|
Laredo Community College’s basic
philosophy is that the family has the primary responsibility for providing a
student’s education beyond the high school level.
If a family lacks the necessary financial resources to provide educational
opportunities for a student, the college may assist in providing those resources through
one of its “financial aid” programs. This
assistance is particularly important if a student is unable to pursue an education at
Laredo Community College due to financial limitations.
What Is
Financial Aid?
Financial
Aid consists of any of the following four types of assistance:
The financial aid award is based on
individual need and eligibility, and may include a combination of various types of aid
mentioned above.
What Are The Types Of Financial Aid?
GRANT PROGRAMS
 | Federal PELL Grant |
| Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) |
| Texas Public Educational Grant (TPEG) |
| On-Campus (TPEG) |
| Texas and Texas II Grant |
EMPLOYMENT
| Federal Work-Study (FWS) |
| Texas Work-Study |
| Institutional Work-Study |
STUDENT
LOAN PROGRAMS
| Texas Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (TPLUS) |
| Federal Stafford Student Loan |
(An “Exit Interview
Form” must be completed before dropping classes or upon graduation from
Laredo Community College for above loans)
SCHOLARSHIPS
Scholarships may be defined as a
form of student financial aid which are based upon excellence and do not require
repayment. Funds for these
scholarships are provided from two sources- private donors and LCC. For a listing of scholarships see page 15.
How
Eligibility Is Determined
For
Need-Based Aid Programs
Financial aid is
awarded by the college to an eligible student after the process of filling out all
necessary application forms has been completed and all required documentation has been
received. The primary responsibility lies
with the parent and the student in determining who has financial need and who will be
awarded financial aid. In the case of a
self-supporting student, the primary responsibility lies with the student and the spouse,
if married. Therefore, the purpose in
completing the application process as outlined is to determine the expected contribution
from income and assets toward the total cost of education by the student and his/her
parents.
Satisfactory
Academic Progress
Students receiving aid from
Federal or State funded programs must be making satisfactory academic progress towards a
degree or certificate. In addition to meeting
the satisfactory academic progress requirements outlined below, all students must also
meet the specific financial aid program eligibility requirements. A student is considered to be making satisfactory
academic progress if the following conditions are met:
| The minimum
standard of academic progress for a full-time load (12 hours or more) is the completion of
nine (9) hours; students enrolled for three-quarter time (9-11 hours) are required to
complete six (6) semester hours and those enrolled for half-time (6-8 hours) are required
to complete six (6) of the semester hours of which they attempted.
|
| A student with 1 to 14 cumulative semester hours of attempted work
must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 1.2. A student with 15 to 29
cumulative semester hours of attempted work must have a cumulative GPA of 1.5. A
student with 30 to 44 cumulative semester hours of attempted work must have a cumulative
GPA of 1.8. A student with 45 or more cumulative semester hours of attempted work
must have a GPA of 2.0.
|
| Full-time
students are eligible to receive aid for seven (7) long semesters. Three-quarter time students are eligible to
receive aid for eleven (11) long semesters and part-time students for eleven (11) long
semesters. Semester count includes those in
which the student does not receive financial assistance.
|
A student must
have satisfactorily completed the minimum number of hours according to his/her enrollment
status regardless of whether or not financial aid was received.
A maximum of 30
hours of remedial courses will be allowed as long as the remedial courses are required to
pursue a degree or certificate. All remedial
courses taken by a student are included in the maximum time allowed to complete his/her
degree. Only one (1) repetition per course
will be allowed if the student earned an “F” in the course. Courses that are repeated will count in the
calculation of hours or NC attempted and completed hours earned if the student receives a
passing grade; however, all grades received for the course will be included in calculating
the GPA.
Financial Aid Probation and Withdrawal
Students on
financial aid probation or withdrawal will be notified by letter of their failure to meet
Laredo Community College’s financial aid satisfactory progress policy. While on probation, students will be eligible to
receive financial assistance the following semester.
However, these students will be referred to the Tutoring Center for
assistance. Should the student then fail to
make satisfactory progress, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Withdrawal for one
long semester or until the student meets the financial aid academic requirements. All semesters are included in the 7 or 11
semester count whether assistance is received or not.
Students that
are placed on Financial Aid Probation WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO REGISTER EARLY WITH
FINANCIAL AID. Exceptions to any of the
above must be approved by the Director of Financial Aid.
Responsibilities Of The
Financial Aid Administrator
The
Administrator shall:
| Make every
effort to meet the demonstrated needs of all students at the institution to the extent
funding will permit in an ethical manner, and
|
| Award all
aid on the basis of demonstrated financial need, except where funds are specified for
recognition of special talents. Where
aid is not based on need and represents a significant portion of institutional assistance,
the aid administrator should make every effort to redirect such funds to assist those
students with demonstrated need; and
|
| Exercise
adequate controls to insure that need-based aid awards do not exceed documented need; and
|
| Recognize
that the primary responsibility for financing post secondary education rests with the
student and family. Financial assistance from
institutions and other sources is only intended as supplementary to the efforts of the
family; and
|
| Help
students seek, obtain, and make the best use of all financial resources available, and
|
| Provide in
all appropriate literature a clear statement of the actual cost of attendance, which shall
include both the direct and non-direct costs; and
|
| Inform the
student of all conditions under which an award is granted at the time the offer is made;
and
|
| Refrain
from and discourage others from making any public announcements of the amount or type of
financial aid awarded to a student in order to protect the confidentiality of the economic
circumstances of the student and family; and
|
| Respect
the confidentiality of student records. Information
should be released only on the written consent of the student and/or family and all
policies and procedures should protect the student’s rights of privacy, and
|
| Oppose the
administration of aid to accomplish disciplinary objective; and
|
| Estimate
needs honestly and fairly when preparing funding requests.
|
Students Have the Right:
| To know what financial aid programs are available
at the institution;
|
| To know the deadlines for submitting applications
for each of the programs available;
|
| To know how financial aid will be distributed, how
decisions on distribution are made, and the basis for these decisions;
|
| To know how their financial need was determined. This includes how costs for tuition and
fees, room and board, travel, books and supplies, personal and miscellaneous expenses are
considered in their budget;
|
| To know how much of their financial need has been
met as determined by the financial aid administrator at the institution.
|
| To know what resources (such as parental
contribution, other financial aid, their assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation
of their need;
|
| To request an explanation of the various programs
in their student aid package;
|
| To know the institution’s refund policy;
|
| To know what portion of the financial aid they
received must be repaid, and what portion is grant aid; the right to know what the
interest is, the total amount that must be repaid, the payment procedures, the length of
time they have to repay the loan, and when repayment is to begin; and
|
| Under the Loan Program, to request that the loan
payments be reduced for a specific period of time it it will assist in avoiding default.
|
Students
Have the Responsibility:
| To complete all application forms accurately and
submit them on time to the right place;
|
| To provide correct information. In most instances mis-reporting information on
financial aid applications is a violation of the law and may be considered a federal
offense;
|
| To return all additional documentation,
verification, corrections, and/or new information requested by either the financial aid
office or the agency to which they submitted applications;
|
| To read and understand all forms that they are
asked to sign and to keep copies of them;
|
| To accept responsibility for all agreements they
sign;
|
| To perform the work agreed upon in accepting a
College Work-Study award;
|
| To be aware of and comply with the deadlines for
application or reapplication for aid;
|
| To be aware of the institution’s refund
procedures; and
|
| To be aware that all institutions must provide
information to prospective students about their programs and performance. Students are expected to consider this
information carefully before deciding to attend.
|
| To notify the lender if any of the following occur
before a loan is paid:
|
| Change of address, name change
|
| Withdrawal from the institution or
less than half-time attendance
|
| Transfer to another
institution
|
|
