Financial Agreement

A student may not participate in graduation ceremonies, register for further sessions, or receive any diploma or certificate until all financial obligations have been satisfied in accordance with LAPU financial policies. Any diploma or certificate shall be withheld by the university until all such obligations are satisfied. Release of any such documents, prior to or subsequent to any default by the debtors, shall not be considered a binding precedent or modification of this policy.

The university reserves the right to make any changes in institutional refund policies, fees, and expenses without notice.

Financial Aid Packaging

LAPU offers financial aid in the form of loans, grants, and scholarships. In order to serve the large number of students needing financial assistance, LAPU coordinates various elements of each student’s financial aid program. This packaging approach may include assistance from two or more sources of financial aid. The university’s goal is to award all applicants the maximum scholarship, grant, and loan for which they qualify, within the restrictions of federal and state guidelines and institutional policies.

Keeping in Touch

The university will attempt to inform students about deadlines and procedures, but the final responsibility for the timely filing of the FAFSA and related documents is the student’s.

The student must notify Student Financial Services regarding changes in financial situation, marriage, loss of a job, change in class load, withdrawal from school, or change of address. In order to contact Student Financial Services, a student may email, call, or visit in person.

Loan Code of Conduct

As a part of the Program Participation Agreement for participating in Title IV financial aid programs, institutions are required to develop and comply with a loan code of conduct that prohibits conflicts of interest for financial aid personnel with respect to all student loans. Any LAPU employee who has responsibilities with respect to student educational loans must annually be reminded to comply with this code of conduct. The following provisions bring LAPU into compliance with the federal law [CFR 34 601.21 and HEOA 487].

1. Neither LAPU as an institution nor any individual or financial aid employee shall enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender that makes loans to students attending the institution.

2. No financial aid employee of LAPU who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or any of their family members, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.

a. For purposes of this prohibition, the term “gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan or other item having a monetary value of more than a nominal value.
b. Gifts and favorable terms and benefits do not include a brochure, workshop or training using standard materials relating to a loan, default aversion, or financial literacy, such as a part of a training session. Entrance and exit counseling as long as the institution’s staff are in control of the counseling and the counseling do not promote the services of a specific lender.

3. An employee at LAPU who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall not accept from any lender or affiliate of any lender any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.

4. LAPU shall not:
a. assign a lender to a first-time borrower through award packaging or any other method; or
b. refuse to certify or delay certification of any loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.

5. LAPU shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the institution providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with:
a. a specific loan volume of such loans; or
b. a preferred lender arrangement for such loans.
c. an “opportunity pool loan” is defined as a private education loan made by a lender to a student (or the student’s family) that involves a payment by the institution to the lender for extending credit to the student.

6. LAPU shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.

7. Any financial aid office employee who has any responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such an advisory board, commission, or group.

Nondiscrimination

Student Financial Services does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures.

Federal ‘Return to Title IV’ (R2T4) Policy

It is important to note that the federal government awards financial aid with the assumption that a student will complete the courses for which one is receiving the aid. If a student receives a federal aid disbursement but fails to begin at least half-time attendance for the term, the student is not eligible for the aid. If a student does not complete all the sessions of a modular (sequential) course schedule, in some cases the student only earns a portion of the financial aid already received. LAPU is required by federal regulations to use a prescribed formula to calculate the unearned portion of the financial aid received and return it to the Title IV programs.

Modular Term R2T4 Policy

The U.S. Department of Education has specific regulations that govern the R2T4 calculation for students enrolled in modular courses. Modular courses are defined as those that do not span the entire length of the term and are offered sequentially rather than concurrently (although it is possible for modules to overlap). At LAPU, Session 1 and Session 2 sessions would be considered modules for financial aid purposes.

Regulations require the entire period and combination of modular courses to be considered when determining the portion of financial aid that has been earned by a student who withdraws. The student is considered withdrawn when he fails to complete the scheduled enrollment. At this point, the percentage of completion is calculated by dividing the number of completed days by the number of days the student was scheduled to attend. (Scheduled breaks of at least five days are omitted from the calculation.) The fact that a student completes at least one course is no longer a valid reason for not doing the calculation.

A student who withdraws from a current module but provides written confirmation of plans to return and attend a future module that begins within 45 days of the end of the current module is considered to still be enrolled.

If the student provides written confirmation but then fails to attend a future module, the student is considered withdrawn from the initial date of the original module.

If the student withdraws without a written confirmation to attend in the future but returns during the same period, the student is able to receive all funds for which the student has eligibility according to their current enrollment status.

Tuition Refunds

LAPU wishes to provide a flexible and fair refund policy while adhering to federal student financial aid regulations. When determining an individual student’s aid eligibility, the offered financial aid package is based on the assumption that the student will complete the entire term for which he or she is registered (and the corresponding number of units required to complete the term).

If the student must withdraw completely at some point during the term, the student must complete the withdrawal procedure in writing. The student’s aid package will also be adjusted per federal regulations.

The institutional policy for students withdrawing is, in keeping with federal policy guidelines concerning refunds and withdrawals, as follows:

In the event a student withdraws or drops from all units within a term, institutional charges, financial aid, and refunds will be calculated on a per diem basis. If this calculates to 60 percent or greater of the term, then NO adjustments will be made.

Tuition Refund Policy

The LAPU refund policy applies to all students who are residents of California and to most students who are residents of the United States. For states that require LAPU to use a different refund policy, see below.

• Students who drop a course before Noon PT on Friday of Week 1 will be issued a full refund for the course.
• Students who do not submit an assignment by 8 AM PT Wednesday of Week 2 are administratively dropped and refunded 100 percent.
• Students who withdraw after Noon PT on Friday of Week 1 will receive no refund and a W grade is issued. All students are subject to a proration of federal financial aid per the regulations for all federal aid. Withdrawal requests will be processed on the date received through 8 AM PT Monday of Week 6.

Any student dismissed by the university will receive refunds at the administration’s discretion. If a student feels that individual circumstances warrant exceptions, a general petition may be submitted.

Students receiving federal aid including military benefits are subject to a proration of federal financial aid per regulations for all federal aid.

Refund Policy Exceptions

Any exception to the stated policy must be requested in writing using the General Petition form.

Release of Records

It is understood that by applying for financial aid, the student grants the Office of Student Financial Services the right to release the student’s grades and enrollment records to scholarship, state, federal, and loan agencies as needed and allowed by federal and state regulations.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Students attending LAPU who wish to receive financial aid, in addition to meeting other eligibility criteria, must be in good academic standing and making satisfactory academic progress in their degree or certificate program.

Students are evaluated at the end of each semester (fall, spring, and summer). The following minimum academic standards must be met:

Qualitative Measures

In order to be eligible for federal, state, and institutional funds, students must maintain a minimum per semester grade-point average (GPA) of at least:

• Undergraduate level = 2.0
• Graduate level = 3.0

Quantitative Measures

Students are expected to complete a minimum of 67 percent of units in which they enroll from the beginning of their program. The policy applies to cumulative units only. Thus, a student who successfully completes 18 units without withdrawing from any classes, and then enrolls in 6 units but withdraws from all units would still make satisfactory progress. The student would have completed 18 out of 24 total units (18/24 total units = 75 percent), which is greater than 67 percent.

Time Limit for Receiving Federal Financial Aid

Federal financial aid for all programs cannot exceed 150 percent of the total units in the program, including units that result from transfer units and repeated courses. Students will not be eligible to receive aid after completing the number of units listed below:

• Certificate programs: 24
• A.A./A.S. programs: 90
• B.A./B.S. programs: 180
• All other graduate programs: 50
• M.A. in Psychology program: 54
• Undeclared (NDS): 60

Grades

The only grades that meet satisfactory academic progress completion standards are grades for which credit is awarded; A, B, C, D, P, and CR (credit). Withdrawal and incomplete grades are not passing grades but they are included in attempted units. Challenge exams and audited courses are not considered.

Transfer Credits and Remedial Coursework

Transfer credits that have been officially accepted to complete program requirements will count for qualitative (GPA requirement) and quantitative (pace requirement) measures of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

A student may take one academic year’s worth of remedial courses for financial aid. Remedial coursework for students who are admitted into an eligible program and taken within that program will be counted toward all three progress measures for SAP.

New, Changed, or Added Programs

If a student changes or adds programs, it will not reset the current qualitative (GPA) or quantitative (pace) measures of SAP. GPA and completion rate will be used for all programs in which the student enrolls at LAPU. If the student changes or adds a program, the maximum time frame will be reset from the date of initial enrollment in the new degree program.

Repeated Courses

If a student repeats a failed or a previously passed class, it will replace the grade to recalculate into the new cumulative GPA. The units will still count toward the completion rate and maximum time frame. Students who pass a class (A, B, C, D) and choose to repeat it for a higher grade may receive financial aid only once (a total of two attempts) for that repeated class. Students may receive financial aid for a failed class (F) that they repeat until they pass.

Note: A D grade is considered a passing grade by the U.S. Department of Education.

Financial Aid SAP Statuses

Students who fail to maintain SAP for the first time will be placed on Financial Aid Warning and will be given one semester of financial aid eligibility to correct their SAP deficiencies. If the student does not make up the deficiencies in that one semester, they will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and will be ineligible for all federal, state, and most institutional financial aid. If the student appeals and is approved, they will be placed on Financial Aid Probation.

Appeals

Students may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid if they, a spouse, or dependent children have experienced illness that prevented class attendance for an extended period of time, they have experienced a death in the immediate family (parents, siblings, spouse, or dependent children), or they have experienced some extraordinary situation that prevented them from meeting the minimum standards. Such a situation must be exceptional and nonrecurring in nature. The appeal for reinstatement must explain the cause of the academic difficulty and how the situation has been resolved.

An SAP appeal form is available in the Student Services portal. Students may submit the form to appeal for reinstatement of financial aid. The student’s Success Coach will then help the student prepare an SAP Academic Plan to help get them back into good academic standing. Once the SAP Appeal and the SAP Academic Plan are both complete, the Success Coach will submit the entire package to the SAP Appeal Committee for review.

• Regaining Eligibility
  Students regain financial aid eligibility when they meet all three measures of progress for SAP. It is possible for students to be placed on a warning status multiple times in their academic career.

Verification

Each year, the federal government randomly chooses about 30 percent of all FAFSA applications for a process that’s called “verification.” The law requires colleges to obtain information from the family that confirms the accuracy of the information that was reported on the FAFSA (e.g. tax transcripts, verification worksheets, etc.).

Beyond those applications selected for verification, the law requires colleges to also request further documentation when a FAFSA application and/or subsequent paperwork appears incomplete or inaccurate.

A student is not eligible to receive federal, state, and/or institutional need-based aid until all required paperwork has been submitted. We realize that these requests may sometimes seem a bit intrusive, but LAPU is merely following the requirements set forth in the law.

Outside Aid Resources

Students are required to report all outside aid resources they expect to receive during the period for which they are seeking financial assistance. These resources could include, but are not limited to, veteran’s benefits, outside scholarships, fellowships, stipends, and company reimbursement. Failure to report these resources could result in delays in receiving aid funds or adjustments to the aid package once the financial aid office is made aware of any outside resources. Withholding or concealing information about these resources may constitute fraud as the student would be receiving financial aid to which they are not entitled.

Over-Awards

Each year a number of financial aid recipients are distressed to learn that their aid package is being reduced due to an over-award. As required, students must inform Student Financial Services of any outside aid awards or changes in their class load. This will save the frustration and inconvenience that may result from an over-award.

A student’s budget, as determined by LAPU using federal and state calculations, could reduce the total aid package. All institutional aid is subject to coordination with federal, state, and all other aid sources. All institutional aid is subject to the policies printed in the catalog and any other printed materials. Availability of all aid is subject to federal, state, institutional, and private funding.

Treatment of Unofficial Withdrawals

If a student fails to officially withdraw and receives all FNs as grades for the semester, the Department of Education considers the student to have unofficially withdrawn from classes. LAPU is required to investigate and determine when the student actually last attended class and then perform the required R2T4 calculation. If the date of withdrawal cannot be confirmed, the R2T4 calculation is done using a 50 percent completion rate. This process is usually completed well after the end of the semester, once grades are submitted.