Awarding Title IV Aid

The Pell Grant Program is a federally funded grant program, which, for the 2024-2025 academic year provides up to $7,395 to full time postsecondary students and up to $3,698 to postsecondary students who are enrolled at least half time. The purpose of the program is to provide a foundation of aid to needy students. SWTC awards federal financial aid according to federal regulations and guidelines. The method of computation is applied to all dependent and independent students uniformly.

Award Year/Academic Year

Funding for Pell Grant programs is provided based on an award year basis. The award year begins on July 1 st of one year and extends to June 30th of the next year. An academic year at SWTC is one in which a student completes a minimum of 30 weeks and 900 hours of instruction. For Pell Grant payments to students, an academic year of 900 hours/30 weeks (with a payment period of 450 hours/15 weeks) is applicable to Career Options/Programs that are 900 hours or greater. For Career Options that are less than 900 hours, the payment period is one half of the total hours and one half of the total weeks of the Career Option.

SAI Formula

The Student Aid Index (SAI) is the amount a family can be expected to contribute toward a student’s college costs. Financial aid administrators determine an applicant’s need for federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources of assistance by subtracting the SAI from the student’s cost of attendance. The SAI formula is used to determine the SAI and ultimately determine the need for aid from the following types of federal assistance that SWTC participates in: Federal Pell Grants and Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grants (OTAG). The methodology for determining the SAI is found in Part F of the Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

All data used to calculate a student’s SAI comes from the information the student provides on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which is submitted to the Central Processing System (CPS) for processing. The CPS sends either an electronic or paper output document called a Student Aid Report (FAFSA SUBMISSION SUMMARY) to the student. The FAFSA SUBMISSION SUMMARY lists the student’s SAI. All schools listed on the student’s FAFSA will receive application information and processing results in an electronic file called an Institutional Student Informational Record (ISIR).

There are three regular (full-data) formulas – (A) for the dependent student, (B) for the independent student without dependents other than a spouse, and (C) for the independent student with dependents other than a spouse. Also, there is a simplified version of each formula with fewer data elements.

Additional information regarding SAI formulas, accompanying worksheets, and tables are available upon request from the Financial Aid Office.

Steps in Computing the Pell Grant Award

There are five steps in computing a Pell Grant

• Determination of Cost of Attendance

• Determination of Scheduled Award

• Determination of Payment Periods

• Determination of Payment for each Payment Period

• Determination of Total Expected Disbursement

The method of computation is applied to all dependent and independent students uniformly.

The Financial Aid Coordinator determines if all application requirements have been met. If so, she uses the ISIR and the current Pell Grant Payment Schedule to determine the scheduled Pell Award and estimated disbursement. The specific computations involved in the calculation may be obtained in the Financial Aid Office.

Living Costs

SWTC does not offer institutional housing or board to its students. All students live off campus and commute. For purposes of awarding Title IV need-based assistance, the school estimates reasonable expenses over a nine-month period for the following categories of students.

Cost of Attendance/Budget Allocations

The student's Cost of Attendance includes institutional charges such as tuition, books, supplies, and fees, in addition to student expenses that are not payable to SWTC. Additional student expenses are estimated using documentation provided by and based on the Oklahoma Department of Commerce Consumer Price Index dated December 2022 from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Student's may request a breakdown of the cost of attendance from the Financial Aid Office.

Student Additional Expense Budget per the Consumer Price Index

Coding on Pell Payment Document Using Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)

SWTC uses EdExpress in submitting Pell Origination and Pell Disbursement Records. This system also conducts edit checks to make sure necesFAFSA Submission Summaryy information is submitted. This information is exported to the Department of Education. The Department processes it and returns it back to SWTC to import from EdConnect, the federal electronic mailbox.

Determination of Cost of Attendance

Pell Grant ‘Cost of Attendance’ (COA) is used to determine Pell Grant payments to students. Cost of attendance for purposes of the Pell Grant is the cost of tuition and fees for a full-time student for a full academic year plus an allowance for room and board, books, supplies, transportation and personal expenses incurred by the student for a full academic year.

Determination of Scheduled Award and Annual Award

The ‘Scheduled Award’ is the maximum amount a student can receive during an award year, if he/she attends full-time for a full academic year. The ‘Annual Award’ is the maximum amount a student can receive during a full academic year for a given enrollment status, number of clock hours, SAI, and COA. Once the Pell Cost of Attendance is determined, the Financial Aid Coordinator determines the scheduled award based on the full-time regular payment schedule for Pell Grants for the award year issued by the U.S. Department of Education. The full-time chart is always used regardless of the student’s actual enrollment status. The Financial Aid Coordinator then determines the student’s annual award based on enrollment status and clock hours.

Tuition/Fees

Tuition cost is $2.50 per hour for in-district adults and is $5.00 per hour for out-of-district adults. For Practical Nursing tuition and fees, please see the section below. Tuition and fees for each career option are given on program sheets located in the Administrative/Business Offices, the Counselors’ Office, and may be viewed online at www.swtech.edu.

Tuition/Fees for the Practical Nursing Program

Tuition and fees for Practical Nursing are $6864.04 for in-district adults and $10221.54 for outofdistrict adults. These costs include tuition and fees paid to SWTC for Practical Nursing. Student is required to have a personal device compatible with online curriculum required in the program. SWTC will offer compatible devices for resale to students at the school’s cost. Student’s must commit to this purchase at the December LPN meeting in order to allow time to order devices. Devices will be required the first week of class. Students are responsible for uniforms in addition to these costs. The tuition for the Practical Nursing Program is divided into three tuition payment periods.

Practical Nursing fees may vary for each student depending on what the student may already have available to them. Students will not be required to buy items/supplies that they already own if the items/supplies are deemed sufficient for use in the program and are approved as such by the Practical Nursing Director/Instructor. Differences in fees will be approved by the Practical Nursing Director/Instructor and will be documented for each student. Please see Practical Nursing information in the Practical Nursing Handbook in the Nursing Office or the Administrative/Business office, contact the Practical Nursing Administrative Assistant or Coordinator at 580-480-4724, or view the information online at www.swtech.edu.

Pell Grant Disbursement Worksheet and Calendar

To facilitate Pell Grant calculations, a Pell Grant Disbursement Worksheet and Calendar have been developed at SWTC. The procedures for using this worksheet are as follows

• The Financial Aid Coordinator completes the top portion with student's name, career option, dependency status, district status, and dates of attendance.

• The Financial Aid Coordinator completes the appropriate cost of attendance.

• The Financial Aid Coordinator determines the payment periods, classifies payment periods into award years and shows the expected disbursement for each payment period in the award year.

• The Financial Aid Coordinator adds the expected disbursement for each payment period to determine total expected disbursement.

This sheet becomes a part of the student's file and serves as both a worksheet and support to assist the aid Coordinator in calculations concerning days attended, why a student received a particular award, etc.

Determination of Pell Payment Periods, Including Crossover Periods and Year-Round Pell

The Financial Aid Coordinator determines if the disbursement is an initial (first received) Pell disbursement. Students are paid the first time based on their enrollment and good standing if an ISIR is received prior to the end of student's first pay period. Disbursements thereafter are based on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and upon completion of the hours in the student's previous pay period. The Financial Aid Coordinator consults a calendar sheet and ascertains the beginning and ending dates of each payment period. She then determines in which award year each payment period belongs. An award year is defined as July 1st of one year to June 30* of the next year. Beginning with the 2017-18 award year, eligible students (enrolled in a career major of more than 900 hours) may receive up to 150% of their scheduled Pell award with the implementation of Year-Round Pell.

Determination of Payment Per Payment Period

For each payment period classified as being part of the current award year, the formula for determining payments are clock hours in the payment period multiplied by the scheduled award from full time payment chart and divided by hours in the academic year.

Determination of Total Expected Disbursement for Regular Students

The total expected disbursement is the sum of expected disbursements for all payment periods classified as belonging to the current award year.

Transfer Students and Determination of Award Disbursement

A student who has received a Pell Grant from another school in the current award year is a Transfer Student. The Financial Aid Coordinator will consult NSLDS and determine the scheduled award and disbursement. A student may receive only one federal Pell Grant award during a single award year if the eligible student is enrolled at least half-time and is in a program in which the career option leads to a certificate. The expected disbursement at the second school may have to be adjusted to avoid overawarding a transfer student. To determine the percentage of the Scheduled Pell Award received at previous school: Divide the amount the student received at the previous school by the student's Scheduled Award at that school. Subtract this percentage from 100 percent and multiply by the Scheduled Award at SWTC. The result is the maximum amount of Pell Grant Award that the student generally may receive at SWTC.

If a student transfers from one program/career option to another at SWTC, in order for that student to be considered in the same payment period, the program/career option hours that the student is transferring must be accepted toward the new program/career option.

Advanced Standing Credit/Prior Credit and Determination of Award Disbursement

Students enrolling at SWTC who have previous educational experiences will be asked to provide a transcript indicating both courses taken and grades received at previous institutions. Students with previous military service will also be asked to provide JST, CCAF, VMET, AARTS, SMART, CGI, and/or CCAR transcripts.

The Student Services Director will meet with the instructor and student either prior to enrollment or at the beginning of his career option to determine what, if any, credit will be applicable to the career option at SWTC. For evaluation purposes the Student Service Director will keep in mind the timeliness of the training, the pertinence to the courses in the career option, and the changes that may have taken place in business and industry since the training was received.

After a thorough discussion between the student and instructor, the Student Services Director may choose to make contact with the previous institution, may issue a performance test, or may determine that credit is applicable with no further investigation. The student will be informed of the Student Services Director's decision within five school days after reviewing the student's prior educational training or experience. If the Student Services Director decides to grant credit for the previous training or experience, the student will receive Advanced Standing Credit (ASC) in the program/ career option.

Advanced Standing Credit can also be issued to SWTC students who complete one career option at SWTC and then enroll in another, or those who may change from one career option to another. In order for credit from one program/career option to be transferred to another program/career option at SWTC, the new career option into which credit is being transferred should have courses that are applicable to the new career option and are in the same scope and sequence.

The financial aid recipient's hours for their program/career option and their financial aid award will be adjusted accordingly by the Financial Aid Coordinator for the Advanced Standing Credit. If prior or advanced standing credit is granted to a student for previous educational or training experiences, such credit will be documented in the student's file, and the student will not be charged tuition or fees for the advanced standing credit hours, nor will he/she receive any additional financial aid for those hours.

Post Military Education and Advanced Standing Credit

The Board of Education at SWTC recognizes that service members acquire knowledge and skills during military duty and has established procedures which permit veterans to attain advanced academic standing linked to military service or other education, training or experience. In order to be considered for an award of education credit at the technology center, an applicant must have been honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces within three (3) years from the date of enrollment at the technology center.

In accordance with the Post-Military Service Occupation, Education and Credentialing Act, SWTC will award appropriate academic credit in its education programs consistent with the experience, education and training of military personnel. SWTC will compare the applicant's education, training, and experience with the requirements of the applicant's proposed program of study. The applicant is responsible for supplying the requisite information and records essential to any award of credit. SWTC will utilize the Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services (published by the American Council on Education) to make this analysis and determine appropriate credit to be awarded. The process of awarding credit for military experience shall be conducted in a manner similar to the review process for transfer of education credits earned at another institution. The decision of the technology center regarding an award of credit is a final decision that is not subject to appeal.

VA Educational Assistance Beneficiaries Policies

Students receiving U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) educational benefits while attending SWTC are charged the same tuition and fees as all other students and are expected to follow the same policies and procedures as all other students including attendance policies and leave of absence policies (which provide for military duty) detailed in this handbook. They are also expected to follow the same policies and procedures as financial aid students concerning Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP - maintain a cumulative grade of 70% "C" or greater, 150% pace of completion, and maintain 90% attendance) as detailed in this handbook.

For VA students, the school maintains a refund policy under the provisions of Title 38 that provides a refund for the unused pro-rated portion of tuition in the event that the VA student fails to enter the course, withdraws, or discontinues enrollment prior to 60% of the semester/ trimester. If a tuition paying student is dropped or withdraws prior to attending 60% of a semester/trimester, that student will be given a refund based on actual hours attended. Conversely, a student who withdraws after attending 60% of the semester/trimester will not be entitled to a refund. Students may be in debt for early withdrawal or incompletion. This policy provides that the amount charged to the Title 38 VA student for tuition for a portion of the course shall not exceed the approximate pro-rata portion of the course’s total length up to 60% of the semester/trimester. Refunds must be completed within 40 days per the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 21.4255.

Per VA regulations, the attendance and academic progress of each VA student will be reviewed by the instructor and Financial Aid Coordinator at the end of nine week period. VA students who do not meet SAP requirements will be placed on VA mandated academic probation for 30 days and the VA will be notified of this action. While on academic probation, every effort will be made to help the student meet the attendance and minimum grade requirements. VA educational benefits will be terminated if the student does not meet the minimum academic progress standards at the end of the probationary period per VA regulations. During a leave of absence, VA benefits will be suspended per VA regulations as well.

As noted in the ‘Financial Assistance Programs Available’ section of this handbook, students utilizing VA educational benefits must provide a DD214, a VA Certificate of Eligibility, and all transcripts and records of previous training. Please see the ‘Prior Credit/Advanced Standing Credit’ and ‘Post Military Education and Advanced Standing Credit’ sections of this handbook for detailed information on the evaluation and determination of prior credit process. Documentation of all records will be maintained by the school and kept in the student’s file in the Financial Aid Office and may be provided to the student as requested.

Financial Aid Shopping Sheet

In carrying out Executive Order 13607, Principles of Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and Family Members, SWTC commits to voluntarily provide a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet to veterans and service members who are considering enrollment at SWTC to provide a personalized financial aid offer to help them as prospective students better understand the cost of attending school, the type and amount of aid they have qualified for, and an easy comparison of aid packages offered by different educational institutions before making a final decision to enroll.

Course Repetitions and Determination of Award Disbursement

Students wanting to repeat a specific program/career option must have permission of the Student Services Director and Chief Operations Officer to do so. NOTE: A repeated class is NOT eligible for a federal financial aid award.

Award Notification

If a student meets all eligibility requirements and all required documentation is received (including verification documents if necesFAFSA Submission Summaryy) and the student’s financial aid file is complete, then the amount of the grant will be calculated by the Financial Aid Office according to federal regulations. The student will then receive an award notice that contains the amount of the Pell Grant they are expected to receive for that academic year, along with disbursement procedures. The student will be contacted by the Financial Aid Office to complete the necesFAFSA Submission Summaryy paperwork and sign their Pell Award Form/Contract. Awarded Pell Checks will be distributed from the Administrative office directly to students with proper identification or through certified mail if direct contact is not available on a timely basis.

Student Right-to-Know and Responsibilities of Financial Aid Recipients

The following information can be found in the Student policies and Consumer Information Handbook and online at www.swtech.edu. Paper copies of all information are available upon request from the Financial Aid Office.

Student Right-to-Know

• The institution's accrediting and licensing organizations

• All programs offered and detailed information regarding each program of interest

• Information

  about the school

• Information on the school's admissions policy

• Cost of Attendance

• Information on financial aid, including eligibility, application, and methods of disbursement

• Information on a consistent needs analysis system to evaluate families in an equitable manner

• Information on students' rights under FERPA

• How Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is determined, including eligibility and appeals

• The institution's refund policy and Return to Title IV policy

• The institution's annual Campus Security Report

• Completion/Graduation, Retention, and Placement Rates

• Drug and alcohol policies

• Gainful Employment

• Net Price Calculator

• Grievance Procedures

• Copyright Infringement, Constitution Day, Voter Registration, & Vaccination Policies

Student Responsibilities

• Complete the required paperwork requested by the Financial Aid Office

• Use financial aid funds for school related expenses

• Be aware that grant or scholarship amounts received in excess of qualified educational expenses could be subject to taxation
  Report all outside aid to the Financial Aid Office
  Students, as well as parents, have a responsibility to help pay for their education Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

• Report changes in enrollment to the Administrative/Business Office and the Financial Aid Office

• Notify the Financial Aid Office before withdrawing

• Return to Title IV any received funds the student is determined ineligible for

• Read directions thoroughly, complete all applications accurately, & comply with all deadlines O If you don't understand the financial aid process, ask questions