With the economy still in shambles, most college students are dependent upon some form of financial aid in order to continue their education. Most scholarships are tied to maintaining academic and/or sports performance while other forms of financial aid are linked solely to financial need. What most students fail to realize is that drug and alcohol problems can result in the loss of that vital financial aid. In those cases, the only remedy may be successful completion of an addiction recovery program .
A significant portion of the college population is receiving some form of financial aid. Statistics for the ten years ending in 2005 show growth in almost every form of financial aid, many exceeding 100% growth.
According to the Higher Education Act, students who are convicted of any drug offense, including possession or sale, can be stripped of any Title IV federal financial aid. This affects Pell Grants, PLUS loans (including Graduate PLUS loans), Federal Direct Loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, SMART Grants, Perkins Loans, ACG Grants, TEACH Grants, and Federal Work Study funds. Students may also be asked to repay funds already dispensed.
The actual effect on financial aid depends on the number and type of offenses. For possession, the first offense makes a student ineligible for aid for one year and the second offensive for two years. Three or more offenses results in indefinite ineligibility. For selling drugs, the first offense carries two years of ineligibility while two or more offenses leads to indefinite ineligibility. All periods are counted from the date of conviction for the offense.
State financial aid programs carry their own penalties for drug or alcohol convictions as do institutional and outside scholarship and loan programs. Schools will also have their own penalty systems and may come down harder on those who sell drugs to those under 21 or 18 or to pregnant women. Other factors that can increase the penalties include the amount and scale of trafficking or the manufacturing of drugs on campus.
In many cases, the penalties may be lessened or even lifted if the student seeks treatment from approved drug rehab centers . To restore federal student aid, the program must be recognized as a federal, state, or local government agency program and must include at least two unannounced drug tests during treatment. Eligibility is restored on the date that the student completes the rehab program. Those that abandon treatment or are discharged before successfully completing treatment will not be eligible for restored financial aid.
