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Financial Aid Terms and Conditions

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully as they describe the conditions you must meet and maintain in order to be eligible for Federal, State, Institutional and other types of financial aid.

Disbursement of Aid ( View Financial Aid Disbursement Policy)

Your financial aid will be applied electronically to your registration charges approximately ten days prior to the first day of instruction for each semester, unless your awards are finalized after the start of school or have any outstanding requirements. Any excess monies will be refunded to you via paper check (sent through the regular mail) or directly deposited into your bank account (if you signed up for eRefunds through your MyUH Services Portal). Please check HERE for more information on refunds.

Eligible Degree Programs and Courses (View Financial Aid Award Policies)

To receive aid, you must be admitted as classified student in an aid eligible Associate or Certificate Degree Program. If your degree program changes to an ineligible degree program, your financial aid will not disburse or will need to be taken back. Course(s) you enroll in must be required for your degree.

If you are not sure your courses count toward your degree at Leeward CC, we encourage you to:

  1. Use STAR for Student to (1) make sure you are in the right degree and (2) make sure you are registered for courses that apply to your degree.
  2. Meet with your counselor to plan out your pathway and courses. Schedule online at STAR Balance or call us at (808) 455-0233.
Enrollment Level/Attendance (View Financial Aid Award Policies)

Awards are generally based on Full-Time enrollment (12 credits or greater). Awards will be adjusted for lower enrollment levels. If you do not begin attendance or you change your enrollment (add or drop classes) after your aid has been disbursed, you may be required to pay back to the aid programs and/or have an outstanding obligation at the institution.

ENROLLMENT LEVEL TABLE

Enrollment Levels

 Credits Enrolled
Full Time 12 credits or greater
Three Quarter Time 9-11 credits
Half Time 6-8 credits
Less Than Half Time 1-5 credits
Concurrent Enrollment/Distance Education

If you are concurrently enrolled at other University of Hawai‘i campuses, under certain conditions you may be able to receive aid for those courses. All courses will be reviewed for Financial Aid eligibility. You must meet the following conditions:

  • My home campus is Leeward Community College.
  • I am enrolled in an Associate Degree or a financial aid eligible Certificate Program.
  • The courses I plan to take are applicable to my degree program.

If approved:

  • You will be notified by email.
  • Disbursements for approved courses are generally on the first day of instruction of the earliest starting course for the semester, or about a week after approval.
  • You are also responsible for informing the financial aid office of any changes in enrollment (i.e. withdrawals, adds, and/ordrops).
  • All courses that are approved for concurrent enrollment and/or transferred will be calculated into your Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Withdrawing from school (View Return of Title IV Policy)

If you completely withdraw from classes or you begin attendance and do not earn any passing grades, you will be subject to the federal Return to Title IV (R2T4) process. The R2T4 process determines the amount of aid you are eligible to keep; any unearned aid is returned to the US Department of Education.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (View Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy)

To remain eligible for financial aid, you must meet all Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, which include the following:

  1. Earn a minimum 2.0 cumulative financial aid grade point average, and
  2. Pass at least 67% of all attempted credits, and
  3. Be able to graduate within your financial aid time frame.

Your financial aid GPA includes grades from all coursework taken at your current home campus – academic renewals, repeated coursework, administrative withdrawals, etc, do not positively or negatively affect your financial aid GPA. In general, your financial aid time frame is 150% of the required credits to complete your degree (multiply the number of credits required for your degree by 150%.

Other Financial Resources (View Financial Aid Award Policies)

You are required to inform our office if you receive any financial resources from external entities, such as scholarship from clubs or organizations, or other resources not administered by Leeward Community College’s Financial Aid Office. External resources may result in changes to your financial aid offer, but by informing the Financial Aid Office in a timely manner may reduce the likelihood of unexpected aid reductions or balances owed to the institution.

Repeat Coursework

Per Title IV guidelines, you may repeat an applicable course once for financial aid if you previously earned a passing grade. If you did not earn a passing grade, you may receive financial aid for required courses until you do, however you must still meet all minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. All repeat courses will count as credits attempted, which may be different from the institution’s academic progress policy.

IMPORTANT: In regards to repeats, Leeward CC will use your most recent attempted course as your standing grade. If you pass a course the first time, but fail the course the second time, the second attempt will be counted as your grade. You would need to take that course a third time to earn a higher grade to be counted as your most recent attempt. For more information, please click here and see the section titled Grade Point Average When Courses Are Repeated.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by email at lccfao@hawaii.edu or by phone at (808) 455-0606.

Financial Aid Information