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College of Micronesia - FSM

Financial Aid

The Financial Aid Office administers various types of financial assistance to help students pay for their educational expenses.  Financial aid is provided by federal, state, and institutional sources and consists of grants, loans, and work study.

Types of Financial Aid

Financial assistance may be in the form of:
 

GRANTS and SCHOLARSHIPS which do not have to be repaid provided you attend classes, do not drop classes, or withdraw from COM-FSM; and

WORK-STUDY which provides opportunity to work and earn money for educational expenses.

COM-FSM administers one U.S. federal student aid program (Title IV).  To determine if you are eligible, the U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula, established by the U.S. Congress, to evaluate the information reported on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or your Renewal FAFSA.

The formula produces an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number which appears on your Student Aid Report (SAR) or Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR).  Your EFC helps determine whether you are eligible or not.

Upon receipt of your SAR or ISIR, the Financial Aid Office prepares an award letter that will advise you of the types and amount of financial aid you will be awarded as well as information on when the aid will be available to you.

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Student Eligibilty Requirements For Financial Aid

Before receiving any federal student aid, you must meet the general eligibility requirements listed in this section, as well as those requirements which are unique to each program.  In order to comply with the general eligibility provisions, you must:

1. Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate, pass an independently administered test approved   by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), or meet other standards your state establishes that are approved by the U.S. DOE.  A copy of your diploma or GED certificate must be submitted with your application.


2.  Be accepted and enrolled as a regular student working toward a degree     or certificate in an eligible program.


3. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. (FSM, Palau, and Marshall     Island citizens are eligible non-citizens.)


4. Have a "demonstrated" financial need.  Your yearly educational      expenses must be greater than the contribution you and your family can     make toward these expenses.


5. Maintain satisfactory academic progress once in school.


6. Student without diploma or GED may qualify for Pell Grant after satisfactory completion of 6 credits of coursework (or equivalent) of degree or certificate eligible coursework.

• Student cannot get aid for the coursework:
• Gain eligibility after completion of coursework.
• Coursework could be transferred in from another institution.
  
  

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Application Information and Procedure

Application Information

To be considered for financial aid at the College of Micronesia-FSM, each applicant must complete and submit the required documents and forms identified below following the instructions given. Your application will not be processed until the required documents and forms are received by the Financial Aid Office, and you have been officially accepted into a COM-FSM degree/certificate program.

All applications for aid and supporting documents should be received by the Financial Aid Office at COM-FSM not later than June 1st of each year. Applications received after this period will be evaluated only to the extent to which funds are available.

New students should apply for financial aid when applying for admission to college. Financial aid cannot be awarded to applicants who are not officially admitted and enrolled in college.  Continuing COM-FSM students must reapply for financial aid each year.

FINANCIAL AID IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY RENEWED OR AWARDED.
YOU MUST FILE AN APPLICATION FOR FINANCIAL AID EACH YEAR.

Financial aid application forms, related materials, and information can be obtained from the Financial Aid Offices at the State Campuses.  Apply as soon as possible after January 1st  for financial aid for the next academic year.

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Educational Expenses

 

Need Analysis : How Financial Need Is Calculated

Aid from the federal student aid programs is awarded based on financial need.  Financial need is defined as the difference between a student and/or his/her family's expected contributions and the student's annual educational expenses.  The steps for determining your financial need are:
 

1. Estimate your educational expenses or costs of attendance (tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, personal needs, transportation, etc.).


2. Calculate the amount you and/or your family may be expected to contribute toward those costs.  Based on the information provided on your FAFSA, the Federal Central Processing System (CPS) analyzes and calculates the Expected Family Contribution (EFC).  The EFC measures the family’s financial strength, based on income and assets of the student, the student's spouse, and, if the student is a dependent, the student's parents.  The EFC formula also takes into account the family's expenses, based on the number of persons in the household and the number of those persons attending college.  Parents are excluded from the count of family members in college.


3. Subtract contributions from you and your family from the total estimated educational expenses to arrive at the estimated financial need.

 

Need Equation:

(Cost of Attendance) - (Expected Family Contribution) = Estimated Financial Need

Example:

	$5,000	Estimated Cost of Attendance
-	$500	Expected Family Contribution

=

$4,500

Estimated Financial Need

 

4. The Financial Aid Office then attempts to develop a financial aid package      to meet your financial need within the bounds of its funding limitations.

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Award Packing Policy

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COM-FSM Refund Policy

This policy applies to all students. Refund for TUITION AND REFUNDABLE FEES will be determined according to the following schedule:

Regular Semester (Fall/Spring):

If you withdraw	% to be refunded	The School retains
Prior to the first day of classes	100%	0%
During the firs two weeks	80%	20%
During the third & fourth weeks	40%	60%
After the fourth week	0%	100%

Short Term (Summer):

If you withdraw	% to be refunded	The School retains
Prior to the first day of classes	100%	0%
During the first week	80%	20%
During the second week	40%	60%
After the second week	0%	100%

Return of Title IV Funds

The Higher Education Amendment of 1998 regulates how much a school must return to Title IV when a student does not complete an enrollment or payment period.
 

When a recipient of Title IV aid withdraws before completing 60 percent of the payment period or an enrollment period, the institution must calculate the amount of Title IV aid the recipient did not earn.  Unearned Title IV funds must be returned to the Title IV programs.  This policy applies only to students who completely terminate their enrollment at COM-FSM.

Calculating Return of Funds

Step 1: Determine Amount of Earned Title IV Aid	Percentage Earned
	x Total Titled Disbursement
	=Amount of Earned Title IV Aid
Step 1: Determine Title IV Aid to be Returned	Actual Title IV Disbursement
	=Amount of Earned Title IV Aid
	=Total Amount of Title IV Aid to be Returned
School's Responsibility	Lesser of: Unearned Title IV Aid Institutional Charges x Percentage Unearned
Student's Responsibility	Amount of Unearned Title IV Aid Minus School's Responsibility x 50%

If you are planning to withdraw from COM-FSM, please make an appointment with a Financial Aid Counselor to discuss this "return of funds" policy and how it will affect you.
 

Records when you plan to withdraw from the College in order to be officially withdrawn.  The withdrawal date is defined as follows:

.  last date of attendance when withdrawal process is complete.

.  if taking attendance is not required, the withdrawal date is:

.  the date the student began the withdrawal process prescribed by the school (General Catalog);

the date that the student otherwise provided the school with official notification of the intent to withdraw; or if the student unofficially withdraws, the midpoint of the payment period for which Title IV aid was disbursed or later date documented by the school.

Special rule:  The Financial Aid Office may determine the appropriate withdrawal date if the student did not begin the withdrawal process or otherwise notify the Office of Admissions and Records of his/her intent to withdraw due to:

.  illness,

.  accident,

.  grievous personal loss, and

.  other such circumstances beyond the student's control

The school must return unearned aid for which the school is responsible by repaying funds to the programs in the following order:

.  Federal Pell Grant

.  Other SFA Programs

If the College determines that there is unearned funds for which the student is responsible for returning, the College will notify/bill the student for the amount.  The total unearned funds which the student owes must be returned before any future funds can be granted.  If a student fails to return the full amount nor make satisfactory repayment arrangements with the College, the student will lose eligibility for federal student aid once it is reported to NSLDS by the College.

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Student Rights

You have the right to:

.    Know what financial aid programs are available at COM-FSM, including information on all federal, institutional, national, state, and local financial aid programs;

.    Know the deadline and procedure for submitting  applications;

.    Know what the cost of attendance is and what the refund policy is;

.    Know the criteria used for selecting financial aid recipients;

.    Know how your financial need was determined;

.   Know what resources are considered in the calculation of your need;

.    Know how much of your financial need has been met;

.    Request an explanation of the various programs in your student package;

.    Know how and when you will be paid;

.    If offered a Work Study job, know what kind of job it is, what hours you must work, what your duties will be, what the rate of pay will be, and how and when you will be paid;

.    Know how the school determines satisfactory academic progress and what happens if you are not making satisfactory progress;

.    Know the name of the school's accrediting organization; and

.    Know who the school's financial aid personnel are, where they are located, and how to contact them for information.

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Students Responsibilities

Your responsibilities are to:

.    Review and consider all information about the school's programs before you enroll;

.    Pay special attention to your application for student financial aid, complete it accurately, and submit it on time to the right place;

.  Provide all additional documentation, verification, corrections, and new            information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or the agency to which you submitted your application;

.    Read and understand all forms that you are asked to sign and keep copies for future reference;

.    Accept responsibility and comply with the provisions for all agreements that you sign;

.  Perform the work that is agreed upon in a satisfactory manner when accepting a work-study job;

.  Know and comply with all the deadlines for application or reapplication for financial aid;

. Know how the school determines satisfactory academic progress;

.  Notify the Financial Aid Office immediately if you withdraw (or plan to withdraw) from school or reduce your enrollment;

.  Inform the Financial Aid Office of any changes in your status (change of residence or additional monetary assistance) during the academic year for which you are accepting financial assistance;

.  Use federal funds given to you only for direct and indirect educational expenses; and

.  Know and comply with your school's refund policy.

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Important Terms

Academic Year:   A period of at least 30 weeks of instructional time during which a full-time student is expected to complete at least 24 semester hours.

Award Letter: A notice informing you of being qualified for federal financial aid.  The award letter provides information on the types and amounts of aid offered, as well as specific program information, your responsibilities, and the conditions which govern the award.  Generally, the award letter gives you the opportunity to accept or decline the aid offered.

Award Adjustment or Revision:  An action by the Financial Aid Office resulting in an increase, decrease, program substitution, or cancellation of your award due to a change in your dependency status, financial circumstances of you or your family, or enrollment status.

Award Packaging:   The process by which the Financial Aid Office combines available aid from several sources to meet part or all of your financial need.

Award Year:   The period of time from July 1 of one year through June 30 of the following year.

Eligible Program:   A course of study that leads to a degree or certificate at a school that participates in one or more of the student aid programs.

Expected Family Contribution: The amount that you and/or your family can reasonably be expected to contribute toward your education from income, assets, and your contribution or "self-help" from summer work or work during other vacation periods.

Financial Aid Package:  The total financial aid that a student receives from federal and/or non-federal sources such as grants, scholarships, and work-study employment.

Financial Need: The difference between the cost of your education and your expected family contribution.

Full-Time: A student registered for at least 12 credits per regular semester (Fall & Spring) and 6 credits (Summer).

General Education Development Certificate (GED):  A nationally recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, granted after a student passes a series of standardized examinations. 

Grants:  Aid that does not have to be paid back.

Half-Time:  A student  registered for 6-8 credits per regular semester.

Independent Student: A student who falls into one of the following categories: (a) was born before January 1, 1985; (b) is an orphan or ward of the court; (c) is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States; (d) has legal dependents other than a spouse; (e) is married.  One may also be determined to be an independent student on the basis of unusual circumstances documented by the aid administrator.

Institution of Higher Education:  A postsecondary institution which is a public, private nonprofit, or proprietary institution.  A public or private nonprofit institution of higher education is an educational institution that is in a state and admits as regular students only persons who have a high school diploma, have the recognized equivalent of a high school attendance in the state in which the institution is located.

Legal Dependent:  Any person who lives with you, receives more than half-support from you, and will continue to receive more than half-support from you during the award year.

Need Analysis:  The process used to evaluate your financial situation to determine how much student aid you need to help meet postsecondary educational expenses.  This involves both an evaluation of institutional costs and total resources available to you.

Regular Student: One enrolled in an eligible program at an institution of higher education in order to obtain a degree or certificate.

Satisfactory Academic Progress:  See  Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Student Employment: A part-time job either on or off-campus.

Three Fourth-Time: A student registered for 9-11 credits per regular semester.

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