My school returned all my federal aid (Pell, Access grant and Stafford loans) in the fall of '08 due to "lack of attendance". My father was in/out of the hospital and it was impossible to attend most of the time - I did take finals but failed all courses. I was notified of this decision in Feb. '09 after just signing a new lease and already attending school that term. It was too late to drop classes without owing the full amount by the time they notified me of this decision (the day before I had a credit of $3000), so instead of receiving money to live on, I owed the school a substantial amount. Thought I could find a job and keep my head above water during the semester, but was unable to find work and got further and further behind on my bills. A job was offered a quite a distance away , so, again did not attend ALL classes, but did all the online classwork in two of the classes and even emailed the professors throughout the courses. Took finals and did not do so well again. I have recently been notified that all federal aid has again been returned due to the professors telling financial aid I had "NEVER attended/participated in ANY classes"! That is simply not true at all. I have emailed the professors numerous times asking them to let the financial aid office know of my attendance and my scores on the tests I took throughout the course. They have failed to do so and have not returned my emails.(I cannot log onto blackboard or view any info due to my balance). My parents have also emailed and called the school to ask to meet regarding this issue, but no return phone calls, nor emails to any of us - from anyone at the school (we tried a student advocate). I was given a deadline to get the information from my professors to them. The decision seems to be made and I am stuck without being able to prove my attendance/participation. I had only one more year to complete my degree, but it will take years to pay off this balance that they are now saying is due, plus the "monthly fee" on that balance!!! Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi, unfortunately if you receive Federal aid you need to follow the school's policies for dropping a class if you think you won't pass it. I know you said you had issues, but it sounds like the school is just following their policies based on the grades reported by the teacher. You can write a letter of appeal to the school...that's probably your best bet. Also go there in person to talk with someone is more effective than waiting for a return call or email. Good luck.

Thank you for your reply. My GPA and attendance is still within the range needed to keep the aid, just have been unable to verify the attendance/participation part of their decision. None of the professors I had are at campus during the summer, so that is why they did not return my emails. Fin. Aid did state that they would reverse this decision if I could prove my attendance/participation during the semester. It has been quite a task finding someone that has access to blackboard to retrieve this, but think now, that the student advocate is contacting the professors to verify the information. I am in hopes of it being resolved soon so I can complete my last year of college. Thank you again for your time. This was a new situation for me.