Los Medanos College - Department Heading

New FA Regulations Communication Campaign (Pell Lifetime Eligibility Limit, ATB)

ATTENTION ALL FINANCIAL AID RECIPIENTS! On December 23, 2011 the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law which significantly impacts Federal Student aid programs effective July 1, 2012.  

 

Pell Lifetime Eligibility Limit Effective with the 2012-2013 award year, the duration of a student’s eligibility to receive a Federal Pell Grant is 12 full-time semesters (or its equivalent). The calculation of the duration of a student’s eligibility will include all years of the student’s receipt of Federal Pell Grant funding. Once a student has received a Federal Pell Grant for 12 full-time semesters (or its equivalent) the student will no longer be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant for future semesters.

 

High School Graduation Requirements Effective July 1, 2012, students who do not have a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent (e.g., GED), or do not meet the home school requirements, will not be eligible to receive Federal student aid. Students may qualify for Federal student aid under one of the Ability-to-Benefit Test (ATB) alternatives IF the student was enrolled in a federal student aid eligible program prior to July 1, 2012. The ATB alternatives include the student passing an independently administered, approved ATB test or successfully completing at least six credit hours of postsecondary education.

 

Undeclared Major not eligible A new federal regulation was passed that grants Federal Financial Aid eligibility only to students with a declared academic major. Undecided majors are not eligible.

 

Financial Aid Repeat Course Policy Effective July 1, 2011, the Department of Education required colleges to limit how many times students can repeat a course and still receive financial aid for that course. Once a student earns a passing grade for a course that student can only repeat the course one more time and still receive financial aid.   A passing grade is defined by the college as a D- or better. If a student enrolls in a previously passed course for a third time, this course will not count for financial aid purposes.   The policy allows a student to receive financial aid under the following situations:

 

  1. To repeat any failed or withdrawn course until a passing grade is received.**  
  2. To repeat one time any course in which you previously received a passing grade (D- or better).  

**Please note that the repeat course policy for financial aid is separate from institutional academic policies regarding repeat courses. Please review this policy in your institutions catalog.** Contra Costa Community College District allows a student to enroll in the same class up to three times.

 

New Verification Requirements Due to new federal regulations students selected for verification (and their parents in the case of Dependent students) will now have to:

  • Submit tax transcripts from the IRS or use the IRS Data retrieval link provided in their FAFSA. We will no longer be able to accept copies of tax returns.
  • Verify wages even if they are not required to file taxes. We accept W2s, tax transcripts stating student/spouse/parent did not file and/or self certification on the Verification Worksheet.

Direct Loan Statutory Limit a first-time borrower's eligibility

Direct Subsidized Loans to a period not to exceed 150 percent of the length of the borrower’s educational program (“the 150% limit”). Under certain conditions, the provision also causes first-time borrowers who have exceeded the 150 percent limit to lose the interest subsidy on their Direct Subsidized Loans.

 

Direct Loan Grace Period Interest Subsidy
Effective July 1, 2012, students with Direct Subsidized Loans originated/disbursed after July 1, 2012 and before July 1, 2014 will be responsible for payment of interest accrued during the six month grace period.

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