Cosmetology

Paying for school. Nova Academy has taken part in federal aid since July 2010. Students who qualify may receive Federal Pell Grants, FSEOG, Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and Parent PLUS Loans, as well as the Minnesota State Grant and the Minnesota SELF Loan. Students complete the Nova financial aid application and the FAFSA with school code 041576, then loan entrance counseling, the master promissory note and the school’s required forms before a financial aid meeting. Aid is disbursed on a 900-hour academic year. A net price calculator is published.

Where the prices come from. These are the catalog’s tuition and fees for classes starting July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, the same at all three campuses; the kit fee is tax inclusive and covers all books, supplies and equipment. The program pages on the website do not print tuition and say the most current rates are given on request, so the catalog governs.

Cancellation and refunds. Students who cancel within five business days of the enrollment agreement taking effect receive a full refund. Cancelling later but before the program starts returns everything except 15 percent of the total cost, up to $50. After the program starts, the refund is prorated on the clock hours actually attended, less the application fee and the lesser of 25 percent of tuition or $100, and students who withdraw after completing 75 percent of the program receive no refund. Kits returned unopened within 10 days may be credited. Refunds are paid within 30 business days.

Graduates may take the Minnesota State Licensing Exam for cosmetologists. The catalog lists careers as a salon or day spa owner, hairstylist, nail artist, color or perm specialist, makeup artist, photo or movie stylist, platform artist, cosmetology instructor or school owner, sales representative, salon manager, magazine writer or image consultant, and gives the occupation as SOC 39-5012, hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists.

The catalog reports Nova Academy’s NACCAS annual-report rates for the school as a whole rather than by program. For 2024 they are a completion rate of 92.55 percent, a placement rate of 79.03 percent and a licensure rate of 98.42 percent; the three-year averages for 2022 to 2024 are 87.85, 80.41 and 97.18 percent. The school offers resume and interview preparation and job placement referrals but does not guarantee employment.

The catalog classifies the program as CIP 12.0401.

Nova Academy of Cosmetology was established in 2006 and runs three Minnesota campuses under one catalog and one price list: Rochester, the main campus, is a 9,800-square-foot building off Highway 52 with clinic areas, classrooms, a dispensary, private coaching offices and a student lounge; Mankato is a 10,317-square-foot campus just west of River Hills Mall; and Woodbury occupies more than 12,000 square feet inside the Valley Creek Mall off I-94. Every campus has a clinic floor where students serve paying guests under licensed instructors, beginner and advanced classrooms, audio-visual equipment and a library of DVDs, books and trend releases.

Instruction mixes theory, demonstrations, guest educators and supervised clinic work, with Milady textbooks and the CIMA digital learning platform; students need a laptop or tablet. Beyond technique, Nova builds in business training: Prosper U’s Money Habits financial-literacy course (now with a booth and suite rental module), Nova’s own Beauty Industry + Social Media Mindset program on branding, short-form video, photography, Google reviews and content planning, and hands-on use of Phorest salon software for booking, client records and retail. Every chapter ends in theory and practical exams that must be passed at 75 percent or higher.

Students keep at least 67 percent cumulative attendance to stay in satisfactory academic progress, and a leave of absence (at least 10 days, no more than 180 days in any 12 months) extends the contract period. Students absent 14 consecutive days without contacting the school are withdrawn. Graduates must finish the documented Minnesota hours, all quotas and exams at 75 percent or higher, the School Certification Exam, an exit interview and their tuition obligations; they then apply to the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners for their license. Nova Academy belongs to the American Association of Cosmetology Schools.