How Eligibility is determined for TITLE IV, HEA

To be eligible to receive federal student aid, students must meet certain requirements which include, but are not limited to the following:

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Be enrolled or accepted as a regular degree-seeking student in an eligible program

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Be enrolled at least half-time if seeking federal student loans

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U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-citizen

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Have a valid social security number (with the exception of students from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau);

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Must not be in default or overpayment on federal student aid

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Must maintain satisfactory academic progress

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Most male students must be registered with selective service.

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Qualify to study at the postsecondary level by having either a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent.

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Be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program at the time of admission and the Registrar will notify financial aid if the student leaves the program.

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Males (any person assigned the sex of male at birth) that are U.S. Citizens or noncitizens, is required to be registered with Selective Service between the ages of 18 and 25 unless they meet any of the following exemptions:

Male that is in the U.S. as a lawful nonimmigrant as long as he maintains that status;
Males currently in the armed services and on active duty (this exception does not apply to members of the Reserve and National Guard who are not on active duty);
Males who are not yet 18 at the time that they complete their application (an update is not required during the year, even if a student turns 18 after completing the application);
Males born before 1960;
Citizens of the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of Micronesia*;
Noncitizens that first entered the U.S. as lawful non-immigrant on a valid visa and remained in the U.S. on the terms of that visa until after they turned 26.
Transgender males who were assigned the sex of female at birth
Met criteria for the entire time through the age of 25 to qualify for the waiver if:
- Unable to register due to being hospitalized, incarcerated or institutionalized
- Enrolled in any officer procurement program at The Citadel, North Georgia College and State University, Norwich University, Virginia Military Institute Texas A&M University, or Virginia Polytechnic and State University; or
- Commissioned Public Health Service officers on active duty or members of the Reserve of the Public Health Service on specified active duty.

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Sign the certification statement on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form stating that:

Not in default on a federal student loan
You do not owe money on a federal student grant, and
You will use federal student aid only for educational purpose; and
Qualify to study at the postsecondary level by having either a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent by
- having a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent such as a General Educational Development (GED) certificate;
- completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law (or—if state law does not require a homeschooled student to obtain a completion credential—completing a high school education in a homeschool setting that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements under state law); or
- enrolling in an eligible career pathway program and meeting one of the “ability-to-benefit” alternatives described below.

Enrollment Status

The enrollment status of a student may affect eligibility for financial aid, health insurance, housing, loan deferment or other official certifications. The Arkansas Colleges of Health Education defines the enrollment status for graduate and professional students by the below Institutional Enrollment Classification Chart.

Enrollment Classification	Less than 1/2 Time	1/2 Time	3/4 Time	Full-Time
Fall/Spring Credit Hours per Semester	1-4	5-6	7-8	≥9
Summer Credit Hours per Semester	1-2	3	4	≥5

Students who are considering withdrawing or falling below full-time enrollment status should consult the appropriate offices to find out how an enrollment status change could affect eligibility.

Incarcerated Applicants

A student is considered to be incarcerated if she/he is serving a criminal sentence in a federal, state, or local penitentiary, prison, jail, reformatory, work farm, or similar correctional institution (whether it is operated by the government or a contractor). A student is not considered to be incarcerated if she/he is in a halfway house or home detention or is sentenced to serve only weekends. A criminal background check is conducted for all students who are offered admission to the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education and admissions is contingent upon a satisfactory result as determined by each program.

CONVICTION FOR POSSESSION OR SALE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS

A Federal or state drug conviction can disqualify a student for FSA funds. The student self-certifies in applying for aid that he/she is eligible for by using the FAFSA. ARCOM is not required to confirm this unless there is evidence of conflicting information.
The chart below illustrates the period of ineligibility for FSA funds, depending on whether the conviction was for sale or possession and whether the student had previous offenses. (A conviction for the sale of drugs includes conviction for conspiring to sell drugs)

Offense	Possession of Illegal Drugs	Sale of Illegal Drugs
1st Offense	1 year from date of conviction	2 years from date of conviction
2nd Offense	2 years from date of conviction	Indefinite period
3+ Offense	Indefinite period

If a student was convicted of both possessing and selling illegal drugs, and the periods of ineligibility are different the student will be ineligible for the longer period.
A student regains eligibility the day after the period of ineligible ends or when he/she successfully completes a qualified drug rehabilitation program. Further drug conviction will make him/her ineligible again.
When a student regains eligibility during the award year, the institute may award Pell and/or Loan for the current payment period. A qualified drug rehabilitation program must include at least two unannounced drug tests and must satisfy at least one of the following requirements.
- - Be qualified to receive payment directly or indirectly from a federally or state-licensed insurance company.
  - Be qualified to receive funds directly or indirectly from a federal, state or local government program.
  - Be qualified to receive payment directly or indirectly from a federally or state-licensed insurance company.
  - Be administered or recognized by federal, state or local government agency or court.
  - Be administered or recognized by a federally or state-licensed hospital, health clinic or medical doctor.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION (PROVIDED BY SCHOOL)

There is a list of required documentation provided to the student from the school via electronic format through handbooks, catalogs and clinical training manuals at achehealth.edu/student-handbooks/.

FAFSA VERIFICATION

Every year a number of students who are eligible for financial aid are randomly selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education by the FAFSA Central Processing System (CPS). If a student is selected for federal verification, they will be required to complete the verification process for the verification tracking group (V1-V6) they were placed in. Students will be notified by e-mail of required documentation and any other documentation requested to resolve conflicting information. Students/Spouses will be required to submit the documentation that may be required such as: IRS Tax Return Transcript, W-2’s, Statement of Educational Purpose, High School Completion Status, Household Resources, an any other documents requested to resolve conflicting information. After documentation is reviewed, the student will be notified by e-mail if their financial aid award is changed.

Verification exclusions may be exercised at the discretion by the Director of Financial Aid that will documented due to: death of the student, student is not an aid recipient, student is only eligible for unsubsidized student financial assistance, applicant was verified by another school, or student was selected for verification after ceasing to be enrolled at ACHE and all (including late) disbursements were made. The Director of Financial Aid reserves the right to select a student for verification if discrepancies may seem to exist.

Documentation may not be required if information reported on FAFSA is believed to be accurate for the spouse of an independent student in certain circumstances. These circumstances for the spouse would be: death, mentally incapacitated, resides in a country other than the United States and can’t be contacted by normal means or can’t be located because the student doesn’t have and is unable to receive their spouse’s contact information.

Timeline

Students who are required to complete verification or have conflicting information must submit all requested documentation to the ACHE Office of Financial Aid within 30 days prior to the end of the payment period.  The Director of Financial Aid may elect to extend this date if a student will still be eligible for aid. Students who are found to be eligible for aid will be provided an Estimated Financial Aid Offer. Students who are found to be ineligible for aid will be notified accordingly.

Additional eligibility requirements can apply in certain situations including for non-U.S. citizens, students with criminal convictions and students with intellectual disabilities which can be found at studentaid.gov.