AYUDA FINANCIERA — PASOS INTELIGENTES PARA EVITAR LA DEUDA ESTUDIANTIL

Consortium Agreements

Explanation: A consortium agreement may be established between Colorado Mountain College (known as the Home Institution) and another college (known as the Host Institution) in order to include courses taken at a Host Institution when financial aid enrollment status is calculated.

Interested students should inquire with the Financial Aid office; contact your Specialist for more information.

Eligibility: The student must be admitted to a degree or certificate program at Colorado Mountain College. The courses taken at the Host Institution must be approved by the Registrar at CMC as applying to the student’s degree plan at CMC. Assuming financial aid criteria are met, the student is then eligible to receive financial aid through CMC; the Financial Aid office will count all courses taken (as long as it/they are part of the current degree program) toward enrollment status – both at the Home and the Host Institutions.

Procedures: The student should contact their Financial Aid Specialist for the Consortium Agreement Form. This form allows the Financial Aid staff to obtain enrollment and financial information from the Host Institution. The student should inform the Host Institution that he or she is enrolling as a consortium student and follow the enrollment procedures and tuition payment guidelines specified at that institution. CMC will not pay the tuition at the Host Institution. It is the responsibility of the student to make payment arrangements and to pay the tuition at the Host Institution.

The student should apply for financial aid at Colorado Mountain College and should not apply for financial aid nor accept financial aid at the Host Institution. Financial aid award amounts are based on many factors, including the student’s intended enrollment. CMC will construct average student expense budgets based upon the student’s reported residency and intended enrollment.

Disbursements will be authorized after individual enrollment verification has been received by the Colorado Mountain College Financial Aid Office and logged in the system. Each institution will assess regular tuition and fee charges for their own courses.

Official academic transcripts must be forwarded to the CMC Registrar after every semester. The successfully completed hours from the Host Institution will appear in the CMC system as transfer credit for the appropriate semester. This will enable CMC to monitor satisfactory academic progress.

Concurrently enrolled students who receive financial aid from CMC will be subject to all Colorado Mountain College Financial Aid policies, which include but are not limited to: Refund/repayment, packaging, disbursement, and satisfactory progress. Colorado Mountain College is the final authority in determining student eligibility for financial aid and compliance with applicable policies, rules, and regulations.

Colorado Mountain College Financial Aid Consortium Checklist

Apply for financial aid at www.fafsa.gov. List Colorado Mountain College, Code 004506, as your school. Please note that the fall semester is the first term in the CMC financial aid year. March 31 is the FAFSA priority date.

Contact your Financial Aid specialist to complete the required Consortium Agreement Form.

Declare a degree-seeking program at Colorado Mountain College.

Create a degree plan with your CMC academic advisor. Ask your academic advisor to approve any and all courses that you want to take that are offered by Host Institutions.

Register for all courses you plan to take at the beginning of each semester. Identify yourself as a concurrent student to the Host Institution and follow their registration procedures.

Receive financial aid shopping sheet from CMC.

Make arrangements to pay your tuition at Host Institution. It is your responsibility to make payment arrangements and to pay tuition at the Host Institution.

If financial aid at Colorado Mountain College is sufficient to pay all of the CMC student account, no further arrangements are needed at CMC. If financial aid at CMC is not sufficient to pay the student account, contact Student Accounts to set up a Payment Plan.

If student loans are offered as part of your financial aid award at CMC, accept loan awards on Basecamp.

Pay tuition at each institution.

Complete courses.

Contact your Financial Aid specialist each semester if enrolling at a Host Institution.

Send official transcripts to CMC at the end of the semester.

Failure to meet the cumulative 2.0 GPA or 67% cumulative completion rate may place students on warning for the following semester of their enrollment.

Students will remain eligible to receive financial aid during the warning term.

Students must make satisfactory academic progress during the warning term to continue to receive financial aid; failure to do so will result in financial aid termination.

Students have a right to appeal most financial aid decisions, including loan denial and financial aid suspension.

For assistance the student should contact the Financial Aid Specialist at his/her campus or the Office of Financial Aid at Central Services in Glenwood Springs.

The typed, detailed appeal must include any substantiating documents (doctor’s excuse, employment letters, etc.). Certain mitigating circumstances and occurrences beyond the student’s control constitute an eligible appeal.

Be sure to follow all of the instructions on the appeal; incomplete appeals, or those lacking appropriate detail, will not be reviewed. SAP status notifications are sent directly to student email after grades have been posted. Make sure appeals are turned in by the dates set forth in the email for quicker review.

The Director of Student Financial Aid will respond by letter to each appellant via their CMC issued email address. Approvals will require students to follow an Academic plan designated by the Director of Financial Aid.

A student can choose to audit a course. The audited course will not count toward his/her enrollment status for financial aid purposes.

All federal, state and most institutional aid are canceled immediately upon Financial Aid Termination.

Either of these conditions will result in Financial Aid Termination:

• A student’s failure to comply with the stipulations of his/her student’s academic plan
• First-year students (completed less than 30 CMC credits) with a zero completion rate for a term

Following a financial aid Warning Status, students who meet either of these conditions are placed on termination:

• The student’s CMC cumulative GPA falls below 2.0
• The student’s pace falls below 67% (you must satisfactorily complete at least 67% of attempted courses)

• Death
• Divorce or separation
• Disability
• Natural disasters
• Loss of Income, etc.

In such a case, CMC’s Financial Aid Director may use his/her “professional judgment” so that your aid package will reflect the family’s real situation. Please provide a completed Special Circumstances Appeal for the current year along with all required documentation. Contact your financial aid specialist, if you have any questions.

Financial Aid Code of Conduct

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires educational institutions to develop and comply with a code of conduct that prohibits conflicts of interest for financial aid personnel [HEOA § 487(a) (25)]. Any Colorado Mountain College officer, employee, or agent who has responsibilities with respect to student educational loans must comply with this code of conduct. The following provisions bring Colorado Mountain College into compliance with the federal law [HEOA § 487(e)].

1. Neither Colorado Mountain College as an institution nor any individual officer, employee or agent shall enter into any revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
2. No officer or employee of Colorado Mountain College who is employed in the financial aid office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or agent who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or any of their family members, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans. For purposes of this prohibition, the term "gift" means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than a de minimus amount.
3. An officer or employee of Colorado Mountain College who is employed in the financial aid office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or an agent who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, shall not accept from any lender or affiliate of any lender any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
4. Colorado Mountain College shall not: a. for any first-time borrower, assign, through award packaging or other methods, the borrower's loan to a particular lender; or b. refuse to certify, or delay certification of, any loan based on the borrower's selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
5. Colorado Mountain College shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the institution providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with: a. a specified number of loans made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV; b. a specified loan volume of such loans; or c. a preferred lender arrangement for such loans.
6. Colorado Mountain College shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.
7. Any employee who is employed in the financial aid office, or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such advisory board, commission, or group.

These courses may be required because a student has basic skill deficiencies Such courses are allowable for financial aid provided that the student is enrolled in an eligible major.

Eligible courses include those designated with i.e., MAT and ENG and are numbered 060 through 099.

Academic Achievement courses (AAA) do not count towards the student’s enrollment status for financial aid, with the exception of AAA 101 and 050. The maximum number of remedial credits that may be funded by financial aid is 30.

It is important to note that federal financial aid can only pay for coursework fully acceptable to the eligible degree program in which you are enrolled.

Federal student aid cannot pay for coursework numbered below 060 in the CMC catalog.

Students may repeat a previously passed course one-time using financial aid funds. A failed course may be repeated until it is passed using financial aid.

The total attempted credits will be considered towards the maximum credit time frame.

Students repeating previously passed courses may only repeat the class once to count towards enrollment status for financial aid eligibility calculation.

Financial Literacy – Student Rights and Responsibilities

Understand your right to financial aid information and your responsibilities as a financial aid recipient

You Have the Right to:

• Know what financial aid programs are available;
• Know the deadline for submitting applications for each of the programs available;
• Be informed of financial aid policies and procedures;
• Know how your financial eligibility was determined and what resources (such as your income, assets, parental contribution and other resources) were considered in the calculation of need;
• Know what portion of your financial aid must be repaid, and what portion is gift or aid received from work;
• Know how the Financial Aid Office (FAO) determines whether you are making satisfactory academic progress and what the consequences are if you are not;
• Request an explanation of the various programs in your financial aid package;
• Know the terms of any loans you receive, and your deferment, cancellation and forbearance rights.

You Have the Responsibility to:

• Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress;
• Complete all application forms accurately and submit them on time;
• Provide correct information. Misrepresentation of information on financial aid applications is a violation of federal law and may be a criminal offense;
• Report any change in the information used to determine your eligibility, including name, family size, or other financial resources (i.e., scholarships);
• Return all documentation, verification corrections, and/or new information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or the agency to which you submitted your application, in a timely manner;
• Read and understand all forms that you are asked to sign and keep copies of them;
• Accept responsibility for all agreements that you sign;
• Perform the work that is agreed upon in accepting a Federal or Colorado Work Study award in a satisfactory manner;
• Notify the Financial Aid Office immediately if you withdraw from school or reduce enrollment status;
• Be aware of repayment procedures;
• Complete on-line entrance counseling and the Master Promissory Note (MPN) when applying for your first student loan and complete on-line exit counseling upon graduation, dropping below six credits or leaving Colorado Mountain College;
• If you are a recipient of a student loan, notify your lender and the Financial Aid Office if your enrollment status drops below half-time (6 credits).
• Repay all loans including the interest on those loans;
• File all required student loan deferment forms on time
• Read and understand the CMC .

Questions? Contact your Financial Aid Specialist at your campus.

Returning of Title IV Funds

You may be required to return Title IV Fund after withdrawing from CMC during a semester.

Returning Title IV Funds

The law specifies how a school must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that a student has earned if s/he withdraws from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Direct Loans, PLUS Direct Loans, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).

When you withdraw during your payment period, the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you receive (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or you.

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a prorated basis. For example, if you completed 30 percent of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30 percent of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

If you did not receive all the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, CMC must get your permission before disbursing them.

You may choose to decline some or all loan funds to avoid incurring additional debt. Colorado Mountain College can automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (if contracted with the school). CMC needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give permission, you will be offered the funds. It may, however, be in your best interest to allow Colorado Mountain College to use those funds to reduce any debt remaining on your student account.

Once you withdraw from all classes, there are some Title IV funds that cannot be disbursed because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time borrower and have not completed the first 30 days of your program before withdrawal, you will not receive any Direct loan funds you would otherwise have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.

If you receive (or your school or parent receives on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

1. Your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
2. The entire amount of excess funds.

The amount calculated as “owed by the school” must be returned. This may create a balance due on the student account which will become a debt owed to Colorado Mountain College.

The formula also determines if a student must repay federal grant funds. If so, you have 45 days to repay the required amount or make satisfactory arrangements to repay. Any student who does not meet this requirement will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education and will become ineligible for federal student aid at any school in the country.

Any loan funds (including parent PLUS loans) owed by the student as the result of withdrawal are repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make the scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time. Once you withdraw, your 6 month grace period (if applicable) begins and you will be required to commence repayment on the debt after the grace period has expired.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of federal grant funds received or were scheduled to receive. You must make arrangements with your school or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds within 45 days as noted above.

Withdrawal Date

For an official withdrawal, the effective withdrawal date is the first date of notification by the student to Academic Records and Registration.

If a student that does not follow the official withdrawal procedure and subsequently it is determined that the student is an unofficial withdrawal (due to the student failing and/or failing and withdrawing from all classes), the effective withdrawal date must be determined on a case by case basis.

CMC may use a last date of attendance at an academically related activity for the effective withdrawal date if the last date a student attended class or submitted coursework is verified by an employee at CMC who has sufficient knowledge of a student's academic participation, or if there is an emergency situation (death, incapacitation, etc.) and there is third-party documentation that verifies a student has not academically participated. In the case of unofficial withdrawals, CMC does not accept a student's self-reported last date of attendance.

Regulations require schools to perform calculations within 30 days from the date the school determines a student's withdrawal and to process the actual return of funds within 45 days of the student’s withdrawal.

Title IV Fund Repayment Order

A school must return Title IV funds to the programs from which the student received aid during the payment period or period of enrollment if applicable, in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source.

1. Unsubsidized Direct loans (other than PLUS loans)
2. Subsidized Direct loans
3. Direct PLUS loans
4. Federal Pell Grants
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from the Colorado Mountain College refund policy. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges.

You can find the CMC refund policy in the Online Catalog.

Requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from Colorado Mountain College can be found here in the Online Catalog.

If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, visit Student Aid on the Web at www.studentaid.ed.gov.

Your financial aid award is based on the assumption of full-time enrollment. Financial aid will be prorated for students enrolled less than full-time.

Your enrollment status must be at least half-time for student loans and full-time for state grants.

The Federal Pell grant is prorated based on enrollment status.

Enrollment eligibility will be captured at the time of financial aid transmittal and may not be changed.

Eligibility and Estimating Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for Student Aid

The Department of Education uses information from your FAFSA to perform a need analysis and determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). CMC then subtracts the EFC from your Cost of Attendance (COA) to calculate the amount of need-based financial aid you are eligible to receive.

CMC will assemble a financial aid package and send you a shopping sheet outlining the types and amounts of aid available to you along with the estimated educational costs at CMC. You may accept all, part, or none of this financial aid package.

To get an early estimate of your EFC and aid eligibility prior to the official need analysis process, take advantage of the Department of Education’s FAFSA4caster. Using information you provide about the type of school you plan to attend, FAFSA4caster can even estimate award amounts for specific kinds of aid, such as grants, loans, and work-study. When the time comes to fill out the FAFSA, you can use your answers on the FAFSA4caster to prefill many of the FAFSA questions.

You may also want to check out FinAid: The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid, which provides an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator. The website also offers a detailed analysis calculator, in addition to a Quick EFC Calculator.

Other kinds of aid, such as scholarships and grants, may be given by schools, organizations, companies, etc. Some grants are based on need, while others are based on academic or athletic ability, career interests, religious affiliation, membership, location, employment, etc. Investigate these opportunities at your school, library, or on the internet at FinAid.

Dependency Status

The maximum amount you may borrow in Direct Loans depends on whether you are an independent student or dependent student, as well as your academic year in school.

You’re automatically considered INDEPENDENT if you:

Were born before January 1, 1995 (for 2017-18) or before January 1, 1996 (for 2019-20)

Are serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces

Since turning 13, both parents are deceased

Are a dependent or ward of the court since turning age 13

Are married as of the date of your application

Are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces

Were in foster care since turning age 13

Are currently or have been an emancipated minor

Have children and provide more than half of their support

Will be working on a master’s or doctorate program

Have dependents (other than children or a spouse) who live with you and you provide more than half of their support

Are currently or have been in legal guardianship

Are homeless or at risk of being homeless

The range of personal situations is extensive. If you feel your dependency status is not accurately reflected by these definitions, discuss your personal situation with the Financial Aid Office. If your dependency status changes at any time during the year, you must notify the Financial Aid Office immediately. Independent students do not include their parents’ financial information on the FAFSA.

Students will receive a notice if he/she has completed 75% of the published length of the program.

Disbursements/Distribution of Financial Aid

Students are required to pay tuition and fees at registration, your awards MUST be in accepted status to be used at registration. Students receiving PLUS Loans cannot have costs deferred unless a Notice of Loan Guarantee has been received by the Office of Student Financial Aid; therefore students should be prepared to provide payment.

Financial Aid in the form of grants, scholarships and loans will first be applied towards the payment of outstanding tuition and fees owed to the college by the student. Financial aid awarded in excess of outstanding tuition and fees will be disbursed by check to the student approximately two weeks after the start of the semester, however there are some exceptions (listed below).

EXCEPTION #1: Aid funds will not be disbursed until you have started class. If you are enrolled in “late start” classes, your disbursement will be delayed or reduced until you have begun attendance in all classes.
Note, per Dept of Education:"...must confirm that: if the disbursement occurs on or after the first day of classes, that the student has begun attendance."

EXCEPTION #2: For first time borrowers of Federal Direct Loans, disbursement of the loan funds will occur 4 weeks after the beginning of the semester. For students receiving a one-semester loan, two disbursements will be made. The first half will disburse 2 weeks after the semesters begins (4 weeks if first time borrower); the second half will disburse 4 (or two) weeks later (6 weeks into the semester).

EXCEPTION #3: PLUS Loans will be credited to the student account and all obligations will be deducted before a refund check is issued. Any credit balance from the PLUS proceeds will be paid to the Parent unless the parent authorizes CMC to pay the balance to the student. (See section B on the   Parent Borrower Form).

Loans will not be distributed if the student is enrolled in less than 6 credit hours.
Note, per Dept of Education: "...you must confirm that: for DL loans, the student is enrolled at least half time."

All borrowers must complete a loan counseling session and Master Promissory Note prior to receiving your first disbursement. We suggest you use the electronic entrance counseling on the web at StudentLoans.gov.

Ordering Books Using Your Financial Aid

For your convenience, CMC offers the ability to purchase textbooks using your accepted financial aid.

You must have completed all necessary paperwork, have sufficient funds, and financial aid must be in "accepted" status to purchase textbooks. To view and accept your available financial aid, please go to Basecamp (login required).

Students at CMC participate in the Learning Materials Program (LMP). An affordable flat rate "textbooks in tuition" lease system and service which provides 100% of required materials by the first day or start of semester automatically customized to the student’s schedule.

The Learning Materials Program fees are easily budgeted as cost of attendance in financial aid and payment plans. Flat fees are not applicable for non-credit classes.

• The rate is assessed at $26.00 per credit hour.

Getting Your Textbooks

Students participating in the Learning Materials Program automatically receive their textbooks.

To see your textbook order and information please go to Basecamp (login required), then access Learning Materials Program under MY CMC APPS.

Approval of the financial aid appeal will place students on financial aid probation. The student will be placed on an academic plan as defined in the approved letter.

Once placed on an academic plan, the student remains on probation & must fully comply with the academic plan each term.

Compliance is checked at the end of each enrollment period; failure to fully comply with all aspects of the plan will result in termination.

A student in good standing is meeting all three requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress as well as the CMC academic standards.

Students are eligible to receive financial aid.

No Show Attendance Reporting

Colorado Mountain College Faculty and staff want you to be successful with reaching your educational goals. It starts with attending all of your classes. For credit courses that start at the beginning of the semester, faculty must report "Never Attended" (no shows). For late starting classes, faculty must report on the 7th day after the course start date.

NOTE: A no-show for a face-to-face class is defined as lack of “attendance” where attendance is defined as one of the following:

• Physical class attendance where there is direct interaction between instructor and student
• Submission of an academic assignment
• Examination, interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction
• Study group assigned by school
• Participation in on-line discussion about academic matters
• Documented initiation of contact with instructor to ask a question about academic subject

NOTE: A no-show for an online class is a student who has not: Completed the introductory assignment(s) by the deadline.

“No-Show” Reporting: If the student has not “attended” (per language above), the instructor will report the student as a no-show. Class reinstatement cannot occur after this point without significant documented extenuating circumstances.

“No-Show” Reporting and Financial Aid: If a student is dropped from a course (or courses) for non-attendance, the resultant loss in credit hours may cause a reduction and/or cancellation of his/her financial aid award. Like class reinstatement, financial aid awards can only be reinstated with documented extreme extenuating circumstances.

Reinstatement in class DOES NOT guarantee financial aid reinstatement.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, mandates institutions of higher education establish a standard of satisfactory academic progress for students who receive financial aid. This standard applies to the student’s entire academic history, whether Title IV aid was received or not. In order to remain eligible to receive aid at Colorado Mountain College, students must meet the standards specified for acceptable academic performance and for Satisfactory Academic Progress toward the completion of their program of study.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

• Cumulative GPA: 2.0 or above.
• Cumulative Completion Rate: 67% or above. Calculations are not rounded up to 67%.
• Maximum Time Frame: Complete the academic program within 150% of the required number of credits needed for a degree or certificate program. Transfer credits accepted into the CMC degree program are taken into consideration for Maximum Time Frame. Satisfactory academic progress is checked at the end of each term.

Monitoring

CMC will measure students’ eligibility for financial aid at the end of EVERY semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer), and will measure for ALL SAP components. The updated status will be effective for the following semester.

Financial Aid “Warning”

• A status assigned to a student who fails to make SAP and will be granted automatically without a written appeal from the student (at least one credit will have been completed in the semester).
• A student on warning may continue to receive financial aid for one payment period.
• A student on “Warning” who then fails SAP standards the next payment period will be placed on “Termination.”

Financial Aid Probation

A student on probation must follow all terms of their academic plan to be considered for Title IV eligibility. Terms of the academic plan are defined in the approval letter.

Once placed on an academic plan:

• The student remains on probation
• The student must fully comply with the academic plan each term. Compliance is checked at the end of each enrollment period. Failure to fully comply with all aspects of the plan will result in termination. If terminated, the student will be notified what steps must be taken before there will be any future consideration for aid eligibility.

Financial Aid Termination

All federal, state and most institutional aid are canceled immediately upon Financial Aid Termination.

Either of these conditions will result in Financial Aid Termination:

• A student’s failure to comply with the stipulations of his/her student’s academic plan
• First-year students (completed less than 30 CMC credits) with a zero completion rate for a term

Following a financial aid Warning Status, students who meet either of these conditions are placed on termination:

• The student’s CMC cumulative GPA falls below 2.0
• The student’s pace falls below 67% (you must satisfactorily complete at least 67% of attempted courses)

Financial Aid “Notice” (Maximum Time Frame)

Students will receive a notice if he/she has completed 75% of the 150% of the published length of the educational program.

Components of Satisfactory Academic Progress

The Colorado Mountain College definition of Satisfactory Academic Progress for receiving student financial aid includes the following components:

Academic Standards

CMC uses a Quality Point System and numerical code:

A = 4
B = 3
C = 2
D = 1
F = 0
W = 0

Students who have attempted 9 or more hours at Colorado Mountain College ("AW" is, for this purpose, included as attempted) and who have earned a cumulative grade point average of less than 1.0 will be placed on Academic Suspension.

Students placed on Academic Suspension have a right to appeal the suspension. Please contact your College Counselor for instructions related to the appeal. Usually, suspensions remain for at least one semester. Students suspended for academic reasons must, even after one semester, appeal in writing for reinstatement.

Financial aid will not automatically be reinstated if “Academic Suspension” is waived by an Academic Appeals Committee; a separate   Student Financial Aid Appeal must still be submitted.

Aid eligibility will be reinstated when a student who re-enrolls after an academic or financial aid suspension meets the following criteria in order to receive aid during subsequent semesters of enrollment:

• meets the academic standards set by the college; and,
• meets the criteria for a student in “Good Standing” according to the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy;
• completes steps defined after failure to comply with the requirements of the academic plan.

Incompletes

An Incomplete grade (I) is given when no credit is earned; therefore, an (I) grade may cause a student to be placed on academic/financial aid probation or suspension.

A student on financial aid suspension will have four weeks into the subsequent semester to complete the course(s) and submit evidence that the grade(s) meet the academic standard for Satisfactory Academic Progress. The four weeks are counted whether the student is enrolled during the subsequent term (i.e., the student receives “I” in the spring term and has four weeks to complete, regardless of summer enrollment status).

Students in compliance with this procedure can request to have their SAP status reevaluated. If a successful reevaluation occurs, the student will not be required to submit a formal appeal for reinstatement of aid for the next term of enrollment.

Withdrawals

Students withdrawing from some, but not all, classes, after the funds have been disbursed, may not have their current aid adjusted. A “W” (Withdrawal) or “AW” (Administrative Withdrawal) does not count as a completed credit and failure to complete the credit hours upon which your award was based will affect future financial aid eligibility. However, a “W” or “AW” does count as an attempted credit(s) in calculating the maximum number of credit hours for the Maximum Time Frame calculation.

Repeats

Students may repeat a previously passed course one-time using financial aid funds. A failed course may be repeated until it is passed using financial aid. The total attempted credits will be considered towards the maximum credit time frame. Students repeating previously passed courses may only repeat a class once to count towards enrollment status for financial aid eligibility calculation.

Remedial Courses

These courses may be required because a student has basic skill deficiencies, and are allowable for financial aid provided that the student is degree/certificate-seeking and enrolled in an eligible program.

Eligible courses include those designated MAT (MAT 025 through MAT 101) and CCR (CCR 091 through CCR 094).

NOTE: Students enrolling in CCR 093 and a co-requisite 100-level course will only receive financial aid eligibility for 100-level courses applicable within their declared program of study.

Academic Achievement courses (AAA) do not count towards the student’s enrollment status for financial aid, with the exception of AAA 050, AAA 101 and, only when paired with MAT 050, AAA 095.

Additionally, if the student chooses to audit a course it will not count toward his/her enrollment status for financial aid purposes and cannot be paid with financial aid.

The maximum number of remedial credits that may be funded by financial aid is thirty.

Pace of Progression

Students are expected to maintain a completion rate of at least 67% each semester. The completion rate is determined by dividing the cumulative number of credits successfully completed by the cumulative number of credits attempted. Students are evaluated at the close of each semester.

• (Cumulative Credits Successfully Completed / Cumulative Credits Attempted) x 100 = Completion Rate.
• All credits, including remedial credits, are included in the calculation of the cumulative completion rate.

Maximum Time Frame

Colorado Mountain College, in accordance with Federal Regulations, has set a maximum time frame in which students at CMC are expected to finish a program. The maximum number of attempted credits after which financial aid will not be allowed is determined by the number of credits required to complete the currently enrolled program (as defined by the College Catalog).

When 150% of the attempted credits are reached, the student will be placed on financial aid Termination (see the previous description). Refer to the Degree chart for the maximum number of attempted credits including transfer credits from other colleges that will be counted in the determination of maximum attempted credits.

Affected students who have reached or exceeded the hours allowed due to academic program changes, changes in major, transfer hours accumulated from other schools or pursuit of a second degree (i.e. second associates degree) can complete a form and have their status reviewed.

*Additional credits may be required to complete major.

Appealing Satisfactory Academic Progress

Appeals

Students have the right to appeal a suspension of financial aid due to low GPA, pace of progression (completing a minimum of 67% of attempted coursework) the max time frame limitation or any combination thereof. Use the the general   Student Financial Aid Appeal Form or forms.

Students may appeal the Maximum Time Frame termination if their status was caused by CMC credit hours received over 10 years ago and/or transfer credits from other colleges.

All appeals are considered on a case by case basis and will be evaluated in part on how complete the student is with each requirement of the appeal.

The appeal must include the following:

The typed appeal form.

A typed, detailed letter from the student explaining any mitigating or extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control that made it impossible to successfully complete the semester.

In the event of a medical issue, appropriate documentation supporting the extenuating circumstance is required (includes documents from physicians and/or hospitals). Proof of diagnosis MUST be attached.

Any other documentation required to support information provided in the student letter.

Incomplete appeals or those lacking appropriate detail WILL NOT be reviewed. All relevant details and supporting communication must be submitted by the deadline each term. Any appeals submitted after the deadline may not be reviewed prior to disbursement for the subsequent term. The student will be responsible for all charges on the student account.

If the appeal is approved, any aid disbursed will serve as reimbursement to the student for any payments made during this period.
Appeals can be submitted to the Financial Aid Office electronically to finaid@coloradomtn.edu or mailed to:

Colorado Mountain College
Attn: Financial Aid Appeals
802 Grand Ave
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601

Decisions to approve or deny appeals rendered by the Director of Financial aid are final. Notifications are sent to students via CMC issued email address, and a hard copy letter mailed to the most recent address on file.

Students withdrawing from some, but not all, classes after the funds have been disbursed may not have their current aid adjusted. For more information regarding this and how it affects Satisfactory Academic Progress, please see Satisfactory Academic Progress (above).

CMC will measure students’ eligibility for financial aid at the end of every semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer), and will measure for all Satisfactory Academic Progress components.

The updated status will be effective for the following semester.