Fox Valley Technical College

I received information on 9/23/2015 about this issue from [redacted], Director of Student Financial Services at Fox Valley Technical College.  She was surprised to receive the complaint, as she just had met with [redacted] the day before and provided the same information.  [redacted] had indicated...

then that she was/is willing to work with [redacted], but he had not made any requests for any different arrangements.I will preface the remainder of my response here with this:  absolutely everything that is done by any college with regard to financial aid is subjected to stringent regulations from the U.S Department of Education.  Aside from the stringent guidelines, colleges are audited annually, and even the tiniest discrepancies are identified and must be rectified.  I say this for two reasons - first, as [redacted] alleged, the refund of the loans were done "without notice to him" - we are required to provide and each student is required to sign off on paperwork to accept the loans.  All of the stipulations are outlined in this paperwork, and while I understand that students may not read it, a significant amount of notice is indeed provided.  Second, FVTC must account for every nickel of federal financial aid money.  Again, I realize that students may not comprehend all of the details, but it is simply not possible for a college to not account for $1,000.  These details were shared with the student, there are no missing funds, and [redacted] would be happy to share them again with him, we know it is a complex landscape.  With regard to [redacted]'s individual situation, we are made aware of any discrepancies, including enrollment at two colleges, by the Department of Education.  Unless the student tells us, we have no way of knowing if a student is enrolled elsewhere until the Dept. of Ed. provides that notification.  With that said, FVTC was notified well after the spring term that [redacted] had received funds from Mid-State Technical College.  The amount that he received from Mid-State put him at the maximum allowable Pell Grant amount of $10,500 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015.  This meant that $2,230 needed to be returned to the federal government, which came out of [redacted]'s account since he had received an over-payment.  [redacted] was provided with several options for repayment to the College, but did not ask [redacted] for an option that would allow no payment until February.  I have received the indication from [redacted] that she will work with [redacted] to ensure that no collection proceedings will occur prior to February of 2016, which is his request here.  [redacted] should contact [redacted] directly at ###-###-#### to make these arrangements.  Please note:  the arrangements are not finalized until he makes the contact with [redacted].

Review: I was a student at FVTC. I received student loans. The issue is that I was a student at another school at the same time, and received student loans as well through them. I was recently made aware of the fact that FVTC over-awarded me due to this dual enrollment. I was not at any point made aware that this process would take place.

Subsequently, FVTC states it has without notice to me, refunded my loan provider $2,230. I contacted them and they were only able to locate around 1300 in refunds; 1,000 is unaccounted for.

Beyond this, FVTC is threatening me with collection, and long term damage to my credit if this money is not repaid in a timely manner. I

FVTC failed to mitigate damages, and follow federal regulation by over awarding me loans. They are now causing damages to myself due to their negligence.Desired Settlement: 1. Written documentation of the amount in full has in fact been refunded.

2. Deferral of monies owed until February, 2016 with no holds to my student records, or referral to collection.

Business

Response:

I received information on 9/23/2015 about this issue from [redacted], Director of Student Financial Services at Fox Valley Technical College. She was surprised to receive the complaint, as she just had met with [redacted] the day before and provided the same information. [redacted] had indicated then that she was/is willing to work with [redacted], but he had not made any requests for any different arrangements.I will preface the remainder of my response here with this: absolutely everything that is done by any college with regard to financial aid is subjected to stringent regulations from the U.S Department of Education. Aside from the stringent guidelines, colleges are audited annually, and even the tiniest discrepancies are identified and must be rectified. I say this for two reasons - first, as [redacted] alleged, the refund of the loans were done "without notice to him" - we are required to provide and each student is required to sign off on paperwork to accept the loans. All of the stipulations are outlined in this paperwork, and while I understand that students may not read it, a significant amount of notice is indeed provided. Second, FVTC must account for every nickel of federal financial aid money. Again, I realize that students may not comprehend all of the details, but it is simply not possible for a college to not account for $1,000. These details were shared with the student, there are no missing funds, and [redacted] would be happy to share them again with him, we know it is a complex landscape. With regard to [redacted]'s individual situation, we are made aware of any discrepancies, including enrollment at two colleges, by the Department of Education. Unless the student tells us, we have no way of knowing if a student is enrolled elsewhere until the Dept. of Ed. provides that notification. With that said, FVTC was notified well after the spring term that [redacted] had received funds from Mid-State Technical College. The amount that he received from Mid-State put him at the maximum allowable Pell Grant amount of $10,500 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. This meant that $2,230 needed to be returned to the federal government, which came out of [redacted]'s account since he had received an over-payment. [redacted] was provided with several options for repayment to the College, but did not ask [redacted] for an option that would allow no payment until February. I have received the indication from [redacted] that she will work with [redacted] to ensure that no collection proceedings will occur prior to February of 2016, which is his request here. [redacted] should contact [redacted] directly at ###-###-#### to make these arrangements. Please note: the arrangements are not finalized until he makes the contact with [redacted].