Policies and Procedures

POLICY 5340A:
SHORT-TERM LOANS TO STUDENTS

The College provides a limited loan program for full and part time students who need a short term emergency loan to cover unforeseen expenses related to the cost of attendance. Funds for these loans cannot come from Current or General Operations Revenues.

Adopted March 9, 1983
Revised May 26, 1988
Revised July 26, 1990
Revised June 26, 1997

PROCEDURE 5340A:
SHORT-TERM LOANS TO STUDENTS

The College has a limited loan program available to WWCC students for unforeseen expenses related to the student's cost of attendance. The Director of the Financial Aid Office administers the disbursement and collection of these loans.

Eligible Students

Students enrolled in at least six credits, making satisfactory progress, and having a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 2.00 may apply for this loan.

The student must be legally able to sign a contract, i.e., over 18 years of age and a citizen of the United States. Students unable to legally sign must have a legal co-signer.

Full-time employees of the College are not eligible for these loans.

Amount of Loan

Students may borrow not less than $25 nor more than $500 at any one time. Students who have an outstanding institutional loan are not eligible to borrow under this program until the outstanding loan is paid in full, nor can they borrow to pay off an institutional loan. In addition, the total of all institutional loans granted to any individual student may not exceed $700 during his or her cumulative period of attendance at the College. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Vice President for Student Success Services upon the recommendation of the Director of Financial Aid.

Approving Loans

The Director approves loans according to established criteria and availability of funds. No loans, however, will be approved during the last 30 days of an academic year and no loans will be approved with due dates past the last day of any semester.

Loans may be approved based upon the emergency nature of the request. Reasonable requests might include unforeseen expenses directly associated with the costs of attendance, and other unforeseen "emergency expenses" or requests as approved by the Director. This program is not intended to bridge gaps between disbursements. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the Vice President for Student Success Services upon the recommendation of the Director of Financial Aid.

Loans are not generally approved when other financial aid resources are available.

The Director of Financial Aid will first determine if sufficient funds to cover the loan are available and then evaluate the student's need for the loan according to established criteria. These criteria include:

Applicant's use of the loan for living expenses or for his/her education.
Emergency and unforeseen nature of the request.
Applicant's proposed method of repaying the loan, typically through approved but undisbursed financial aid,
Availability of other sources of funds.
Applicant's history of payment or repayment.

If the Director refuses a loan, the Director will provide the reason to the applicant.

Collecting the Loan

Loans will be repaid according to the conditions noted on the promissory note.

Requests for extensions are referred to the Director of financial Aid. The Director may grant a forbearance.

When a student defaults, the loan will be referred to a collection agency; the borrower is the responsible for the principal, the accrued interest, the late charges, and the collection fees. If a lawsuit is necessary to collect the loan, the borrower is responsible for the attorney and court fees, as well.

If a student defaults, the College will withhold grades, transcripts, and/or graduation certificates. The College will retain any cash deposits or other credits including earnings, to apply toward the loan payment.

Adopted March 9, 1983
Revised May 26, 1988
Revised July 26, 1990
Revised June 26, 1997