FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

East Peoria Campus • L211 • (309) 694-5600 • financialaid@icc.edu

Illinois Central College is committed to the philosophy that all individuals who need, want, and are able to benefit from higher education should be provided the opportunity to realize their aspirations and goals. Illinois Central College offers a variety of financial aid to students who may encounter difficulty in meeting financial obligations while pursuing their education. Major types of aid include the Federal Pell Grant, State of Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP), Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Work Study Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and scholarships.

To apply and to be considered for financial aid you must:

• Complete the ICC Admissions Form. The form can be completed by visiting icc.edu/apply.

• Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You must enter ICC’s school code #006753 for your information to be processed by ICC. The FAFSA can be submitted electronically with the government at studentaid.gov.  The ICC Financial Assistance staff is able to provide assistance with completing the FAFSA. Please email financialaid@icc.edu for assistance.

• Have enrolled or have been accepted to enroll in a program of study requiring 16 credit hours or more.

• Are in compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SAP) prior to and following receipt of financial aid. All students applying for aid must meet GPA (cumulative 2.0) and completion rate (cumulative 67%) requirements. In addition, the student must not have attempted the maximum hours allowed for the program. In general, this requirement is 1.5 times the number of hours required to complete the program. Students not meeting SAP standards will be notified in writing through their student email account. Students may be reinstated for financial aid once they meet SAP requirements. Students may appeal their loss of aid eligibility if extenuating circumstances exist. For a detailed explanation of SAP, please visit icc.edu/students/financial-aid/eligibility. PLEASE NOTE: By law, all coursework on a student’s transcript must be reviewed for purposes of determining SAP, even if previous hours attempted were not paid by Federal Student Aid.  

• If a student is enrolled in courses that do not count toward his/her degree, certificate, or other recognized credential, they cannot be used to determine enrollment status unless they are eligible remedial courses. This means we cannot award a student aid for classes that do not count toward his/her degree, certificate, or other recognized credential.

• If additional information is requested by ICC, you will receive the request through your ICC student email account. All requested documentation must be received as soon as possible. Your FAFSA will not be processed until all documentation is received.

• If you are requesting student loans, you must submit all paperwork required. Visit Types of Financial Aid Available - Students (icc.edu/students/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid-available/) for a list of documents required for the loan application.

Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA form as soon as possible after October 1 of each year. Applications are accepted throughout the year. However, completed applications received by March 1 of each year are given priority status when determining eligibility for limited funded grants such as FSEOG and Federal Work Study.

Return of Financial Aid Funds

Title IV funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. Students should understand that changing their class schedule anytime during the semester might alter the amount of financial aid they are eligible to receive.

If a student falls below 6 credit hours and has a student loan, the student may no longer be eligible to receive the loan.

Federal regulations state that financial aid is earned by attending class. You have not earned 100% of your financial aid until you have attended more than 60% of the term. If you withdraw before this date, a portion of your financial aid has not been earned.

The unearned portion is equal to the percentage of the term remaining on the date of withdrawal. Your financial aid eligibility will be recalculated based on your actual period of attendance using a specific credit hour-standard term formula. You may be asked to repay a portion of the aid that had been disbursed to you.

If it is found that the student owes part or all of their financial aid back to the Department of Education, the College will return that money, which will result in the student owing the College. This balance must be paid before future enrollments, graduation or the release of transcripts are allowed. The student will be notified via letter of any Return of Title IV obligations.

Determining Date of Withdrawal

Your withdrawal date is determined in one of two ways.

If you officially withdraw from the institution, your withdrawal date is the last date you withdraw from all your financial aid eligible courses.

An unofficial withdrawal occurs when you stop being academically active in classes, but do not notify the institution of your withdrawal. At the mid-point of each semester, the institution checks for academic activity. In cases where a student is failing classes at the mid-point of the semester, each instructor will confirm whether the student is still active in class or will provide the last date of academic activity for each class. If you have ceased to be active in all classes, the latest date of academic activity in all classes will be used to determine the withdrawal date.

Repaying of Financial Aid

Once the institution has determined you have either officially or unofficially withdrawn from the institution, we will notify you (the student) within 30 days if you are required to repay a portion of your financial aid for the term. Illinois Central College returns funds within 45 days to the U.S. Department of Education.

In recalculating your financial aid eligibility, we will reduce your financial aid in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Direct Stafford loan

2. Subsidized Direct Stafford loan

3. Direct PLUS loan

4. Federal Pell Grant

5. Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

6. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

Late Disbursement

If your federal grant and loan funds have not yet been disbursed at the time of withdrawal, a late disbursement of funds will be offered in the following circumstances:

• The financial aid office received a valid Student Aid Report/Institutional Student Information Record with an official EFC before you withdrew

• For a Direct Loan, the loan must have been originated with the U.S. Department of Education prior to your withdrawal

• For a Direct Loan, a first-time borrower must not have withdrawn before the 30th day of the term

• For an SEOG grant, the grant must have been awarded prior to the date of withdrawal and all other eligibility requirements

Once notified of your eligibility for a late disbursement, you have seven days to notify the Financial Aid Office of your decision regarding the late disbursement.

Financial Aid Overpayment

An overpayment occurs when a student has been disbursed more aid than they are eligible to receive. This typically happens when a student changes their enrollment level by dropping classes before the refund date listed in their class schedule AFTER they have already been disbursed their aid.

The student who is in overpayment will be notified in writing through their student email account informing them of the situation. If an overpayment is not resolved, and if the student does not repay Title IV funds when required, the institution must report the overpayment to the U.S. Department of Education. Owing an overpayment of a federal grant or loan will prevent the student from qualifying for any future Title IV assistance at all colleges.

Purchasing Textbooks with Financial Aid

Eligible enrolled students whose grant, loan and/or scholarship funds exceed the outstanding charges on their student account may be eligible to use a bookstore charge to purchase books and supplies against their pending financial aid. These charges are automatically set up for Pell-eligible and loan-eligible students to use at the bookstore two weeks prior to the start of the semester for fall and spring semesters. Bookstore charges close the third Wednesday of the fall and spring semester. All charges made by the student will be posted to their ICC student account and will remain as an outstanding balance owed until the financial aid funds are received by ICC. 

Books and supplies required for classes must be purchased before any other bookstore items, such as electronics and clothing, can be purchased.

It is important that you have finalized your enrollment and have submitted all requested financial aid documents to ensure an accurate bookstore charge is set up in a timely manner for your use in the bookstore. If you do not have all requested items submitted to the Financial Assistance Office, you will not be eligible for a bookstore charge.

Remedial Coursework

By law, federal student aid funds can be used to pay up to 30 credit hours of remedial coursework. If the student has reached the maximum hours allowed, the student is notified prior to disbursement for the semester. Once the maximum number of remedial hours has been taken, the financial aid award is determined by subtracting the remedial hours from the total hours attempted for the current semester. The award is then calculated based on the remaining hours on the student class schedule. 

Retaking Coursework

By law, federal student aid funds can be used for one retake of a previously passed course. This applies when the original attempt of the course was paid for by financial aid. Federal student aid regulations state a passing grade for purposes of this law is any grade higher than an “F” regardless of any school or program policy requiring a higher qualitative grade for determination of passing the course. If a student withdraws before completing the course that they are being paid financial aid for retaking, then that is not counted as their one allowed retake for that course.

Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Limits

A student’s maximum duration of Pell grant eligibility is six full‑year academic awards. For term‑based schools, such as ICC, this is equal to twelve semesters of payment at full-time enrollment in each of those semesters. For example, if a student is enrolled full time for the semester and receives the Pell grant at full-time status, the student is using 50% of an academic year award. However, if the same student is enrolled at a half-time status for the semester, the student is only using 25% of an academic year award. If a student is close to reaching the lifetime eligibility limit and has applied for financial aid, the student will be notified by the U.S. Department of Education.

Student Loan Information

Students must be enrolled in an eligible program leading to a certificate or degree and be registered for at least six eligible credit hours to borrow a Federal Direct Loan for any semester of enrollment. Students in default on student loans are not eligible for student loans or any financial aid in the future until the default is resolved.

Loans will be certified for the amount requested or for the amount you are eligible, if less than the requested amount. If you are enrolled in less than 12 credit hours, your cost of attendance is adjusted to reflect the actual number of credit hours enrolled and your loan award will be recalculated. Any change in enrollment status after your loan is certified by ICC may require additional recalculation and revision of your original loan amount. If you submit a loan application prior to the tuition due date and you are determined eligible for the loan, you will be held in your classes.

Loan disbursements are completed in two payments during the loan period. If the student has requested a two semester loan (e.g., fall and spring loan), the student will receive one disbursement in each of the semesters. If the student has requested a one semester loan (e.g., fall only loan), the student will receive two disbursements in the semester. The second half of the disbursement is processed the week after midterm break. If the student’s enrollment level changes prior to the second disbursement, the loan amount may change. Per federal regulation, disbursements for first-time loan borrowers are not processed until 30 days after the start of the semester (approximately the 5th week of the academic semester).

Situations that may delay or cancel your student loan:

• Enrollment in second 8-week classes may delay your loan disbursement until all classes start.

• A change in your enrollment status may require a recalculation of your loan eligibility.

If your enrollment drops below six credit hours, any loan funds that have not been disbursed will be cancelled.

Student Loan Default

Student loan default, or not repaying your student loan debt, carries serious consequences. When taking out a student loan, you want to exhaust all other possible funding methods and borrow conservatively. Students that do not repay their student loans become ineligible for any financial aid and loans in the future. Defaulted loans can prevent students from renewing professional licenses. The federal government can collect on defaulted loans by confiscating federal tax refunds and garnishing wages. It is the student’s responsibility to always stay in contact with the loan servicer to stay current with address and enrollment information to help avoid default.

If you and your loan servicer disagree about the balance or status of your student loan and you have done everything you can to resolve the issue, you can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. They can help you find some resolution to the matter.

Please use the following information to contact the FSA Student Loan Ombudsman Group:

 Direct PLUS Loans

Parents of dependent undergraduate students may borrow this loan on the student’s behalf. Students must be enrolled at least half time (6 credit hours) at ICC. Financial need is not required, but the loan is limited to the school’s cost of attendance, which varies depending on the number of credit hours enrolled, minus other aid the student is receiving. FAFSA filing is required and parents must not have an adverse credit history.

Direct PLUS loan repayment begins on the date the loan is fully disbursed. Payments may be deferred while the dependent student is enrolled at least half time. A parent borrower who is also a student may defer repayment while he or she is enrolled at least half time. Deferments must be requested by contacting the agency that services the loan.

Parents may apply for a PLUS loan after the student receives a financial aid award letter from ICC. The PLUS loan application and instructions are located at icc.edu/students/financial-aid/forms.

Subsidized Loan Limit

Effective July 1, 2013, first-time borrowers lose eligibility for additional subsidized loans when the student has received subsidized loans for 150% of their current academic program. In addition, students that continue enrollment beyond 150% of their published program length will lose the interest subsidy on prior subsidized loans received that have an outstanding or unpaid balance. First-time borrowers are defined as students that have never received a student loan or students that have paid previously borrowed loans in full and are borrowing after July 1, 2013. Generally, the 150% is measured in time, not dollars, based on the published length of the program. Students who lose eligibility for subsidized loans are still eligible for unsubsidized loans.