Students should ask the awarding agency to
make checks payable to Coastal Carolina University and reference the student's full name and
social security number. This will allow the Office of Student Accounts to credit the account immediately.
Funds will be returned to the aid source when students do not attend.
Existing awards may require adjustments to accommodate the outside aid
you will be receiving.
- To decline or reduce aid awarded, e-mail your award change to finaid@coastal.edu
so the aid may be adjusted. You may also make the change on your award
notification and mail or fax the notice to our office. Be very specific
about the type of aid involved and the change you wish to make, or you
may decline your awards via the student WebAdvisor
portal.
Types of Financial Aid
Please click on the above link for an explanation of the types of Financial Aid available.
Financial Aid Authorization Form
By signing the Financial Aid Authorization Form, the student gives
permission to Coastal Carolina University to use financial aid funds to
pay indirect educational costs associated with that term. If the student wants
to use his/her 'Pending' financial aid to charge books, this form must be signed.
The Financial Aid Authorization form needs to be submitted only once, and can be revoked at any time.
The form is located on the Financial Aid Web page under the forms link.
Email Communication
It is extremely important that you maintain your Coastal Carolina University's
email account via http://my.coastal.edu.
It is your responsibility as a student to check your email account frequently
to retrieve official university communications.
E-mails are sent pertaining to students' "missing or incomplete
financial documents," and "information concerning financial
aid packages." In the e-mail, you will be instructed to log into
http://my.coastal.edu to review your
current financial aid status. In some circumstances, there may be additional
information needed to complete the financial aid file.
Changes in Enrollment
1. Dropping classes before and/or during drop-add period (This is the period allowed for a 100% refund):
If you drop before classes begin or during drop-add, your financial aid will be adjusted based on the hours for which
you are enrolled at the end of drop-add. If you are enrolled less than half time, you may not be eligible for assistance.
The Registrar's Office sets the schedule for drop-add each semester.
Coastal Carolina University uses the last date of the 100% tuition refund period as the official Financial Aid census date for all
federal aid recipients. Per federal regulations, federal aid cannot be awarded or increased for classes added AFTER the
institution's census date for the semester.
2. Withdrawing from classes after drop-add, during the "refund
period" established by the "Registrar's Office":
If you withdraw from classes during 90/50/25% refund periods and you are enrolled at least half-time, you
may be eligible to receive funds from the calculated refund. However, if you have received a
settlement check and you are no longer eligible for those funds, the withdrawal may create a balance owed on your
account. Students who withdraw from classes after drop-add are subject to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy of
Coastal Carolina University and the Return of Title IV Funds and Repayment regulations.
3. Complete withdrawal from school:
For students who withdraw from all classes, financial aid will be prorated based on the effective date of the withdrawal
or the last date of attendance and subject to The Return of Title IV Funds Policy and Procedure.
Return of Title IV Funds & Repayment
The Return of Title IV Funds policy applies only if the student completely terminates enrollment (i.e. cancels his/her registration, withdraws, or is dismissed) or stops attending classes before completing more than 60 percent of the enrollment period. The Return of Title IV Funds policy applies to federal student financial aid programs. Financial Aid & Scholarships will calculate the amount of federal funds to be returned for students who withdraw.
Repayment Policy: The amount of Title IV aid that a student must repay is determined by the Federal Formula for Return of Title IV Funds as specified in Section 484B of the Higher Education Act. This law also specifies the order of return of the Title IV Funds to the program from which they were awarded.
A repayment may be required when aid has been credited to a student's
account from financial aid funds in excess of the amount of aid the student
earned during the term. The responsibility for returning unearned aid
is allocated between Coastal Carolina University and the student according to the portion of disbursed
aid that could have been used to cover university charges and the portion that
could have been disbursed directly to the student once school charges were
covered. Coastal Carolina University will distribute the unearned aid back to the Title IV programs
as specified by law. The student will be billed for the amount the student
owes to the Title IV programs and any amount due to Coastal Carolina University resulting from
the return of Title IV funds used to cover charges.
Summer School
The FAFSA for the preceding year (previous fall and spring semester)
and a separate summer school application are required to be considered
for potential summer financial aid eligibility. The Summer Financial Aid
Application should be submitted to Financial Aid & Scholarships
when summer school registration has been completed. The deadline
is May 31. The applications will be available online via the
Financial Aid & Scholarship's Web site in March each year.
Aid for Maymester and summer school sessions is available only if a student has not used all aid eligibility during the preceding
academic year. In addition, students must be enrolled at least halftime (6 credit hours) during the summer for most financial aid
programs.
Cost of Attendance & Student Expense Budgets
To consider a student for federal financial aid, a Cost of Attendance (COA) must first be established. The Student Expense
Budget determines components for the COA.
Student expense budgets are established annually in a two-step process.
In step one, "estimated" budgets are established which reflect
adjustments based on other sources such as statistics from The College
Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics and student surveys. In step two, "official"
budgets are established when the Board of Trustees officially sets tuition
and fees, room, and board costs.
Tuition & Fees: Students enrolled in 12 to 18 hours each semester (Fall & Spring) are assessed a flat rate. Tuition and fees are set on a per credit hour basis for students who enroll in less than 12 hours in a given term.
Books & Supplies: Includes textbooks, supplies, typing, photocopying, etc.
Housing: The Board of Trustees sets on-campus room costs
annually. Housing rates will vary depending on the site of the dorm (on-campus
or University Place). Off-campus housing rates are determined from the The College
Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics and student surveys.
Board: For on-campus students, the rates are determined by the annual amount of a full meal plan. For off-campus students and those living with parents, the rates are determined
by other sources such as The College Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics and student surveys.
Personal/Misc.: The costs include: medical/dental expenses not covered by insurance, clothing, laundry, newspapers, toiletries, etc.
Transportation: On-campus and off-campus students are budgeted with an allowance based on other sources such as
The College Board, Bureau of Labor Statistics and student surveys.
Estimated Educational Expenses for 2011-2012
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