YACPA recognizes the importance financial aid can play in supporting students in the pursuit of their educational goals. Additionally, YACPA also recognizes the responsibility it bears to ensure those funds are managed and utilized in a manner that aligns with regulatory requirements as well as good practice. Thus the following practices are considered essential to ensuring the YACPA financial aid department is operated legally and ethically.

1. The primary purpose of aid received by YACPA students should be to cover direct expenses related to educational programs and not the expenses they would incur if they were not enrolled.
2. The student should only be awarded financial aid after it has been determined that their personal resources are insufficient to cover the student’s total educational expenses. The total amount of aid awarded should not exceed to the student’s total educational expenses.
3. No aid can be awarded or disbursed unless the student has completed and submitted all appropriate forms.
4. The financial aid department alone will be responsible for administering all Federal Title IV funds and any private loan funding the student may receive.
5. The financial aid department is responsible for maintaining records and ensuring aid given is not in excess of need and/or cost of attendance. This includes ensuring aggregate awards do not exceed total expenditures of funds under each program.
6. All awards will be made without regard to age, sex, race, color, religions, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or marital status.
7. All students must apply for Federal aid on an annual basis.
8. The financial Aid department will cooperate with annual auditing procedures.

Students who attend with the assistance of a Federal Loan must realize the seriousness of the repayment obligation. Loans are the most common form of financial aid used by college students in the United States today. Student loans are an important financial obligation and they must be repaid. Loan repayment typically begins six months after a student’s last date of attendance and payments are typically made to the financial organization that is servicing the loan. Paying off a student loan is a great way to develop a good credit history. However, failure to pay off a student loan will have a lasting negative effect on a credit report.

There are options available to students who find they are unable to make timely loan payments. A student may be eligible for a deferment if they return to school, is unemployed, has an economic hardship, or meets other criteria. If a student does not qualify for a deferment, they may still be eligible for a forbearance that would temporarily postpone or reduce monthly payments. Students should contact the financial aid office or their loan servicer for more information regarding deferments and forbearances.

Financial aid funds are awarded to a student under the assumption the student will attend school for the entire period for which the aid is awarded. When a student withdraws from the program, they may no longer be eligible for the full award amount they have been scheduled to receive.

Up until the 60% point in each period of enrollment, a student who has received financial aid and withdraws from the program will have their aid award recalculated to determine the amount of aid they have earned on a pro-rata basis. If the recalculation determines the funds disbursed exceed the amount earned, the student must return the unearned portion of funds received to the Department of Education within 45 days from the date of notification. Students who fail to repay the Department of Education within the 45 days will be ineligible for any future aid until the debt is paid in full or satisfactory arrangements are made with the Department of Education.

If the recalculation determines the funds disbursed are less than the earned amount, the student is eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. After the 60%-point Title IV funds are considered to have been fully earned and repayment is not required. YACPA will still complete a reassessment of the student’s aid eligibility to ensure post-withdrawal disbursements are made as needed within 45 days of school determined date of withdrawal. Any undisbursed aid that is funded through a loan will require explicit permission from the student prior to disbursement. This notice must be send to the student within 30 days of the school determined date of withdrawal. Additionally, the student must have had the loan originated by YACPA and met all eligibility criteria for the loan prior to withdrawing (enrollment criteria for loans are determined based upon the student’s enrollment on their last day of attendance).

Return to Title IV Example: If a student withdrew at the 30% point in their period of enrollment, the student would have earned 30% of their term aid award. If their aid award could have been $1,000, the student has earned $300 of their aid award (30% of $1,000). If the aid disbursed to the student at time of withdrawal was $500, the student would be responsible for returning to the Department of Ed $200 in unearned aid ($500 aid disbursed – $300 aid earned).

Post-Withdrawal Disbursement Example: If a student withdrew at the 30% point in their period of enrollment, the student would have earned 30% of their term aid award. If their aid award could have been $1,000, the student has earned $300 of their potential aid award (30% of $1,000). If the aid disbursed to the student at time of withdrawal was $200, YACPA would be responsible for disbursing to the student the $100 in undisbursed earned aid ($300 aid earned – $200 aid disbursed).

This policy is not to be confused with the YACPA refund policy. Any tuition refunds the student may receive based upon their official withdrawal does not impact the Return to Title IV calculations. Refer to the refund policy on page XX for clarification on refund policy and process.

Any YACPA department that receives information that may impact a student’s FSA eligibility or award status must share that information with the Financial Aid director who will then forward it along to the Financial Aid Department for review with the students FSA records.

The only department that is not required to share information is student services counselors whose status as professional counselors requires them to maintain privacy-protected information.

YACPA is responsible for referring for investigation to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) any and all credible information that indicates and applicant for federal student aid may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with their application.

The duty to report to the OIG also includes referring any third-party servicer who may have engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, or other illegal conduct involving FSA programs.

The duty to report to the OIG also includes referring any employee, contractor, or agent of YACPA who acts in a capacity involving the administration of Title IV funds who may have engaged in fraud, breach of fiduciary responsibility, or other illegal conduct involving FSA programs.