Financial Aid Policies for Graduate Students

Securing the Financial Aid Offered

The financial aid award notification provides information about the source and amount of financial aid funds that a student has been awarded. While the college assumes that students will accept scholarships, students who wish to borrow any of the loan funds offered on their award notification will need to complete some additional steps:

• Review the information on the “Loan Information and Processing” page to learn more about specific programs; and
• Secure the loan funds by completing the requirements on the “Securing Your Aid: Required Next Steps” page. 

Note: In order to ensure that financial aid funds are available on the first day of the semester, all steps for securing aid should be completed no later than one month prior to your enrollment.

Withdrawal Policy

Registered students who completely withdraw from all classes after the start of the semester may be eligible for a recalculation of College charges in accordance with College policy. Students must initiate formal withdrawal in the Graduate Registrar’s Office in order for this refund calculation to occur. Please refer to the College catalog for specific information regarding withdrawal policies and procedures. Separate calculations will be done to determine how much institutional and federal aid a student is eligible to retain in light of the withdrawal. Federal regulations may require a recalculation of federal aid eligibility if a student withdraws from, drops, or does not begin attendance in scheduled coursework that is offered in a modular format.  Modular courses are those which do not span the length of the semester.  In addition, a recalculation of aid eligibility may be required for students who cease enrollment during the semester, but who have not gone through the official withdrawal process.  Please contact our office for additional information on the impact withdrawing from the College will have on financial aid eligibility.

Release of Financial Aid Records & Information

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) Part 99, federal regulations prohibit us from discussing financial aid information with other persons (including parents or a spouse) without an enrolled student’s written permission. Personally identifiable information, other than items classified as directory information by the College, is protected. For the purpose of releasing this information to specific individuals, organizations, or agencies, we require enrolled students to sign a release form available in our office or from our website. To protect students’ personal information, when our office communicates with enrolled students via email we will only use the student’s Lewis & Clark e-mail address. Additional information regarding FERPA and campus FERPA policies is available in the College catalog and from the Registrar’s Office. Copies of the act can be viewed online at the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

Disbursement of Aid

Financial aid will be disbursed to student accounts to be used to address charges incurred, such as tuition and fees. Financial aid funds cannot be applied until the appropriate paperwork has been completed and the funds are received. Aid applied to a student account that exceeds the amount a student has been charged may be refunded to the student. Refunds will be processed by Student & Departmental Account Services after the first day of classes in each term, and only when a credit actually exists on a student account. Refunds must be used to cover education-related expenses such as off-campus living expenses, transportation, and/or books and supplies.

Financial Aid Award Revisions

Should the information used to determine eligibility for financial aid change, a revision to the financial aid award may be required. A revised award notification, which supersedes any previous award notification received by the student, will then be issued. Carefully review any revised award notification to determine if additional action is necessary to secure funding. Changes in awards are subject to availability of funding. Please note that financial aid revisions can occur any time new information is provided to our office, even after funds have been disbursed. Situations that may prompt a financial aid award revision and should promptly be reported include:

• Change in Enrollment Status - If a student drops below half-time enrollment, eligibility for aid will be reviewed. Students must be enrolled at least half-time during each semester to be considered for Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized, Perkins, and Graduate PLUS Loan funds. Students should contact us if their enrollment plans change as that may result in a change in eligibility.

• Receipt of Additional Assistance including External Resources - Aid received from sources inside or outside Lewis & Clark such as scholarships, loans, tuition waivers, or educational benefits can impact a student’s eligibility for other aid programs.

• Verification Changes - The College is required to make corrections to inaccurate information discovered through the verification process and to use the verified information when determining a student’s eligibility for financial aid. Significant corrections to a student’s original information may cause a change in eligibility and result in a revised award notification.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

College policy and federal regulations require that students make adequate progress toward their intended degrees if they wish to maintain eligibility for financial aid. To retain financial aid, students must:

• Maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 at all times.
• Maintain a pace of course completion of at least 67%.  Pace is federally defined as cumulative hours completed divided by the cumulative hours attempted.

Students can attempt no more than 150% of the total number of credits in their program.

Compliance with this policy will be monitored annually. Students who have not met the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements will be invited to submit a petition letter requesting reinstatement of their financial aid eligibility.

Failure to meet terms of policy

• If a student fails to meet the terms of policy, aid eligibility is rescinded.
• Students whose aid has been suspended may petition for reinstatement. 
• If a petition is granted, the student is placed on Financial Aid Probation for one semester. The student must then meet terms of policy or be following the agreed upon academic plan at the end of the semester to continue receiving aid.

Transfer Credit

Based on institutional academic policy, grades for transfer credit do not count toward the student’s cumulative GPA at Lewis & Clark and therefore do not count toward the qualitative component of the SAP policy.

Credits accepted for transfer credit by Lewis & Clark will count both as hours earned and hours attempted when calculating the student’s pace of completion to evaluate the quantitative component of the SAP policy.

Unsatisfactory completion of a course

At the time when compliance with the SAP policy is monitored, courses in which grades of W, I, F, No Credit or No Grade are assigned will be counted as credits attempted, but not earned and will affect the pace of completion calculation.

Department of Counseling Psychology

Professional Mental Health Counseling (MA, M.S.)

Incoming students attending two semesters in the first year of the program are awarded aid on the assumption that they will enroll in 15 credits during the academic year. Students have a maximum of 8 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy (MA, M.S.)

Incoming students attending two semesters in the first year of the program are awarded aid on the assumption that they will enroll in 20 credits during the academic year. Students have a maximum of 9 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

School Psychology (Ed.S.)

Incoming students attending two semesters in the first year of the program are awarded aid on the assumption that they will enroll in 21 credits over the course of the academic year. Students have a maximum of 8 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

Professional Mental Health Counseling—Addictions (MA, M.S.)

Incoming students attending two semesters in the first year of the program are awarded aid on the assumption that they will enroll in 13 credits over the course of the academic year. Students have a maximum of 8 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

Department of Educational Leadership

Educational Leadership (MEd, Ed.S.)

Incoming students are required to submit an individual academic plan, signed by their advisor that outlines their intended coursework over the course of their first academic year in the program. Financial aid will be awarded based on this academic plan. Educational Administration students have a maximum of 6 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

Educational Leadership (Ed.D., Ed.S.)

Incoming students attending three semesters in the first year of the program will be awarded aid on the assumption that they will enroll in 15 credits over the course of the academic year. Students have a maximum of 9 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

School Counseling (MEd)

Incoming students enrolling for two semesters in an academic year will be awarded aid on the assumption that they will enroll in 19 credits over the course of the academic year. School Counseling students have a maximum of 6 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

Department of Teacher Education

Pre-Service Teacher Education (MAT.)

Incoming students typically enroll in 32-37 credits during the first academic year and will be awarded aid based on expected enrollment for their cohort. MAT Pre-Service students have a maximum of 4 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

In-Service Teacher Education (MEd)

Incoming students are required to submit an individual academic plan, signed by their advisor that outlines their intended coursework over the course of their first academic year. Financial aid will be awarded based on this academic plan. MAT In-Service students have a maximum of 8 semesters (or until degree requirements are met, whichever is earlier) of financial aid eligibility.

Taxability of Grants & Scholarships

Due to the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-514), scholarships and grants received in a calendar (as opposed to academic) year by a student in excess of tuition and books (including required equipment and supplies) for that calendar year are subject to federal income tax. The excess amount needs to be reported as income. Earnings from student employment (including FWS) are taxable as wages. Student loans are not covered by these provisions of the tax law. Since students are required to report taxable awards to the IRS as income, they should keep a detailed record of their expenses. Housing and food are considered non-exempt, so scholarships and grants spent on these items are subject to income tax. The College is not responsible for notifying students of the taxable amounts of grants and scholarships. The Financial Aid Office cannot serve as a tax consultant or adviser but detailed information concerning the taxability of scholarships and grants can be found in IRS Publication 970 Tax Benefits for Education, on www.irs.gov, or by consulting a personal tax adviser.

Student Right to Know

Federal regulations state that all prospective and current students have a right to know specific information about the college they are considering or currently attending. The following table lists a number of topics and where one can obtain the appropriate information at Lewis & Clark College:

General College Information: Course catalog, Graduate Registrar or Admissions Offices, Online – lclark.edu

Financial Aid: Course catalog, Financial Aid Office, Online – go.lclark.edu/fao

Refund Policy: Course catalog, Student and Departmental Account Services, Financial Aid Office, Online – lclark.edu

Completion or Graduation Rates: Graduate Registrar’s Office, Institutional Research, Online – lclark.edu

Transfer Out Rates: Graduate Registrar’s Office, Online - graduate.lclark.edu/offices/registrar

Campus Security Report: Campus Safety Office, Online - lclark.edu/about/campus_safety

Career Exploration, Internships, and Career Advising, Job-Hunting Assistance: Career & Licensing Services, Online - graduate.lclark.edu/career_and_licensing