Forms & Policies

Financial Aid Forms

Policies

Priority Deadline

The Financial Aid Office has a priority deadline of April 1 preceding the academic year for which you are applying. This means that if a student turns in all documents needed to complete their file by the priority deadline, they will be given first consideration for all grants, student employment, and loan programs for the following school year. Files completed after the priority deadline will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis with funds still available. If you want to have your financial aid in place for fall term, you need to have your file complete with us by July 1.

Calculation of Financial Aid Eligibility

Financial aid eligibility is calculated by mathematical formulas: The Federal Methodology (FM) formula determines your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) based on the information that you provide on the FAFSA. Your EFC is the amount you and your family are expected to pay toward your educational expenses. The College uses another formula to determine the Cost Of Attendance (COA), how much it costs to attend Inver Hills for an academic year.

The COA and EFC are used to determine all of your financial aid awards. We calculate aid as follows: COA - EFC = remaining need. The Federal PELL Grant award is based on the EFC. All other programs are based on remaining need. Your aid package cannot exceed your financial need; however, some forms of aid may be used to meet your EFC. The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator can be used to prepare an estimate of your EFC and financial need.

Aid Disbursement

Students receiving aid disbursement (first disbursement is Friday of Week 3) must select a refund preference with BankMobile Disbursements.

Books and Supplies

Inver Hills Community College offers a book voucher for students who are receiving financial aid and need to purchase their books prior to when aid is disbursed. You are only eligible for a book voucher if you have received your award letter, are registered, and your total aid exceeds your tuition and fees. Book voucher eligibility is sent through e-mail.

Students using the voucher agree that: Any charges placed on the voucher will be applied to the students account and deducted from financial aid funds. Students are responsible for any charges if they adjust their registration or withdraw prior to financial aid disbursement. Additionally, if for any reason, the student fails to receive financial aid upon which a bookstore credit is based, or if the amount of financial aid is insufficient to pay for all charges on the account, the student understands he or she is obligated to pay Inver Hills Community College the amount of any unpaid charges resulting from the use of the bookstore voucher program.

Financial Aid Adjustments

Your class schedule must be firm and you should not make any changes after the fifth day of the term or you risk aid reductions. If you decide to add a course after the fifth day of the term your Pell Grant cannot be adjusted for the increase in credits. If you drop a class and add another class that is the same number of credits after the fifth day of the term, your aid will be negatively affected, as the add will not be recognized.

Tuition/fee Deferment Policy

You are responsible for paying your full tuition/fees by the established payment deadline unless you're eligible to receive a deferment through the Business Office, or have signed up for the FACTS payment plan with the Business Office.

The Business Office will also defer your tuition/fees if you have submitted your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Inver Hills have received the results of the FAFSA application. You will not be deferred if you have a consortium agreement and are receiving your aid at another school or if you have had your financial aid canceled because of unsatisfactory academic progress.

Student who do not complete the financial aid process or are ineligible for financial aid are responsible for their tuition and fees and/or dropping from their courses.

Refunds and the "Return of Title IV Funds" Policy

Financial aid recipients who completely withdraw from a term or stop attending prior to the 60% point of that term are subject to the federal return of Title IV fund rules for any federal aid not earned and the Minnesota Office of Higher Education refund calculation for Minnesota State Grant and SELF Loan. Examples of both calculations are available in the Business Office at the student’s request. The student may also be eligible for a refund of a portion of the tuition and fees paid to IHCC for the semester, according to the Inver Hills refund policy. If the student received financial aid, then a portion of the refund will be returned to the grant or loan program from which it was received and the student may owe Inver Hills for a portion of the tuition and fees.

If a student will be withdrawing completely from a term, they must do so according to Inver Hills withdraw policies. The transaction must be completed through e-Services. The withdrawal must be completed by the published deadlines and the student is responsible for understanding the impact of such action on their student account.

The Inver Hills Refund Policy exists for calculating the refund of institutional charges. The federal "Return of Title IV Funds" formula dictates the amount of federal Title IV aid that must be returned to the federal government by the school and the student. The Inver Hills Refund Policy is as follows:

Refund Policy

The federal formula requires a return of Title IV aid if the student received federal financial aid and withdrew or stopped attending all classes on or before completing 60% of the semester. The percentage of Title IV aid to be returned (that which is unearned) is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks of more than four consecutive days are excluded.

The responsibility to repay unearned aid is shared by the institution and the student in proportion to the aid each is assumed to possess. The institution’s share is allocated among the Title IV programs, before the student’s share, in the following order: Federal and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal and Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal and Federal Direct PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant and Federal SEOG. Any remaining unearned aid is the responsibility of the student, must be collected from the student, and then allocated among the Title IV programs in the order indicated above.

Inver Hills will calculate and return its share of unearned Title IV funds and notify the student no later than 30 days after it determines that the student withdrew and return the funds within 45 days. Students return their share of unearned aid attributable to a loan under the terms and conditions of the promissory note. Inver Hills may allow the student to repay unearned aid attributable to a grant under a payment arrangement satisfactory to Inver Hills. However, the student is not responsible for returning funds to any grant program to which they owe $50 or less.

If the student who totally withdrew (officially or unofficially) from classes received state financial aid funding (including State Grant, Child Care Grant, SELF Loan, Safety Officer’s Survivor’s Grant, Indian Scholarship, ACHIEVE Scholarship, and Learn and Earn), a portion of the unearned funds must be returned if the total withdrawal took place within the first 20 business days of the semester (full-semester classes).

Official Withdrawal: When the student officially withdraws from all courses after the semester begins, the Financial Aid Office will use the withdrawal date to determine the portion of the Federal Title IV aid earned (or could have been earned) to be used to pay institutional charges (such as tuition and fees).

Unofficial Withdrawal: A student is said to be unofficially withdrawn if they stop attending. Faculty report Last Date of Attendance and the student receives a grade of FN. For a student who has been determined to have unofficially withdrawn, the date of withdrawal for purposes of the Return of Title IV refund calculation is deemed to be the last date of attendance recorded by the faculty at grading. A grade of F is considered a completed/earned F by the college. When a Last Date of Attendance can not be determined, the college will use the 50% point of the term.

Post Withdrawal Disbursement: In some cases, a student may withdraw from all courses before aid has disbursed. A post withdrawal disbursement is done when a student shows they have withdrawn from all of their classes prior to financial aid disbursement but began attendance in all courses and are qualified for some (earned) aid.

For Pell grant eligibility only, the earned portion of the grant is disbursed to the student account.

Federal student loans will be processed according to the federal student loan regulations.