Policies & Procedures

Policies at a Glance

We've provided a snap shot of some of the policies that affect financial aid eligibility below.
NOTE: A complete listing of all policies and details are available in the [Loading Financial Aid link…] section of the College Catalog.

• Matriculation
  To be eligible for state or federal financial aid, a student must be accepted into a major and pursuing courses toward that degree or certificate program.
• Academic Qualifications
  To be eligible for federal financial aid (includes the Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, SEOG and Federal Direct Loans), a student must have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent (i.e. New York State GED or homeschooling).
• Good Academic Standing
  Students must meet the college’s good academic standing requirements as outlined under Policies and Procedures to be considered for financial aid eligibility.
• Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress
  To be eligible for federal Title IV student aid, a student must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress.
• Eligibility for Federal Student Aid
  All students must meet specified criteria in order to be eligible for the Title IV Federal Student Assistance, which includes Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Student Loans, the Federal Work-Study Program, and the Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students.
• Title IV Aid: Satisfactory Academic Progress Review Process
  All students will be reviewed for Satisfactory Academic Progress by the College at the end of each term of enrollment in order to comply with federal regulations.
• Enrollment Status and Repeat Coursework
  A student must be enrolled at least half-time to receive aid from Direct Student and PLUS loan programs and Federal Work-Study (FWS). Half-time enrollment is defined as being enrolled in at least 6 credit hours per semester. Full-time enrollment is defined as being enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester.
• Return of Title IV Aid
  Under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, federal student aid (Pell, SEOG and Direct Loans) must be recalculated for students who withdraw from or stop participating in all of their courses before completing more than 60 percent of the term. This calculation is required under the Return of Title IV Aid regulation. Students who have no passing grades at midterm will have all aid held until participation can be confirmed.
• New York State Satisfactory Academic Progress
  New York State academic standards require that a student complete a certain number of credits during each term an award is received, accrue degree credit at specified levels, and maintain a certain grade point average.

Financial Aid Appeals

Special Circumstances
Have you recently become unemployed? Is your prior year’s income not a current reflection of your financial situation? To find out about financial circumstances that allow the Financial Aid Office to reconsider your eligibility, please email the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@hvcc.edu. 
Note: Your circumstance must have occurred due to issues beyond your control. Circumstances such as, but not limited to, voluntarily leaving employment to attend college or retirement will not be considered for an appeal.

Dependency Override
If you have circumstances that warrant the exclusion of parental information or are unable to provide parental information, please contact the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@hvcc.edu for assistance in determining eligibility.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal
If the review of your satisfactory academic progress has resulted in your ineligibility for federal financial aid, please review the Financial Aid Appeal for Unsatisfactory Academic Progress Status webpage to see if you qualify for an appeal.