Please read this Addendum carefully and sign and date the bottom of this form. Your signature indicates that you understand that in order to maintain eligibility for veterans’ benefits, you must adhere to the following policies.
VETERANS BENEFITS
Bella Capelli Academy will permit any covered individual to attend or participate in the course of education during the period beginning on the date on which the individual provides to the educational institution a certificate of eligibility for entitlement to educational assistance under chapter U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Post 9/11, G.I.Bill® (Ch. 33) or Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (Ch. 31) benefits ending on the earlier of the following dates:
- The date on which the Department of Veterans Affairs provides payment for such course of education to such institution.
In accordance with Title 38 US Code 3679 subsection (e) Bella Capelli Academy will not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that a covered individual borrow additional funds, on any covered individual because of the individual’s inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement of funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
ATTENDANCE POLICY FOR STUDENTS USING VA EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS
For these students, program attendance will be taken daily and reviewed at the beginning of every calendar month. Students using VA Educational Benefits failing to attend the 67% minimum cumulative attendance rate requirement (based on actual hours) will be put on attendance probation for 30 days and the VA will be notified of this action. The student will be immediately notified via e-mail of their probationary status, as well as what’s required to regain good-standing. A copy of this e-mail notification will be kept in the student’s file.
VA educational benefits will be terminated if the student does not meet the 80% minimum cumulative attendance requirement by the end of the probationary period. Upon an approved written appeal submitted by the student they will be readmitted to their program on probationary status. The appeal must provide the reason for the prior poor attendance and what has happened to eliminate a re-occurrence of the problem. The school will rule on the appeal within five business days. Only one appeal is permitted per student per program. Students that do not reach the 80% minimum cumulative attendance rate by the end of the new 30 day Probation Period will be withdrawn from the program and not permitted to re-enter and a report will be submitted to VA to terminate their VA Educational Benefits.
Any student not maintaining the 80% cumulative attendance standard will be placed on academic probation for 30 days, during which time every effort will be made to help the student meet the attendance requirements. The VA will be notified of attendance probation status.
If a student is absent for 14 (or more) consecutive calendar days without prior approval they will be withdrawn from the program and a report submitted to VA to terminate their VA Educational Benefits.
NOTE: If it is mathematically impossible for a student to make-up enough hours to complete their program by the end of the maximum time frame reported to VA they will be withdrawn from the program and a report will be submitted to VA to terminate their VA Educational Benefits.
The unused portion of tuition, fees, and other charges for veterans or eligible persons who fail to enter a course or who withdraw or discontinue prior to completion will be refunded for all amounts paid that exceed the approximate pro-rata portion of the total charges that the length of the completed portion of the course bears to the total length of the course. The pro-ration will be determined on the ratio of the number of days or hours of instruction completed by the student to the total number of instructional days or hours in the course.
SCHOOL POLICY FOR MAKE-UP HOURS
Students must complete all required assignments and tests. To accommodate students, make-up test days and worksheet periods are scheduled. Students must complete make-up work at this scheduled time. Robinson makeup tests are given on Thursdays and Fridays. Monroeville makeup tests are given on Tuesdays. Students who have hours to make-up have certain times allotted when they may make up hours. Full-time students are not permitted to exceed 40 hours per week.
Make-up hours at Bella Capelli Academy are held 8:00 AM Monday through Friday.
Note: VA will not pay for make-up hours required due to absences. Students must pay out-of-pocket for any make-up hours after the end of the program enrollment period reported to VA.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS POLICY FOR STUDENTS USING VA EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS (SAP)
These students, like all other students, are expected to maintain satisfactory academic progress and to maintain and grade average of 70%. Any student using VA Educational Benefits that is not maintaining an average of 70% will be placed on academic probation for 30 days and the VA will be notified of this action. While on academic probation, every effort will be made to help the student meet the minimum grade requirements. If satisfactory progress cannot be achieved after this period, the student will be suspended and VA education benefits terminated.
CONDUCT POLICY
A student may be put on probation for other than academic and/or attendance reasons. Failure to comply with any of the school policies or regulations and/or abuse of equipment, etc., as outlined in the catalog, will result in the student being suspended and VA education benefits will be immediately terminated. Program re-enrollment will be at the discretion of the school administration and per school policies, as outlined in this catalog.
SCHOOL POLICY REGARDING REPEAT COURSES
This does not apply at Bella Capelli Academy.
PROGRESS CHECKS AND SCHOOL REPORTING POLICIES
For students using VA Educational Benefits, their academic progress will be reviewed at the beginning of every calendar month. Students using VA Educational Benefits who do not maintain satisfactory academic progress will be placed on academic probation for 30 days and the VA will be notified of this action. While on academic probation, every effort will be made to help the student meet the minimum grade requirements. VA education benefits will be terminated if the student does not meet minimum academic progress standards at the end of the probationary period and be withdrawn from their program.
PRIOR CREDIT EVALUATIONS
Due to the nature of the training at this school, it is unlikely that any previous education or training will be granted. However, students using VA Educational Benefits are required to submit all previous training and study to Bella Capelli Academy at the time of application but no later than the end of their first month. The school is required by VA regulations to evaluate all prior training and grant transfer credit, if appropriate. All veteran beneficiaries will clearly indicate by signing/initialing the school’s internal evaluation report if appropriate credit has been granted upon completion of the school’s formal evaluation. Both previous education and training transcripts from previously attended schools and veteran military transcripts (JST’s, CCAF transcripts, VMET’s, etc.) must be provided for evaluation within 30 days of program enrollment. VA Educational Benefit termination certifications will be submitted if these documents are not provided within 30 days of enrollment.
Students with previous Cosmetology study (whether at another Paul Mitchell The School facility or another school entirely) must provide these records for evaluation. If awarded any transfer hours the student’s program will be shortened and tuition and fees adjusted accordingly.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE POLICY
A Leave of Absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s program of study. LOA refers to the specific time period during an ongoing program when a student is not in academic attendance.
LOA will be granted for:
- In accordance with Title IX for pregnancy or child birth.
- If a student is called into active duty for the military.
- On a case-by-case basis, the school will also consider a LOA for a student who has experienced a personal medical emergency.
These are the only times leave of absences are granted.
In order to be placed on LOA, the student must:
- Complete and sign the school’s Leave of Absence Request Form.
- Must state the reason for the (LOA).
- Students who receive military orders must provide a copy of their military orders.
- Be approved by the School’s Future Professional Advisor and Financial Services Leader.
- Leaves must be a minimum of 14 days and must not exceed a total of 180 calendar days in a 12-month period. In the case of a student receiving military orders that are less than 14 days, the LOA will be granted for the shorter period of time. This timeframe must be reflected on the student’s military orders.
The minimum 14 days will be waived for COVID-19 related LOA’s.
A student on a LOA date of withdrawal determination shall be the earlier of the scheduled date of return from the leave of absence or the date the student notifies the school that the student will not be returning. A leave of absence will extend the student’s contract period and maximum time frame by the same number of calendar days taken in the leave of absence.
There will be no additional charges for a LOA. If the student fails to return or contact the School Financial Services Leader on the documented return date or takes and unapproved LOA, the student will be considered to have withdrawn from school as of that date the student began the LOA. The withdrawal date for the purpose of calculating a refund is always the student’s last day of attendance.
For federal aid recipients, the student’s payment period is suspended during the LOA and no federal financial aid will be disbursed to student while on a LOA. Upon the student’s return, the student will resume the same payment period and coursework and will not be eligible for additional federal student aid until the payment period has been completed. If the student is a federal student loan recipient, they will be informed of the effects that the failure to return from a leave may have on the student’s loan repayment terms, including the exhaustion of the student’s grace period. A contract addendum will be completed upon return from the LOA to extend the contract end date by the applicable number of calendar days.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the school may grant a LOA to a student in the case of an emergency, where the student is unable to complete the request, such as a car accident or other medical issue (i.e., coma) that would prevent the student from requesting the LOA prior to the incident occurring. In these cases, the school will collect the LOA request from the students as soon as possible and document the reason for the granting of the leave after the incident has occurred. The beginning date of the LOA will be based on the first date it has been determined that the student cannot come to class due to the accident or medical situation.
In order to grant a Leave of Absence there must be the expectation that the student will be returning to school.
A student who is granted a LOA that meets these criteria is not considered to have withdrawn and no R2T4 refund calculation is required at that time.
If a student does not return from a LOA, the grace period for the Direct Loans may have elapsed in part or in whole. If the student uses 180 calendar days of a LOA, the student will have used 100% of his/her grace period and be in immediate repayment of his/her Direct Loan.
Changes to the contract period on the enrollment agreement due to an approved LOA must be initialed by all parties or an addendum must be signed and dated by all parties to reflect the new contract end date.
VA education benefits will be terminated while the student is on any leave of absence (LOA) period.
I have read this Veteran's Benefits Addendum to the catalog and understand that I am required to comply with all the policies and rules of the school, as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the SAA.
Student Signature_________________________________________________________Date_____________
School Representative______________________________________________________Date_____________
‘‘GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.”