To receive your financial aid funds, you must:
Your financial aid will be applied to your tuition directly before refund checks are mailed or direct deposited. You can see the pending financial aid on MyHub — choose "My Bill” under Student Links, then “Account Activity.”
2023-2024 Enrollment Level |
All Semesters |
---|---|
Full time | 12 credits |
3/4 time | 9-11.5 credits |
1/2 time | 6-8.5 credits |
Less than 1/2 time |
5 credits or less |
2024-2025 Enrollment Intensity |
All Semesters |
---|---|
100% | 12 credits or more |
92% | 11 credits |
83% | 10 credits |
75% | 9 credits |
67% | 8 credits |
58% | 7 credits |
50% | 6 credits |
42% | 5 credits |
33% | 4 credits |
25% | 3 credits |
17% | 2 credits |
8% | 1 credits |
You'll set up your direct deposit information in MyHub:
Things to keep in mind about your direct deposit
If you choose not to set up a direct deposit, the balance of financial aid will be mailed to your local address on file when your attendance is verified. Please allow 3 – 5 business days to receive the check via mail. Checks must be cashed within 90 days of issue.
Federal regulations require students to make reasonable Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in their course of study in order to continue to receive financial aid funds.
If any amount of tuition is paid with funds from a Title IV Program and the student withdraws during the established refund period, the Title IV program funds will be adjusted and any unearned aid will be returned in the following order: Loans: Federal Unsubsidized, Federal Subsidized, and Federal Plus. Grants: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Other Title IV programs. Under federal law, Kirkwood must return the funds as soon as possible, but no later than 45 days after Kirkwood determines the student’s withdrawal date.
A student’s financial aid is based on the number of classes the student is enrolled in and the number of days the student is enrolled in classes. When a student initiates a withdrawal from one or more classes, the amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive is affected. The Return of Title IV funds to the federal government is based on a calculation that determines how much aid the student is eligible to receive and how much the student is no longer eligible for because he/ she is no longer enrolled in school. This calculation is applicable until the student has completed more than 60 percent of the semester. Once the student has completed more than 60 percent of the semester, all financial aid is considered earned.
Kirkwood does not use a Return of Title IV funds freeze date, and therefore all registered classes during the semester are used in the calculation. The one exception to that is if a student only accepts a Pell Grant. In that case, only attended classes are used in the calculation.
Kirkwood follows the federal regulations regarding modular class student exceptions. Students who have graduated from a Title IV program in the semester, completed 6 Title IV credits with passing grades, or have earned a passing grade in a class(es) that equate to 49% of the term’s scheduled days are exempt from a Return of Title IV funds calculation.
For example:
If a student completed 20 percent of the semester, the student will have earned 20 percent of the financial assistance awarded for the semester. Any aid above and beyond the 20 percent is considered unearned and must be returned to the federal government. Once a student has completed 60 percent of the semester, they are considered to have earned all aid for that semester.
As prescribed by federal law, Kirkwood is required to return the lesser of:
As prescribed by federal law, the amount the student must return is:
If the student is required to repay unearned Pell and/or SEOG Grant funds, the law provides that the student is only required to return grant funds if the final grant overpayment amount exceeds 50 percent of the total grant assistance the student received for the payment period.
Any unearned grant money must be repaid by either making arrangements with Kirkwood or with the U.S. Department of Education.
If a student withdraws from Kirkwood prior to completing 60 percent of the semester, the student is responsible for paying any outstanding tuition and fee charges that remain after Kirkwood has repaid any unearned financial aid to the federal government.
This process is performed by a Financial Aid Analyst.
Step 1: Determine the student’s withdrawal date
For official withdrawals, the withdrawal date is the date the student dropped the class as indicated in Colleague. For unofficial withdrawals, the withdrawal date is the last date of attendance as indicated by the instructor when they enter the “F” grade. The Financial Aid Analyst runs a process which lists the withdrawal dates.
Step 2: Determine the percentage of earned aid
Step 3: Determine the amount of earned aid
Step 4: Determine the amount of unearned aid
Step 5: Determine the school and student shares of unearned aid
The Financial Aid Analyst runs a Colleague process which determines all of the numbers in Steps 2 through 5. The awards are updated in Colleague and COD is notified of the changes in the amounts through the regular batch process. The Finance Department then makes the appropriate adjustments in G5.
Step 6: Make post-withdrawal disbursements
If there is a post-withdrawal disbursement, the Financial Aid Analyst will process that and the Finance Department will credit the student’s account and disburse the funds to the student within 45 days. In the case where the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the Financial Aid Analyst will reach out to the student to ensure they want the funding before disbursing it. If there is no reply after 30 days, the loan funds will not be disbursed.
If there is aid available after your tuition has been paid, you may use that amount at the bookstore as long as you have your EagleCard and book list.
First time Stafford Loan borrowers’ loan funds cannot be deposited/mailed until the mandatory 30-day wait period from the start of the semester ends. However, those funds are available at the bookstore if the loan has been accepted and all checklist steps are completed.
You can view your amount available at the bookstore by clicking Account Summary in MyHub and scrolling down the page.
“I really didn’t like the idea of going into debt and owing somebody a huge amount of money to be able to go to college. I just didn’t buy into that as a good idea for my future, so I’m paying for college out of my own pocket. Kirkwood was the only option I looked at that gave me that freedom to explore what I really wanted to do without going into miles of debt.”
Celia Daniels,
North Liberty, Iowa
If you have any questions, contact the Financial Aid Office:
Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Regular hours)
Monday – Thursday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Summer hours [May 20 - Aug 2])
Phone: 319-398-7600 or 1-877-386-9101
Fax: 319-398-4928
Email: Financial Aid - financialaid@kirkwood.edu
FAFSA School Code: 004076
Location: 3rd Floor Iowa Hall
Mailing Address:
Kirkwood Community College
Financial Aid Office
6301 Kirkwood Blvd. SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404