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Financial Aid Policies

If you don't see the information you are looking for here, please feel free to get in touch with our office. We're happy to assist you! Email finaid [at] haverford.edu or call us at (610) 896-1350.

  • Satisfactory Progress Policy

    Both Haverford College and the Federal Government expect students to maintain an acceptable level of academic progress in order to retain eligibility to receive financial aid. This measure is done both quantitatively (to make sure the student will finish their degree in a timely manner), and qualitatively.

    To receive Federal financial aid under Title IV, a student must (1) be matriculated at the college, 2) be in good academic standing, and 3) be making satisfactory academic progress. A matriculated student is a person admitted through the regular admission process for the purpose of obtaining a degree in an eligible program.

    One full Haverford course or credit is worth four semester hour credits in the standard terminology used by the Federal Government. Students enrolled for at least three Haverford credits in a semester are considered to be full-time for the purposes of receiving Title IV aid. A normal academic year at the College consists of two semesters and is at least thirty weeks in length.

    Haverford Funds

    Quantitative measure. Haverford College expects students to complete their full-time course of study in 4 years. Consequently, the College limits a student’s eligibility to receive Haverford funding to four years, or a maximum of 8 semesters. Full-time enrollment is defined as a minimum of 3 Haverford credits per semester. Students may register for more or less than this with approval of their advisor, dean, or the Committee on Student Standing and Programs (CSSP). CSSP approval is required for any student who wishes to extend the pursuit of their course of study beyond 4 years.

    Students do not have to take a full-time course load to qualify for Haverford Grant; however, any semester a student receives Haverford Grant, even if they are less than full-time, counts toward their minimum of 8 semesters of aid eligibility.

    Qualitative measure. For the first two years of study (freshman and sophomore year), the qualitative measure for retaining eligibility for Haverford Grant is determined by the student’s advisor, dean, and CSSP. For the third and fourth years (junior and senior year) the qualitative measure for retaining Haverford Grant is maintenance of a minimum GPA of 2.0. This measure is taken at the end of each semester. Students failing to maintain a 2.0 GPA must appeal to the Financial Aid Office to have their Haverford Grant reinstated. Appeals are reviewed by Committee, and reinstatement of Haverford funds is not guaranteed.

    Federal Financial Aid Funds (under Title IV)

    To receive Title IV financial aid at Haverford, a student must be matriculated and in good academic standing, and be making satisfactory academic progress toward a recognized degree in an eligible program.

    Quantitative measure. Federal regulations limit a student’s eligibility to receive federal aid to a timeframe that is equal to 150% of the normal time needed to receive a degree. For Haverford, this means a student can receive federal aid for a maximum of 6 years as they strive to complete the 32 mandatory credits required to receive a Haverford degree. To ensure that the student can do this within this length of time, a minimum number of completed credits is expected per semester, and this is part of the quantitative measure. At the end of each semester a student must have successfully completed the following number of credits:

    • First year, end of fall semester = 2.7 cumulative credits
    • First year, end of spring semester = 5.4 cumulative credits
    • Second year, end of fall semester = 8.1 cumulative credits
    • Second year, end of spring semester = 10.8 cumulative credits
    • Third year, end of fall semester = 13.5 cumulative credits
    • Third year, end of spring semester = 16.2 cumulative credits
    • Fourth year, end of fall semester = 18.9 cumulative credits
    • Fourth year, end of spring semester = 21.6 cumulative credits

    To attend Haverford beyond four years, the student needs permission from the dean and CSSP. To receive financial aid for additional years, the student must submit a written appeal to the Financial Aid Office for a Committee review. For continued Title IV eligibility, a student must successfully complete the following number of credits per additional term:

    • Fifth year, end of fall semester = 24.3 cumulative credits
    • Fifth year, end of spring semester = 27 cumulative credits
    • Sixth year, end of fall semester = 29.7 cumulative credits
    • Sixth year, end of spring semester = 32 cumulative credits

    Only completed credits are counted. Incomplete credits are not counted.

    Repeat Classes.  Students cannot earn credit for the same class twice. If a student repeats a class, the credit earned for the higher grade would replace the credit earned for the lower grade. Both courses will appear on the student’s transcript, but only the credits for the successful second attempt will be counted.

    Transfer Credits. Haverford accepts transfer credits as both attempted and completed hours. Transfer students are assigned a prorated timeframe based on the academic level at which they are classified when they matriculate.

    Qualitative measure. Because Haverford does not have an established GPA measure for a student’s first year, but rather tracks a student’s progress via monitoring by the student’s advisor, dean, and CSSP, the Financial Aid Office is required to use the federal standard of a 1.7 GPA by the end of the first semester, and a 2.0 GPA for all subsequent semesters. The measure is taken at the end of each semester.

    “Warning Semester.”  If a student fails to meet the quantitative or qualitative measures described above at the end of a semester, they will be allowed a “warning semester.” This permits the student to use their next semester to raise their academic performance to the acceptable quantitative and qualitative measures. The student will be allowed to receive Federal Title IV financial aid for the warning semester. At the end of the semester, if the student has established that they are making satisfactory progress, they may continue to receive Federal Title IV aid. If the student is still not making satisfactory academic progress at the end of the warning semester, they will not be eligible to receive Federal Title IV aid, and will have to appeal for continued assistance.

    Appealing Federal Aid and "Probation." Any student determined to not be making satisfactory academic progress at the end of their “warning semester,” may appeal to the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal must explain why the student failed to make satisfactory academic progress, and what has changed that will allow the student to demonstrate successful academic progress when they are measured again. The appeal must include an academic plan for the student approved by their Dean, which will help the student attain satisfactory progress. Appeals must be based on extenuating circumstances (such as the death of a relative, an injury, or illness of the student), and must be appropriately documented by an authoritative third-party who is not a member of the family or employed by Haverford.

    If the appeal is accepted, the student will be on “Probation” for purposes of Federal Title IV financial aid. The probation will last one semester, during which the student may receive Federal Title IV financial aid. At the end of the semester, if the student has established that they are making satisfactory progress, they will be eligible to continue receiving Federal Title IV aid. However, if at the end of probation, the student is still not making satisfactory academic progress, they will no longer be eligible to receive Federal Title IV aid.

    Dropping Classes or Withdrawing During a Semester.  A student’s satisfactory academic progress can be affected if they start classes but then drop out, or if they withdraw during a semester, because these classes will be considered “attempted” and will count toward the student’s timeline to achieve their degree in accordance with the Federal quantitative measure described above. Students are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office for guidance if they are considering dropping classes or withdrawing.

    Students who fail to maintain satisfactory progress will be notified by the Financial Aid Office, either by mail to the student’s campus mailbox, or a letter sent to their permanent home address.

    Link to policy

    Permalink
  • Withdrawing From Haverford and Returning Financial Aid, Including Federal Title IV Funds

    Students who receive financial aid at Haverford College and then withdraw during a semester may have all or a portion of their financial aid reduced. This is called a return of funds. There is a return of funds policy for Haverford financial aid, and a separate return of funds policy for federal financial aid.

    Generally speaking, the longer a student remains enrolled in a semester, the more financial aid the student is able to retain. However, it is also true that the longer a student remains enrolled in a semester, the more tuition and fees the student will be responsible to pay. (See the “Refund Policy” on the Haverford Student Accounts web page.)

    A student’s withdrawal date is determined by their dean, primarily based on the student’s schedule, and when the student said they last attended class. This initiates the withdrawal process, including an Outgoing Notice distributed by the Registrar to the appropriate campus departments. The notice includes the last date of attendance, as well as when the College was notified, or otherwise became aware, that the student is withdrawing.

    Haverford Financial Aid Return of Funds Policy

    A student receiving Haverford Financial Aid (Haverford Grant or Haverford Loan) will retain the same percentage of aid that matches the percentage of tuition and fees being charged. For example, if a student withdraws during the second week of a semester and must pay 10% of tuition and fees, the student will keep 10% Haverford Grant and/or Loan.

    This same return of funds policy also applies to the Pennsylvania State Grant and most other state grant programs.

    Federal Title IV Financial Aid Refund Policy

    If a recipient of Title IV grant or loan funds withdraws from the College after beginning attendance, the school must perform a “Return of Title IV Funds” (shortened to R2T4) calculation to determine the amount of Title IV assistance earned by the student. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, the unearned funds must be returned. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, they may receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of the earned aid that was not received. The R2T4 calculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following formula:

    The percentage of the payment period (semester) completed = the number of days completed by the student up to the withdrawal date, divided by the total days in the payment period. Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term. This percentage of the payment period completed is used to determine the percentage of earned Federal aid.

    If the student has completed more than 60% of the payment period, they will be allowed to retain all of their Title IV funds.

    To determine how much unearned aid is to be returned to the appropriate federal program, the following formula is used:

    Aid to be returned = 100% of the aid that could be disbursed, minus the percentage of earned aid, multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period (semester).

    If the formula shows that the student earned more aid than was disbursed, the College will owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement of the remaining earned aid. For grants, the aid will be posted to the student's account within 45 days of the R2T4 calculation. Federal Direct Loans will be offered to students within 30 days of the calculation, and students (or parent if a PLUS loan) will have 14 days to accept or decline the loan. If the student or parent fails to respond, the loan will not be posted to their account.

    If the student earned less aid than was disbursed, the College is required to return the appropriate portion of funds to the Federal aid programs. (Be aware that in this scenario the student could be left with a balance owed to Haverford.)

    The College must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no more than 45 days after the date the College determined that the student had withdrawn. Unearned federal funds are returned in the following order:

    • Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
    • Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
    • Federal Perkins Loan
    • Federal Parent (PLUS) Loan
    • Federal Pell Grant
    • Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
    • Other assistance under Title IV for which a return of funds is required

    If the R2T4 calculation leaves the student with a credit balance, the credit will be refunded to the student by the Student Accounts Office within 14 days.

    Students who owe a repayment of Title IV funds as a result of the calculation must repay those funds before becoming eligible again for federal aid. Both the Haverford College Return of Funds policy and the Federal Return of Title IV funds policy are administered by the Haverford Financial Aid Office.

    Link to Policy

    Permalink
  • Verification of Federal Aid Eligibility

    There are occasions when students who are eligible to receive Federal financial aid – Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG Grant, and the Federal Direct Student Loans – may be selected by the Federal Government for a procedure called “Verification.” When this happens, the student’s family is required to submit certain documentation, usually through IRS-validated means, to prove the accuracy of the financial data reported on the FAFSA.

    Students who are selected for verification will be notified by a message on the Student Aid Report (SAR) they receive from the Department of Education. In addition, Haverford College’s Financial Aid Office will also notify students that they are selected, and provide them with instructions on what they must do to meet the verification requirements. Students are given 90 days from the date they are notified to complete the verification process; after that, they may lose their eligibility for federal aid.

    Permalink

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