Federal Financial Aid Eligibility
Requirements Federal Student Aid Programs available are Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS).
- File a free application for Federal Student Aid at www.fafsa.gov, beginning October 1 of each year.
- Demonstrate financial need. Have a high school diploma, or a GED.
- Be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
- Not be in default on Federal Perkins Loan (or National Direct Student Loan), Federal Stafford Loan (or Guaranteed Student Loan), Federal PLUS Loan or Supplemental Loan for Students (FSLS).
- Not owe a refund on a Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), or Alabama Student Assistant Grant (ASAP). Agree to use any Federal Student Aid received solely for educational purposes.
- If you are a male between the ages of 18 and 25, you must register with the Selective Service.
- Must not have a 4 year (Bachelor’s) degree.
Return of Title IV Policy
In accordance with Federal regulations, those students who receive a disbursement of Title IV funds, Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, and/or Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) officially withdraws or ceases attendance prior to the 60% point in the payment period, LBWCC will determine whether the student must repay a portion of the net disbursement. Federal Work-Study is excluded from the calculation. This process is called a Return of Title IV Calculation.
Title IV funds must be disbursed within 14 days of the aid being posted on the students financial account, however aid is earned as student attends throughout the semester.
If the student does not complete 60% of the semester, LBWCC is required to perform a calculation to determine if funds must be returned to the Department of Education. This date of withdrawal is determined in two different ways for official and unofficial withdrawals.
Official Withdrawal: The official withdrawal date is determined by the date the student started the withdrawal process or the date of the last academic related activity.
Unofficial Withdrawal: The unofficial withdrawal date is determined by the date the instructors report as the last documented academic related activity when a grade of “F” is posted at the end of the semester or payment period. The return of funds calculation shall be based on the midpoint of the term for students who unofficially withdraw and cease attending before completing 60% of the term, unless it can be determined that the last documented academic related activity/engagement is after the 50% date, at which time that date will be used to the benefit of the student.
The percentage formula is as follows: total number of calendar days completed in the payment period divided by the total number of calendar days in the payment period equals the percentage of Title IV funds earned. Scheduled break days of 5 or more are excluded from the calculation. Funds shall be returned in the following order:
- Federal Pell Grants
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants
- FSEOG
Any remaining credit, (post-withdrawal disbursements), shall be posted to the student’s account within 45 days of the date it was determined that the student withdrew. If there is a remaining credit after all expenses are paid, the balance shall be refunded to the student within 14 days.
Calculations and returns must be made 45 days from the date of determination for official withdrawals and 30 days from the end of the semester (or payment period) for unofficial withdrawals.
The student may be required to return or repay the remaining unearned Title IV funds to the Department of Education. LBWCC will notify the student in writing of the amount they owe, the procedure for repayment and consequences of non-payment within 30 days.
Any student who does not return or repay unearned Title IV funds as required by law will be reported to the Department of Education and will not be eligible to receive Title IV funds at LBWCC or any other college participating in the Title IV Program until overpayment is paid in full.
LBWCC requires the student to repay any funds that the school was required to return to the Department of Ed as a result of the students’ failure to complete 60% of the term. LBWCC will notify the student in writing informing them of the amount due to the school and why the amount is owed giving the student a day for the amount to be repaid. The student’s account will be placed on hold and the student will not be able to register or receive an official transcript until said amount is paid in full.
If the student owes LBWCC funds and fails to pay by the demanded date, their record will be turned over to Williams & Fudge, Inc. for collection, then if not paid will be sent to SSS Recovery for further collections.
Calculation of Pell Grant Award
Federal Pell Grant awards are based on full-time enrollment and will prorate for enrollment less than full time and enrollment in classes outside the declared major. For applicable certificate programs, the Federal Pell Grant disburses based on both credit and contact hours. For more information on how aid is awarded for a specific certificate program, please contact the financial aid office.
The financial aid award may be reduced if the student does not begin attending classes, withdraws from classes or enrolls in courses not required for the declared major. Attendance will be verified by the instructor and students will be dropped for non-attendance. Students may be obligated to repay the difference between the funds awarded and the amount recalculated. Students who completely withdraw before the 60% point of the semester may owe a repayment to the U.S. Department of Education. Also, reducing the enrollment status may affect the required standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and cause the student to lose eligibility to receive additional financial aid. It is recommended that students check with Financial Aid before dropping any classes or changing their schedule to determine how those changes may affect financial aid. Refer to the Lurleen B. Wallace Community College Catalog or visit the Financial Aid Office for more information.
The Financial Aid Office reserves the right to amend or cancel awards due to changes in academic status, remaining need or funding a student receives by Lurleen B. Wallace Community College or another organization.
What you need to Apply for Financial Aid
Expenses for tuition, books, supplies, at-home maintenance, transportation, and miscellaneous personal costs are used in preparing annual student budgets to determine the applicant's financial need. Each year students are required to file the U.S. Department of Education's Application for Federal Student Aid in order to be considered for federal and non-federal aid. Applicants should apply as soon as possible after October 1. To complete an application for financial aid, the applicant should have the following records available for reference:
- The U.S. Income Tax Return from a previous year. (examples: for 2019-2020 you will use 2017 U.S. Income Tax Returns; 2020-2021 you will use 2018 U.S. Income Tax Returns), for student, his/her parents (if he/she applies as a dependent student) and his/her spouse's return (if he/she is married and his/her spouse filed a separate return). You may view a tutorial on completing the FAFSA here.
- Records of untaxed benefits such as, veteran’s non-education benefits, payments to tax-deferred pensions, and other agencies that might pay non-taxable benefits.
- FSA ID. Create an FSA ID here. You may view a tutorial for creating a user FSA ID here. Make sure that write this information down and keep it in a safe place. If you are a dependent student, your parent will also be required to create a FSA ID.
Process to complete FAFSA Application
Please watch this video for complete step-by-step video for completing the FAFSA if you need assistance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OBzFyFooYE
(Completing the FAFSA on the Web is the first step in applying for grants and college work study.)
- Apply online at www.fafsa.gov.
- If you haven't already created an FSA ID, create a FSA ID first. Both the student and parent must sign the application. Once you have created an FSA ID, click Apply and login using your FSA ID.
- Make sure you list Lurleen B. Wallace Community College (Federal School Code – 008988) in “Schools Section” of the FAFSA. Failure to list our Federal School Code will result in a delay in the processing of your application.
- If you choose to use the paper FAFSA application, you must call 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) and request a paper application be mailed to you. The paper application must be completed using 2017 income information. This form must be signed and mailed to the federal processing center in the envelope provided with the application. Both the student and parent must sign the application.
- Make sure that you have applied for admission or readmission to LBW Community College. For returning students, application for readmission must be submitted if you have not attended LBWCC during the past two (2) terms. You must submit, high school transcript and/or GED and all college transcripts to the admission office. All college transcripts must be evaluated before you can be awarded aid.
If you list LBWCC on your FAFSA and complete the application correctly, LBWCC will receive your financial aid information electronically. LBWCC will Email you when your aid is received and you must respond designating which campus you plan to attend. It is your responsibility to review your financial aid status online at www.lbwcc.edu under myLBWCC and provide any documentation requested. If you have not heard from LBWCC in a reasonable time frame you should contact the Financial Aid Officer at the campus you plan to attend. Please respond immediately to all LBWCC requests for additional information.
Federal Verification of FAFSA Application: The Department of Education selects some FAFSA applications for a process called verification. During verification, the financial aid administrator(s) will ask the applicant to supply copies of documentation, such as income tax returns, W-2 statements and 1099 forms, to verify the data that was submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If your application is selected, you will be notified by email to review your myLBWCC(OneACCS) Account for the requirements necessary to complete verifications. If verification is not complete, your application cannot be processed.
Some financial aid funds are limited and preference is given to students who apply by March 1.
If you require a Pell Grant to pay your tuition and fees, your admission and financial aid files must be complete and received by the Student Services Department at least two weeks prior to registration. All high school and college transcripts must be on file before you can be awarded financial aid. Once your financial aid is completed by the financial aid office you will receive an award letter in yours SAINTS MAIL account. You do not have financial aid at LBWCC until you have received the award letter.
To continue to receive aid you must apply for the FAFSA each year by July 1 at www.fafsa.ed.gov and continue to make satisfactory academic progress.
