Financial Aid
Financial aid is available to Moraine Valley students who prove eligibility and are enrolled in approved programs. Types of funds available to assist students include the following:
Federal Funds
Pell Grant
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Work Study Program (FWSP)
Direct Loans (Stafford and PLUS)
State Funds
Illinois Monetary Award Program
Police/Fire Officer Survivor Grant
Grant Program for Dependents of Correctional Officers
Military Awards
Veterans Administration (Veterans Educational Assistance Benefits)
Illinois Veterans Grant
Illinois National Guard/Naval Militia Grants
MIA/POW Scholarship
Other Funds
Adjunct Faculty Organization Scholarship
Joanne Casolari Memorial Scholarship
Chicagoland Regional College Program
Jane E. Crawley Scholarship
Faculty Association Scholarship
GED Achievement Scholarship, available to students who completed their GED within the past year and received a GED score of 3000 or higher
GED Award, available to students who completed their GED within the past year and received a GED score of 2500 or higher
Barbara J. Lehrman Memorial Scholarship
Moraine Valley Community College Foundation Scholarships
Moraine Valley Distinguished Scholar Award
Student Government Association Book Scholarship
Student Life Award of Excellence
Support Staff Association Scholarship
Detailed information about these awards is available in the Financial Aid Office or at morainevalley.edu/financialaid.
Application for Financial Aid — To apply for financial aid at Moraine Valley, applicants should complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Moraine Valley Data Confirmation form. The FAFSA application form is available online at fafsa.gov.
Early application enhances students’ chances of obtaining financial aid. Qualified applicants whose files are complete by May 1 will receive priority consideration. Eligible students must have all paperwork turned in to the Financial Aid Office by July 1 to be considered for a fall semester book voucher, Dec. 1 for a spring semester book voucher, and May 1 for a summer semester book voucher. Since processing financial aid can take up to eight weeks, students must plan well in advance of the time they will begin their course of study. Specific deadlines can be found at morainevalley.edu/financialaid. To qualify for financial aid, a student must meet the following criteria:
- be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident;
- be enrolled at Moraine Valley in an eligible program which is at least 16 credit hours in length. (Students enrolled only in developmental/remedial classes or the Intensive English Language Program are ineligible.);
- maintain academic standards of progress;
- demonstrate financial need; and
- have the potential to complete the educational program chosen. Must possess a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Students who qualify for federal and/or state funds will be informed of how and when they will receive their financial aid award via an award letter.
Students who are interested in an educational loan must meet with a financial aid expeditor to initiate the loan process.
Pell Grant Eligibility
Pell Grant Duration of Eligibility— The duration of a student’s eligibility to receive Pell Grant funds is 12 semesters. A percentage is calculated for students not attending full-time.
Summer Pell Grant – Students are only eligible for the summer Pell Grant if they received Pell Grant funds for only fall or spring, or if the students were paid less than full-time in either fall or spring. For financial aid purposes, 12 credit hours or more is considered full-time; 9-11 credit hours is considered three-quarter-time; 6-8 credit hours is considered half-time; and 5 or less credit hours is considered less than half-time.
Repeated Courses — Courses may be repeated once and count toward enrollment status for Title IV Aid (Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Direct Loans) if the student previously received a grade of “D” or better in the course. If a student passed a class once and then is repaid for retaking it and fails the second time, that failure counts as their paid retake, and the student may not be paid for retaking the class a third time.
Academic Standards of Progress for Recipients of Financial Aid — According to federal and state guidelines, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress to be eligible to receive financial assistance.
Moraine Valley has established the following standards of progress for students receiving federal and state financial assistance:
- To be eligible for financial assistance, students must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average, which includes developmental and remedial courses.
- Students must earn credit (grade of A, B, C, or D) for 67 percent of the cumulative hours in which they enroll.
- A student’s eligibility for financial aid at Moraine Valley will terminate when the student has attempted over 150% of the credit hours required to complete the student program. Credit hours attempted include developmental courses, remedial courses, transferred hours, and hours forgiven under the Forgiveness policy.
- Students who transfer hours from another institution which count toward the completion of their program at Moraine Valley will have those hours counted in their maximum timeframe.
- Students who apply for financial aid for the first time who have a previous history at Moraine Valley must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average and have earned 67 percent of hours attempted to be eligible for federal/state funds. The student’s record will be reviewed as if he or she had been on aid.
Repeated courses will be counted in hours attempted, but only the most recent grade received will be computed into the grade point average. The hours for the original course will not be added to hours earned. All hours, regardless of the F Forgiveness Policy, must be considered when calculating a student’s GPA and hours attempted/earned ratio.
Courses in which students receive “W” or “I” will count as hours attempted but not as hours earned. They will not be included in the grade point average.
Student records will be reviewed at the end of each semester, including the summer session. If a student’s grade point average is below 2.0 and/or the student has earned less than 67 percent of the hours attempted, an email or letter will be sent to the student stating the following:
- The criterion for academic progress has not been met.
- The criterion of 67 percent of cumulative credits earned in relation to hours attempted and a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average must be achieved in the next semester of enrollment. If not, the student will not be eligible for federal and/or state financial assistance until such criteria have been met.
Students applying for a Stafford loan must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 for the loan to be disbursed. There is no probationary period or appeal procedure for student borrowers per the college’s default management plan.
How to Calculate the 67% Completion Standard
- Get a copy of your transcript from the Registration Office.
- Total your attempted credit hours. These are defined as enrolled hours on or after the first day of class. Courses in which students receive an A, B, C, D, F, I, W, and/or X will be counted toward hours attempted.
- Total your successfully completed credit hours. These are defined as those with a grade of A, B, C, or D.
- Divide your successfully completed credit hours by your attempted credit hours.
If the resulting percentage is 67% or greater, then you have met the 67% completion standard for financial aid.
Example: 19 successfully completed hours divided by 27 attempted credit hours = .703 or 70%.
Repeated courses will be counted in hours attempted, but only the most recent grade received will be computed into the grade point average. The hours for the original course will not be added to hours earned.
How to Calculate Grade Point Average Standard
Example Calculation (Semester Grade Report)
| Course |
Letter Grade |
Grade Points Value |
|
Credit Hours |
|
Grade Points |
| COM-101 |
B |
3 |
x |
3 |
= |
9 |
| PSY-101 |
D |
1 |
x |
3 |
= |
3 |
| MTH-095 |
C |
2 |
x |
3 |
= |
6 |
| BIO-111 |
A |
4 |
x |
4 |
= |
16 |
| IMS-101 |
F |
0 |
x |
3 |
= |
0 |
| Totals |
|
|
|
16 |
|
34 |
Dividing 34 grade points by 16 credit hours gives a GPA of 2.125.
A student’s cumulative GPA is calculated by using total grade points on transcript divided by total credit hours attempted.
Procedure for Appeal and Reinstatement — Reinstatement will occur after classes have been taken at the student’s own expense, a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average has been achieved, and 67 percent of hours attempted have been earned.
If the student is of the opinion that unavoidable circumstances were the cause of lack of achievement, an appeal form for reinstatement of eligibility for federal/state funds may be submitted to the Financial Aid Committee. Appeal forms are available in the Financial Aid Office.
The determination of the appeal will be one of the charges of the Financial Aid Committee.
Refund Policy and Repayment of Financial Aid — According to the updated version (Section 668.22) of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, students receiving Title IV funds (Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG and Federal Direct Loans) and who withdraw from all their classes (officially or unofficially) within any timeframe of the semester will be subject to the federal and Moraine Valley’s refund policy.
Moraine Valley Community College’s refund policy related to student withdrawal states that it is a student’s responsibility to drop a course within published deadlines.
Courses dropped within the refund period will not appear on the students record. No-shows do not constitute a drop. 100 percent refund up to 8 percent of the course taken. Contact Cashier’s Office for refund dates based on number of weeks in class. A student is entitled to a full refund for any class that is cancelled by the college.
Refunds for short-term classes vary according to the length of the course. More information is available in the Cashier’s Office or at morainevalley.edu.
The federal refund policy states that the student may retain only the amount of aid that he/she has earned (as a result of the prorated amount of time the student has been in attendance for the semester.) Any aid that is not earned must be returned to its source. Some federal programs, such as grants, may have smaller amounts to be refunded based on the particular aid program and the student’s date of withdrawal. The student will be responsible for any tuition and fee balance resulting from the refund(s).
Further details and examples can be obtained in the Financial Aid Office, S107.