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Sources of Federal and Department of Education’s regulatory guidelines and references consulted in compiling this document: A Guide to Creating Policies and Procedure Manual (IFAP) Common Manual Code of Federal Regulations Merryfield Academy Catalog 2013 Federal Student Aid Handbook ISIR Guide NSLDS User’s Guide The Audit Guide The Blue Book Fundamentals of Federal Student Aid Administration Guide Get Educated.com

Acronyms for Terms Associated with Merryfield Academy AGI – Adjusted Gross Income C-Code – Comment Code CFR– Code of Federal Regulation COA – Cost of Attendance COD – Common Origination & Disbursement CIE – Commission of Independent Education CPS – Central Processing System DL – Direct Loan DOE – Department of Education DRN – Data Release Number ED – Department of Education EFA – Estimated Financial Assistance EFC – Expected Family Contribution EFT – Electronic Funds Transfer E-Signature – Electronic Signature FAA – Financial Aid Administrator/Advisor FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid FERPA – Family Educational Rights and […]

Default Prevention Goal It is the goal of Merryfield to maintain a default rate under 10%. It is the practice of Merryfield Academy that all students conduct entrance counseling for first time borrowers before releasing the first disbursement of a Title IV loan to the borrower. Merryfield Academy partially relies on entrance counseling as a default prevention strategy. The financial aid office at Merryfield Academy also ensures that all students are provided with a comprehensive information packet about the loan terms, conditions and their rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Prior to the borrower’s leaving school, the financial aid office […]

Voluntary Withdraw: Students who have voluntarily withdrawn from the school or who were terminated for reasons other than failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress may apply for re-admission to the School Director. If approved for re-admission the student must sign a new enrollment agreement and will start in the next scheduled start date and will return in the same status as prior to withdrawal or termination. The point in time that a student returns to school will depend on the previous class training that the school credits the student. Note: Circumstances related to the typical adjustment to college life such […]

Overpayments for which Merryfield Academy is responsible Merryfield is liable for any amount of a Pell Grant, (including amounts under $25. If Merryfield is responsible, we will make the following adjustments on pell grant by making a downward adjustment to the student’s award in our third party software to be reported to COD, and have our third party servicer return the funds for us through G5, or disburse them to another eligible student. Merryfield may attempt to collect from a student funds it has returned. However, this is not an FSA debt, because an overpayment for which Merryfield is responsible […]

What is a Leave of Absence? A leave of absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s program of study. A leave of absence must meet certain conditions, for it not to be considered a withdrawal which requires Return Calculation. Merryfield has a published LOA policy, which states that all requests for leave of absence must be submitted in writing, including reason for request to the Registrar or a designated administrative staff for approval. An approved leave of absence cannot exceed 180 days within a 12-month period. The effects of failure to return from leave will have on the […]

Disbursing FSA Funds Merryfield uses Financial Aid Management for Education (FAME) a third party servicer to request Title IV funds from G5; once the funds have been requested through G5 automated system, the funds will be deposited to Merryfield federal account and it is the responsibility of Merryfield’s business office to draw down the funds and transfer it to the operating account within three business days to avoid excess cash on the account. The funds will then be posted to the students’ ledger to offset the funds received. Once the funds have been posted to the ledger, the business office […]

Entrance counseling is an integral process a student must do before his or loans can be disbursed. It is about student loan borrowing and indebtedness, this process is normally conducted with our students before they borrow any student loans, materials are given to all potential borrowers. All enrolled students at Merryfield that will be receiving financial aid, is required to complete this step of enrollment. Students are directed at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/index.action to complete the process. Once completed, it will be printed and placed in the student’s file. Who is required to complete Entrance Counseling? First Time student borrowers and Graduate PLUS […]

The 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) WHAT IS IT? The 1974 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 20 U.S.C. 1232(g), as amended, also known as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law  that protects the privacy of a student’s educational record. FERPA applies to all educational institutions receiving funds from the United States Department of Education, from kindergarten through university level. At Merryfield Academy, the privacy of academic records is protected by Section 1002.22 of the Florida Statutes. The U.S. Department of Education and Florida law summarizes the rights afforded to students by FERPA as follow: The […]

Privacy and Respect of Diversity at Merryfield Diversity is a multidimensional, all-encompassing concept that recognizes and embraces the richness of human differences. As a practical matter, it is important that Merryfield Academy define diversity with sufficient clarity, given the inherent obscurity of the term and the frequently misinformed discussions that surround it. The term “diversity” is not a code for race, ethnicity, or gender by themselves. While Merryfield school board’s concept of diversity may include these factors, it is far more inclusive, surrounding significant qualities and capabilities that can influence learning in and out of the classroom. Merryfield Academy’s Workplace […]