Requirements and Policies

Federal and state financial aid programs are awarded contingent upon the successful completion of 75% of the coursework undertaken each semester. For state aid, 12 credits per semester must be completed and an academic grade point average of 2.0 or above must be maintained. The usual time limit for receipt of federal financial aid through Ringling College is based on 147 credit hours for the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In general, full time students will have 10 semesters in which to complete their degrees. Financial assistance ceases when the degree requirements have been met, even if 10 semesters have not elapsed. Appeals to this policy may be made in writing to the Office of Financial Aid. The appeal must include the reasons why satisfactory progress was not maintained and why financial aid should not be terminated.

Students who fail to achieve a 2.0 academic grade point average, or who do not complete 75% of the coursework attempted during any given semester, are placed on financial aid probation. Financial aid may be received during this probationary semester. To be removed from financial aid probation, students must earn a minimum of a 2.0 semester grade point average and complete 75% of the coursework attempted in the probationary semester.

All financial aid will be suspended if a student does not earn a 2.0 academic grade point average, or fails to complete 75% of the coursework undertaken in the probationary semester. Financial aid may be reinstated after a student successfully completes six or more credit hours at his or her own expense. Minimum standards for successful completion are the same as those required to be removed from financial aid probation.

The Department of Education has recently published new regulations which impact students who repeat courses. These repeat courses may impact your financial aid eligibility and awards for Federal Title IV financial aid. In order for a repeated course to count toward your financial aid enrollment status for financial aid purposes, you may only repeat a previously passed course once (a total of two attempts). If you enroll in a passed repeated course for a third time, this course will not count toward your enrollment for financial aid purposes. This rule applies whether or not you received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.

Rules

  • A grade of A, B, C, or D (and any + or – version of the grade) is considered a passed course for financial aid eligibility purposes.
  • A student may receive aid when repeating a passed, failed, or withdrawn course for the first time.
  • A student may receive aid when repeating a course that was previously failed or withdrawn from regardless of the number of times the course was attempted and failed. (Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy still applies.)
  • A student may receive aid to repeat a previously passed course one additional time. If a student fails the second attempt, no more financial aid will be given to repeat the course a third time. If the second attempt is a withdrawal, then it is allowable for a third attempt.
  • Once a student has completed any course twice (2 passing grades or 1 passing grade followed by a failed attempt), he or she is no longer eligible to receive aid for that course. If a student retakes a course that is not aid eligible, the credit hours will be excluded from the financial aid enrollment for that semester.

 

Allowable Examples

  1. Repeated coursework may be included if the student received a failing grade or withdrew from the class. There is no limit on the number of repeats if the student never passes the class. (Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy still applies).
  2. A student takes AH 192 and receives a grade of W or F. The student repeats the class and receives a D. For financial aid purposes the student is considered to have passed the class. He or she may repeat the class one more time and receive financial aid. If, on the second attempt, the student receives a W, the student can repeat the class again; if a grade is assigned including an F, then the student cannot repeat the course again and the class cannot be counted for enrollment purposes for financial aid.
  3. Courses that are intended to be repeated and passed multiple times, such as EL 221 and ELEC ART.

 

When determining credits to financial aid eligibility for a semester and a course falls into a non-allowable status, it will be excluded from the financial aid eligible credit count. This may mean less Pell Grant if the eligible credits fall below 12 hours. No federal loans can be awarded if the financial aid eligible credits are less than 6 credits.

INSERT CHART that exists on web 

Explanations of the Above Examples:

Course 1: Yes, these credits may be counted, even though the class was previously passed, because it is the first time the class is being repeated. 

Course 2: Yes, these credits are included in the financial aid enrollment because the student is allowed to repeat any failed or withdrawn course until a passing grade is received. Once a passing grade is received, financial aid can pay for the course again. If a grade of A, B, C, D, or F (and any + or – version of the grade) is made on the third attempt; the course will not count again in the calculation for financial aid enrollment.

Course 3: No, this course was previously passed twice and this is the third attempt. Two attempts are the maximum attempts these credits can count toward financial aid enrollment because the course has been previously passed. 

Course 4: No, the class credits are no longer considered for financial aid eligibility because it has been previously passed, and this is the second time it is being repeated. 

Course 5: Yes, because this course has never been passed so it may still be counted toward financial aid enrollment. 

Course 6: Yes, because the second attempt was not completed. If a grade of A, B, C, D, or F (and any + or – version of the grade) is made on the third attempt; the course will not count again in the calculation for financial aid enrollment. 

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 awards all institutional financial aid (merit scholarships, endowments, and need-based grants) based on full-time enrollment status. Students awarded Ringling financial aid are required to maintain full-time enrollment (e.g. 12 credit hours or more) each semester in order to receive the full amount of their awards. 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. Students unable to attend full-time due to extenuating circumstances may appeal to the Director of Financial Aid.

You must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours to receive financial aid. 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. Please visit the Office of Financial Aid to discuss your options.

If you must withdraw from classes, you may be required to repay a portion of your 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 on this page in the Apply For Financial Aid section. If you have loans, you will enter into repayment within 6 months after you withdraw unless you enroll in a degree seeking program for at least 6 credit hours. Visit the Office of Financial Aid to discuss your options before you withdraw from the College.

If you receive Florida Bright Futures, you may need to pay back the amount you received for that class. Otherwise, you will not owe the College. However, withdrawing from a class 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, the only aid available are private student loans through commercial lenders.

Verification

Verification is an audit of the financial aid application information included on the FAFSA. Many student files are selected by the Federal Processor in the process of applying for aid. Some files are randomly selected while others are selected because of appearing to be error prone. If the student’s file is selected, requested documentation should be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid at Ringling College immediately because of specified deadline date requirements. We normally ask that the documents be provided within two weeks of being selected for verification.

If selected for verification, you will be required to complete a verification worksheet. Students who include parental information on the FAFSA will complete the dependent worksheet. If not required to provide parental information, an independent worksheet will be required. The Office of Financial Aid will determine what additional tax documentation you will be required to submit with your verification worksheet. If the required documentation is not provided to the Office of Financial Aid before the necessary deadline, Ringling College will not be able to apply any need-based financial aid to your account.

Policies

Financial Aid Code of Conduct

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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. Appeals can be emailed to 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

Students who receive Title IV federal funds through the Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Direct Student Loan or Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan and Ringling College grants and scholarships and withdraw from the College are subject to the Return of Title IV Funds regulations and return of institutional funds requirements. visit the Office of Financial Aid to discuss your options before you withdraw from the College. 

Students with funds from any of these programs “earn” their financial aid dollars while enrolled. If a student withdraws prior to completing 61% of a semester, a prorated portion of the federal financial aid dollars must be considered “unearned” and returned to the federal programs. A return of these funds along with institutional aid could result in a significant balance being owed to the College.

In addition to the amount of federal and institutional aid Ringling College must return, students who received financial aid for other educational costs, including off-campus living expenses, may be required to repay a portion of those funds to the federal programs. Failure to return the aid will result in loss of eligibility for federal financial assistance.

Students who receive Title IV federal funds through the Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Direct Student Loan or Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan and withdraw from the College are subject to the Return of Title IV Funds regulations. visit the Office of Financial Aid to discuss your options before you withdraw from the College. 

Students with funds from any of these programs “earn” their financial aid dollars while enrolled. If a student withdraws prior to completing 61% of a semester, a prorated portion of the federal financial aid dollars must be considered “unearned” and returned to the federal programs. A return of funds could result in a significant balance being owed to the College.

In addition to the amount of federal aid Ringling College must return, students who received financial aid for other educational costs, including off-campus living expenses, may be required to repay a portion of those funds to the federal programs. Failure to return the aid will result in loss of eligibility for federal financial assistance.

 

Federal student loan borrowers who graduate or withdraw from the College will receive an email from the financial aid office detailing their student loan debt. The communication is typically sent within 30 days of graduation or withdrawal and will include web links to 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 Connections, which will contact student borrowers directly to provide helpful student loan 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, accept your 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 (does not include current year information)
  • 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.

Forms

Our office will send you a Missing Information Letter if there are documents that must be completed and submitted to our office prior to disbursing your financial aid. These forms are not required for all students. 

 You might be eligible for a tax credit:

To obtain your 1098-T, visit Heartland ECSI or contact the Bursar’s Office.