Financial Aid Policies

Students applying for financial assistance must be in compliance with the SAP policies as a condition of initial and continuing eligibility.

• At the end of each term, a review will be made to ensure compliance with the grade point average (GPA), maximum time frame limit, and minimum credit hour requirements of the policy.
• All students are subject to the SAP policy. SAP is monitored even during periods in which no aid was administered and students must be in compliance with the SAP policy to be eligible for aid in the future.
• Financial aid will be denied to students who fail to maintain progress under the SAP Policy.

Students are required to complete their degree program within a specific number of years, and this limit affects a student’s adherence to SAP. For more information on statute limitations, please refer to the Academic Catalog.

• Master of Arts in Theology & Culture: 3 years
• Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology: 5 years
• Master of Divinity: 6 years

Credit Hour Considerations

Students are eligible for funding for one retake of a previously attempted course. Any courses withdrawn from after the 100% refund deadline will count against the student’s minimum credit hour completion requirement. Transfer credit will be factored into the student’s minimum credit hours and statute of limitations calculations. Incomplete Grades will count against the student’s minimum credit hour completion until a successful grade has been submitted for the course.

Failure to remain in compliance with the SAP Policy will result in the student being placed on Financial Aid Warning status. The student will be notified of her/his status in writing and no action is required of the student at this time. If the student should fail to remain in compliance in the subsequent term, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation status, and the student must submit a SAP Appeal Form to regain aid eligibility. The Student Aid Appeal Committee will only consider appeals that express extenuating circumstances. Examples of acceptable extenuating circumstances include: death of a relative, injury or illness of the student, and/or other extenuating circumstances. All decisions of the appeals committee are final.

Submit an Appeal

Repayment of Title IV Funds

Students who officially or unofficially withdraw from all of their classes on or after the first day of the term, and students who complete zero credits, may owe a portion of the financial aid funds they received for the term. This policy does not apply to work-study earnings.

For the 2019-2020 year, financial aid recipients can make a complete withdrawal and not owe a repayment of financial aid funds on or after the following term dates:

• Fall Term 2019: November 23, 2019
• Winter Term 2018: March 6, 2020
• Spring 2020: May 22, 2020

A student Direct Loan borrower who is graduating, leaving school, or dropping below half-time enrollment is required to complete exit counseling. As a consequence of not completing this requirement upon graduation, we are required by the Department of Education to hold back your Certificate of Completion from your program until the exit counseling requirement is fulfilled.

Complete Your Exit Counseling

Official Withdrawal Process

The date the student notifies the Academic Office of the intent to withdraw.

Unofficial Withdrawal Process

If the student doesn’t notify the Academic Office of the intent to withdraw, the Registrar will contact the student’s instructors to determine the last date of attendance. The latest date reported by an instructor that the student attended a class will be used as the last date of attendance.

If no instructors report a last day of attendance to the Registrar’s Office, it will be assumed that the student did not attend any classes. Students will owe 100% of financial aid funds disbursed, including non-refunded tuition.

Students who are eligible to receive Title IV Aid but who did not receive their aid prior to making a complete withdrawal may be eligible to receive a disbursement of financial aid funds, even though they have withdrawn.

To be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal, disbursement students must meet all eligibility requirements.

The Title IV Return Calculation is performed using the Department of Education’s Title IV Refund Worksheet and/or The Seattle’s School’s internal Student Information System.

Under the federal government’s “Return of Title IV Funds” policy, students are considered to have “earned” the percentage of their Title IV aid that equals the percentage of the trimester completed in calendar days. For example, if a student completely withdraws from classes after completing 10% of the term, that student has “earned” 10% of their Title IV aid. The other 90% of the Title IV aid is considered “unearned.”

Students who complete more than 60% of the trimester prior to withdrawing are considered to have earned 100% of their Title IV aid, and therefore no repayment amount is calculated.

The total repayment amount is determined by multiplying the percentage of “unearned” aid by the amount of Title IV aid received.

Once the total repayment amount has been calculated, the next step is to determine the following:

• the school’s share of the repayment amount
• the student’s share of the repayment amount
• the amount a student must pay to the school for tuition and fees as a result of the school’s share of the repayment

School’s Share of the Repayment

The school’s share of the repayment is determined by multiplying the percentage of “unearned” aid by the amount of the student’s tuition and fee charges for the term.

If the school’s share of the repayment is equal to or less than the amount of Title IV aid used to pay tuition and fees, the repayment will be made using the Title IV funds that paid tuition and fees. If the school’s share of the repayment is greater than the amount of Title IV aid used to pay tuition and fees, any amount owing in excess of the Title IV aid, that paid tuition and fees, will be paid by the student to the institution.

A school must always return any unearned Title IV funds it is responsible for as soon as possible but no later than within 45 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew and offer any post-withdrawal disbursement of loan funds within 30 days of that date.

Student’s Share of the Repayment

The student’s share of the repayment is determined by subtracting the schools share from the total repayment amount. Then determining the Title IV grant protection by finding the total federal aid that was and could have been disbursed and multiplying by 50%, then subtract the protected amount from your previous calculation to determine the student’s share of the repayment.

Students May Owe a Balance

If the student’s Title IV aid and the school’s share of the repayment is greater than the amount of the institutional refund, the student will owe the balance to the school. For purposes of repayment of financial aid, the institutional refund is calculated by multiplying the amount of “refundable” tuition and fee charges paid by Title IV funds by the institutional refund percentage.

In addition, the order in which Title IV programs funds must be returned is in this order:

1. Direct Unsubsidized Loan
2. Direct Plus Loan

Students who owe a balance to the school for their tuition and fees will be billed by the Business Office. Until the bill is paid, students will not be able to register for classes or obtain copies of their academic transcripts. Students will be responsible for all collection costs and fees and may be referred to a collection agency.

If a student whose tuition and fees are paid in full withdraws from all classes after 60% of the trimester (in calendar days) has passed, the “Return of Title IV Funds” policy does not apply. The student will not owe a Title IV funds repayment or tuition and fees to the school.

For the 2019-2020 year, financial aid recipients can make a complete withdrawal and not owe a repayment of financial aid funds on or after the following term dates:

• Fall Term 2019: November 23, 2019
• Winter Term 2020: March 6, 2020
• Spring 2020: May 22, 2020