Financial Aid Information

The Davis Applied Technology College (College) is a campus of the Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT). All information identified below is consistent with the policies and procedures designated by the UCAT. Since all Title IV eligible UCAT campuses are approved separately to provide financial assistance, some differences in delivery methods across campuses may occur.

• Apply Financial Aid
• Financial Aid Availability
• Cost of Attendance
• Eligibility
• Award Letters
• Disbursement of Funds
• Evaluation Schedule
• Attendance Requirements
• Progress Requirements
• Program Changes
• Scholarships
• Summary of Financial Aid Programs
• Definitions

Financial Aid Availability

Federal Title IV Financial Aid is available for students who demonstrate financial need. Financial aid is meant to assist students in completing an eligible training program successfully and acquire a College credential. Therefore, it is the policy of DATC to award financial aid only to students enrolled for the purpose of obtaining a credential (Certificate of Completion) who maintain satisfactory attendance and progress.

To apply for federal student aid you must apply for a PIN or electronic signature at www.pin.ed.gov . Complete your FAFSA application each year at www.fafsa.ed.gov .

Types of assistance include Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), State Grants, and Federal Work Study.

Pell Grants are the primary gift-aid program (gift-aid is aid that is provided with no expectation of repayment) offered by the federal government. Eligibility is based on an index provided by the federal government.

FSEOG/HESSP: Grants are gift-aid programs offered through state and federal sources. Eligibility is determined by the availability of funds and the government's index. Priority is given to Pell Grant recipients.

Federal Work Study is a program that allows students to work and earn money to help pay expenses related to their education. Students interested in receiving assistance through Federal Grant or Work Study programs must apply online at fafsa.ed.gov under “Free Application for Federal Student Aid.” Students who do not have access to the internet may contact the College Financial Aid Office for assistance. DATC does not participate in any federal student loan program. In order to qualify for the financial aid, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen (as defined by federal regulations).
2. Have a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate.
3. Maintain satisfactory progress and attendance in the program of study according to the standards of the institution.
4. Not be in default on any federal loan or owe repayment on any grant at any school previously attended.
5. Be enrolled in an eligible program.
6. Be in good standing with the College.

Cost of Attendance

Provided below is the estimated cost of attendance at the Davis Applied Technology College for a typical student in a 900 hour program. These costs are based on an average cost per program so your actual costs may vary.

Eligibility

The amount of your eligibility is determined by the Department of Education. They use a need-based formula, which assigns students an index number that is called an “Expected Family Contribution (EFC)”. This index number reflects the amount a student is expected to contribute to his or her own education costs. Once an index number gets above a certain range you will no longer qualify for grant-aid (see definitions). Since the Davis Applied Technology College (College) does not participate in federal student loan programs, if you do not qualify for federal grant-aid, the only other federal funding program that may be available to you at the College is Federal Work Study. Federal Work Study is a program that provides you with employment options while attending school. Federal Work Study has limited availability, is subject to a background check, and may or may not be readily accessible to you. Please contact the Financial Aid Office for information on how to apply. If you do not qualify for federal funding you may apply for college scholarships or secure funds from private or public agencies outside the College (Dept. of Workforce Services, Division or Rehabilitation Services, etc.).

Award Letters

If you are eligible for financial aid, the financial aid office (the office) will package your award and provide you with an Award Letter within 90 days after you activate your grant. You must activate the grant process by contacting the office in-person. Three conditions must be met in order for you to activate your award. 1) You must be eligible; 2) You must have started school; 3) All required paperwork must have been received. Awards cannot be packaged prior to your start date because award packages must be date defined.

Disbursement of Funds

The Financial Aid Office normally requires up to 90 days from the day you start school or activate your grant (complete all of the required paperwork) to process your aid and to provide payment of any credit balances (federal aid eligibility that exceeds the direct cost of attending school). However, the College will provide you vouchers for tuition up to the maximum amount of your eligibility. In addition, if you have adequate funds, book vouchers can also be provided for required books and curriculum.

You can only receive Federal Financial Aid at one school at a time.

You must notify the Financial Aid Office if it is your intention to transfer to another school. You must officially stop your federal aid at DATC before accessing aid at a new school. If you fail to do this, any costs that accrue or Federal Aid overpaid are your responsibility.

In keeping with federal grant regulations, the College pays federal grant funds in increments called payment periods. Payment periods are defined by federal regulation and are determined by your program length, the academic year of your program, and for students receiving aid in more than one year, the remainder of the program.

All disbursements represent payment made in advance of training. Dollars are not earned until you have completed both the attended hours and competency hours attached to each payment period. If you withdraw before completing the hours you have been paid for you are at risk for overpayment with the Department of Education or may owe money to the school. Funds owed the school that are not paid back will be sent to a collection agency.

The College evaluates eligibility for payment approximately every six weeks. A schedule of payment periods for the 2011-12 school year is provided below:

Evaluation Schedule

Once you qualify to receive a disbursement, the financial assistance office will pay all estimated tuition and fee charges for the entire payment period and any other charges you have authorized us to pay. If you have funds remaining after these charges have been paid the school will release these funds to you in the form of a residual disbursement.

Residual disbursements (see definition) will be mailed to the last known address on file in the Financial Aid Office. You are responsible for updating address information directly with the Financial Aid Office. Funds returned undeliverable will be returned to the Department of Education.

Since tuition costs are assessed monthly and payment periods span several months, tuition and fee costs are estimated on the front-end. If, once actual costs are determined, we have withheld too much a refund will be issued. If we have not withheld enough we will apply those charges to the next payment period, if you are a student in good standing and are expected to qualify for subsequent payments. Otherwise, those charges will be invoiced to you directly.

Attendance Requirements

The Financial Aid Office recommends that your attendance should be at 85% or higher. It is our experience that students with attendance less than this fail to meet the progress requirements. In addition, school costs are assessed by the hour and lower attendance means your costs for tuition will increase. The absolute minimum attendance allowance is 67%. Students who fall below this standard will have their aid suspended. If your attendance is less than 80% you will receive a courtesy warning. This warning is only to alert you of the potential risk of low attendance. If your attendance falls below 67% your aid will be suspended.

Once you are suspended you can regain eligibility by getting your cumulative attendance to 67% and maintaining it at that rate. You are only eligible for payment in the payment period in which you regain eligibility – not for any prior payment periods. Please note that progress standards must also be met in order to be considered for reinstatement.

Attendance standards for prior enrollment periods will count towards your current federal aid eligibility for five years from the date of your last withdrawal. The office will require you to serve a paid probation if your attendance was poor during your prior enrollment. Paid probation is the process of delaying an award package until you have been in good standing for half of the payment period. In addition, you could be required to serve a non-paid probation period, if you had demonstrated poor attendance habits in a prior enrollment period that impacted your aid eligibility at that time, regardless of the time frame.

Progress Requirements

The College progress standard requires that you be able to complete your program in no more than one and one-half times the length of the program. In order to accomplish this, your cumulative progress must be 67%.

The financial aid office will monitor individual student progress at every payment period. If you are maintaining satisfactory progress you will have completed 67% or more of your work at each progress increment. For example, at hour 675 you must have completed 450 hours or more of competency. If you fail to complete the work required to be making satisfactory progress by the end of the payment period you will lose the disbursement for the following payment period.

Once you are suspended you can regain eligibility by getting your cumulative progress to 67% and maintaining it at that rate. You are only eligible for payment in the payment period in which you regain eligibility - not for any prior payment periods. Please note that attendance standards must also be met in order to be considered for reinstatement.

Progress standards for prior enrollment periods in the same program will count towards your Federal aid eligibility for five years from the date of your last withdrawal. If you have enrollment prior to applying for federal aid and your progress in the same program is below 67%, you will be required to meet satisfactory progress standards before your financial aid will be activated. In addition, the office may require you to serve a non-paid probation period, if you had demonstrated poor progress in a prior enrollment period that impacted your aid eligibility at that time, regardless of the time frame. Non-paid probation periods are always one full payment period.

Program Changes

Students will be allowed two program changes (three programs) in a three-year period. In the event that a student is seeking funding for coursework previously funded, the student must show just cause that the technology has changed enough to render the training obsolete. Time cannot be the only factor involved in the request unless the coursework is more than five years old.

Definitions

Academic year: An academic year is the length of time it takes to complete the equivalent of one year of training. The College defines this as 900 hours for all programs except Cosmetology. The academic year for Cosmetology is 1200 hours.

Payment periods: The Department of Education requires that federal aid be disbursed in increments called payment periods. Payment periods are equal in length and represent the time frame in which students are evaluated for both progress and attendance.

Pell Grant: Pell Grant is considered the primary educational funding source for students with economic need. All other funding programs require that you apply for a Pell Grant. If you qualify, the agency involved will coordinate your funding with your Pell Grant. Normally a student is expected to pay direct school costs from their Pell Grant.

Supplemental Grants: DATC participates in other grant programs besides Pell Grant.

Federal Work Study (FWS): DATC participates in the federal government work-study program, which allows students to engage in subsidized employment activities while attending school. Not all work-study positions are directly related to student training.

Enrollment Status:

• Full-time enrollment: 24 to 30 hours per week
• Three-quarter-time enrollment: 18 to 23 hours per week
• Half-time enrollment: 12 to 17 hours per week
• Less-than-half-time enrollment: 6 to 11 hours per week

There is no federal aid for students enrolling as less than half-time students. Good standing: Having met an attendance standard of 80% or higher and a progress standard of 67% or higher.

Grant-aid: Financial assistance that does not have to be paid back. It is also known as “Gift-aid”.

Residual Disbursement: Once the school has paid all of your direct school costs, any remaining credit balance will be disbursed to you in the form of a check. These remaining funds can be used to pay indirect school costs like transportation or housing.

Title IV: A term used to describe programs that are defined in Title IV of the Higher Education Reauthorization Act as amended.