Responsibilities of Financial Aid Recipients

• Return of Title IV Funds: Any federal financial aid recipient who completely withdraws or ceases attendance prior to completing more than 60 percent of any given term will be required to repay all or a percentage of the aid received. Students who find themselves in a situation where they must withdraw should make an effort to pass at least one course. Failure to repay or make arrangements to repay these funds could make the student ineligible for future federal assistance from Seminole State or possibly any other institution. The Department of Education has not made any provisions for extenuating circumstances and there is no appeal process. For more information, refer to the Financial Aid website. All financial aid recipients must notify Student Services when making any changes in their programs. This includes the completion of a degree. Failure to do so may cause loss of aid. Students who are receiving aid should check with Student Services before withdrawing from courses.
• Award Notification and Disbursement of Funds: An award notification that states the types of aid, amounts and conditions of recipients' awards will be available through the student's secure MySeminoleState Student Financial Planning account. The disbursement of financial aid funds will begin after the add/drop period every semester and after faculty members certify attendance in scheduled classes. Financial aid will first be applied to outstanding financial obligations the student may have with Seminole State, such as tuition, as well as fees and book charges. Any remaining balance that is due to the student will be disbursed by BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution powered by BMTX, Inc., via the refund preference selected by the student. Visit this link for more information: https://disbursements.bmtx.com/refundchoices/.  Since this process takes place after the term begins, it is essential that financial aid recipients set aside personal funds to cover expenses at the start of each term.

  Note: For students who enroll in courses that begin after the standard start date of the semester, certification for aid eligibility and eventual disbursement of aid may not occur until those classes begin and attendance is verified by the instructor. Contact the Student Success Specialist on any campus for further details.

• Census Date: Enrollment is established based on the add/drop deadline (census date) for the session in which the student is enrolled. To have all courses included in the financial aid eligibility calculation, students must be registered for those courses by the add/drop deadline of their first session of enrollment. Students who begin in the A (Full) term and intend to enroll in B session or 12-week courses must register for those courses by the A term add/drop deadline for them to be included in the financial aid calculation. If a student’s initial enrollment for the term begins in a B session or 12-week session, financial aid eligibility will be determined based on enrollment as of that session’s add/drop deadline. Courses added after the applicable add/drop deadline will not be included in the financial aid eligibility for that term. Accordingly, financial aid disbursements will be scheduled after attendance has been validated for the student’s latest session of enrollment. 
• Providing Complete and Correct Information: If inaccurate or incomplete information is provided, applications cannot be processed. This will result in delays or could make the student ineligible for aid. Students who deliberately provide false or misleading information may be prosecuted for federal fraud, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
• Abiding by Agreements: As part of their financial aid application, students are asked to sign agreements that they understand the eligibility criteria associated with their aid programs. These signature requests can be either manual signatures or e-signatures using the student's unique PIN. Financial aid recipients should fully understand all forms before signing agreements.
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Federal regulations require students to demonstrate satisfactory progress toward a degree or certificate to be eligible to receive financial assistance. Academic progress for financial aid applicants will be checked at the end of each term, regardless of whether the student received financial aid. See Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Recipients on the Seminole State website.

  Measures of progress require that students:

  • Achieve and maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA;
  • Maintain a minimum 67 percent completion rate (total hours completed divided by total hours attempted. This includes any transfer hours);
  • Complete a degree or certificate program within 150 percent of the number of hours required to complete the program.

Important Information

• Federal Direct student loans must be repaid. Students are required to complete entrance counseling prior to disbursement of Direct loan funds and must complete required exit counseling when the student ceases enrollment, withdraws, reduces enrollment below six hours a term, graduates or applies for graduation. Students must also be enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours applicable to their primary program of study.
• Less-than-half-time students may be eligible for Federal Pell Grants, depending on the level of the Pell award.
• Students who have earned a bachelor's degree are ineligible for Federal Pell Grants or FSEOG but may be eligible for other federal student aid programs. The only exception are those post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the Teacher's Certificate program who may receive Federal Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student Loans, provided they show remaining eligibility.
• Students who attend two schools in the same enrollment period must inform the financial aid administrators at each school, as aid can only be received at one institution during a term. Students can only receive funds awarded through the degree-granting institution (the home institution). Students with Seminole State as their home institution and wishing to take classes at a Florida public institution must complete and file a Transient Student Admission Application online.
• Financial aid cannot be paid for classes outside of the student's prescribed program plan or for classes that are "Audited."
• Federal aid is limited to 30 credit hours of developmental courses in addition to their Program Requirements.
• Federal aid cannot be paid to students enrolled in an AA/AS program, for pre-requisite courses needed for acceptance to another program (such as Baccalaureate.) The only exception to this is that Direct Loans may be paid for up to 12 months once a student has graduated with their A.A. /A.S. degree and is enrolled in only required pre-requisite courses.
• Financial Aid Deferment: This option is available for students who have made a timely application for federal and state financial aid and wish to pay for tuition and fees from financial assistance. Students must complete and sign an online request via MySeminoleState each semester. For details, contact Student Services. Financial Aid deferments will not be available to those on SAP Warning, Probation or Academic Plan until after the current term's grades have been finalized and posted.
• Students receiving a one-term only loan will receive the loan amount in a minimum of two disbursements. This means that Financial Aid may not disburse more than half a student's total loan amount before the midpoint of the term.
• Financial need is the difference between the estimated cost of education and the amount a student and his/her family are expected to contribute to these costs minus other scholarships or financial aid. Need-based financial aid awards may consist of a combination of grants, part-time employment and loans.