Requirements and Policies
Requirements for Maintaining Financial Aid
Students and parents can find details for Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal, State, and Institutional aid in the Student Handbook. The Student Handbook will outline Financial aid probation, suspension, and the appeal process if aid is lost.
Contact
Office of Financial Aid
Ulla Searing Student Center
941-359-7534
8:30 am-4:30 pm
finaid@ringling.edu
Schedule an Appointment
View your Financial Aid Awards
Enrollment
Ringling College institutional financial aid (merit scholarships, endowments, and need-based grants) listed on acceptance letters and award letters is based on full-time enrollment status (e.g. 12 credit hours or more). Florida State scholarships such as EASE and FSAG require students to be enrolled as full-time students.
Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours to receive financial aid. Students who attend less than full-time will automatically have their Ringling scholarships and grants adjusted based on the number of credit hours they are enrolled for the semester if the scholarship and grants allow students to be less than full-time. Part-time enrollment affects the Pell Grant, Florida Bright Futures, Florida EASE, and Florida FSAG. It has a limited effect on federal or private loans. The Pell Grant and Bright Futures would be prorated. EASE and FSAG would be eliminated as you must be enrolled full-time to receive these programs.
If a student must withdraw from class(es), students may be required to repay a portion of the financial aid. Eligibility for financial aid is based on the costs involved with attending for an entire semester. Please read carefully the Return of Title IV Aid policy listed in the Student Handbook. If you have loans, you will enter into repayment within six months after you withdraw unless you enroll in a degree-seeking program for at least 6 credit hours.
If you receive Florida Bright Futures, you will need to pay back the amount received for that class(es). Withdrawing from a class or classes may have an impact on the continuation of certain programs in subsequent years. Visit the Office of Financial Aid to discuss how this might affect you before you withdraw from your class.
The summer is considered a period of non-enrollment, and thus, no financial aid is available.
Policies
Ringling College Code of Conduct for Financial Aid Professionals
I. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to prohibit conflicts of interest in situations involving student financial aid and to establish standards of conduct for Ringling College’s officers, employees, and agents with responsibility for student financial aid.
II. Applicability
This Policy applies to all employees who work in the Office of Financial Aid and all other College officers, employees, and agents who have responsibilities related to education loans or other forms of student financial aid.
III. Definitions
A. Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest exists when an employee’s financial interests or other opportunities for personal benefit may compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, the independence of judgment with which the employee performs his/her responsibilities at the College.
B. Gift: Any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than a de minimis amount. The term includes a gift of services, transportation, lodging, or meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred. The term “gift” does not include any of the following:
- Standard materials, activities, or programs on issues related to a loan, default aversion, default prevention, or financial literacy, such as a brochure, a workshop, or training.
- Training or informational material furnished to the College as an integral part of a training session that is designed to improve the service of a lender, guarantor, or servicer of educational loans to the College, if such training contributes to the professional development of the College’s employees.
- Favorable terms, conditions, and borrower benefits on an education loan provided to a student employed by the College or an employee who is the parent of a student if such terms, conditions, or benefits are comparable to those provided to all students of the College and are not provided because of the student’s or parent’s employment with the College.
- Entrance and exit counseling services provided to borrowers to meet the College’s responsibilities for entrance and exit counseling under federal law, so long as the College’s employees are in control of the counseling, and such counseling does not promote the products or services of any specific lender.
- Philanthropic contributions to an institution from a lender, servicer, or guarantor of education loans that are unrelated to education loans or any contribution from any lender, guarantor, or servicer that is not made in exchange for any advantage related to education loans.
- State education grants, scholarships, or financial aid funds administered by or on behalf of a State.
C. Opportunity pool loan: A private education loan made by a lender to a student attending the College or the family member of such a student that involves a payment, directly or indirectly, by the College of points, premiums, additional interest, or financial support to such lender for the purpose of such lender extending credit to the student or the family.
D. Revenue-sharing arrangement: An arrangement between the College and a lender under which (a) a lender provides or issues a loan to students attending the College or to their families; and (b) the College recommends the lender or the loan products of the lender and in exchange, the lender pays a fee or provides other materials benefits, including revenue or profit sharing, to the College or its employees.
IV. Institutional Policy Regarding Education Loans and Student Financial Aid
A. Revenue-Sharing Arrangements
The College will not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender.
B. Interaction with Borrowers
When participating in the Federal Direct Loan program, the College will not assign a first-time borrower’s federal loan, through award packaging or other methods, to a particular lender. The College will not refuse to certify, or delay certification of, any federal loan based on the borrower’s selection or a particular lender or guaranty agency. When participating in the Federal Direct Loan program, the College may assign a first time borrower’s federal loan to the Federal Government as the lender.
C. Private Loans
Under no circumstances will the College assign a student’s private student loan to a particular lender, or refuse to certify or delay certification of any private loan, based upon the borrower’s selection of lender or guaranty agency. The College will 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 College providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with (i) a specified number of federal loans; (ii) a specified federal loan volume; or (iii) a preferred lender arrangement for federal loans.
D. Co-Branding
The College will not permit a private educational lender to use the College’s name, emblem, mascot, logo, or any other words, pictures, or symbols associated with the College to imply endorsement of private educational loans by that lender.
E. Staffing Assistance
The College will not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing. Nothing in this section, however, prevents the College from accepting assistance from a lender related to (i) professional development training for its staff; (ii) providing educational counseling materials, financial literacy materials, or debt management materials to borrowers, provided that such materials disclose to borrowers the identification of any lender that assisted in preparing or providing such materials; or (iii) staffing services on a short-term, nonrecurring basis to assist the College with financial aid-related functions during emergencies, including State-declared or federally declared natural disasters, federally declared national disasters, and other localized disasters and emergencies identified by the Secretary of Education.
V. Code of Conduct
A. Conflicts of Interest
- No employee shall have a conflict of interest with respect to any education loan or other student financial aid for which the employee has responsibility.
- No employee may process any transaction related to his/her own personal financial aid eligibility or that of a relative.
B. Gifts
No employee may accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans. A gift to a family member of an employee or to any other individual based on that individual’s relationship with the employee shall be considered a gift to the employee if the gift is given with the knowledge and acquiescence of the employee and the employee has reason to believe the gift was given because of the employee’s position at the College. Token awards from professional associations (state, regional, or national) that recognize professional milestones or extraordinary service to parents and students, or scholarships for conference attendance or other professional development opportunities, may be accepted.
C. Prohibited Contracting Arrangements
No employee shall 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.
D. Advisory Board Compensation
No employee who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors may receive anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors in return for that service.
E. Reimbursement of Expenses
Expenses incurred while attending professional association meetings, conferences, or in connection with service on an advisory board, commission, or group described in Section V.D. of this Policy must be paid by the College. Entertainment expenses such as concert or sports tickets or greens fees may not be accepted. Employees are expected to personally pay for such expenses or request reimbursement from the College in accordance with College policy.
F. Meals
Employees may occasionally need to share meals with employees of lenders, guaranty agencies, or other colleges or universities in the course of business. Meals offered as a part of meetings, conferences, or other events may be accepted if all participants in the meeting or event are offered the meals or if the meals are included as a part of a registration fee.
VI. Policy Violations
Violations of this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.
Appeals
Students experiencing a significant level of financial hardship may submit an appeal to the financial aid office for additional financial aid consideration. Appeal online forms can be requested from the Office of Financial Aid and should include details regarding the circumstances and any helpful documentation. Circumstances that warrant review include recent loss of parental income, medical expenses paid out-of-pocket by the family, and family illnesses that impact student’s ability to pay their balances. The Appeals Committee will review all appeals and notify applicants of the results within 2-4 weeks of submission. Funding provided for successful appeals is limited and valid for one academic term or one year as designated in the communication to students.
Withdrawal Procedure
Information on returning Title IV Federal and Ringling College Financial Aid funds can be found in the Student Handbook.
Exit Counseling
Federal student loan borrowers who graduate or withdraw from the College will receive an email from the financial aid office detailing information regarding their student loan debt. The communication is typically sent within 30 days of graduation or withdrawal and will include web links to complete the Exit Counseling, important information regarding the borrower’s amount of debt, typical monthly repayment amounts, and resources for assisting with repayment. Ringling College also provides a student loan servicer, Loan Science, which will contact student borrowers directly to provide helpful student loan repayment information and answer questions.
View your Financial Aid Awards
Ringling College uses NetPartner as your personalized Financial Aid Portal. Here you will have access to view your financial aid award, and view any documentation you are required to submit to the Office of Financial Aid. This will provide you with 24-hour availability to retrieve your financial aid information.
View your Financial Aid Awards
Here’s how this works:
- You will enter your Ringling College ID number and password to log in to NetPartner. Once you are logged in, there will be several tabs to choose from:
- Names and amounts of your awards
- Your payment options
- Documents required
- Messages about your aid
- Student loan information
- History of your Ringling aid
- Your disbursement information
Each tab provides you with the pertinent financial aid information. If you have any questions or concerns, contact our office for assistance. Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm.
Please note that you must have a financial aid record already established at Ringling College to use this site. If you have not begun the financial aid application process, you can get started by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Once we receive your information from this application, we’ll notify you so that you can start using this site.