Book Charge Information

Bookstore charges allow a student to charge their books to their excess financial aid at the Blackhawk Bookstore. Bookstore charges are available from one week before the first day of each semester through the second week of each semester. For more information on bookstore charges, please visit: blackhawk.edu/Paying-for-College/Financial-Aid

Clock-to-Credit Hour Conversion

Financial Aid for students enrolled in a technical diploma that does not lead to an associate degree may be reduced as a result of the clock-to-credit hour conversion, which is required by federal regulations.

The clock-to-credit hour conversion formula determines the number of financial aid credits associated with each class used to determine a student’s financial aid enrollment status each semester. As a result, a student’s credits for financial aid purposes may not equal their academic credits.

The formula only pertains to FSA financial aid, including Pell Grant, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and College Work Study. It does not affect State of Wisconsin financial aid, VA veterans education benefits, Wisconsin G.I. Bill, or scholarships.

Visit blackhawk.edu/Paying-for-College/Financial-Aid#clock-to-credit-hour-conversion for more information.

Disbursement of Financial Aid

Financial aid is applied to student accounts based on federal and state guidelines and Blackhawk’s disbursement schedule. If the total amount of grants and loans for a semester is more than the charges on a student’s account, such as tuition, academic fees, book charges, housing, and meal plan costs, the remaining balance will be refunded to the student by Blackhawk’s Accounting Office. Disbursement and refund dates are available on the college calendar.

Enrollment Status

A student’s enrollment status is determined each semester and is based on the number of credits they are enrolled in that are required for graduation from their declared program. Enrollment statuses are defined as follows:

• Full-time: 12 or more credits
• Three-quarter time: 9-11.99 credits
• Half-time: 6-8.99 credits
• Less than half-time: 5.99 or fewer credits

Financial aid award offers are estimated based on full-time status. Financial aid is reduced for students who are not full-time.

Students must be at least half-time to qualify for the following types of financial aid:

• Federal Direct Student Loans
• Some Wisconsin state grants, e.g., the Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES), Technical Excellence Scholarship (TES) and the Talent Incentive Grant (TIP)

Pell grants and Wisconsin Grants are adjusted based on the precise number of credits a student is enrolled in. These adjustments are required when a student is enrolled in fewer than 12 credits. It is possible for students enrolled in fewer than six credits to receive a Pell Grant or Wisconsin Grant, but there are other variables in the eligibility calculation.

Federal Direct Student Loans may be adjusted based on the number of credits a student is enrolled in at the time of disbursement if they are enrolled in fewer than 12 credits. Students in fewer than six credits for a semester are not eligible for Federal Direct Student Loans for that semester.

Students with questions about their enrollment status for financial aid purposes should contact the Financial Aid office.

Program and Course Eligibility

• Students must be enrolled in an eligible program to receive federal or state financial aid. Look under “Is my program financial aid eligible?” on blackhawk.edu/Paying-for-College/Financial-Aid  to see if a program is eligible.
• Courses that are not required for graduation from a student's declared program are not eligible for federal or state financial aid.
• Students may only receive financial aid for the first completed retake of a course that they previously completed with a passing grade. A passing grade is any grade higher than an F.
• A student must be enrolled in at least six credits within their declared program of study in a semester to be eligible for Federal Direct Student Loans that semester.
• Students must begin attendance in each course that counts toward their Pell Grant eligibility. If a Pell Grant is received for a course, and it’s subsequently determined that the student did not begin attendance in that course, Blackhawk will return the Pell Grant to the Department of Education, and the student will owe the resulting balance to Blackhawk.
• The number of credits used to determine grant eligibility is locked for each student on the Financial Aid Census day. The Census day for most students will be the end of the full-semester 80% refund period (see Refund Policy in the Registration and Records section of this handbook), although the Census day may vary by program. After Census day, grant eligibility will not be adjusted for changes in credit load unless the student does not begin attendance in a course or courses.

Return of Title IV Financial Aid

Federal law states that if a student receives federal financial aid and withdraws, drops out, stops attending, or receives failing grades in their classes, that student may have to return some federal aid that was received. Failure to attend classes may require a student to repay 100% of all the aid received for the classes they did not attend. To view Blackhawk's Return of Title IV policy, please go to blackhawk.edu/Portals/0/PDFs/Paying-For-College/R2T4Policy.pdf

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students receiving financial aid must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward completing their program. To view Blackhawk's SAP policy, please go to blackhawk.edu/Portals/0/PDFs/Paying-For-College/Financial-Aid/SatisfactoryAcademicPolicy.pdf

Important Financial Aid Dates

For information on important dates related to paying for college, such as financial aid disbursement, refund dates and when financial aid be used for Bookstore purchases, please review Blackhawk’s calendar.