This policy is intended to guide the awarding of financial aid from federal, state, institutional, and other external sources to ensure consistent procedures for awarding in accordance with federal regulations.
Definitions
Cost of Attendance (COA). COA is the estimated total of educational expenses for the academic year.
Student Aid Index (SAI). SAI is the numerical need analysis result determined by completing the FAFSA.
Estimated Financial Assistance (EFA). All financial aid sources that are available to a student.
Determination of COA
COA includes exact costs of tuition, fees, and other allowable expenses charged on a student's ledger. COA will include estimated allotments for other allowable educational expenses not paid to NOBTS, including living expenses, books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses. Total aid received from all sources must not exceed COA.
Determination of Financial Need
Financial need is calculated using the formula: COA – SAI = Financial Need. Financial need is utilized in awarding need-based Title IV aid, like Pell Grants. Need-based funds cannot exceed financial need as determined by this formula. Pell Grant is the only Title IV aid that NOBTS processes. “A correctly determined Pell Grant is never adjusted to take into account other forms of aid” (2025-2026 Federal Student Aid Handbook, Volume 3, Chapter 3). Therefore, the presence of other EFA will not reduce the amount of Pell Grant a student can receive. Final Pell Grant awards will be calculated based on a student’s SAI and enrollment intensity after the last day of the drop/add period.
Packaging Philosophy
Financial aid will be packaged in the following sequence: Pell Grant, third-party awards (VA, Keesee, Baptist state foundations, TOPS, etc.), institutional awards (Caskey, Proclaimer’s, general scholarships, auxiliary scholarships, waivers, etc.), then private educational loans.
Institutional Aid
Total financial aid from institutional sources may not exceed institutional charges that are components of COA. After applying aid from sources higher in the packaging sequence first, institutional aid will be packaged. Institutional aid will not be packaged in a greater amount than the difference between relevant institutional charges and external scholarships or financial aid, including Pell Grants. If external financial aid is greater than the relevant institutional charges, any institutional aid awarded will be repackaged to avoid awarding institutional aid beyond the limit of relevant institutional charges. Receiving an external award after institutional aid has been packaged may result in an adjustment to the institutional award.
Exceptions to this standard are institutional scholarships that specifically include stipends for charges that may not be institutional in nature. The stipend portions of these scholarships may be awarded above the regular cap of institutional charges.
There are various institutional aid sources with their own requirements that students may be able to receive. Many institutional funds are aimed at covering tuition and fees and cap at the total of tuition and fees charged in a semester. If multiple scholarships are awarded that are intended to apply to tuition and fees, there may be double coverage of certain charges. In the event that the combination of multiple institutional awards exceeds the tuition and fees charged for a semester, institutional aid will be repackaged to prevent an institutional overaward.
Overaward Monitoring
If the total of all sources of financial aid exceeds the COA for the academic year, an overaward has occurred. If institutional funds have been awarded contributing to the overaward, they must be repackaged to attempt to lower the total financial aid received to the COA of the student.
Professional Judgement
The Financial Aid Office can exercise professional judgement considering unique circumstances faced by students that affect financial aid. Components of the SAI formula as well as components of COA may be adjusted in response to realities not considered in the original calculations. The Financial Aid Office will document any approved adjustment when using professional judgment.
Policy Review
This policy is subject to change as federal regulations are created or adjusted. The policy will be reviewed annually to ensure compliance with each new Title IV award year. If there are changes to other institutional initiatives or offers, this policy may be amended where relevant.
