Charging to Financial Aid
Once a financial aid file is complete, a student is allowed to charge tuition and/or books, supplies, and some tools against the account. Books/supplies/tools charged to financial aid will be distributed at the beginning of each trimester.
Disbursement and Return of Funds
Funds not charged against tuition and/or books will be disbursed later in the term. Students must present a valid student ID to pick up the check.
If a student terminates from school early, the financial aid award will be recalculated, and the Office of Financial Aid may determine that the student owes some of the grant funds back to the U.S. Department of Education, Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation, or to the Tennessee College of Applied Technology.
Satisfactory Progress Requirements
- To make satisfactory progress a student must:
- Complete 67% of cumulative scheduled hours (pace of completion). All periods of enrollment for a student’s program will be included in determining the cumulative scheduled hours used for SAP, regardless of receipt of Title IV aid for the prior enrollments.
- Must maintain a minimum cumulative passing grade of “C” or higher if specified by the program and as published by the institution. (34 CFR §668.34.)
- Satisfactory progress will be evaluated at the expected end of a student’s payment period. If the student fails to make satisfactory progress, the student will be placed on financial aid warning for the next payment period. If the student fails to make satisfactory progress for the next payment period, financial aid will be suspended. There is no appeal process for financial aid satisfactory progress. To reestablish financial aid, a student must make satisfactory academic progress at the next evaluation date.
- Remedial Courses – Any courses considered ‘remedial’ are included in the student’s normal program of study and are included in the students SAP calculation.
- Program Changes - Changes in program will not affect SAP because a student will then have a new program length and new payment periods.
- Transfer Credit – Students who receive credit for hours completed for previous education (other institutions, life experience, work credit, dual enrollment, etc.) will have their program length reduced. A student that receives transfer credit will have a maximum timeframe calculated based on the reduced program length. Transfer credits are not included in the GPA calculation nor the cumulative hours of completion.
- Repeats Program Repeats – Any student who completes an entire clock hour program and later re-enrolls to take that same program again or to take another program may be paid for repeating coursework regardless of the amount of time between completion of the first program and beginning the same program or another program. Course Repeats - The repeated course grade will be counted along with the previously assigned grade. Repeated course hours will count toward total cumulative hours (pace of progression).
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Withdrawals - In scenarios where students withdraw from courses, course withdrawals (W grades) are not included in the GPA calculation but are considered a noncompletion of attempted coursework. Therefore, attempted hours for a withdrawal are factored into the student’s PACE of completion. The following process is followed in relation to the treatment of payment periods and repeat courses upon a student’s return to the institution within the same program:
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Reentry within 180 days – A student who withdraws from a clock hour or credit hour non-term program and reenters within 180 days is considered to remain in the same payment period when they return and, subject to conditions imposed by ED, is eligible to receive FSA funds for which they were eligible prior to withdrawal, including funds that were returned under R2T4 rules. The repeated course grade will be counted along with the previously assigned grade. Repeated course hours will count toward total cumulative hours (PACE of completion).
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Reentry after 180 days – Generally, you must calculate new payment periods for a clock hour or credit hour non-term program for:
1. A student who withdraws and then reenters the same program at the same institution after 180 days: the repeated course grade will be counted along with the previously assigned grade. Repeated course hours will count toward total cumulative hours (pace of completion), or
2. A student who withdraws from a program and then enrolls in a new program at the same institution, or at another institution within any time period. The student establishes a new maximum timeframe based on the new program length. Hours and grades from the previous program are not included when evaluating SAP for the new program.
*Note: SAP Must be evaluated at the point of reentry regardless of the length of time between enrollments. If the student’s previous hours + the number of hours required to complete the program is greater than the maximum number of hours, then the student is not eligible for Title IV aid. For example – A student enrolls in Welding (1296-hour program) and completes 700 hours. Student returns 2 years later. Instructor requires student to retake entire program. Student could not complete the program in 150% (1944 hours) as 1296 + 700 = 1996 hours. Therefore, this student would not be eligible for Title IV aid upon re-entry.
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- Incompletes An incomplete “I” grade is not utilized at the TCAT. The TCAT issues a grade of CONT. CONT is awarded when a student completes clock hours within a term for a course but is not able to complete all clock hours for a specific course. This grade simply denotes that the student is continuing the course into the next trimester, and the remaining clock hours for the course will be included in the overall clock hours for the next trimester. The CONT does not mean the student did not complete the scheduled hours in the trimester, only that all hours were not completed for a course. The CONT grade is not included in the GPA calculation. Once a course is completed and a grade entered, that grade is factored into a student’s GPA. The attended hours associated with a CONT grade are factored into a student’s PACE of completion.
- Maximum Time Frame (this is for maximum timeframe only, cannot pay more than 100% of student’s program length). Students may continue to receive State Aid at the pace of 67% or greater until they have been enrolled 150% of their scheduled hours.
- A student may receive aid while enrolled in this program, up to the point you determine the student cannot complete the program within 150% (our maximum timeframe for SAP). The student fails SAP for maximum timeframe at the evaluation point where they can no longer graduate within the maximum timeframe - not at the point where they actually hit the number of hours or weeks that make up the maximum timeframe (this point is actually earlier than the actual maximum timeframe).
- If the student’s previous hours + the number of hours required to complete the program is greater than the maximum number of hours, then the student is not eligible for Title IV aid. For example – A student enrolls in Welding (1296-hour program) and completes 700 hours. The student returns two (2) years later, and the instructor requires the student to retake the entire program. The student could not complete the program in 150% (1944 hours) as 1296 +700 = 1996 hours. Therefore, this student would not be eligible for Title IV aid upon re-entry.
- Notification
Students will be notified of any evaluations that impact eligibility of Title IV aid.
Note: Students receiving the Tennessee State Aid may not appeal unsatisfactory progress.
Notification Guidelines
A student must notify the Financial Aid Office in writing with any change in financial status, student status, or anticipated graduation date. Once a student exceeds the approved program length as documented in the student catalog, the student must receive approval from the Financial Aid Office before receiving any additional funds and they can then only be approved for state grant funds, not federal grant funds.