Financial Aid
Eligibility for Financial Aid
A student is eligible for need based financial aid if the calculated EFC, as determined through the filing of the FAFSA, is less than the Cost of Attendance of the institution. Need based financial aid includes the Federal Pell grant, FSEOG grant, Federal Work Study grant, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, the State of Illinois MAP grant and the State of Illinois IIA grant.
In accordance with Federal regulations, academic programs that require less than 24 credit hours for completion are NOT eligible for financial aid. This includes all Federal and State of Illinois financial aid; this does not include scholarships through the ICC Education Foundation. Please view the link below for a list of ineligible program plans. If you have declared your program of study in one of these plans, you will be ineligible for financial aid unless you change your program of study by visiting the David. R. Leitch Career Center at the ICC East Peoria Campus.
INELIGIBLE PLANS OF STUDY FOR FINANCIAL AID
Most classes offered at ICC are eligible for financial aid. Classes that are ineligible for financial aid are typically numbered below the 100 level. Enrollment in classes is used to determine the student’s eligible grant awards that are based on enrollment level. Funds from financial aid can be used to pay for classes that are ineligible, but the ineligible classes will not be used in the calculation for determining enrollment level and disbursement amounts.
Academic Requirements for Eligibility of Financial Aid
Illinois Central College (ICC) is required to establish satisfactory academic progress standards (SAP) for its federal and state financial assistance recipients in accordance with the U.S. Department of Education regulations. These standards ensure that only students demonstrating satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of their educational programs will continue to receive financial assistance. It is required by the U.S. Department of Education that an entire student’s record be evaluated for determining academic eligibility for financial assistance, even those semesters for which a student did not receive financial assistance.
Whether a student is considered to be making satisfactory progress depends on a successful course completion rate, grade point average (GPA), and maximum hours attempted to complete his or her course of study. These requirements are evaluated at the time you file your FAFSA and at the end of each fall, spring and summer semester.
COURSE COMPLETION RATE
ICC students must complete at least 67% of their cumulative hours attempted. The completion rate is calculated as follows:
Total # of Hours Completed
Total # of Hours Attempted
Hours attempted include all courses taken during a period of enrollment including withdrawals, repeated courses, and remedial courses. All hours forgiven under ICC’s Academic Forgiveness Policy appear on the academic record and count towards hours attempted. There is no forgiveness of courses in the calculation of course completion rate for financial assistance eligibility.
Hours completed are defined as courses completed with grades of A, B, C, D or S. Hours attempted with grades of F, W, WF, WU, EX, FX, U, I or FA are considered NOT completed. All courses with grades of NG, NR, GED classes and hours transferred in from other institutions are not considered in the completion rate calculation.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE
Each student must meet a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 to meet the SAP requirements. For the purposes of these standards, GPA is taken directly from the student’s academic record at ICC. All hours forgiven under ICC’s Academic Forgiveness Policy are removed from the GPA calculation on the academic record, and are therefore removed from the GPA calculation under this policy.
MAXIMUM HOURS ATTEMPTED
The maximum attempted hours a student has to complete their degree is equal to 150%, or 1.5 times the number of hours required for the completion of the degree or certificate. This includes hours transferred into ICC from other institutions or hours taken at ICC that were credited toward other program requirements. If the student changes their program of study, any previous coursework completed will be included in the calculation of attempted hours for the current program of study designated by the student.
Any student exceeding the 150% requirement will automatically be placed on SAP termination status for financial assistance. GED courses are not included in the maximum hours calculation.
WHAT IF I FAIL TO MEET THE STANDARDS?
The first semester a student fails to meet one of the academic requirements the student is placed on SAP warning. The second consecutive semester a student fails to meet either one of the academic requirements the student is placed on SAP termination.
WARNING
A student is placed on warning status the first time they fail to meet the completion rate or GPA requirements. Warning status does not stop a student from receiving assistance and is intended to serve as a notice that eligibility for assistance may be in jeopardy if the requirements are not met after the next semester. If the student raises his or her course completion rate or GPA to meet the standard, the student will be removed from warning and placed back in a satisfactory status.
TERMINATION
A student is placed on termination if they fail to meet either of the academic requirements for two consecutive semesters (GPA or completion rate) or if they have met or exceeded the maximum hours attempted requirement. The student is not eligible for financial assistance during this time. Termination status stops a student from receiving all types of financial assistance including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct Loans, Federal Work Study, ISAC MAP Grants, ISAC IIA Grants, ISAC Merit Recognition Scholarships, Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) and some academic scholarships.
If a student is placed on termination for financial assistance the student must regain good SAP standing by raising their course completion rate to 67% and/or raising their cumulative GPA to 2.0. Once these requirements have been met, and if the student has not reached maximum hours allowed for their program of study, financial assistance will be reinstated.
WHAT OPTIONS DO I HAVE IF I AM PLACED ON TERMINATION STATUS?
All students on termination for financial assistance may appeal. Only extenuating circumstances that can be supported with documentation (i.e. medical documentation) will be considered in the appeal process. Unawareness of withdrawal policies, unawareness of requirements for SAP, or unprepared for college coursework will not be accepted reasons for the purpose of an appeal.
The student must complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form which is available online at www.icc.edu/financialaid/forms.asp. The appeal must include: (a) reasons why the student did not achieve the minimum academic requirements, (b) supporting documentation for the extenuating circumstances and (c) a description of what has changed that will now allow the student to meet the academic requirements.
All students filing an appeal must submit a program plan with their appeal. This program plan must be signed by their advisor and must list all of the classes needed for the student to complete the degree/certificate. If it is determined that a student cannot meet SAP prior to the completion of the degree/certificate the appeal will not be approved. The ability to meet SAP prior to degree/certificate completion does not guarantee appeal approval.
A student appealing the maximum hours attempted requirement must also be within 12 hours of degree completion in order to have their appeal reviewed. If more than 12 credit hours are needed in order to complete the program, the appeal will not be approved. Any appeal submitted without a program plan will not be reviewed until a program plan is provided. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with an advisor to determine the remaining courses for graduation. Just providing a program plan does NOT guarantee continuation of financial assistance eligibility.
APPEAL PROCESS
The student will be notified of the decision in writing. All decisions are FINAL.
If the appeal for reinstatement is denied the student may still attend Illinois Central College, but will have to make other financial arrangements to pay for courses.
If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Financial Assistance Probation status and will be eligible to receive aid. The reinstatement of student loan eligibility for the current semester will not be considered until after midterm. The student must submit a Midterm Direct Loan Appeal form along with midterm grades from each instructor. This form can be obtained at www.icc.edu/financialaid/forms.asp.
Continued Probation Status: Those students for which an appeal is approved and the student shows continued progress at the end of the semester, but has not yet met the cumulative completion rate and/or GPA requirements, will remain on continued probation status for the following semester.