Financial Aid | Financial Aid Handbook

Financial Aid Handbook

The purpose of this handbook is to provide a quick reference to the financial aid process and to help students understand the requirements for continued aid eligibility. The Student Financial Services Office is available to answer any questions about information on this website.

Student Responsibilities:
As a financial aid recipient, you are responsible for knowing and understanding the following:

The Student Financial Services Office reserves the right to review or modify my award at any time due to changes in my status, new or conflicting information in my records, or because of the availability of funds.

Any form of funding offered has been made in good faith and may be canceled or reduced if funds become unavailable.

I must notify the Student Financial Services Office of changes in my status with respect to additional funds received from outside sources. These sources may include scholarships, tuition assistance, agency benefits or third-party billing payments.
I must notify the Student Financial Services Office of changes in my address, enrollment status or program/major. I also understand that these changes may result in adjustments to my financial aid award.

I must be enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program, or working on a transfer degree program that is acceptable for full credit toward a Bachelor’s Degree at a four year degree granting institution.

I must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible to receive financial aid funds. (See SAP Guidelines page)
Federal regulations allow me to receive financial aid funds at only one institution at a time.

Under certain circumstances, I may attend more than one institution at a time, and receive funds from one school. I will abide by the requirements of co-admission, complete the required documentation and provide proof of enrollment and grades to the home school in order to continue to receive aid funds. (see Co-admission Program requirements)

If I receive an overpayment of funds, withdraw, drop or stop attending classes I may be subject to repayment of financial aid funds. The repayment of funds will be determined by applying the formula determined by the Federal guidelines on the Return of Title IV Funds. (See Return of Title IV funds)

The college has the option to withhold my official transcripts if repayment is required and remains unpaid.

I understand that if I have received Stafford or Perkins Loan funds, my transcripts will be held if I do not complete an EXIT interview at the time I leave CCC.

Financial Aid Award Letter/Conditions of Award
Your Award Letter is an offer of financial aid assistance. The funding indicated on the award letter is for full time enrollment, and indicates the actual amounts that we have committed to you. Your aid package will change (reduced funds) if you are not attending full time. Some funds may no longer be available to you. If you are not going to attend full time, please contact our office or indicate the change on the award letter. There is a deadline that you need to meet. Due to the number of students requesting assistance and the limited funding available, your award will be cancelled four weeks from the date of issue if you do not sign and return the letter to the Student Financial Services Office. There is no guarantee that funds will be available once they have been cancelled. It is our policy to award these funds to students who are on our waiting list.

We reserve the right to adjust any financial aid award throughout the year if funding sources change or if funds were over-committed due to a high acceptance of aid. We will also adjust financial aid awards if student information changes and impacts a student’s eligibility for funds due to special circumstances. Please file this 2009- 2010 Special Circumstance form if requested by the financial aid office . You are required to report any increases in resources over $100.00 to the Student Financial Service Office, or if you are receiving funding from another institution. This includes any scholarship, grant or loan, or funds from a source other than your family as indicated on the FAFSA.

Federal regulations prohibit students from receiving aid at more than one school. If you are attending more than one institution of higher education, you need to decide which institution will be your “home” school and provide your financial aid package. If you receive funds from two institutions, you will be expected to repay the funds that were overpaid.

Students must enroll in an eligible course of study. If you have a question about a major or program, please contact the Student Financial Services Office to ensure that you will be able to receive aid. Most Two Year Associate Degree programs and One Year certificate programs at CCC are eligible for aid. Short term courses (less than 9 months/3terms in length) are usually not eligible for aid dollars.

Students must have a high school diploma or GED to be considered to have the “ability to benefit” from education. Students who do not have a high school diploma or GED, and 18 years old or older (Oregon Department of Education compulsory age of attendance), you may take an Ability To Benefit Test through our Testing Center. If you pass the test, your information will be forwarded to the Student Financial Services Office and we will continue processing your aid request. If you are under 18 years of age, you must receive a GED in order to be eligible for aid.

As a recipient of any aid dollars, students are expected to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This means that each term, students must complete at least the minimum credits for the enrollment level indicated at the time they received funds, and maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Please refer to Satisfactory Academic Progress for more complete information.
Students must complete a FAFSA each year, and apply for aid. Students are granted up to 9 terms to complete an Associate Degree program, and up to 5 terms to complete a Certificate program. We suggest that all students work with an advisor to develop an educational plan and follow it to ensure that they are able to reach their educational goals within the time frame allowed.

Award Notification/Changes
Award letters are sent to students when the initial award package is offered. After that, changes in financial aid award packages can be viewed by logging on to CougarTrax and viewing your financial aid account information. The only exception to this process is if you are awarded either a Perkins or Stafford Loan. Additional paper work and requirements may be needed to receive these funds.

Changes In Enrollment Status/Aid
Award Packages are initially awarded as full time. If you are not planning on attending full time, you have the opportunity on the award letter to indicate that you would like to either decline aid, or ask for a change in enrollment status. If you wish to decline funds or to change enrollment status, use a CHANGE IN AID form.

Once your aid has been sent to your student account to cover costs, you are responsible to meet all enrollment requirements. No adjustments will be made after the second week of the terms.

If your funds have not been sent to your account, you may change your enrollment status and we will adjust your aid to match your enrollment. Please remember that if you reduce your enrollment status, you will almost certainly receive less funding than at full time status. (The only exception to this may be for scholarship recipients and loan recipients. That will be determined on a student by student basis.) You may complete a CHANGE IN AID form prior to the start of the term, or during the first two weeks of the term. Again, funds must not have been sent to your student account.

If you would like to request additional funds - if you are increasing your enrollment from part time to full time - you would also use a CHANGE IN AID form. If you would like to be considered for funds that may become available that you are eligible to receive, you would submit a CHANGE IN AID form requesting consideration for those funds.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Students receiving financial aid while attending Clackamas Community College are expected to maintain a minimum 2.0 cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). Students are also expected to complete all credits required to maintain their paid enrollment level.

Clarification:
Full time minimum is 12 credit hours. Three-quarter time minimum is 9 credit hours. Half-time minimum is 6 credit hours. Students enrolled less than half-time must complete all credits required to maintain their paid enrollment level. All students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA or better.

SAP Terminology:
Good Standing: All students receiving aid for the first time at Clackamas Community College are considered to be in Good Standing. Students who complete all credits with a 2.0 GPA or better will remain in good standing. (Students who have attended CCC prior to receiving aid may be determined to be on probation if their current cumulative GPA is less than 2.0)

Probationary Status Students who do not complete all credits as required and/or do not maintain a 2.0 GPA each term will be considered to be in a Probationary Status. Students will receive a letter informing them that they did not meet the SAP guidelines, and that they need to complete the deficit credits at their earliest convenience, or immediately improve their GPA. Students will remain as Probationary until they have completed the required credit hours or improved their GPA and petition to return to Good Standing.

Termination Status: Students who are on probation and do not complete the required credit hours or do not raise their cumulative GPA to at least a 2.0 will be considered ineligible for further aid. Students will receive a letter notifying them of their status. Students may appeal this decision if there are extenuating circumstances. If an appeal is approved, the student returns to Probationary Status and is eligible to receive aid.

If a student again does not meet SAP requirements, the student will be terminated from aid eligibility and expected to make up deficit credits and/or bring their cumulative GPA to a 2.0 by paying for their educational costs on their own.

Exception:

If there was documented illness** or an emergency ONLY, an appeal may be submitted for review. If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed in a probationary status.
If a late grade created the termination, students may submit a Late Grade Appeal form ONLY WHEN the grade(s) is posted on the CougarTrax system. The appeal will be reviewed and student will be returned to probationary status if that completes the credit requirements and the student has a 2.0 GPA.

• On-going medical issues must be resolved before a student is eligible for further aid, if the illness or medical situation was the reason for more than one term of unsatisfactory progress for the student.

Students (regardless of status) who complete no credit hours during any term will be terminated from aid eligibility and their file reviewed for last date of attendance and possible repayment of aid dollars.

The Financial Aid Award Letter
A financial aid award letter will be available to you through CougarTrax. Offers are listed as full time aid packages.

We use an automatic packaging process that indicates an award amount that you may be eligible for based on the information you have provided through the FAFSA. This is the first step in our awarding process, and there is other information that must be reviewed before the award becomes an actual aid offer. You may print the award letter, sign it and return it to our office.

What if there is no award letter information? (My Documents Screen)
If you have electronically filed or mailed off your FAFSA, and you have not received further contact from the Student Financial Services Office, you can check the MY DOCUMENTS option. You must choose the current school year to look at the most recent activity. This option will indicate the following information:

1. If there is a record/document request listed for the current year, then we have received your electronic FAFSA information.
2.The form will indicate if you have completed and returned all the documents that we need to consider your file complete and ready for review.
3. If the record shows that not all information is complete, you may use the link to go to the Student Financial Services website and print the forms that show an asterisk (*), fill them out and return them to us to help us process your information more quickly.
4. We estimate that it will take eight (8) weeks from the time all of your forms are received by our office before you may have an award offer. This may be longer prior to fall term.

Financial Aid Status by Term/Award (Menu Options)
These options list only the award categories and amounts from the award letter.

How do I read the award screens?
We offer the following funds:

GRANTS - gift aid or funds that you do not have to pay back when you leave school
SCHOLARSHIPS AND WAIVERS: usually you have completed a special form to receive these funds and they also do not need to be paid back
WORK-STUDY: these are aid dollars that you earn by working atan approved site.
LOANS: these are aid dollars that must be repaid after you have graduated or leave school.
Each of the award categories will have a total and then a term by term amount listed. The Financial Aid Status By Term will give you only the term amount for each award category for the term you select.

How do I know what kind of aid I have been awarded?
Pell, ORNG, SEOG are grants that do not need to be paid back
CWSP indicates work-study funds that you need to earn
Perkins or Stafford are loans, and must be paid back.
Other awards listed may be a tuition waiver or a scholarship. We try to give a brief description for each award. Awards are listed in the following order, if you have more than one type of award: Grants, work-study, loans, waivers and scholarships. For example, if you only have a loan, then that will be all that is listed.

We reserve the right to adjust your award package without prior notice if our fund allocations change. A revised award letter will be available on CougarTrax. You may change your award package by changing your enrollment status. We are able to increase original funds only if there are more funds available.

Federal Financial Aid Repayment Policy
Federal financial aid regulations state that a student who withdraws or stops attending classes prior to completing 60% of the term will not have earned 100% of the financial aid award that was received. That student may be required to return a portion of the federal aid that was disbursed to him. The calculations for the Return of Funds is completed in the manner proscribed by the Federal Department of Education.

If you withdraw from one or more of your classes, you will be held to Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, and you may be ineligible to receive further funding. (See Financial Aid Handbook or Financial aid website for more information)

A complete withdrawal from all classes will mean that we process your financial aid information to determine if you owe a refund to Clackamas Community College or to the Department of Education. We will review your aid information, and using your last date of attendance, determine how much of your financial aid award funds you earned. Normally, the last date of attendance will be determined by the date the Registrar’s office lists for withdrawal from your last class. If our records show that you did not complete at least one credit hour for the term, your file will be reviewed and the official withdrawal date will be determined, if possible, or we will use the mid-point of the term if a date has not been provided. The calculation is based on the number of days in the term vs. number of days you attended class.

If you are found to have received funds that you did not "earn", you will be expected to repay these funds or you may not be eligible to receive further federal aid, including loans, at Clackamas Community College or any other Title IV institution. These funds must be repaid to the Federal Department of Education. You have 45 days from the date of the letter sent informing you of the overpayment to make payment arrangements with Clackamas Community College. CCC will return these fund to the Department for you. If you do not respond within the 45 days indicated, your account will be turned over to the Department and you will become ineligible to receive further federal aid funds.

For more information on the calculations used for return of funds, please contact the Student Financial Services Office at

503- 657-6958, ext 2423.

Minimum Requirements: You must attend / participate in class through 60% of the class time to earn 100% of your aid.

Co-Admission and Dual Enrollment programs between CCC and Portland State University
If you are in the co-admission program between CCC and PSU, you have the option of taking classes at both institutions at the same time. If you are a financial aid recipient, you need to know a number of things in order to receive aid for all the credits that you enroll for at each institution.

Currently, the Student Financial Services Office has a formal agreement only with Portland State University (PSU).
You can receive funds from only one school at a time. If you are taking the majority of your classes at CCC, and have not completed a formal admission to PSU, then Clackamas will be your home school for aid. Both institutions will work to coordinate the transitions for you.

If you are planning on being co-enrolled, you need to know that you must be enrolled for at least 6 credit hours at CCC for us to award you aid. This is the minimum credit load that you can carry and receive funds. If you are attending PSU, please be aware that CCC will pay aid for only 100 and 200 series courses. If you are planning on taking upper division course work, then you need to apply for formal admission to PSU and make them your home school.

You must supply a copy of your registration from PSU to the Student Financial Services Office before your funds will be released to the CCC Student Accounts office to cover your student account here. It is your responsibility to cover the educational costs at any other institution.

You must provide a copy of your grade transcript to the Student Financial Services office if CCC is your home school. You will not be considered in good standing until your grades have been provided and reviewed.

If you do not maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, then you will no longer be eligible to receive funds for dual enrollment. No appeals are granted for loss of eligibility.

Dual Enrollment Check List for Financial Aid Students
Complete an Application For Admission to Clackamas Community College.

Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) indicating Clackamas Community College as one of the schools to receive your financial information
Complete and return all requested documents to the Student Financial Services Office as soon as possible.
Complete New Student Orientation and develop an educational plan for your time at Clackamas Community College
Sign and return your award letter to the Student Financial Services Office

Register for classes
Inform the Student Financial Services Office of any change in enrollment status both before and during the term. (If you change your enrollment status after picking up your funds, it may affect your financial aid award and future eligibility.)

Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) while attending Clackamas. SAP means that you must complete all credits that you are paid for with a 2.0 or better Grade Point Average (GPA).

Each year you will need to complete a new FAFSA and apply for financial aid. Remember to include Portland State University when completing your application for the year you will be transferring.
Contact the Student Financial Services Office one to two terms prior to graduation or your transfer term. They can aid you in making a smooth financial aid transition to Portland State University.
Limits to Receive Federal Aid

There is a limit to the number of credits that a student may receive Federal financial aid to complete a degree or certificate program. Most degree programs at CCC require you to complete at least 90 credits, and a certificate program requires between 38 and 50 credits for completion. Students may be eligible for funding to cover additional credits to complete a degree or certificate program if there are extenuating circumstances that fall under the 150% rule for receiving federal aid. (150%=135 credits as a limit for a degree, and approximately 68 credits as a limit for a certificate.) Extensions are not approved to cover dual degrees or certificates.

Student will be informed by letter at the time it is determined that they are approaching the end of their aid eligibility. It is the student's responsibility to complete and submit an Aid Extension Request, along with supporting documentation, in a timely manner for review. Aid will not be awarded past the credit limits listed above without approval of the formal Request.

Perkins and Stafford Loans

Stafford: You will need to apply for the loan at Collegelenderlist.com. Carefully follow all directions.
Perkins: You must complete the entrance interview process by going to www.mapping-your-future.org and selecting the Student Loan Counseling interview and then selecting Perkins loan.

Scholarships
The Clackamas Community College Foundation provides over $300,000 in scholarships for anyone who is enrolled at CCC, plans to enroll at CCC or transfer from CCC to a four year college/university for the academic year; has a 2.0 GPA or higher; has a high school diploma, GED or high school equivalency. The hundreds of scholarships CCC offers cover many different areas and interests. Some of these areas include:

Program/Major of Interest (e.g. art, drafting, nursing)
Academic Merit (GPA)
Extracurricular Activities (e.g. athletics, music, journalism)
Financial Need
Personal Barriers (e.g. disability; language; ethnicity; first in family to go to college)
Clackamas Community College offers two open enrollment periods. The first open enrollment period starts in January and the deadline to submit your completed application is in March. We highly recommended that you apply for our scholarships during this time period.

The second open enrollment begins in October and the deadline is in November. Scholarships are limited during the second open enrollment.

Scholarship applications are only accepted during open enrollment periods.

All scholarship offering can be found by accessing the Financial Aid web page on the CCC website during the open enrollment period. Complete one standard scholarship application form and you are automatically considered for all CCC scholarships for which you are eligible.

CCC also assists non-college donors to advertise their scholarships. We provide information in the lobby area of Roger Rook Hall on scholarships that are available to students. Information is updated as we receive it. Students will need to contact non-CCC donors directly for assistance or questions.

Talent Waivers
CCC also offers Talent waivers to qualified students attending CCC. These awards waive tuition for one or more terms for students selected because of a special skill or talent. These are just some of the tuition waivers available to students: Athletics, Forensics, Music, Associated Student Government, Theater Arts and Student Ambassador. Please contact the departments directly for more information on application and award.

Veterans Services
Certification and funding assistance is available through the Student Financial Services Office. Information and forms for veterans and eligible family members are provided through our office. Please contact the VA directly to let them know you are interested in attending CCC and then contact our Veterans Representative at 503-657-6958, ext 2554.

Finanicial Aid | Handbook | FAQs | Scholarships | Student Financial Accounts | Veterans

Financial Aid | Financial Aid Handbook