Blueprint

Financial Aid Policies

While the primary responsibility for financing a college education rests with the student and his or her family, Culver-Stockton College has designed a financial assistance program for students who would be unable to attend without such aid.

Awards are also made in recognition of academic achievements and the particular talents or ability of the student applicant.  Financial aid programs and policies are established by the president of the college upon recommendation from the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee.  The director of financial aid is responsible for coordination of the total program. 

Financial aid funds are awarded to supplement the family’s contribution when family funds are not sufficient to cover educational costs.  The college attempts to meet a student’s established financial need through a combination of gift aid (scholarships and grants) and self-help (loans and employment).  For new students, funding preference is given to full-time students who complete the application process by March 1 prior to the award year. For returning students, the financial aid priority deadline is June 1.

Determination of Need-based Financial Aid Eligibility
Culver-Stockton College utilizes the need analysis information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to establish financial need.  All students applying for financial aid based on need must complete the FAFSA need analysis form each year and designate Culver-Stockton College to receive the processed application. Need is determined by subtracting the expected family (student and parent) contribution (EFC) as calculated on the FAFSA from the cost of attending.

The cost of attending includes tuition, room and board, fees, and allowances for books, transportation, personal expenses and loan fees.  The student’s need for assistance can be met with grants, scholarships, loans, or employment, either singly or in combination.

Eligibility for College Scholarships and Grants
The following assumptions apply to Culver-Stockton scholarship and grant awards:

1. College aid awards are available to full-time degree-seeking students only (enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester) who are in good academic standing. Adjustments in aid resulting from enrollment changes will not be made past the first two weeks of school in conjunction with the college’s policy of charge adjustments.
2. Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree are not eligible for college aid.
   
   
3. Scholarships and grants are awarded on a yearly basis and are subject to review at the end of each year, or at the end of each year or semester for probation students.
   
   
4. Scholarship renewal is determined at the end of each academic year, not at the end of each semester. Students enrolled in summer school have their renewal GPA computed following the summer session. Scholarships can be renewed, but not lost because of summer school.
   
   
5. Students applying for renewal of either need or no-need college aid must reapply each year.
   
   
6. College funds are available for four years or eight semesters, except nursing students who receive funding from Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing during their junior and senior years.  Students may request additional semesters by writing an appeal to the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee.
   
   
7. Students who have previously attended Culver-Stockton College and are readmitted or return following a leave of absence will be classified as transfer students for the purpose of scholarship eligibility if they have earned more than 12 hours since their last term of attendance at Culver-Stockton College. Students who have earned 12 or fewer hours since their last term of attendance re-enter under the criteria of any academic scholarship which they previously received, subject to available funding.
   
   
8. The maximum gift aid award from all resources will not exceed the total of tuition (12-18 hours), unified student fee, and room and board for students receiving need-based financial assistance and residing on campus.  Federal, state and other rules (such as athletic conference) may also apply.  For all other students, the maximum gift aid award will not exceed tuition (12-18 hours) and the unified student fee. Any combination of college grants and scholarships will not exceed tuition.
   
   
9. The Financial Aid Office is the only office at Culver-Stockton College authorized to offer financial aid to students. Only awards originating from this office will constitute a commitment on behalf of the college.  Recommendations for scholarships can be made by faculty or staff, and these recommendations are considered before the award is sent.

Nursing Students
Freshman and sophomore nursing students apply to and receive financial assistance from Culver-Stockton College. Culver-Stockton scholarships do not renew for the junior and senior years. Junior, senior, LPN, RN, and advanced placement students apply to and receive financial assistance from Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing. More information is available in the Blessing-Rieman financial aid brochure. Continued involvement in talent areas is encouraged, but no financial assistance from Culver-Stockton will be awarded.

Coordination of Financial Aid
Any financial aid awarded is subject to review in light of assistance received from outside organizations or agencies. Funds received subsequent to the aid awarded are usually used to replace loan and/or work funds first. College grant/scholarship funds may be lowered if outside scholarships are received after the student is awarded and financial need is met. Each case will be considered on its merits, and any adjustments will be made within college and program guidelines.

Financial Aid for Study in Off-Campus Programs
A student eligible to receive aid from Culver-Stockton College may continue to receive aid, if eligible, for approved off-campus study, such as internships.  The student must be enrolled for credit at Culver-Stockton in order to receive assistance. In no case will aid be greater than aid awarded for equivalent on-campus course credit.

Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress to Maintain Financial Aid Eligibility
Financial aid from any source is provided for only one academic year at a time.  Aid sources will provide aid to full-time degree-seeking students for only two semesters as a freshman, two semesters as a sophomore, two semesters as a junior and two semesters as a senior.  Financial aid can be renewed each year provided the student remains in good academic standing, earns the required number of hours for his or her enrollment status by the end of the academic year, and shows financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), or demonstrates continued talent or academic achievement as stipulated in the  original entering award.

A degree-seeking student at Culver-Stockton College is considered to be in good academic standing if he or she maintains the minimum cumulative GPA for good standing, listed in the "Categories of Academic Standing" section of the Culver-Stockton catalog (pp. 20-23).
Students who are admitted on academic probation also enter on satisfactory academic progress warning. Students are allowed institutional financial aid eligibility until such time that the Academic Council votes to suspend.

Full-time students (enrolled in 12 or more semester hours) must earn a minimum of 24 credit hours per academic year, three-quarter time students (enrolled in 9-11 semester hours) must earn 18 credit hours per academic year, and half-time students (enrolled in 6-8 hours) must earn 12 credit hours per academic year.  Students who enter during the spring semester must earn one-half of the hours shown for each category of enrollment status in order to maintain financial aid eligibility.

Transfer students entering Culver-Stockton College for the first time will be considered to be making satisfactory academic progress upon admission (with the exception of those admitted on academic probation as stated above), and will be evaluated at the end of the semester to determine if academic progress has continued according to the qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (number of hours earned) standards described above.

Students readmitted to Culver-Stockton College or returning from a leave of absence are subject to any academic progress requirements in force at the time of their last enrollment at the college.

The following are not considered as credit successfully completed: grades of "F", "I" incomplete, "W" withdrawal, and "AU" audit.  In the case of repeated courses, the most recently earned grade and credit becomes the grade and credit of record and is included in the GPA calculation.  For purposes of measuring hours earned for satisfactory progress, repeated courses will be counted only the last time attempted.  However, all students are required to be in good standing and earn a minimum of 48 semester hours by the end of the second academic year to retain eligibility for federal and state funding. In no case will financial aid eligibility be extended to any student who is enrolled beyond 150 percent of the published length of the program of study.

Academic progress will be monitored once each academic year at the end of the spring semester. When a student has failed to achieve satisfactory academic progress, the director of financial aid will notify him or her in writing.  Students who do not meet the satisfactory academic progress standards at that time will be placed on satisfactory academic progress warning for the following fall semester and will receive a one semester aid award of federal, state, and institutional aid for the fall semester only. Failure to make up academic progress deficiencies by the end of that semester will result in termination of federal and state financial aid eligibility until all academic progress requirements are met. Students who have made up all academic progress deficiencies by the end of the fall semester will be notified with a revised aid award letter including spring federal and state aid. Students retain eligibility for institutional funding until the Academic Council votes to suspend.

Once federal and state financial aid eligibility has been terminated due to lack of satisfactory academic progress, the student must make up all deficiencies in cumulative grades and/or credit hours earned for his or her academic level before federal and state financial aid eligibility will be reinstated.

Payment of Awards
In most cases, one-half of the aid award is applied to the student’s account for each semester. The billing statement from Student Accounts will reflect the student’s charges and financial aid. Earnings from campus employment are not credited toward the balance due but are paid to the student, as earned, on a monthly basis.

Terms and Conditions of Employment
Culver-Stockton College makes all work assignments and assures the recipient that he or she will have a reasonable opportunity to earn the work award. The college also reserves the right to make or change work assignments to accommodate the changing needs of the college. Students may work up to 20 hours per week in any single campus job or combination of campus jobs, subject to availability.
Freshmen are limited to working 10 hours per week during their first semester.

Employment may be terminated by the college at any time for failure to perform duties satisfactorily; the college is release from its obligation to find replacement employment. Work assignments terminated for this reasons will not be replaced with any other form of financial aid funds. Termination of employment may jeopardize future campus employment opportunities as the number of campus jobs available is limited.

Renewal and Adjustment of Aid
Financial aid is not automatically renewed each year. In addition to specific requirements of the federal financial aid programs, students are encouraged to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The federal aid processor e-mails renewal reminders to all prior year applicants each year, or a blank FAFSA for the coming academic year can be obtained from the Financial Aid Office. The FAFSA should be completed and mailed as soon as possible after January 1, preferably when completed tax information for the preceding calendar year is available.  You may also apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

For returning students the financial aid priority is June 1. Files completed by June 1 will receive maximum consideration for available renewal funding. A completed financial aid file consists of a valid FAFSA need analysis and all required verification documentation. Students who do not plan to file the FAFSA, and wish to renew college scholarships only must make the Financial Aid Office aware of this request. In addition, the student must also be registered for classes.

Each student must be able to document the information submitted on the need analysis with income tax forms and/or other data required by the college or federal government prior to the receipt of Federal Title IV financial aid (Academic Competitiveness Grant [ACG], the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grants [National SMART], the Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, Federal Work Study, Federal Perkins Loan, or Federal Direct Stafford Loan). Documentation requested must be provided to the Financial Aid Office prior to the end of the semester for which it is requested; any additional deadlines established by the U.S. Department of Education shall also apply. Failure to complete verification will result in the withdrawal of all need-based aid funds. Students whose application information must be corrected will be notified by receiving an updates student aid report via e-mail or mailed to their home address.

Award adjustments may occur at any time during the year, and result from such reasons as: adjustment to the financial need calculations due to a change in the family’s financial condition, errors by the family or college, additional funds available for award, or reduction in funds from outside sources. If a student or talent area chooses not to renew participation or scholarship, the student may write an appeal to the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee regarding conversion opportunity.

The Financial Aid Office will review a student’s expected family contribution if the student and/or family experiences a significant change in financial circumstances. An increase in need will not necessarily result in an increase in the financial aid award.  Such adjustments depend upon funds available at the time the request for review is made. Therefore, notification of changes in financial circumstances should be made as soon as they occur.

Right to Appeal
All students have the right to appeal or reject any aid awarded by the college and to appeal any award decisions to the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee.  The committee will inform the student of its decision concerning the appeal within a reasonable time following its receipt.

Withdrawals and Refunds
Students who withdraw prior to completion of a semester are subject to the college’s policy concerning withdrawals and refunds. To secure a refund, students must complete the withdrawal process prescribed by the college. For students receiving financial aid, the refund will first be repaid to the Title IV programs, state grants and institutional funds in accordance with existing federal regulations and institutional policy in effect on the date of withdrawal with respect to the various types of aid. If any additional refund is appropriate, the funds will be repaid to the student. It is possible that students who withdraw will still have an outstanding balance due to the college.

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