FINANCIAL RESOURCES

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Collin College 2013-2014 Catalog

NOTE: Firefighters qualifying for a tuition and lab

fee waiver are required to pay the Building Use and

Student Life fees.

NOTE: Valedictorians qualifying for a tuition waiver

are required to pay the Building Use, Student Record

and Student Life fees.

NOTE: Veterans qualifying for a tuition and fee

waiver are required to pay the Student Life and

Student Records fees.

NOTE: Fees for Continuing Education courses can be

found in the current Continuing Education Schedule

of Classes.

Payment

Mastercard, VISA and Discover cards, as well as

cash and checks, are accepted as payment. Checks

are processed electronically through the Automated

Clearing House (ACH). When writing a check or

using a credit card, students must also show a picture

identification card and provide their Campus Wide

ID (CWID) number.

REFUNDS

Refund calculations are based on the state-mandated

refund policy. Full (100 percent less non-refundable

fees) refunds are calculated on withdrawals and drops

occurring prior to each term’s first class day. Each

term’s first class day is always the first official day of

the semester, not the first day of an individual’s class.

Refunds are processed approximately two weeks

after the first class day. The complete refund policy is

listed in the Collin College Registration Guide.

SENIOR CITIZEN REDUCED

TUITION

Texas residents who reach 65 prior to the census date

of the term are eligible for a tuition waiver.

Proof of date of birth is required. Contact the

Admissions and Records Office for more

information.

STUDENT FINANCIAL

RESPONSIBILITY

Student tuition bills are posted online and are

accessed through CougarWeb. Billing notices are

sent to the student’s college assigned email address,

the official means of communication with Collin

students. Each term has an advertised early

registration payment deadline (see term specific

Registration Guide). As of the initial payment

deadline, any balance on the student account is due

the same day the charge is incurred. Funding must be

in place in compliance with payment deadlines to

ensure course enrollment status. It is the student’s

responsibility to review student account balances,

comply with financial aid eligibility requirements and

third party funding guidelines, and meet payment

deadline requirements. Student accounts with an

unpaid debt are subject to holds preventing

registration and withholding grades, transcripts, and

degrees. Delinquent accounts may be placed with an

outside collection agency and/or reported to the

national credit bureau system. Students are

responsible for all late fees, collection charges,

attorney fees, interest, and any costs and charges

necessary for the collection of any amount not paid

when due. All disputes about registration or payment

will be governed in accordance with the laws of the

State of Texas. The venue for any lawsuit regarding

collection of a delinquent debt will be in Collin

County, Texas.

FINANCIAL AID

As a service to Collin College students, the Financial

Aid Office administers a comprehensive financial aid

program that includes grants, loans and part-time

employment for those who meet the eligibility

requirements. A primary purpose of the Collin

College financial aid program is to provide assistance

for students who might otherwise find it difficult or

impossible to attend college. All students are

encouraged to apply for financial aid.

If students have questions or need assistance, they

can contact the Financial Aid Office via phone or

visit any campus Financial Aid Office. Financial aid

staff is trained to assist students in realizing their

educational goals by answering questions, providing

appropriate forms and instructions, and referring

students to other resources as needed.

For more information, please visit the Financial Aid

Office webpage at:

http://www.collin.edu/gettingstarted/financialaid/inde

x.html

Students receiving financial aid should not withdraw

from all of their classes without first consulting the

Financial Aid Office. In addition, all financial aid

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Collin College 2013-2014 Catalog

students must become familiar with the standards of

academic progress required to remain eligible for

financial aid.

Federal law requires a financial aid student to

complete at least 60 percent of each semester. If a

student completely withdraws before the 60 percent

point in the semester, that student will need to repay a

portion of the financial aid funds received. A

financial aid student who earns a grade of “F” for all

courses in a semester must have at least one (1)

instructor provide proof to the Financial Aid Office

that the student was in an academically related

activity for 60 percent of the semester. Otherwise,

that student will owe money back to the financial aid

program.

APPLYING FOR AID

Students can apply for aid online using the Free

Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

located at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Collin College’s Title

IV School Code is 016792 and must be reported on

the FAFSA application in order for aid to be

processed by Collin College.

DEADLINES

Students must apply for financial aid each year.

Students wanting to receive priority consideration

should apply as early as possible. The new FAFSA is

typically available after January 1 each year.

Students who meet the priority deadline will have aid

in place before the payment deadline. Students who

miss the priority deadline will still be processed.

However, these students should make arrangements

to pay for their own tuition, fees, books, and supplies

before the payment deadline. A file is considered

having met the priority deadline if the FAFSA is on

file, and any/all required documentation is complete,

correct, and submitted by the priority deadline.

Priority deadlines are as follows:

Fall Semester – May 1

Spring Semester – November 1

Summer Semesters – March 1

FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS –

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

Actual award amounts are determined by federal

guidelines, a demonstration of need, and the student’s

enrollment. Collin College participates in the

following financial aid programs:

Federal Pell Grant – Eligibility for the Pell Grant is

based on the financial need of the student and/or the

student’s family, as well as the student’s enrollment

status.

Financial need is determined by the U.S. Department

of Education from information provided on the

student’s FAFSA (Free Application for Federal

Student Aid). The standard formula, established by

Congress, produces an Expected Family Contribution

(EFC) that indicates how much a student, and their

spouse or family, is expected to contribute financially

toward the cost of their education. EFC’s within a

particular range (varies by year and consists of those

students determined to have the “most need”) will be

eligible for Pell Grant provided the student meets all

other eligibility criteria.

In general, only undergraduate students are eligible to

receive a Pell Grant. A student who has earned a

baccalaureate or a first professional degree is not

eligible to receive a Pell Grant.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunities

Grant (FSEOG) – FSEOG is limited by the

availability of funds and is awarded to those students

considered to have exceptional financial need.

Priority is given to federal Pell Grant recipients.

Federal Work Study – Students demonstrating

financial need may be considered for the work study

program. Students are employed part-time at various

jobs on campus or at other College District approved

sites. Students are allowed to earn the amount

designated in their award package as long as they

maintain a 2.0 GPA and are enrolled in at least 6

credit hours.

Federal Direct Loan Program – This program

permits students to borrow low-interest loans from

the Department of Education provided the student is

enrolled and attending at least half time and

otherwise meets eligibility criteria. The federal

government pays interest on the subsidized (need

based) amount borrowed until the student graduates

or ceases to be enrolled at least half time.

Unsubsidized loans (non-need based) are also

available to otherwise eligible students. Students are

responsible for the interest accruing on these loans

while attending school. The interest rate for

subsidized loans for the 2012-2013 academic year

was 3.4 percent while the interest rate for

unsubsidized loans was 6.8 percent.

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Collin College 2013-2014 Catalog

Direct Parent Loans to Undergraduate Students

(PLUS) – PLUS loans are available to parents who

want to borrow money to help defray the cost of their

dependent children’s education. Like Direct loans,

PLUS loans are offered by the Department of

Education. Parents may borrow up to the cost of

attendance minus any other educational resources and

financial aid awarded to students. These loans have a

higher interest rate than Direct loans and the

borrower is responsible for paying all the interest that

accrues. The interest rate on PLUS loans for the

2012-2013 year was 7.9 percent

FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS – STATE

ASSISTANCE

Texas Public Education Grant (TPEG) – The

TPEG program is a state financial aid program

designed to assist students in attending state-

supported colleges. Students must demonstrate

financial need and be making satisfactory academic

progress toward their educational goals. The actual

amount of the grant varies depending on the

availability of funds to the college, the student’s

financial condition and enrollment, and other aid, the

student may be receiving.

Texas Grant – Students graduating high school after

December 1998 may be eligible for this grant if the

following conditions are met:

 Are a Texas resident

 Do not have a felony drug conviction

 Graduated high school in the recommended

or distinguished programs

 Graduated from a Texas high school within

16 months of application

 Are in their first 30 hours of college

 Registered with Selective Service, if

required

 Have an Expected Family Contribution

(EFC) as determined by the FAFSA of

$4,000 or less for initial awards and have

unmet need for renewal awards

 Are enrolled at least three-quarter time (nine

hours)

Students who meet the qualifications are eligible for

up to 75 hours at a community college. This grant

covers the cost of tuition and fees and is renewable

during the undergraduate career as long as the student

meets the requirements. For the first year, students

must meet the college’s Satisfactory Academic

Progress (SAP) requirements. (Please refer to the

Institutional Policy of Satisfactory Academic

Progress listed below for more information.) To

continue receiving the Texas Grant, the student must

complete 24 hours each academic year, maintain a

2.5 cumulative GPA, and complete at least 75 percent

of their coursework.

Texas Equal Opportunity Grant (TEOG) –

Community college students working on their first

associate’s degree may be eligible for this grant if

they:

 Are a Texas resident

 Do not have a felony drug conviction

 Are within their first 30 hours of college

 Registered for Selective Service, if required

 Have an Expected Family Contribution

(EFC) as determined by FAFSA of $2,000

or less for initial awards and unmet need for

renewal awards

 Are enrolled at least half-time (6 hours)

Students who meet the qualifications are eligible for

up to 75 hours at a community college. Additionally,

a student receiving this grant may become eligible for

the Texas Grant once they transfer to a university.

For the first year, students must meet the college’s

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements.

(Please refer to the Institutional Policy of Satisfactory

Academic Progress listed below for more

information.) To continue receiving this grant, the

student must complete 24 hours each academic year,

maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA, and complete at least

75 percent of their coursework.

For additional information about either of the above

grants, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC

PROGRESS (SAP)

School policy: 34 CFR 668.16(e); Student eligibility:

34 CFR 668.32(f), 34 CFR 668.34

To be considered administratively capable, a school

must have a satisfactory academic progress policy for

a Federal Student Aid (FSA) recipient that is the

same as or more strict than the school's standards for

a student enrolled in the same educational program

who is not receiving assistance under a FSA program.

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Collin College 2013-2014 Catalog

Basic Elements of a Satisfactory Progress Policy

According to these federal rules, a school's policy

must contain certain basic elements:

 a qualitative component consisting of

grades or comparable factors that are

measurable against a norm, (a GPA

component)

 a quantitative component that consists of a

maximum time frame in which a student

must complete his or her educational

program, subdivided into increments (aka

the 150 percent rule), and

 a measurement of progress, meaning the

student must be completing a certain

percentage of classes to be considered

making adequate progress.

Student Eligibility

To be eligible for Federal Student Aid (FSA) funds, a

student must make satisfactory academic progress as

defined by the school.

A student who loses FSA eligibility because he or she

is not meeting the school's satisfactory academic

progress standards will regain eligibility when it is

determined that the student is again meeting the

standards. In most cases, the student may also regain

eligibility by successfully appealing a determination

that the student was not making satisfactory progress.

The school must document each case.

What is your SAP Status?

An explanation of the different SAP statuses can be

found on the college’s website at

http://www.collin.edu/shared/shared_finaid/pdf/SAP

_Status_Codes_on_Cougar_Web.pdf

Students can also see this explanation in the financial

aid section of their CougarWeb.

INSTITUTIONAL POLICY OF

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC

PROGRESS FOR FINANCIAL AID

(Effective August 2011)

This is an official statement of Collin College’s

policy related to the financial aid operational

definition of student Satisfactory Academic Progress

for 2011-2012 and subsequent academic years.

I. Incremental Measurement of Progress

At least once each academic year, the Financial Aid

Office evaluates the satisfactory academic progress

of Collin College students who receive financial aid

including grade point average and the percentage of

hours completed.

II. Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements

A student with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above and

meets the requirements under Items III and IV is

considered to be making satisfactory academic

progress, including enrollment during the summer

semesters. Withdrawals, incomplete courses, transfer

coursework, and repeated courses (when the repeated

course is not the better grade) do not affect GPA.

III. Completion Requirements

1. Enrollment status (hours attempted) is determined

by the student's enrollment on census date (12th class

day during the Fall and Spring semesters; 4th class

day during the Summer semesters).

a. Twelve or more hours is considered full-

time.

b. Nine to eleven hours is considered three-

quarter time.

c. Six to eight hours is considered half time.

d. One to five hours is considered less than half

time.

2. Students must complete (earn) 67 percent of

attempted hours that count towards progress.

a. Withdrawals, grades of “F,” incomplete

courses, repeated courses, courses taken during

the summer sessions, non-credit remedial

coursework, and transfer coursework are

counted toward attempted hours.

b. A grade of “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D,” transfer

coursework, courses taken during the summer

sessions, and repeated courses (when the

repeated course is the better grade) are counted

toward hours completed (earned).

3. Students who completely withdraw from a

semester while on aid (either officially or

unofficially) are no longer eligible for financial aid.

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Collin College 2013-2014 Catalog

IV. Maximum Time Frame

The maximum number of hours a student may

attempt is limited to 150 percent of the published

length of the program. All hours, including those

taken while not receiving Title IV aid, those taken

under a different major, hours attempted during

summer sessions, remedial hours, ESL hours, and

hours transferred in from previous/other institutions,

etc. shall be counted toward total hours attempted and

earned*

Note: *The Admissions and Records Office (ARO) is

the point of record for determining the number of

credit hours that transfer into the institution.

V. Failure to Meet the Standards of Academic

Progress

A student who is denied aid under this policy is once

again eligible for aid after supplying the Financial

Aid Office with documents proving that he or she

meets the requirements under Items II, III, and IV, or

is approved on appeal.

VI. The Appeal Process

1. Federal regulations allow a student to appeal an

adverse satisfactory academic progress finding based

on (a) the death of a relative, (b) an injury or illness

of the student, or (c) other special circumstances.

2. A student who wants to appeal shall do so by

submitting the college’s approved Satisfactory

Academic Progress Appeal form to the Financial Aid

Office during the award year. Students are

STRONGLY encouraged to provide supporting

documentation to support their appeal. Appeals

without back-up documentation are much less likely

to be approved.

3. A student whose appeal is approved is

automatically placed on financial aid probation for

one payment period unless placed on an academic

plan by the Financial Aid Office.

At the end of the probation period, the student must

be making satisfactory academic progress as defined

in Items II, III, and IV to remain eligible for financial

aid. If the student is not making satisfactory academic

progress at the end of the probation period, he must

again submit an appeal with supporting

documentation. If approved, the student will be

placed on an academic plan by the Financial Aid

Office. Students wanting to change the terms of their

academic plan must submit an appeal explaining the

reasons why want wish to change the plan.

At the end of the time frame designated in the

academic plan, the student must be making

satisfactory academic progress as defined in Items II,

III, and IV to remain eligible for financial aid. If the

student is not making satisfactory academic progress

at the end of the academic plan time frame, they are

ineligible for financial aid until they are once again

meeting the SAP requirements. This situation is not

appealable.

4. A student whose appeal is denied by the Financial

Aid Appeals Committee may appeal to the Financial

Aid Task Force. The student must provide written

notice of intent to do so to the Financial Aid Division

Secretary.

Additional Information: Return of Title IV Funds

Title IV aid is earned in a prorated manner on a per

diem basis up to and including the 60 percent point in

the term. After the 60 percent point all aid is

considered earned. The percentage earned is

calculated by dividing the number of days completed

by the number of days in the repayment period. It is

the unearned percentage of aid that determines the

amount that must be returned to the Title IV

program(s) in the following order: Unsubsidized

Direct Loan, Subsidized Direct Loan, Direct Parent

PLUS Loan, Pell Grant, and SEOG. The student is

not responsible for returning funds to any program to

which the students owes $50.00 or less. The grant

funds returned by the student are applied to the

following sources in the order indicated, up to the

total amount disbursed from that grant program

minus any grant funds the school is responsible for

returning to that program. Title IV Grant Program

sources include: Pell and SEOG. The Department of

Education considers a student who earns all “F”s to

have unofficially withdrawn unless an instructor can

prove otherwise. The college, as well as the student

may be required to return to the federal government

the unearned portion of the Title IV funds. The

institution will require students to repay charges

resulting from the institution's portion of the return of

unearned Title IV aid. This may cause the student to

owe both the college and the federal government.

Students withdrawing prior to disbursement may be

eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. Students

who are considering withdrawing should contact the

Financial Aid Office for a thorough explanation of

how this policy will affect them.