FAFSA / PELL Grants

FAFSA / PELL Grants

The United States Department of Education offers financial aid programs to help qualified students pay for their education after high school. The Academy of Allied Health Careers participates in the Federal PELL Grant program. Students can fill out the FASFA to see if they qualify for the PELL Grant and if so, how much they may receive.   You can fill out the FASFA here to see if you are eligible:  https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa 

In general, students may be eligible for aid if they: 

1. Are enrolled in one of The Academy’s qualified programs (MAA/CMA BUNDLE Program, Professional Coder PLUS Program), 
2. Are U.S. citizens or an eligible non-citizen,  
3. Show that they meet the need requirements specified,  
4. Make satisfactory progress toward completion of their course of study (see our stated satisfactory progress standards), 
5. Are not in default on a National Direct Student Loan (NDSL), GSI, SIS or PLUS loan received at any institution,  
6. Do not owe a refund on a Pell Grant, SEOG or State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) received at an institution, and 
7. Have not been convicted of the possession or selling of illegal drugs.   

Federal Pell Grants provide funds to help lower income undergraduate students (who have not earned a bachelor’s degree) pay for their education after high school. The Pell Grant program is the largest of the federal student aid programs. Unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid. For many students, these grants provide a “foundation” of financial aid, to which aid from other sources may be added. The Department of Education requires students to apply for Pell Grants by completing the Financial Aid Form prior to applying for any additional federal aid program.

The federal government will require some federal-aid applicants to prove information they have reported on their application is correct. The Academy of Allied Health Careers requires that financial aid applicants submit the required documentation to verify their information before aid is disbursed. As part of this process, students and their parents are required to submit a copy of their prior year Federal Income Tax return. If the information provided conflicts with what was reported on the application, students may be required to provide additional information. Failure to provide the required documentation may result in the loss or non-receipt of the aid awarded.

The deadline to apply for Financial Aid is 2 weeks prior to each program's start date.   The Academy cannot guarantee access to Financial Aid resources after this deadline.

Academy of Allied Health Careers' Return to Title IV (R2T4) Policy

The Academy of Allied Health Careers (AAHC) is required by the U.S. Department of Education to provide students with all refund policies applicable at the institution as well as information on the Title IV requirements for determining the amount of Title IV funds a student has earned when he/she withdraws. A copy of the Institutional R2T4 work sheet performed on your behalf is will be mailed to the student.

Title IV funds are awarded to the student under the assumption that he/she will attend school for the entire period for which the aid is awarded. When student withdraws, he/she may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that were originally scheduled to be received. Therefore, the amount of Federal funds earned must be determined. If the amount disbursed is greater than the amount earned, unearned funds must be returned.

This policy applies to students’ who withdraw officially (written notification to the school), unofficially (no notification to the school) or fail to return from a leave of absence or are dismissed from enrollment at the School. It is separate and distinct from the School refund policy. (Refer to institutional refund policy.)

The Payment Period for Clock Hour Schools is one-half of the academic year or program length (whichever is less). Currently, AAHC programs are all less than an Academic Year of 900 hours.

Payment Periods 

Listed below are the payment periods in which students are disbursed Title IV funds. The disbursement is made at the beginning of the first payment period, if Title IV aid is completed and available. Subsequent payments are made when the student has completed the hours and the weeks in the payment period. If the student withdraws in a particular payment period, a Return of Title IV funds may be required.

Medical Administrative Assistant/Clinical Medical Assistant Program (Bundle) – Day Class - Total 776 clock hours; ~25 weeks

Medical Administrative Assistant/Clinical Medical Assistant Program (Bundle) – Night Class – Total 776 clock hours - ~44 weeks

Professional Coder PLUS Program – Day Class – 612 clock hours – 20 weeks

Professional Coder PLUS Program – Night Class – 612 clock hours – 39 weeks

AAHC is a clock hour school and is required to take attendance, therefore the Date of Withdrawal (whether official or unofficial) will always be the Last Date of Attendance (LDA).

The Date of Determination is the date that the institution determines the student has withdrawn from the program. The Date of Determination is no longer than 14 days after the Last Date of Attendance. For a student who withdraws while on a Leave of Absence the expected return date will be the Date of Determination for R2T4 purposes.

The Date of Determination starts the clock for timely refunds of Title IV funds, up to, but no later than, 45 days after the Date of Determination.

Official Voluntary Withdrawal 

A student is considered to be “Officially” withdrawn on the date the student notifies the Financial Aid Director or School Administrator in writing of their intent to withdraw. In the event a student decides to rescind his or her official notification to withdraw, the student must provide a signed and dated written statement indicating he/she is continuing his or her program of study and intends to complete the payment period. Title IV assistance will continue as originally planned. If the student subsequently fails to attend, the original Last Date of Attendance will be used for the R2T4 calculation.

Unofficial Withdrawal

Any student that does not provide official notification of his or her intent to withdraw and is absent for more than 14 consecutive calendar days, fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, fails to comply with the school’s attendance and/or conduct policy, does not meet financial obligations to the school, or violates conditions mentioned in the School contractual agreement, will be subject to termination and considered to have unofficially withdrawn.

Within two weeks of the student’s last date of academic attendance, the School will make three attempts to notify the student regarding his/her enrollment status. If the student does not respond, the school will notify the student in writing of their failure to contact the school and attendance status resulting in the current termination of enrollment.

Withdrawal Before 60%

The institution must perform a R2T4 to determine the amount of earned aid through the 60% point in each payment period. The institution will use the Calculation Formula noted below to determine the amount of the R2T4 funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal.

Withdrawal After 60%

After the 60% point in the payment period, a student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive during this period. The institution must still perform a R2T4 to determine the amount of aid that the student has earned.

The Calculation Formula

Determine the amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed plus Title IV aid that could have been disbursed.

            Calculate the percentage of Title IV aid earned:

            a)  Divide the number of clock hours scheduled to be completed (from the first day of class until the last date of attendance) in the payment period as of the last date of attendance in the payment period                        by the total clock hours in the payment period.

                                      HOURS SCHEDULED TO COMPLETE / TOTAL HOURS IN PERIOD = % EARNED (rounded to one significant digit to the right of the decimal point, ex.4493 = 44.9 %.)

            b)  If this percentage is greater than 60%, the student earns 100%.

            c)  If this percent is less than or equal to 60%, proceeds with calculation.

                                      Percentage earned from (multiplied by) Total aid disbursed or could have been disbursed = AMOUNT STUDENT EARNED.

                                      Subtract the Title IV aid earned from the total disbursed = AMOUNT TO BE RETURNED.

                                      100% minus percent earned = UNEARNED PERCENT

                                      Unearned percent (multiplied by) total institutional charges for the period = AMOUNT DUE FROM THE SCHOOL.

If the percent unearned (multiplied by) institutional charges for the period are less than the amount due from the school, the student must return or repay one-half of the remaining unearned Federal Pell Grant.

Student is not required to return the overpayment if this amount is equal to or less than 50% of the total grant assistance that was disbursed /or could have been disbursed. The student is also not required to return an overpayment if the amount is $50 or less.

The School will issue a grant overpayment notice to student within 30 days from the date the school’s determination that student withdrew, giving student 45 days to repay the overpayment in full to AAHC, or the school turns the student over to USDE collections.

Order of Return

In accordance with Federal regulations, when Title IV financial aid is involved, the calculated amount of the R2T4 Funds is allocated in the following order:

• Unsubsidized Direct loans (other than PLUS loans)
• Subsidized Direct loans
• Direct PLUS loans
• Federal Pell Grants for which a Return is required
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
• Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant for which a Return is required

Post Withdrawal

Students who do not receive all of the funds that have been earned may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. The School may use a portion or all of the post-withdrawal disbursement for tuition and fees (as contracted with the School). For all other school charges, the School needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal disbursement. For student loans that will be disbursed as a post withdrawal disbursement, the School must have the student’s permission to disburse the loans or if a PLUS loan, the parents written permission is required. Grant funds may be disbursed as a post-withdrawal disbursement, without the student’s permission.

The post-withdrawal disbursement must be applied to outstanding institutional charges before being paid directly to the student. Both grants and loans must be disbursed within 180 days of the date of determination in a post-withdrawal disbursement.

Refund vs. Return to Title IV

The requirements for the Title IV program funds when a student withdraws are separate from any institutional refund policy. Therefore, students may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. The AAHC Institutional refund policy is included in the Student Handbook.