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 (FWS)

Direct Loans (Stafford and PLUS)

State Funds

Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP)

Police/Fire Officer Survivor Grant

Grant Program for Dependents of Correctional Officers

Other Funds

Adjunct Faculty Organization Scholarship

Joanne Casolari Memorial Scholarship

Chicagoland Regional College Program

Jane E. Crawley Scholarship

Faculty Association Scholarship

Barbara J. Lehrman Memorial Scholarship

Moraine Valley Community College FoundationScholarships

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 MVCC, 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 MVCC in an eligible program which is at least 16 credit hours in length. The Department of Education requires that no more than 25 percent of an eligible program be offered at a location other than MVCC or its extension sites (the Education Center at Blue Island and Southwest Education Center in Tinley Park). Christ Advocate Medical Center is an approved location for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) degree program only. The EMS certificate is not financial aid eligible.
Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP);
Demonstrate financial need; and
Have the potential to complete the educational program chosen. Must possess a high school diploma or high school equivalency 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 through the student portal. Students who are interested in an educational loan must complete a Federal Loan Request Form 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 or 600 percent. A percentage is calculated for students not attending full-time.

Summer Pell Grant – Year Round Pell – Year-Round Pell Grants

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 allows a student to receive Federal Pell Grant funds for up to 150 percent of the student’s Pell Grant Scheduled Award for an award year. This provision is effective beginning with the 2017-2018 financial aid award year.

To be eligible for the additional Pell Grant funds, the student must meet all general eligibility requirements to receive financial aid for the payment period and must be enrolled at least half time in the payment period for which the student receives the additional Pell Grant funds in excess of 100 percent of the student’s Pell Grant Scheduled Award.

Students who have not used 100 percent of their scheduled award may be 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.

Satisfactory Academic Progress for Recipients of Financial Aid

All students at Moraine Valley who receive federal financial aid must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward completion of their degrees/certificates at the end of each period of enrollment. This policy applies to the Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Work Study, Direct Loans, Stafford Loan, Parent Plus Loans, Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP), and military Veterans’ benefits.

Only courses that satisfy requirements outlined by the curriculum guide, catalog, or graduation evaluation form can be used to determine your enrollment status for financial aid purposes. If a student takes a course that does not fulfill a program requirement, the student must use other funding to cover such a course. Your financial aid SAP and enrollment status are based on your most recent program of study at Moraine Valley.

The U.S. Department of Education requires a policy to use both the qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (completion percentage) criteria when measuring SAP.

Moraine Valley reviews SAP at the end of each payment period and has approved the following standards defining SAP in accordance with regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education.

SAP Standards:

Cumulative GPA is a minimum 2.00 or higher and;
Cumulative completion rate is a minimum 67% or higher and;
Completion of program within 150 percent maximum timeframe allowed.

SAP Statuses

The following are various types of SAP statuses assigned to students applying and receiving Title IV funding. All courses earned at Moraine Valley and transferred into a student’s program are used when determining SAP statuses, including credits earned while not receiving Title IV funding.

Eligible SAP Statuses:

Satisfactory is assigned to students who are meeting the following criteria:
1. Cumulative GPA is a minimum 2.00 or higher and;
2. Cumulative completion rate is a minimum of 67% or higher and;
3. Completion of program within 150 percent maximum timeframe allowed
Warning - When students do not meet the cumulative GPA and/or completion percentage requirement(s) portions of SAP standards, they are placed on warning and notified accordingly. Students remain on warning until the next time SAP is reviewed; which is the next payment period. During the warning period, students remain eligible for federal financial aid for one payment period only.

Eligible SAP Statuses with Conditions:

Probation - Assigned to students who are within one term of meeting SAP standards. Students, who have appealed and approved, and placed on probation, and are eligible for Title IV funds, must meet SAP standards at the end of the subsequent payment period
Academic Plans - Are developed for students that, if followed, will ensure the students are able to meet SAP standards by a specific time period. Plans are created to address students who are affected by GPA, rate of completion, or both. Students who agree and continue to meet plan requirements are eligible for Title IV funds. If at any time while on the plan, the students do not meet the conditions at the end of a payment period, they return to the suspension/termination status (ineligible status).
GPA Plans - To qualify, students must have a completion rate of 67% and have a cumulative GPA less than a 2.00. This plan is structured to assist students with raising their cumulative GPA to a minimum of a 2.00 while maintaining their completion rate of 67%.
Pace Plans - To qualify, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 and have a completion rate less than 67%. This plan is structured to assist students with raising their completion rate while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.00.
Pace/GPA Plans - To qualify, students must have a completion rate less than 67% and a cumulative GPA less than 2.00.This plan is structured to assist students with raising their completion rate and cumulative GPA of 2.00 to meet SAP standards.

Ineligible SAP Statuses

Suspension/Termination – The second term following warning status that students did not meet one/all of the criteria below, they are ineligible for federal financial aid, and are notified accordingly. Students have the option to appeal their termination.
1. Cumulative GPA is less than 2.00 and/or;
2. Cumulative completion rate is less than 67%
Maximum Timeframe Completion - Each payment period SAP will be calculated to see if it is mathematically possible for students to complete their program and graduate within the maximum timeframe allowed. If at any point it is determined that the students cannot complete their program (i.e. graduate) within the maximum timeframe, that students become ineligible for Title IV aid. No warning or probation period is allowed.

The maximum timeframe for the completion of a degree/certificate program is defined as no more than 150 percent of the normal timeframe required to complete the degree program. For an undergraduate program, this is measured in credit hours. For example, a normal two year degree program requires 62 credits to complete (graduate). Students must complete the degree within 93 hours in order to remain eligible for Title IV funding.

Please Note: Coursework that transfers into an eligible program will be included in a student’s credit hours attempted and completed.

Students can appeal maximum timeframe if they are (12) twelve credit hours or less from completing their degree and (6) six credit hours or less from completing their certificate. Students must have an academic plan proving the number credit hours needed. Students who are approved for an extension will be placed on the following internal statuses:

Maximum Timeframe Appeal - 1
1. Students who are in need of one additional term
2. Maximum Timeframe Appeal - 2
  1. Students who are in need of a second additional term.

Students who previously were on Warning, Probation, Suspension/Termination, or an Academic Plan status will return back to a SATISFACTORY status if the following conditions are met:

Cumulative GPA equals 2.00 or higher and;
Cumulative Completion Rate equals 67% or higher and;
Completion of program within 150 percent maximum timeframe allowed.

The Following Categories Will Be Calculated as Follows:

Passing Grades

Students earn credit by receiving final grades of A, B, C, or D in courses attempted.

Guest Students

Students must be seeking a financial aid eligible degree or certificate in order to be eligible for Financial Aid. Guest Students are not eligible to receive financial aid.

Course Repeats

Students are only allowed to repeat courses to replace previously passed courses one (1) time and receive Title IV funds. When evaluating SAP, both attempts will be calculated in the student’s GPA, attempted and completed (if applicable) credits. This repeat policy applies to all courses whether or not financial aid was utilized.

Students may be paid for repeatedly failing the same course (normal SAP policy still applies to such cases). If students withdraw before completing the course that they are being paid Title IV funds for retaking, the course is not counted as their one allowed retake for that course. However, if students passed a class once and are repaid for retaking it but fail the second time, the failure counts as their paid retake and they may not be paid for retaking the class a third time.

Courses That Were Academically Forgiven

Schools are not allowed to ignore hours attempted, hours completed or earned grades on coursework applicable to the student’s program of study from previously enrolled periods. All courses will be included in the GPA, attempted, and completed SAP calculations.

Incomplete Grades

When students do not complete all course requirements by the end of their enrollment payment periods, some instructors may assign a temporary grade of (I) for incomplete. In these cases, instructors assign traditional grades after the students complete the course requirements.

Incomplete grades may inaccurately reflect a students’ GPA and/or pace. Incomplete grades are not considered passing grades and will be counted in SAP calculations for attempted credits as unsuccessful completion; however, these grades will not affect students’ GPA until the final grade is recorded. The students’ SAP will be updated and recalculated to include the new grade. Should the new calculation makes the students ineligible for Title IV funds and aid has been disbursed; the students will be responsible for all aid and balances incurred. All future disbursements will be cancelled.

Withdrawal Grades

Courses in which students receive “W” grades will count as hours attempted but not as hours earned. They will not be included in the grade point average.

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits accepted toward the students’ program from another institution will be counted in both attempted and completed in a student's SAP evaluation.

Audit and Remedial Courses

Audited classes are not considered "financial aid eligible"; therefore they count neither as hours attempted or completed.

Remedial/Prerequisite Courses

Remedial coursework are considered "financial aid eligible"; therefore, they are counted as attempted and completed hours, and included in the students’ GPA whether they are completed successfully or unsuccessfully.

Students are limited to 30 credit hours attempted for remedial/pre-requisite courses.

Consortium Agreements

Students coursework earned at Moraine Valley on a consortium agreement will be evaluated using this SAP policy.

Grade Changes

When a grade change occurs, the Registrar will notify the Financial Aid office of such change. The students’ SAP will be updated and recalculated to reflect the changed grade for that term. Should the new calculation make the students ineligible for financial aid and aid has been disbursed; the students will be responsible for all aid and balances incurred. All future disbursements will be cancelled.

Second Degrees/Certificates (SAP Reset)

Students seeking consecutive degrees/certificates are monitored like any other students under this policy. A new SAP calculation is performed for the new program of study to determine eligibility. Any credits earned at Moraine Valley from prior program that meet requirements in the new program will be counted in the students’ GPA, attempted and completed credit hours. Any transfer hours that meet requirements in the new program will be treated as transfer credits.

Appeal Procedures

Students not meeting SAP requirements have the option to appeal their suspension/termination of financial aid. It is the responsibility of the students to initiate any appeal. Students must submit their appeal between the dates noted on the appeal form in order to be considered for the appropriate term. Removal of an academic restriction by Admissions, Registration, Counseling and Career Development, or another Moraine Valley office does not constitute reinstatement of federal aid eligibility. All appeal decisions are final. Please note: Sitting out for an enrollment period(s) is not sufficient to re-establish eligibility for Title IV aid.

Appeals are based on a documentable extenuating circumstances impacting academic performance. Extenuating circumstances are considered to be past events that are no longer barriers to prevent academic progress. The appeal application must support how the students are now in a position to be academically successful.

Appeals will not be granted for the repeated circumstances. For example, an appeal can be granted due to a medical issue (back surgery in 2010) placing the students on probation or an academic plan. If students are placed on termination again, the same medical issue (back surgery in 2010) cannot be used as the basis for the appeal. The latter appeal must be based on a reason different from the first appeal with updated documentation that matches the period(s) of enrollment.

Note: Circumstances related to the typical adjustment to college life such as working while attending school, financial issues related to paying bills and car maintenance/travel to campus are not considered as extenuating for purposes of appealing suspension/termination of financial aid.

Examples of extenuating circumstances to be considered for appeal:

Serious illness or injury to students or immediate family member that required extended recovery time
Death of an immediate family member
Significant trauma in students’ life that impaired the students’ emotional and/or physical health
Withdrawal due to military service
Second degree or certificate
Change of major
Other unexpected circumstances beyond the control of the student

For this purpose immediate family member is defined as (parent, spouse, sibling, and child, grandparent (step or in-law respectively).

Notifications to Students

Students receive the following notifications:

Warning Letter

Warning letters alert students that although they remain eligible for Title IV funding, they must return back to a satisfactory status at the end of the next payment period enrolled.

Suspension/Termination

Suspension/Termination letters notify students that they are no longer eligible for Title IV funding as well as offer guidelines how to regain Title IV funding.

Warning Maximum Time

Warning maximum timeframe letters warn students who are at or reaching 120 percent maximum timeframe to meet with an academic advisor to determine how many credits remain to complete their program. This notice also alerts students that they must complete their program within 150 percent maximum timeframe.

Maximum Time

Maximum timeframe letters notify students that they are no longer eligible to receive Title IV funding because they weren’t able to complete their program within 150 percent timeframe allowed.

Return of Federal Funds Policy

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’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 student's 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/cost-and-aid/tuition.

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).

Students who withdraw from coursework in a semester may be required to return a portion of the federal financial aid that had been applied to their account. The final amount of financial aid earned will be based on the period of time the student participated during the semester.

Students receiving federal funds, who fully withdraw, either officially or unofficially, before the conclusion of the semester, are subject to a “Return of Title IV Aid” calculation established by the federal government. This calculation determines the portion of federal funds that were earned by the student up to the time of withdrawal. The withdrawal date (last date of attendance) will be determined by official withdrawal from classes by the student, or as reported by the instructor in cases of unofficial withdrawal. If the student withdraws beyond the 60% point in the semester, they are considered to have earned 100% of the federal financial aid they were scheduled to receive.

Students enrolled in classes that do not span the entire semester are considered withdrawn if, at the time of the withdrawal, they are not actively attending another class and have not provided written confirmation of anticipated return in the semester for a late start class.

Federal financial aid disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned to the federal government. The college will perform the “Return of Title IV Aid” calculation within 30 days of the date of determination that a student has completely withdrawn and return any unearned federal funds it is responsible for returning within 45 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew.

If the student previously received a refund from financial aid, which was to be used for education-related personal or housing expenses, they may be required to return a portion of those funds to the college. When the college returns a student’s unearned funds to the government, they will be billed for any balance due for any unearned refunds received or institutional charges that are now unpaid as a result of the return of federal funds.

If it is determined through a “Return of Title IV Aid” calculation that the Federal financial aid already disbursed to the student is less than the earned amount, the school will generate a post-withdrawal disbursement to the student no later than 45 days after the date of the school’s determination that the student withdrew.

Funds returned to the federal government based on the “Return of Title IV” Aid calculation referenced above, reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal aid programs. Federal financial aid returned by the student, the parent, or the college, are allocated in the following order:

Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
Federal Direct Parent Loan (PLUS)
Federal Pell Grant
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
TEACH Grant

If financial aid is awarded after the conclusion of the semester, federal aid is awarded based on the courses completed for that semester.

Students receiving Federal financial aid and considering withdrawing from registered coursework are encouraged to make an appointment with a Financial Aid expeditor to examine the implications to their financial aid.

Recalculating Financial Aid For Enrollment Changes

The Department of Education (ED) requires schools to disburse the Federal Pell Grant based on a student’s level of enrollment (i.e., full-time, three-quarter time, half-time or less than half-time). Stafford Loans and other financial aid programs also have minimum enrollment requirements.

The following information pertains to the Federal Pell Grant and explains how enrollment status is determined for awarding purposes.

The census date, also known as the Pell Recalculation Date (PRD), is the last day for students to add or drop courses before ”locking in” their enrollment status for Pell Grant awarding purposes. MVCC uses the award period census date for all students who attend classes at the start of the semester. For students who begin attendance after the term has begun (and are NOT enrolled) the census date will be the date the Pell Grant is first awarded.

The award period census dates can be found on our website.

Note: All registration activity must be completed by each term’s census date to have the courses count toward your enrollment status. Any registration activity that occurs after the census date will be excluded from receiving financial aid.

Pell Recipients Selected For Verification

If a student is selected for verification, all documentation is submitted and the funds are disbursed during the semester, the student’s Pell grant will be based on hours locked in at the Moraine Valley’s census date and the valid Estimated Family Contribution (EFC).

If the student completes the financial aid process after the term has ended, the amount of disbursement will be based on the valid EFC, Moraine Valley’s census date and the hours completed. Earned failing grades (F) are considered hours completed for this purpose only. Withdrawal grades (W) will not be eligible to receive financial aid in this instance.

Class Cancellations

The college has the right to cancel courses. In the event a course is canceled, students will be allowed to register for another course to replace the canceled course. The replaced course will be given the same registration date as the canceled course. All courses you register for must be applicable to your program of study. All other Title IV rules will apply to the newly-added course.

Financial Aid Program Limits

Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (PLEU)

The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Since the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100 percent, the six-year equivalent is 600 percent.

Percent used: To determine how much of the maximum six years (600 percent) of Pell Grant you have used each year, the ED compares the actual amount you received for the award year with your scheduled award amount for that award year. If you receive the full amount of your scheduled award, you will have used 100 percent. It’s possible you might not receive your entire scheduled award for an award year. There are a number of reasons for this, the most common of which are you are not enrolled for the full year and/or you are not enrolled full-time (12 or more credit hours).

If you did not receive the full amount of your scheduled award, MVCC calculates the percentage of the scheduled award you did receive. For example, if your scheduled award for an award year was $5,000, but you enrolled for only one semester, you received $2,500—50 percent of the scheduled award for that award year. If you received only $3,750 for the award year because you enrolled three-quarter-time, you received 75 percent for that year.

Subsidized Usage Limit Applies (SULA)

Maximum eligibility period to receive Direct Subsidized Loans

There is a limit on the maximum period of time (measured in academic years) you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans. In general, you may not receive Direct Subsidized Loans for more than 150 percent of the published length of your program. This is called your “maximum eligibility period.” You can find the published length of any program of study in this catalog.

For example, if you are enrolled in a two-year associate degree program, the maximum period for which you can receive Direct Subsidized Loans is three years (150 percent of two years = three years).

Your maximum eligibility period is based on the published length of your current program and can change if you switch programs. If you do switch programs, the Direct Subsidized Loans you received for the first program you enrolled in generally will count against your new maximum eligibility period.

Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) Limit

Limit for each term: Payment for each term is made according to the equivalent number of credit hours eligible for MAP payment, with a minimum of three and a maximum of 15 MAP Paid Credit Hours. If you are enrolled for the equivalent of 15 or more credit hours, the number of MAP Paid Credit Hours assessed to you will be 15. If you enroll in a different number of credit hours during the various terms of the same academic year, your actual MAP award may be different for each of those terms.

Limit for freshman and sophomore students: There is a limit on the number of MAP Paid Credit Hours that can be paid while you are classified by your school as a freshman or sophomore. This limit is the equivalent of 75 MAP Paid Credit Hours. If this maximum is reached, you must attain junior status at whichever school you are (or will be) attending for your MAP grant eligibility to resume.

Please note: Moraine Valley is limited to a sophomore status.

Total limit: The maximum number of MAP Paid Credit Hours is capped at the equivalent of 135 MAP Paid Credit Hours.

Students with Bachelor Degree Limits

Once you have a bachelor’s degree or a first professional degree, you are generally not eligible for MAP, Pell or Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG). You may be eligible to apply for Federal Work Study and Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans if you have not borrowed your maximum loan eligibility.

If your bachelor’s degree was received in a foreign country, it must be evaluated by an accredited agency to ensure it is the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Moraine Valley recommends Educational Perspectives (edperspectives.org). For assistance with finding other accredited agencies, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services website (naces.org).

If you have a bachelor’s degree, whether it was earned in the U.S. or a foreign country, and you are pursuing a Moraine Valley Associate in Applied Science degree or certificate that is at least 16 hours and financial aid eligible, you must meet with an academic advisor to obtain a signed Degree Audit Worksheet.

Your program on record must match the program listed on your Degree Audit Worksheet to be eligible.

You are not eligible for aid if you are not degree/certificate seeking at Moraine Valley. Call the Academic Advising Center at (708) 974-5721 for availability.

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.

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2018-2019 Catalog