Financial Aid

Financial Aid

Student Financial Aid Rights and Responsibilities

Students have the right to:

  • Know what financial aid programs are available at BHSON;
  • Know the deadline dates for submitting applications for financial aid;
  • Know how the financial aid will be distributed, how decisions on distribution are made, and the basis for these decisions;
  • Know how financial need is determined;
  • Know what resources were considered in the calculation of need;
  • Know how much of the determined need has been met;
  • Know the school’s refund policy;
  • Know how the school determines satisfactory academic progress and the school’s policy on failures relative to academic progress;
  • Have their financial aid records held in a confidential manner, to have this information released only on their written consent, and to have their right to privacy protected by school policies and procedures;
  • Receive student consumer information;
  • Appeal to the Financial Aid Director if they are dissatisfied with their award; and
  • Utilize the school’s grievance procedure if they believe that policy or procedure has been violated in their regard.

Students have the responsibility to:

  • Meet the eligibility requirements for financial aid;
  • Complete all application forms required and submit them on time to the proper office;
  • Provide correct and accurate information on all financial aid forms;
  • Provide all requested information to the Financial Aid Director;
  • Read and understand all forms before signing them and keep a copy of each one;
  • Accept responsibility for all personally signed agreements;
  • Be aware of and comply with the school’s refund policy;
  • Inform the Financial Aid Office of any change in name, address, enrollment status, financial circumstances, marital status or course study;
  • Have an entrance and exit interview with the Financial Aid Director if they receive a Federal Stafford Loan; and
  • Sign a document indicating that they have received loan counseling prior to negotiating a loan check from the Stafford Student Loans.
  • Dependent/ Independent Student Status
  • The terms “dependent student” and “independent student” as used for financial aid purposes have different meanings than when they are used for tax purposes. The criteria for determining the status of a student are set by the U.S. Department of Education.

ALL STUDENTS ARE DEPENDENT UNLESS ONE OF THE FOLLOWING 13 CONDITIONS APPLIES:

  1. The student was born before January 1, 1998
  2. The student is an orphan or a ward of the court, or both parents are deceased.
  3. The student is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Services.
  4. The student is married.
  5. The student has children.
  6. The student has other legal dependents other than a spouse.
  7. The student is working on a master’s or doctorate program.
  8. The student is currently serving on active duty.
  9. The student is or was an emancipated minor.
  10. The student is or was in legal guardianship.
  11. The student was determined homeless by the high school district.
  12. The student was determined homeless by the director of a shelter.
  13. The student was determined to be an unaccompanied youth.

If a student meets at least one of the above criteria, the student is considered “independent” for financial aid purposes and does not need to report parental information. If married, spousal information must be reported. If a student does not meet any of the above criteria, then that student would be considered “dependent” for financial aid purposes, and parental data is required.

Please note: The award year is the academic year in which financial aid will be used. The 2023-24 year is from August 2023- April 2024. This is different from the calendar year, which is from January – December.

Required Documentation

All students who wish to participate in federal and state-based financial aid programs must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or FAFSA on the Web for the current award year. Renewal FAFSAs are mailed by the Department of Education to students who file a FAFSA in the previous award year. State Scholarship Programs use the FAFSA as the source of information in awarding grants and scholarships.

Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing recommends that students seeking financial aid complete and file the following applications:

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov)

Since filing the FAFSA is required in order to apply for all forms of financial aid, it is important that the forms be read carefully and completed correctly. It is recommended that the FAFSA be filed after the completion of federal tax forms but prior to the published deadlines for submission. Errors on the FAFSA can delay or even disqualify a student from receiving financial aid.

Deadlines: Priority consideration for institutional funds is given to students who fully complete the FAFSA by May 1st.

To be considered for any Institutional/Donor Scholarship, you MUST complete the (FAFSA)

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Verification

Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing verifies the federally required amount, 30%, of its applicants for financial aid before disbursement of funds in order to ensure that there is no conflicting information and that all data reported is accurate.

Required documents are:

  • A copy of the student’s (and spouse’s or parent(s)’ if applicable) 2020 Federal Tax Return Transcript request at www.IRS.gov
  • Federal Verification Worksheet; and
  • Other documents as requested by the Financial Aid Director.
  • The Financial Aid Director will notify applicants of financial aid or any documentation needed. No determination of aid will be made until all required documentation has been provided.
  • Note: Please do not submit State Tax Returns, as they are not necessary and will be destroyed
  • Clock to Credit Hour Conversion
  • Clock to Credit Hour Regulations: The federal regulations information regarding the reduction of payable financial aid credit hours if you are admitted to one of the following programs of study is listed below. These programs do not lead to an Associate Degree; therefore, according to federal regulations, institutions must complete a clock-to-credit hour conversion when awarding federal financial aid (Federal Financial Aid includes Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student Loans,).

Programs of Study: Registered Nursing

The Department of Education has changed the Clock to Credit Conversion Requirements.

The final regulations, effective as of July 1, 2021, continue to require programs that do not lead to an Associate’s Degree to use the clock-to-credit hour conversion formula.

The formula will determine if, after the conversion, the program includes the minimum number of credit hours to qualify as an eligible program for Federal Student Aid purposes. The formula also determines the number of Title IV credit hours associated with each class that an institution can use to determine a student’s enrollment status during the program.

Previously, the conversion formula for determining the number of credit hours in an educational program required an institution to use a ratio of 37.5 in-class clock hours to each semester credit hour, except the institution could include out-of-class hours as long as the in-class hours met a lower ration – 30 clock hours to one semester hour.

Under the new regulations, there is no longer any consideration of out-of-class hours for purposes of the clock-to-credit conversion. Therefore, the revised formula for determining the number of credit hours in each class of an educational program is a semester hour must include at least 30 in-class hours of instruction. This determination is made by dividing the total number of clock hours in a course by 30. The result is the new total credit hours for the course in which financial aid will be paid. This total will be used when calculating financial aid awards.

Example: If you are enrolled in a 3 credit hour course that has 45 clock hours, we would divide 30 into the 45 clock hours (45/30 = 1.5). You would end up being eligible for only 1.5 financial aid credit hours.

We hope this information is helpful to you as you begin your enrollment at BHSON. You may contact the Office of Financial Aid at 508-941-7052 if you have additional questions.

FAFSA Appeal Process

Veteran’s Affairs

Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education to provide training for eligible persons under the Montgomery GI Bill® Program for Chapter 30, Chapter 35, Chapter 1606 and Chapter 1607 Post 09/11 Chapter 33. Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital School of Nursing does not participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Please contact our Registrar’s Office for further information.

RETURN OF TITLE IV FUNDS

The Registrar’s Office notifies the Financial Aid Office of all withdrawals. BHSON uses the student’s last date of attendance as their official withdrawal date. Up through the 60% point in each payment period or period of enrollment, a Return of Title IV fund worksheet is used to determine how much FSA Program funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. The Return of Title IV Fund Worksheet built is used to determine the amount that must be returned by the student and school. The amount of financial aid earned is the percentage of aid earned multiplied by the total amount of aid that was disbursed for the payment period or period of enrollment as of the day the student withdrew.

1. If the day the student withdrew occurs on or before the student completed 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment for which the assistance was awarded, the percentage earned is equal to the percentage of the payment period for which assistance was awarded that was completed.

2. If the day the student withdrew occurs after the student has completed greater than 60 percent of the payment period or period of enrollment, the percentage earned is 100 %.

Following federal policy using the Title IV Fund Worksheet, the percentage of the payment period or period of enrollment completed is determined by calculating the total number of calendar days in the payment period divided into the number of calendar days completed in that period as of the day the student withdrew.

Funds will be returned in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans

2. Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans

3. Direct l/Direct Plus Loans

4. Federal Pell Grants

After R2T4 is done and refunds are made, BHSON completes an institutional refund calculation that determines if the student owes the school any money or if there is an additional refund due. The student is then billed for any amount owed to the school. If there is an additional refund it will be returned to the U.S. Department of Education to reduce Direct loans. It is our policy to follow the same procedure for students graduating with a credit balance. Students will also be notified in writing of any fund changes due to the processed R2T4 calculation.

If a student receives less Title IV funds than the amount earned, the school will offer the student a disbursement of the earned aid that was not received at the time of his/her withdrawal which is a post-withdrawal disbursement. Post-withdrawal disbursements will be made from Pell Grant funds first if eligible. If there are current educational costs still due to the school at the time of withdrawal, a Pell Grant post-withdrawal disbursement will be credited to the student’s account. Any Pell Grant funds in excess of current educational costs will be offered to the student. Any federal loan program funds due in a post-withdrawal disbursement must be offered to the student and the school must receive the student’s permission before crediting their account.

Refunds will be made to the federal programs within 45 days of the student’s date of determination.

Satisfactory Academic Progress SAP for Clock Hours program

FSA policy

To receive federal aid at BHSON, students are required to make academic progress toward completion of the Diploma. Satisfactory progress for a clock hour program is evaluated at the point when a student successfully completes the scheduled clock hours for each payment period. Below are the detailed requirements that must be met and a description of the consequences if they are not met.

This policy applied to all federal and state programs, including Pell Grant, Direct Stafford loans, and Direct Parent PLUS loans. In addition, SH/BHSON applied this policy to determine eligibility for institutional grants and funds.

MEASUREMENTS

To be considered eligible for the financial aid program named above, a student must meet all of the following conditions;

1. Qualitative –Grade Point Average Students must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.3. each payment period, as well as a cumulative GPA or higher

2. Quantitative-Pace of Progress Students must successfully complete at least 67% of their cumulative attempted clock hours to stay on pace with the Maximum Time Frame requirements,​​

Attempted clock hours are the hours a student attends each payment period.

Transfer clock hours are accepted towards the student's program and are included in both the attempted clock hours and completed clock hours.

Excused absences must be made up.

Grades of incomplete are counted as attempted but not completed. If the student subsequently completes the course requirements and wants to request a recalculation of the percentage completed. The student must notify the Financial Aid Office.

3. MAXIMUM TIME FRAME

Students must complete their program requirement within 150% of the time it normally takes to complete the certificate program (as measured in clock hours).

Warning Period

A student who fails to meet either or both the Qualitative and the Quantitative Standards will be given a Warning Period of one payment period. During this period, a student may continue to receive the financial aid for which he/she is otherwise eligible.

Suspension /Termination

A student’s financial aid eligibility will be suspended or terminated if either of the following occurs;

  • Student failed to meet either or both the Qualitative and Quantitative standards by the end of the Warning Period.
  • The student has attempted 150% of the clock hours required for the Diploma Program

Appeal

A student whose financial aid eligibility was terminated may submit an appeal to the Financial Aid Appeal to the Financial aid Officer. Reasons for an appeal may include the death of a relative, injury or illness of the student, or other special circumstances. At a minimum, an appeal must include the following:

A written or typed statement explaining the circumstances contributing to the student’s failure to meet the SAP standards, along with the nature of the circumstances;

Supporting documentation, as appropriate;

A description of what has changed in the student’s situation that would allow the student to meet the SAP requirements at the end of the next payment period.

Probationary Period

A student whose appeal is approved will have financial aid reinstated on a Probationary basis for the one payment period. The student may continue to receive financial aid during the probationary period but must meet the regular SAP standards or be making progress. If the student fails to make academic progress, the student will not be allowed to submit another appeal.

Re-establishing Eligibility

If the student’s appeal is denied or has failed to make progress during the Probationary Period, the student may re-establish his/her financial aid eligibility after meeting the following conditions:

Enroll at the student’s own expense until both the Quantitative and Qualitative SAP standards are met, while not exceeding the Maximum Time Frame.

NOTIFICATION

Students will be sent a notification if his/her status changes as a result of the SAP evaluation.