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Policies and Procedures Governing Financial Aid Assistance

  • The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right, on behalf of the College, to review and change or cancel a financial aid offer at any time because of changes in financial or academic status, change of academic program, or due to other extenuating circumstances.

  • Each recipient must remain in good standing and maintain satisfactory academic progress in his/her course of study.

  • Students offered only Federal Work-Study funds must bring tuition, fee, and book money with them for registration, as they will not receive a paycheck until after school begins.  If your offer of financial assistance includes employment under the provision of the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS), it must be understood that the amount shown for this category is the amount you may expect to earn during the academic year as a result of work performed and the hours necessary to perform such work.

  • It is the policy of the College to disburse one-half of the offer (excluding FWS and federal loan proceeds) at the beginning of each semester. Each student must complete the confirmation process to ensure payment of excess financial aid in a refund to the student. Attendance must be electronically confirmed by faculty verifying class attendance before financial aid refunds will be made. All financial aid received by the institution, including loans and scholarships, will be used first to pay fees owed to Dyersburg State. After all fees are paid, any remaining balance will be refunded to the student.

  • TN Promise and TN Reconnect scholarships are last-dollar scholarships that only pay for tuition and mandatory fees that are not covered by the TN Hope Scholarship, the TN Student Assistance Award (TSAA) Grant, or the Federal Pell Grant. TN Promise and TN Reconnect do not pay for specialized fees, online fees, or books. Students are required to enroll, attend, and complete at least 6 hours for TN Reconnect and at least 12 hours for TN Promise each semester unless an extenuating circumstance is documented. The Office of Financial Aid will verify enrollment and attendance for the TN Reconnect and TN Promise scholarships for each semester and part-of-term sessions. Once enrollment and attendance is verified, the Office of Financial Aid will submit the information to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) after the end of the 75% refund period for each semester for the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship, TN Promise Scholarship, TN Reconnect Scholarship, and TSAA. Grants are disbursed to students' accounts at the mid-point of the semester (typically mid-October for Fall term and mid-March for Spring term) upon receipt of funds from the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation and verification of eligibility. 

  • Students receiving Federal Direct Student Loans must fulfill all admissions and other loan requirements prior to loan certification. This includes completion of the Federal Direct Student Loan request form, entrance counseling, and signing a promissory note, if applicable. Federal Direct Student Loan funds will be disbursed to students at a time to be posted each semester. First-year, first-time borrowers must, by law, wait 30 days for delivery of the loan proceeds.

  • Students must register in credit courses as regular, degree-seeking students. In order to receive financial aid, students must be fully accepted for admission to the College as regular, degree or certificate-seeking students and enrolled in an eligible program according to the regulations set forth by the United States Department of Education.

  • Special students are not eligible for financial aid. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all admissions requirements are met.   

  • Any commitment of federal funds is tentative and contingent upon subsequent congressional appropriation and actual receipt of the funds by Dyersburg State Community College.

  • Financial need will be re-evaluated each year and an appropriate increase or decrease in the amount of the assistance offered will be made. For the purpose of this re-evaluation, a new application for financial aid will be required. Financial aid files completed by March 1 will receive priority. The application may be submitted any time after October 1 of the preceding year, and it is the student’s responsibility to apply by the March 1 priority date.

  • Students receiving financial aid who find it necessary to withdraw from the College or change their enrollment status must notify the Office of Financial Aid BEFORE taking this action. Any change in name, address, or student status must be reported immediately.

  • Students withdrawing from college, either officially or unofficially, will be required to repay any federal funds that cannot be reasonably attributed to meeting educational expenses at Dyersburg State Community College. The amount of any repayment is based on regulations published by the Secretary of Education.

  • Dyersburg State Community College may apply any Federal Title IV, state, or institutional financial aid toward the payment of tuition, fees, textbooks, or any other charges billed by the college.

  • Registration fees will be deducted from the financial aid amount and the balance refunded to the student provided there is no change in enrollment status or eligibility.  If any sources of aid do not pay, it will be the student’s responsibility to pay.

  • A student may not receive aid from more than one school at a time or more than the maximum allowed for the award period. Students failing to notify Dyersburg State Community College of attendance at other institutions during the academic term who receive aid in excess of the allowable amount will be required to repay funds received for which the student was not eligible. The student may not borrow in excess of Federal Direct Student Loan limits under the Federal Title IV programs. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that federal loan limits are not exceeded.

  • A student’s aid will be based on the hours enrolled in on the Financial Aid Census Date for each semester. Adjustments will be made upward or downward based on the enrollment on this date.  Students who have received aid and dropped classes will be required to repay the amount received in excess of the eligible amount.

  • Federal and state financial aid can only be used to pay the cost of courses that are in a student’s program of study at Dyersburg State Community College. Students are personally responsible for any fees associated with taking courses outside of their program of study.

  • Attendance must be electronically confirmed by faculty verifying class attendance before financial aid refunds will be made. All financial aid received by the institution, including federal student loans and scholarships, will be used first to pay fees owed to Dyersburg State. After all fees are paid, any remaining balance will be refunded to the student by Student Financial Services. If any sources of aid do not pay, it is the student’s responsibility to pay the balance. Students may be eligible to enroll in the Deferred Payment Plan during the fall and spring semesters to pay for tuition and fees not covered by financial aid.

  • Federal financial aid regulations limit the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive federal financial aid for that course. A student is allowed to repeat the same course and receive federal financial aid (in addition to assuming the office’s Satisfactory Academic Progress is met) until a “D” grade or better is earned for the class. Once the student has achieved a “D” grade or better, a student can repeat the same course a second time and still receive federal financial aid.

  • Students become ineligible for financial aid after completing the requirements for their first Associate Degree.