Financial assistance in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and employment is available to a number of qualified students. Information regarding programs and eligibility criteria can be obtained from the Office of Financial Aid, 410 Front Street, Orange, Texas 77630, at (409) 882-3317.
When to Apply for Financial Aid and Awards
Applications should be completed by April 1 for the following academic year. Award notifications are emailed in late spring and early summer, as well as being posted in students’ account in the Student Services area. The College will continue to award student aid as long as funds are available. The most desirable types of aid are normally expended early; therefore, students should make every effort to meet the April 1 priority date.
How to Apply for Financial Aid and Awards
Students wishing to apply for grants and/or work-study employment must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students may complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.gov. After the application is submitted, the student will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education. The Student Aid Report contains the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) that is used in determining the student’s eligibility to receive financial aid. The type and amount of assistance will be determined by the Office of Financial Aid based on several factors.
Students wishing to be considered for scholarships should request the scholarship application. Students should be aware that scholarship funds are limited and that recipients normally must have grade point averages above 2.5 to be considered.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
In order to be eligible to receive Federal or State financial aid, students must meet the standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress.
The financial aid office will review SAP, each semester, after the student applies for financial aid. New students, transfers and returning students in good standing will be awarded for the semester they are enrolled. Students must maintain a 2.00 GPA to remain eligible to receive financial aid, and a completion percentage (earned hours/attempted hours) of at least 70% to remain eligible to receive aid. Courses attempted include all courses for which a student is registered. In order for a course to be considered complete, the student must receive a grade of A, B, C, D or S. Grades of W, Q, F, U, NG or I will not be considered as complete for SAP purposes. Grade changes due to the grade replacement policy, completing coursework towards an incomplete, or an instructor-initiated change will not be considered until the official change is made in the records office.
A student may receive financial aid for no more than 150% of the published length of their declared degree program. For example, if the stated number of hours for a degree program is 64 hours, the student may receive aid for no more than 96 hours (64x1.5=96). Included in this total will be all college coursework attempted at all schools attended.
A student enrolled in a regular program may receive financial aid for no more than 30 semester hours of remedial coursework. Remedial courses will be considered when calculating a student’s completion rate and will count towards their total number of hours for SAP.
Summer and mini-session coursework will be included in all completion rate and GPA calculations. Students denied aid may appeal in writing to the financial aid office. This appeal should explain any mitigating circumstances, which have caused the student’s failure to make academic progress. The Coordinator of Financial Aid will review appeals. Relevant documentation necessary to verify or support the appeal (e.g. death in immediate family, extended personal illness, recent divorce, etc.) should be submitted with the appeal letter. Students shall be notified of their appeal decisions through their student services account within two (2) weeks of the appeal letter being received in the financial aid office. Students denied their appeal may then make an additional appeal to the Director of Financial Aid. (NOTE: If a student’s appeal is denied, new information and documentation is required at each level of appeal to enhance the chances for granting subsequent appeals.) If appeal is denied by the Director, students may then appeal to the Dean of Student Services. The decision of the Dean is final. Ten (10) working days should be allowed at each level of appeal. Students will be notified of all appeal decisions through their student services account. A student not meeting SAP, but who has their appeal accepted, will be placed on probation or be placed on a Satisfactory Academic Plan. They will receive notification by status updates on their student services account. Under the terms of probation, the student must complete 75% of all attempted coursework for that semester, and attain a GPA of 2.0 for the semester. Their status will be reevaluated at the end of the semester, which is when they are placed on probation. They will be notified of their new status on their student services account at the end of that semester.
A student not meeting SAP, and who will not be able to attain that status after one semester will be denied financial aid. This status will remain in effect until the student is granted an appeal or completes coursework, which brings them in compliance with all standards for academic progress.
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