Paying for College

The following information is available to current and prospective students from the listed sources and locations.

Disability Resources (services, accommodations)
Disability Resources
Mark Hopkins Hall, Room 102

Athletic Program Participation (rates/financial support)
Athletic Department
Amsler Campus Center

Campus Policy Governing Use of Alcohol & Other Drugs
Community Standards 
Student Affairs, Amsler Campus Center

Rights under the Family Education and Privacy Act (FERPA) (inspect/review your records)
College Catalog
Registrar's Office, Eldridge Hall

FFEL/Direct Loan Deferment for Peace Corps or Volunteer Service (loan deferment while volunteering)
Student Loan Guide
Financial Aid, Eldridge Hall

Available Financial Assistance
Financial Aid Guide
Financial Aid, Eldridge Hall

Institutional Information
College Catalog
Admission, Smith House

Completion and Graduation Rates (full-time undergraduates)
Factbook
Institutional Research, Bowman Hall

Campus Security Report (criminal offenses involving students, last 3 years)
Campus Security Report
Public Safety, 277 Ashland Street

Voter Registration (all states)
MA Voter Registration Form
registertovote.org

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The Satisfactory Academic Progress standard used for continued financial aid eligibility is a separate policy from the College's academic standard monitored by the Registrar's Office.

To be eligible to receive financial aid from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), you must make satisfactory progress toward the completion of your degree within 6 years of full-time attendance or 12 years of part-time attendance (transfer credits are included in the 6 or 12 year calculation). If you don't maintain satisfactory academic progress, you are not entitled to receive aid.

Progress Requirements

First Year: Successfully complete 60% of your attempted credits (1-24) and have an overall minimum GPA of 1.75.

Subsequent Years: Successfully complete 75% of your attempted credits (25-120) and have an overall GPA of 2.0, regardless of enrollment status.

Example:

Year 1

• If 30 credits taken, you must complete 18
• If 18 credits taken, you must complete 11
• If 12 credits taken, you must complete 7

Years 2-6
(or 2-12)

• If 30 credits taken, you must complete 23
• If 24 credits taken, you must complete 18
• If 12 credits taken, you must complete 9

Your academic progress is measured at the end of the spring semester or after you complete your financial aid application, whichever date is later. If you start attending in January, you are evaluated after the spring semester (first semester of attendance) at the same time as other students and must meet the percentage of credits and GPA standards listed above.

Credits earned at other institutions aren't counted as "credits successfully completed" unless an Off Campus Study Approval Form is processed by the Registrar's Office.

Credit bearing skills courses, courses withdrawn from after the drop period ('W'), and repeated courses are calculated when determining Satisfactory Academic Progress. If you withdraw during a semester or course, it is considered "attempted" and counts toward Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Incomplete & Pass Continue Status: If your satisfactory progress is pending due to Incomplete or Pass Continue coursework, you must submit an appeal, described below.

Readmit Students: If you had a prior progress problem while at MCLA, withdrew, and are readmitted, you must have at least six credit hours of transfer accepted to be in compliance with the standard for that year.

Appeals: If you lose your financial aid eligibility due to exceptional circumstances, you may appeal to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee (the Financial Aid Director and Assistant Director, the Registrar, and one student representative). You must submit your appeal in writing to the Financial Aid Office within two weeks of the date that you receive notification regarding loss of eligibility. Appeals must include:

• A detailed description of the circumstances that contributed to your failure to make progress
• Any available supporting documentation
• A description of what changed that enables you to make satisfactory progress going forward

You can only appeal twice during each degree program at MCLA. If you don't appeal or your appeal is denied, you are still re-evaluated at the end of the academic year for the next year.

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Purpose: The following Code of Conduct is proposed to govern the education lending practices of Massachusetts public colleges in an effort to help ensure integrity in all aspects of the student educational loan program. This policy formalizes long- standing code of conducts practiced by public institutions of higher education in their efforts to provide affordable access to higher education.

Statement of Ethical Principals: The Board of Higher Education believes that the practice of institutions, in recommending lenders for federal and private loans, should be based on the cost of the loan but may also consider such factors as the ease and speed of the application process, funds disbursement, and quality customer service, all of which must focus on the best interest and needs of students and without direct regard for any financial advantage to the institution.

Institutions must inform students and their families that they may select the lender of their choice; but to safeguard against predatory lenders, the institutions should provide information to the student that would enable them to make a decision regarding the best possible loan option, with the most favorable terms, customer service, and lender integrity.

Code of Conduct: The primary goal of the institution and its financial aid staff is to help students achieve their educational potential by providing appropriate financial resources. To this end, this document provides institutions, specifically financial aid professionals, with a set of principles that serves as a common foundation for an acceptable standard of conduct.

Institutions and their Financial Aid Professionals shall:

• Maintain the highest level of professionalism
• Commit to the highest level of ethical behavior and refrain from conflict of interest or the perception thereof
• Respect the dignity and protect the privacy of students, and ensure the confidentiality of student records and personal circumstances
• Provide information to families for lenders that have proven to provide the best combination of price, access to funds, and service to students and families

Further, institutions shall ensure that all officers, trustees, directors, employees or agents, and financial aid professionals adhere to the following:

• May not accept gifts, meals, travel, or any other non-trivial items from student loan providers in connection with the institution's loan business
• May not accept, from a lending institution, money, equipment, staffing/consulting or printing services or anything of value that may provide or suggest an advantage or grant a preferred status
• If serving as a member of a lending institution's advisory board, may not accept anything of value in exchange for this service, such as "revenue sharing"
• Must review lender choices every year and if a list of preferred lenders is published via brochure, Web page, etc., clearly and fully disclose the criteria and process for selecting preferred lenders
• Must disclose information regarding any lender on the preferred lender list that has an agreement to sell loans to another lender
• Make clear to students and their families that they have the right and ability to borrow through any lender of their choice, regardless of a preferred lender list. In addition, lenders will not be assigned or loans delayed.
• May not link or otherwise direct students and families to any electronic loan process, such as a master promissory note or other loan agreement, that promotes or otherwise suggests a "preferred" status for any lending institution.

Reporting of Policy Violations: Any employee who believes that any provision of this policy has been violated shall report such violation to the Chair of the institution's Board of Trustees, who shall then be responsible for immediately notifying the Chair and Chancellor of the Board of Higher Education. Upon review of the matter, the Board of Higher Education shall refer the violation to the Office of the Attorney General, if deemed appropriate.

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Please note that this information applies to the College Refund Policy, not to refunds from overpayments on an account. Information on student refunds.

The Refund Policy applies to those students who are enrolled at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. This policy applies to all tuition, room, board, fees and other charges assessed by the College (except non-refundable housing, orientation and admissions deposits where applicable).

Withdrawal prior to the first day of classes (official opening) a student receives a refund of 100%.

All refunds for withdrawals after the start of school are determined on a pro-rata basis up to the 60% point of the semester. Pro-rata refunds are calculated by determining the percentage of the semester that has been completed up to and including the official date of withdrawal. For the spring 2026 semester, withdrawals prior to April 2, 2026, up to the 60% point of the semester, will be considered in the refund calculation.

Based on the calculation, the College determines the amount of financial aid that is unearned and is responsible for returning any portion necessary to the appropriate financial aid programs. Repayment is made to the federal programs in the following order: Unsubsidized Direct Loan, Subsidized Direct Loan, Federal PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG). Any remaining credit balances will then be returned to the state, institutional and student resources, in that order.

Please note withdrawal from the College could result in a balance owed to the College for federal aid that must be returned to the above programs.

Examples of refund policies are available upon request. Regular withdrawal/leave of absence processes begin with Paula Kingsbury-Evans in Academic Advising & Support in Mark Hopkins Hall. Paula may be reached at paula.kingsbury-evans@mcla.edu or 413-662-5585. Any medical withdrawals/leave of absences will contact Ashleigh Hala in Health Services. Health Services may be reached at healthservices@mcla.edu. These forms must be completed and validated by the Registrar’s Office for the withdrawal or leave to be considered official.

Refund Policy

Institutional Aid Refund Policy
The following Institutional Refund Policy is a reference for all students withdrawing from the College. The information below reflects the percentage of tuition and fees the student will be charged dependent on the official date of withdrawal. Please note: if you are a residential student, your charges for room and board are dependent on the date you move off campus and are not reflected of the below percentages. 

Students that are withdrawn by the administration for judicial or Title IX matters may be ineligible to receive any refund for tuition, fees and/or room and board.

If a student is using Financial Aid against their total charges, please refer to the Federal Refund Policy above.

 

Week of Semester	Tuition and Fees
0*	100%
1**	90%
2-3	50%
4-7	25%
8+	0

*Prior to the start of classes
**Prior to the end of the add/drop period

Tuition Insurance
As a supplement to the Withdrawal and College Refund Policy, MCLA offers tuition insurance through GradGuard for the 2025-2026 academic year. This optional coverage expands the scope of our refund policy by ensuring reimbursement for tuition, room, board and other fees for covered illness/injury or mental health condition withdrawals at any time during the semester. The deadline to apply is the day before the first day of classes each semester.

Students can enroll online through their portal in the Bill + Payment page. Enrollment for a higher amount of coverage can also be done directly through GradGuard.

Learn more about MCLA Tuition Insurance with gradguard.com, 1-877-794-6603.

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If the Department of Education selects you for verification after you complete your FAFSA, you will have to provide some additional information to MCLA in order to be reviewed and offered any financial aid. You may be asked to verify the accuracy of your information by providing certain documents, such as an IRS Tax Return Transcript.

We will notify you if you are selected for verification and tell you what documents are required by sending you a Missing Items Letter. For new or prospective students, a Missing Items Letter will be physically mailed to your address on file. For returning students, a Missing Items Letter will be digitally sent to your MCLA email address. Once all the required documents have been provided to Financial Aid, we can review your and prepare your package.

If you have been selected for verification and have any questions on what forms are needed or what information you need, please contact Financial Aid at 413-662-5219 or finaid@mcla.edu.

FORMS
If you have been selected for verification, complete the requested forms by accessing the links below. Please note that many of the forms are online forms, but some .pdfs are available.

For dependent students, many of these forms will require a parent's signature. If you are a parent and want to complete the form electronically, the student must start the Dynamic Form. While completing the form, they will designate you as the parent by entering your name and email address if a signature is required. You will then receive an email from Dynamic Forms to create an account/log in when you can continue the form.

 

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The 2026-2027 FAFSA is available now. Usually, the FAFSA becomes available on October 1.Back to top

We recommend completing the FAFSA and your financial aid file as soon as possible after October 1. Applications completed by January 1 will have priority for the funds available.

 

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We know that your tax returns may not reflect you or your family's current financial situation. If something recently happened to impact your financial situation, our Office of Student Financial Services may be able to help. Please contact them for additional details.

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Not necessarily. The FAFSA must be completed every year. It may be possible to receive a comparable award if your family’s financial situation has not changed from the prior year and all required paperwork has been completed as soon as possible after October 1.

 

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You're considered a Massachusetts resident if:

1. You or your legal or financial guardian have resided in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for purposes other than attending an educational institution for 12 months immediately preceding entry or reentry as a student.
2. If you or your guardian were absent from the state for part of the 12 month period, you may still qualify as a resident, provided that Massachusetts remained your permanent, primary dwelling place.

International students are not considered Massachusetts residents.

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In most cases for undergraduate students, yes. In the eyes of the FAFSA, you are considered either a dependent student or an independent student. The FAFSA asks you questions to preliminarily determine your status. If you are a dependent student, you will report both your and your parents' information. If you're an independent student, you will report your own information (and, if you're married, your spouse's).

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Yes. MCLA offers many on-campus and off-campus job opportunities. Many MCLA students are awarded work study funds as part of their financial aid package.

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