Accepting Your Financial Aid Award

• You must be enrolled in a program that leads to a diploma or a degree to receive federal and state financial aid. The amount of all federal and state aid is based on the number of credits you are enrolled in for your program. Classes that are not part of your program will not be used to determine eligibility for federal and state aid.
• Please note that we mail financial aid checks based on enrollment as of 10 days into the semester.
• The Pell Grant, Vocational Technical Grant, and the Kibbie Grant are pro-rated based upon the number of credit hours enrolled. While loans are not pro-rated, to qualify for the entire loan amount, you have to be enrolled at least half-time.

• Students who are enrolled less than full time are considered part-time students. For part-time students, a lower cost of attendance will be used to determine eligibility for financial aid awards. If your attendance level changes up to the end of the second week of classes, this may change the amounts of your awards.
• Students may receive no more than 600% of the Pell Grant award, where 100% is generally considered the equivalent of one year of full-time Pell Grant.
• The Pell Grant amount will be determined after the Pell Recalculation Date for the semester. Classes added or dropped after that date will not change the Pell Grant award.
• Federal Stafford Loans must have at least two disbursements. If your loan is for one semester only, the second disbursement will be at the midpoint of the semester. To remain eligible for a Federal Stafford Loan, you must be enrolled at least half-time during the entire period for which the loan was processed. Therefore, if you drop below half-time, any remaining disbursements will be canceled. If you return the following semester, a new loan may be created based on remaining eligibility.
• Your award is based on projected funding from institutional, state, and federal sources, and is subject to change. Specifically, state programs are subject to the availability of funding from the state and can be reduced if that funding is reduced by the state. This applies to the Iowa Vocational-Technical Grant, the Kibbie Grant, the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, the All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant and National Guard Benefits.
• If other sources of assistance or additional resources are received after your financial aid application is completed, you are required to notify the Financial Aid Office immediately.
• Default status for any previous Federal Student Loan or any unpaid repayments for previous financial aid awards will cause automatic rejection for present aid consideration.   
• One of the requirements for receiving financial aid is that you attend the classes for which you are registered. Attendance is monitored in all classes. We will disburse financial aid based on the number of credits you have been reported as attending. If you have late start classes, some of your pro-rated awards will not be sent until you are attending those late start classes.

You'll set up your direct deposit information in MyHub:

• Choose "My Bill” under Student Links, then “Direct Deposits” under Refunds Section
• Choose "Refunds" from the toolbar at the top, then "Set up Account." Select an account type and input the corresponding bank account and routing information.
• Review the agreement and click "Agree" to finalize your direct deposit.  The account is now set up and will show under "Refunds" as a direct deposit account.

Things to keep in mind about your direct deposit

• Once funds are released from us to your bank it can take 3 – 5 business days for the funds to show in your account.
• Direct Deposit is not guaranteed, if there is an issue with your account (wrong account number, prepaid card, etc.) you will receive a paper check.
• Please ensure the account you are adding will accept ACH deposits.

If you choose not to set up a direct deposit, the balance of financial aid will be mailed to your local address on file when your attendance is verified. Please allow 3 – 5 business days to receive the check via mail. Checks must be cashed within 90 days of issue. 

Federal regulations require students to make reasonable Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in their course of study in order to continue to receive financial aid funds.

All About SAP

If any amount of tuition is paid with funds from a Title IV Program and the student withdraws during the established refund period, the Title IV program funds will be adjusted and any unearned aid will be returned in the following order: Loans: Federal Unsubsidized, Federal Subsidized, and Federal Plus. Grants: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Other Title IV programs. Under federal law, Kirkwood must return the funds as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after Kirkwood determines the student’s withdrawal date.

A student’s financial aid is based on the number of classes the student is enrolled in and the number of days the student is enrolled in classes. When a student initiates a withdrawal from one or more classes, the amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive is affected. The Return of Title IV funds to the federal government is based on a calculation that determines how much aid the student is eligible to receive and how much the student is no longer eligible for because he/ she is no longer enrolled in school. This calculation is applicable until the student has completed more than 60 percent of the semester. Once the student has completed more than 60 percent of the semester, all financial aid is considered earned.

Kirkwood does not use a Return of Title IV funds freeze date, and therefore all registered classes during the semester are used in the calculation. The one exception to that is if a student only accepts a Pell Grant. In that case, only attended classes are used in the calculation.

Kirkwood follows the federal regulations regarding modular class student exceptions. Students who have graduated from a Title IV program in the semester, completed 6 Title IV credits with passing grades, or have earned a passing grade in a class(es) that equate to 49% of the term’s scheduled days are exempt from a Return of Title IV funds calculation.

For example:

If a student completed 20 percent of the semester, the student will have earned 20 percent of the financial assistance awarded for the semester. Any aid above and beyond the 20 percent is considered unearned and must be returned to the federal government. Once a student has completed 60 percent of the semester, they are considered to have earned all aid for that semester. 

As prescribed by federal law, Kirkwood is required to return the lesser of:

• The unearned amount of financial aid; or
• An amount equal to the student’s total institutional charges for the semester, multiplied by the percentage of unearned aid.

As prescribed by federal law, the amount the student must return is:

• The unearned amount of Title IV assistance minus any funds Kirkwood returned. If the student is required to repay unearned loan funds, these funds will be repaid in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, through scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

If the student is required to repay unearned Pell and/or SEOG Grant funds, the law provides that the student is only required to return grant funds if the final grant overpayment amount exceeds 50 percent of the total grant assistance the student received for the payment period.

Any unearned grant money must be repaid by either making arrangements with Kirkwood or with the U.S. Department of Education.

If a student withdraws from Kirkwood prior to completing 60 percent of the semester, the student is responsible for paying any outstanding tuition and fee charges that remain after Kirkwood has repaid any unearned financial aid to the federal government.

This process is performed by a Financial Aid Analyst.

Step 1: Determine the student’s withdrawal date

For official withdrawals, the withdrawal date is the date the student dropped the class as indicated in Colleague. For unofficial withdrawals, the withdrawal date is the last date of attendance as indicated by the instructor when they enter the “F” grade. The Financial Aid Analyst runs a process which lists the withdrawal dates.

Step 2: Determine the percentage of earned aid

Step 3: Determine the amount of earned aid

Step 4: Determine the amount of unearned aid

Step 5: Determine the school and student shares of unearned aid

The Financial Aid Analyst runs a Colleague process which determines all of the numbers in Steps 2 through 5. The awards are updated in Colleague and COD is notified of the changes in the amounts through the regular batch process. The Finance Department then makes the appropriate adjustments in G5.

Step 6: Make post-withdrawal disbursements

If there is a post-withdrawal disbursement, the Financial Aid Analyst will process that and the Finance Department will credit the student’s account and disburse the funds to the student within 45 days. In the case where the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the Financial Aid Analyst will reach out to the student to ensure they want the funding before disbursing it. If there is no reply after 30 days, the loan funds will not be disbursed.

If there is aid available after your tuition has been paid, you may use that amount at the bookstore as long as you have your EagleCard and book list.

First time Stafford Loan borrowers’ loan funds cannot be deposited/mailed until the mandatory 30-day wait period from the start of the semester ends. However, those funds are available at the bookstore if the loan has been accepted and all checklist steps are completed.

You can view your amount available at the bookstore by clicking Account Summary in MyHub and scrolling down the page.