Financial Assistance

Applying for Financial Assistance

At Delgado Community College, we want to provide you with the best financial assistance possible. In order to be considered for assistance for non-federal as well as federal funding sources, you must complete the FAFSA and submit any financial documents/forms requested.

How to apply:

STEP 1. Complete the 2014- 2015 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at https://fafsa.ed.gov. Delgado Community College school code is 004626.

STEP 2. Check the status of your application through LoLA and submit ALL required documents by the deadline dates.

You must submit proof of high school graduation or college transcript to the Answer Center or Admissions Office before financial aid can be processed.
Submit completed forms to the Answer Center, or online on your student portal.
- The Delgado Community College student portal will allow us to process your financial aid in a faster, more efficient manner.
  - If you are selected for Verification, you should receive an email from finaid@dcc.edu with instructions to begin the process.
  - Click on the Personalized URL link within that email to access the student portal and create your login and password.
  - Follow the instructions in the portal to submit the required documents.
  - You must complete all documentation before you can continue in the financial aid process.

If tax transcripts are required, you can return to your 14-15 FAFSA via the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov and choose to download your tax transcript using the data retrieval tool. Additionally, you may request your tax transcript directly from the IRS at www.irs.gov (under Tools, choose Get Transcript of Tax Records- then choose get transcript online, if you would like to view and print your transcript immediately), or by calling 1-800-908-9946 or visiting 1555 Poydras Street, New Orleans.

Please allow 21 days from the day you submit your last document for processing.
You must accept the Terms and Conditions before your award letter can be viewed.

STEP 3. Accept your award online.

Once your federal student aid is processed, you will receive an email notification to your Delgado student email address.
You must accept or decline each federal subsidized and unsubsidized loan, or no funding will disburse
- Additionally, you can use your Delgado Community College mobile student app to accept or decline your loan funding-simply download the free app to your phone.

STEP 4. Disbursement set. No action needed.

Disbursement of funding is necessary for school tuition and fees to be paid.
After tuition and fees are paid, if there is a remaining balance, those funds may be utilized in the bookstore
Students can check their account balance by logging in to LoLA.

STEP 5. Receive refund.

Refunds are funds paid to a student that is based on the credit balance remaining after tuition and fees and other applicable charges have been paid.
A credit balance (negative balance) indicates your payments exceed your charges and you are due a refund. Refunds can take up to 14 days to process after excess aid is disbursed to your account.
Refunds are distributed through Delgado Community College Dolphin One Card which is administered by Higher One.
For more information about your Higher One account, please visit dolphinonecard.higheroneaccount.com.

Financial Assistance Deadlines

SPRING 2014-2015

2014-2015 FAFSA Spring Priority Deadline: Monday, October 20, 2014 FAFSA must be processed by the federal government by this date.
2014-2015 FAFSA First Spring Document Deadline: Friday, November 14, 2014 All documents must be submitted by this date to be considered for an award letter and eligible for a bookstore credit.
First Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progression Appeal Deadline: December 12, 2014 Appeal and supporting documentation must be submitted by deadline in order to be reviewed in time to secure classes (no bookstore credit).
Last date for Satisfactory Academic Progression Financial Aid Appeal Deadline: January 9, 2015 Appeal and supporting documentation must be submitted by deadline in order to be considered. Students who miss the first appeal deadline must be prepared to pay the entire balance out of pocket, but can be reimbursed if Financial Aid appeal is approved and processed.
2015-2016 Federal Student Loans: To apply for an educational loan to help pay the cost of attending school, in the Fall of 2015, you must have received a response to your FAFSA. The priority deadline to apply for a loan is March 13, 2015

SUMMER 2014-2015

Summer 2014-2015 Priority Deadline for the FAFSA: May 1, 2015 FAFSA must be processed by the federal government by this date.
Summer 2014-2015 Document Deadline: May 15, 2015 All documents must be submitted by this date to be considered for an award letter and eligible for a bookstore credit
Summer 2014-2015 Priority Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progression Appeals: May 22, 2015 Appeal and supporting documentation must be submitted by deadline in order to be reviewed in time to secure classes (no bookstore credit).
Second Satisfactory Academic Progression Financial Aid Appeal Deadline: June 12, 2015 Appeal and supporting documentation must be submitted by deadline in order to be considered. Students who miss the first appeal deadline must be prepared to pay the entire balance out of pocket, but can be reimbursed if Financial Aid appeal is approved and processed.

FALL 2015- 2016

2015-2016 Federal Student Loans: To apply for an educational loan to help pay the cost of attending school, in the Fall of 2015, you must have received a response to your FAFSA. The priority deadline to apply for a loan is March 13, 2015
Fall 2015-2016 First Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progression Appeal Deadline: July 17 , 2015 Appeal and supporting documentation must be submitted by deadline in order to be reviewed in time to secure classes (no bookstore credit).
Fall 2015-2016 Last date Satisfactory Academic Progression Financial Aid Appeal Deadline: September 4, 2015 Appeal and supporting documentation must be submitted by deadline in order to be considered. Students who miss the first appeal deadline must be prepared to pay the entire balance out of pocket, but can be reimbursed if Financial Aid appeal is approved and processed.

Additional Information

Receiving information regarding financial assistance: The Office of Student Financial Assistance will communicate with students via email and it is the student’s responsibility to monitor Delgado email regularly as well as the email address that was provided when completing FAFSA. If students would prefer not to receive Financial Aid communications and award notifications via email, they must submit a request in writing to the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
Federal tax transcripts required: If you are required to submit your tax information, you must obtain a tax transcript from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Request a tax transcript by calling IRS at 1-800-908-9946 or visiting www.irs.gov. The Office of Student Financial Assistance is no longer allowed to accept copies of personal tax returns from students and/or parents.
Federal regulations require that student loans awarded for one semester (Fall, Spring, or Summer only) must be disbursed in two installments. Loan disbursements will be credited to student accounts at the beginning of the semester and at the mid-point of the semester.

150% Limit on Subsidized Loans

Delgado Community College students cannot receive subsidized loans for more than 150 percent of the published length of the borrower’s educational program. The law also provides that a borrower who becomes ineligible for subsidized loans because of the 150 percent limit is ineligible for interest subsidy benefits on all subsidized loans first disbursed to that borrower on or after July 1, 2013.

Pell Lifetime Eligibility Limit

The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds you may receive over your lifetime is limited by a new federal law to be the equivalent of six years of Pell Grant funding. Because the maximum amount of Pell Grant funding you can receive each year is equal to 100 percent, the new regulations states that a student may receive up to 12 semesters or the six-year equivalent of 600 percent.

Whether you have used all of your Pell Grant eligibility or only a portion, please be conscious about the lifetime limit of the Pell Grant when changing majors and/or scheduling classes; the Pell Grant equivalent of 600 percent will be for your entire award history.

Can I see my lifetime Pell Grant used? YES! You may view your lifetime Pell Grant percentage used by simply logging into www.nslds.ed.gov. The information will include all Pell Grants received over your lifetime from any college, not just Delgado Community College. If you have not reached 600 percent of lifetime eligibility, you may have some Pell Grant eligibility remaining, if eligible.

To view your Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU), you can log on using your Federal Student Aid PIN to National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS®) at www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ to view your LEU. The LEU will be found on the Financial Aid Review page.

For additional information on the Pell Grant Program please visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/types/grants-scholarships/pell/calculate-eligibility.

Financial Aid Academic Satisfactory Progression

To be eligible to receive Federal Student Aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined in the College Catalog for this academic year. You may also review the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy at www.dcc.edu/departments/financialaid/sap. Appropriate documentation to substantiate your appeal is required -If you fail to meet the required standard, your eligibility for financial assistance might be suspended. In the event of exceptional mitigating circumstances, you may appeal your suspension of your eligibility to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee in writing. Appeal forms may be obtained online at www.dcc.edu/CurrentStudents/FinancialAid/Forms or in the Office of Student Financial Assistance.

Spring First-time Borrowers

Federal regulations require that the College delay delivering the proceeds of educational loans to first-time borrowers until 30 days after the start of classes. Therefore, student loan funds for first-time borrowers will not be disbursed to their accounts before February 23, 2015.

In addition, all first-time borrowers must receive loan counseling before loan funds can be disbursed. Students must complete a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Loan Counseling at www.studentloans.gov.

Books

If you are eligible to receive a Pell Grant or student loan and have authorized aid, or your account has a credit balance (negative balance) after your tuition and fees have been paid, and you have authorized the College to use your Title IV funds to pay non-institutional charges, you may purchase up to $700 in books and supplies in the College contracted bookstore or online at dcc1.bkstore.com. Visit www.dcc.edu/departments/studentaffairs/reg/bookstorecredit for more information.

Refund Information

At the time financial assistance is disbursed, or credited to your student account, applicable outstanding charges will be deducted, and any excess credit balance will be refunded to you via your Delgado Dolphin One Card within 14 days after the credit balance appears on your student account. The Dolphin One Card will be mailed to your mailing address on file. Please verify your address at LoLA or at the Registrar’s Office at your respective Delgado location. Once you receive the card, please log on at http://dolphinonecard.com to select your refund preference (direct deposit or Higher One Fast Refund.)

Federal Financial Assistance Repayments

When a student completely withdraws from the College during an academic period for which he or she is the recipient of Title IV funds, the College is required to determine whether the return of Title IV funds must be made according to statutory and regulatory requirements. The rules that govern the return of Title IV Funds assume that a student earns his or her assistance based upon the period of time that the student remained enrolled.

Explanation of terms:

Disbursements (disburse or disbursed) - payment of the loan funds to the borrower by the school. Students generally receive their federal student loan in two disbursements.
Earned - the percentage amount of Title IV aid that the student receives.
Unearned - the difference between Title IV aid that was disbursed or could have been disbursed for the payment period or period of enrollment and the amount of Title IV aid that was earned when a student withdrew.

During the first 60 percent of an enrollment period, a student “earns” Title IV funds in direct proportion to the length of time that he or she remains enrolled. The percentage of time during an academic period that a student remained enrolled is the percentage of dispersible assistance for that period that the student earned.

Assistance is “dispersed” if a student could have received it at that point of academic period when the student withdraws from the College. Total dispersible assistance includes the amount of funding that was disbursed and that which could have been disbursed; however it was not, based on the student’s date of withdrawal. A student who remains enrolled at the College beyond the 60 percent point of an academic period is presumed to have earned all assistance for that period. Unearned Title IV funds, other than Federal Work Study, must be returned.

Unearned assistance is the amount of disbursed Title IV funds that exceed the amount of Title IV funds earned under statutory and regulatory guidelines. The responsibility to repay unearned Title IV funds is shared by the College and the student in proportion to the Title IV funds each is assumed to possess. The College will notify, in writing, a student who is required to repay and return unearned Title IV funds before the end of the enrollment period.