Financial Aid For Graduate Students

Application Procedures

The Piedmont College Office of Financial Aid is committed to assisting graduate students with applying for and receiving student financial aid. Graduate students are encouraged to contact the Office of Financial Aid by phone or through email to learn how to successfully make application for student financial aid. Information regarding application procedures is also available on the Piedmont College website (www.piedmont.edu). Typically, graduate students will choose to borrow a federal Stafford loan or arrange payment through the Piedmont College Business Office. In either case, it is important that graduate students contact the Office of Financial Aid to learn which financial aid opportunities are available

Federal Assistance

The federal student assistance programs are perhaps the most widely known of all student aid sources. In order to receive federal student aid, a student’s financial need must be established by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This form may be completed online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Contact the Piedmont College financial aid office at (706) 776-0114 with questions. For technical help applying online, call the Federal Aid Help Line at 1-800-4-FED-AID. The Piedmont College federal school code is 001588.

Piedmont College participates in the Federal Direct Student Loan program. Graduate students are considered independent for the purposes of federal financial aid. Loans are made directly from the U.S. Department of Education, and funds are credited to the student’s account. Interest rates are variable. Payments begin after the student drops below half time or graduates. For more information, visit www.studentaid.ed.gov.

Satisfactory Academic Progress For Graduate Students

The U. S. Department of Education mandates that institutions of higher education establish minimum standards of “satisfactory academic progress” for students receiving financial aid. Piedmont College applies these standards to all applicants for Federal Grants (Teach Grant), Federal Stafford loans, and Piedmont College Scholarships.

Standards

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is determined by careful evaluation of qualitative and quantitative criteria. Determination of SAP will be made at the end of each semester.

1. QUALITATIVE CRITERIA - To be eligible for financial aid, a graduate student must have an institutional grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
2. QUANTITATIVE CRITERIA - Financial aid recipients must show measurable progress toward earning a degree by successfully completing at least sixty-seven percent (67%) of all courses required by the program of study. This standard will be applied to current students, former students, and transfer students. Semester hours completed will be those courses in which a student has received a grade of A, B, C, or P. Semester hours attempted will include all courses for which a student has received a grade of A, B, C, D, F, P, I, IP, NP, W, WF, or NR. Hours and grades for repeated courses will be used in this determination.
3. MAXIMUM LENGTH OF STUDY AT PIEDMONT COLLEGE - A student accepted into a graduate degree program may attempt no more than 150% of the required hours in required courses for the degree. (Hours for repeated courses will be included in the total number of attempted hours.) Once a student exceeds the maximum length of study, he/she will no longer be considered making satisfactory academic progress and will not be eligible for financial aid.
4. ACADEMIC EXCLUSION - If a student is placed on academic exclusion, eligibility for financial aid will be terminated. When students are removed from academic exclusion, they must contact the Financial Aid Office to request a review of their SAP.
5. FINANCIAL AID WARNING - Failure by the student to attain the minimum GPA or a 67% completion rate, will indicate the student is not making SAP. In most cases, the first time it is established that a student is not making SAP, he/she will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. A student on Warning may continue to receive financial aid but must meet SAP by the end of the next semester.
6. FINANCIAL AID PROBATION - A student who fails to meet SAP for two consecutive semesters or is academically excluded from Piedmont College may appeal to be placed on Financial Aid Probation. Students are eligible to receive financial aid for one semester while on probation. At the end of the semester a student must meet SAP or meet all stipulated requirements of the appeal to continue to receive financial aid.
7. APPEALS PROCESS - If there are extenuating circumstances that prevent a student from making SAP for two semesters or enrollment periods, resulting in a status of Financial Aid Exclusion, it is possible to appeal to the Office of Financial Aid for a review of those circumstances as they relate to the student’s academic standing. A typewritten explanation of the extenuating circumstance(s) must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid within two weeks of being notified of the Financial Aid Suspension status. 

   A written financial aid appeal MUST include these two components:

   1. The extenuating circumstances that resulted in the student’s failure to make SAP. Acceptable circumstances on which a student could base an appeal are those that could not have been foreseen at the beginning of the semester or enrollment period, and that were completely beyond the students’ control. They could include serious injury, illness (physical or mental) of the student or an immediate family member, death of an immediate family member, or other extenuating circumstances. Appeals should include a detailed description of the applicable circumstances, along with related documentation (i.e., statement from physician or other healthcare provider, report from law enforcement or social services agency, copy of death certificate, etc.) that supports those circumstances.
   2. The positive changes that have occurred that will ensure the student can achieve SAP by the next evaluation. The student must include information regarding extenuating circumstances that will no longer exist or be an issue, as well as any additional measures that will be taken to ensure he/she will make SAP during the probationary semester or enrollment period, if granted.

      The Director of Financial Aid, or another designated senior member of the Financial Aid Office will review each written appeal, along with relevant academic history. The student will be notified via his/her Piedmont College email account of the appeal decision. A student whose appeal is approved, may receive financial aid for one probationary semester or enrollment period, after which another SAP review will be conducted. A student who fails to meet the academic requirements outlined in the Financial Aid Probation email notification will be placed on Financial Aid Exclusion for a second and final time, after which there is no option for appeal.

8. REESTABLISHING ELIGIBILITY - In the event of termination of financial aid, a student will again be considered making SAP once they attain a 3.0 GPA and/or a 67% completion rate of all college level courses attempted at Piedmont College. When this occurs, the student should contact the Financial Aid Office to request a review of their SAP. Classes taken after losing eligibility will be at the student’s expense, using funds other than Federal Grants (Teach Grant), Federal Stafford loans, and Piedmont College Scholarships and Grants. A student, who reestablishes eligibility, then falls below minimum SAP requirements again will be denied financial aid. A student who exceeds the maximum length of study at Piedmont College (item C) cannot reestablish eligibility.

Federal TEACH Grants (Not for Ed.S. and Ed.D. Students)

Piedmont College participates in the Federal TEACH Grant Program. Interested students are encouraged to research the program and submit an application to the Piedmont College Financial Aid Office. For graduate study, the Federal TEACH Grant Program is available to first post-baccalaureate degree students only. At Piedmont College, students enrolled in the Education Specialist or Doctorate Program are ineligible for this program.

• The TEACH Grant Program was created by Congress in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. For more information, students may call the Federal Information Student Center: 1-800-4-FEDAID or view the website www.teachgrant.ed.gov.
• In exchange for receiving the TEACH Grant, students must be a highly-qualified, full-time teacher in a high-need subject area for at least four years at a school serving low-income students.
• For a directory of schools serving low-income students, visit: www.tcli.ed.gov/CBSWebApp/tcli/TCLIPubSchoolSearch.jsp. For a definition of highly qualified teacher, students may visit: www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg107.html.