Financial Aid Policies

Eligibility for Federal Treatment of Title IV Aid When a Student Withdraws

The law specifies how the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law at USMMA are: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, Direct Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans.

When you withdraw during your payment period or period of enrollment (the United States Merchant Marine Academy can define these for you and tell you which one applies), the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or the United States Merchant Marine Academy or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be re­turned by the school and/or you.

The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed at least 60% or more of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.

If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disburse­ment. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the United States Merchant Marine Academy must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. The United States Merchant Marine Academy may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal dis­bursement of grant funds for billed fees (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for any other school charges. If you do not give your permission (some schools ask for this when you enroll), you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.

There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you will not receive any Direct Loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.

If you receive (or the United States Merchant Marine Academy or parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, the United States Merchant Marine Academy must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:

1. your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
2. the entire amount of excess funds

The school must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.

The Academy must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the institution determined that the student withdrew.  Refunds are allocated in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Loans
2. Subsidized Direct Loans
3. Direct PLUS Loans
4. Federal Pell Grants (for which a return of funds is required)
5. Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grants (for which a return of funds is required)

If the United States Merchant Marine Academy is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount.

Any loan funds that you must return, you (or your parent for a PLUS Loan) repay in accordance with the terms of the promissory note. That is, you make scheduled payments to the holder of the loan over a period of time.

Any amount of unearned grant funds that you must return is called an overpayment. The maximum amount of a grant overpayment that you must repay is half of the grant funds you received or were scheduled to receive. You do not have to repay a grant overpayment if the original amount of the over­payment is $50 or less. You must make arrangements with the United States Merchant Marine Academy or the Department of Education to return the unearned grant funds.

The requirements for Title IV program funds when you withdraw are separate from any refund policy that the United States Merchant Marine Academy may have. Therefore, you may still owe funds to the school to cover unpaid institutional charges. The United States Merchant Marine Academy may also charge you for any Title IV program funds that the school was required to return. If you don’t already know what the United States Merchant Marine Academy’s refund policy is, you can ask the United States Merchant Marine Academy for a copy. The United States Merchant Marine Academy can also provide you with the requirements and procedures for officially withdrawing from school.

If you have questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Infor­mation Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the Web at www.studentaid.ed.gov.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Midshipmen receiving Federal Title IV financial aid must maintain proficiency and make satisfactory academic progress towards earning the degree.  At no time shall a Title IV recipient’s ratio of attempted credits to earned credits fall below 67%.  A Midshipman is deemed academically proficient if his/her CQPA is at least 2.0, and if the term QPA is also at least a 2.0 with no F grades earned that term.  Midshipmen who fall below the proficiency standards will be placed in a deficiency status, as per the USMMA Academic Policies Handbook, and receive a warning for one term of financial aid eligibility.  If the Midshipman is not proficient by the end of the warning term, financial aid eligibility will be lost.  Midshipmen must meet all proficiency standards in order to regain eligibility for Title IV financial aid.  Further details on academic progress and deficiency statuses are available in the USMMA Academic Policies Handbook (available on the Academy Intranet to enrolled Midshipmen) or upon request to the Office of the Academic Dean and Provost at (516) 726-5836.