Financial Aid

Policies and Procedures Update

In 2019, DCCC began a review of existing policies and procedures.  This review and revision process will continue into 2020. Throughout this process, faculty, staff, and our Board of Trustees are working together to ensure the college’s policies and procedures align to state and federal law, state board code, and are revised or newly developed to guide our work and ensure the success of the students we serve.  Go to the DCCC Policies and Procedures Web Page (opens in new window) for more information.

The College makes every effort within available financial aid resources to assist students who lack the financial means to obtain a college education. Financial assistance may be available to a student in the form of federal and state grants, scholarships, federal work-study, and federal student loans.

All students seeking financial assistance begin the application process by completing the FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (opens in new window). Davidson County Community College’s federal code is 002919 and must be listed on the FAFSA for DCCC to receive student application information.

Financial aid is paid for courses required in a student’s program(s) of study. Class(es) taken outside the program requirements are not paid with financial aid and are taken at the student’s own expense. Financial aid will not fund audited courses. The student should consult with their academic advisor to assist with appropriate course selection.

To be eligible, a student must have a high school diploma from an accredited school or state-approved home school or an institution authorized to issue a recognized high school equivalency credential (such as a GED®), and be enrolled in an eligible college program. Financial aid is available for students enrolled in less than full-time (12 credits) with amounts pro-rated based on enrollment status.

In order for students to continue receiving financial aid, they must apply annually to demonstrate financial need and maintain satisfactory academic progress.

High School Transcripts & Financial Aid Policy

The United States Department of Education requires students who receive financial aid to have first earned a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent. When a high school diploma is issued based only on a test and/or payment of fees, the college may have reason to believe the credential may not be the recognized equivalent of a North Carolina High School Diploma. The college will not award federal or state financial aid to students who have been issued a high school diploma based only on a test and/or payment.

In accordance with federal student aid policy, one resource the college may consider in making a determination on the validity of a high school diploma is the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction or department of education in the state in which the high school is located. The college is also permitted to consult with other colleges when checking for the established validity of high school diplomas.

Students who have completed a GED® or its recognized equivalent, an Adult High School Equivalency Diploma or homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law are qualified to receive federal or state student aid.

These standards do not apply to college admission and placement policies. Students may be required to provide official proof of completion of a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent before eligibility for financial aid is confirmed.

Federal Aid Programs

Pell Grant

The Federal Pell Grant is awarded to students who have financial need and who have not earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree. Federal Pell Grants do not have to be repaid; however, students may have to pay back part or all of the Federal Pell Grant if they withdraw from school before finishing the semester. Federal Pell Grant lifetime eligibility is limited to 12 semesters or the equivalent.

Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) is awarded to students who have financial need and who have not earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree. SEOG Grants do not have to be repaid; however, students may have to pay back part or all of the SEOG Grant if they withdraw from school before finishing a semester. Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA early, as SEOG funds are very limited and awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Work-Study

The Federal Work-Study program utilizes funds to provide part-time campus employment for students with financial need to help with educational expenses. Priority in selection for work-study is first given based on need and enrollment levels above half-time. Most students are able to work 10-15 hours per week outside of scheduled class time. Students are paid monthly, based on the number of hours worked the preceding month. The allocation of work-study funds is limited to availability of position, completion of financial aid eligibility, and individual student financial need. Career Development staff will assist interested students with the federal work-study application process.

Student Loans

The Federal Direct Student Loan Program provides loans to help students pay for college educational costs not covered by other financial resources.

Direct Subsidized Loans are for students with demonstrated financial need. No interest is due on the loan while the student is enrolled in school at least half-time, and during deferment periods.

Direct Unsubsidized Loans are awarded to students regardless of financial need. Interest is charged on the loan once disbursement is made, although payment on the principal is deferred while the student is enrolled at least half-time and during the grace period, however, the interest continues to accrue and is added to the loan balance.

Davidson County Community College determines the maximum amount of loan eligibility based upon financial need, student classification, and cost of attendance. Students must be enrolled in six credit hours (half-time) or more to be eligible for student loans. Loans are federal funds that must be repaid by the student-borrower regardless of program completion.

North Carolina State Aid Programs

North Carolina Community College Grant

The North Carolina Community College Grant is designed to assist students who (1) qualify as bona fide residents of North Carolina for tuition purposes, (2) enroll in a minimum of six semester hours of credit in fall and spring semesters at a North Carolina Community College, and (3) demonstrate financial need based on FAFSA results. North Carolina Community College Grants do not have to be repaid; however, students may have to pay back part or all of the North Carolina Community College grant if they withdraw from school before finishing a semester. 

Education Lottery Scholarship

The North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarship is designed to assist students who (1) qualify as bona fide residents of North Carolina for tuition purposes, (2) enroll in a minimum of six hours of credit in fall and spring semesters at a North Carolina Community College, and (3) have demonstrated financial need based on FAFSA results. North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarships do not have to be repaid; however, students may have to pay back part or all of the North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarship if they withdraw from school before finishing a semester.

Scholarships

The Davidson County Community College Foundation, Inc., through the generosity of local industries, businesses, professional organizations, civic clubs, and individuals, provides scholarships. The scholarship program consists of two types of awards: merit-based scholarships and need-based scholarships. While the majority of scholarships are need-based, additional criteria may further direct the awarding of many need-based and merit-based scholarships. Awards may provide tuition assistance and require the recipient to maintain a minimum GPA (grade point average). Scholarships are typically awarded for one academic year beginning with the fall semester, with preference given to second-year students. Students must complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Student Financial Aid) each year in order to be eligible for scholarships. The Financial Aid Office and the College’s website provide scholarship information, application forms and deadlines. Institutional Scholarships do not have to be repaid.

Disbursement of Aid

Students receiving financial aid will receive an email directing them to StormTrac to view their award letter, which lists the types and amounts of aid awarded for the academic year.  Students may use financial aid funds to charge books and supplies in the college bookstore.  Tuition, fees, and book charges will be paid automatically, after verification of attendance, for students receiving financial aid.  Unused financial aid funds will be refunded directly to the student. 

Special Circumstances

Students and their families are primarily responsible for financing education expenses; however, the FAFSA may not accurately reflect changes in a family’s household size or income. Students whose families have experienced change to household size income, or anticipated expenses may request reevaluation of their financial aid eligibility information through the Financial Aid Office.

Any student who finds it difficult to continue their education due to such changes may submit a completed Professional Judgment Request Form, along with the required supporting documentation, to the College’s Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office will verify the current FAFSA data and determine if professional judgment is appropriate. The decision of the Financial Aid Office is final.

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP) & Time Limitations

Federal regulations require that colleges establish minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for students receiving financial aid that is at least as strict as that for all general students. Financial aid students are expected to achieve satisfactory grades and progress toward the completion of their program in a reasonable period of time and within a reasonable number of credit hours. It is the responsibility of students to be aware of their satisfactory academic progress status for financial aid eligibility. Progress will be reviewed at the end of each term. SAP is evaluated by both qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (completion percentage) standards and there are limits on how long a student may receive aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirements

• Qualitative standard: Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
• Quantitative standard: Students must successfully complete at least 67% of the cumulative credit hours attempted.
  • Hours attempted are measured at the 10% (census date) of the term.
  • Successful completion means the student receives a passing final grade on the DCCC transcript.
  • Example: if the student attempts 12 credit hours during a term, the student must successfully complete 8 credit hours or more to meet the 67% standard (12 hours attempted x 67% = 8 hours).
• Time Limit Standard: Students may not exceed 150% of the Maximum Time Frame for their program of study. Maximum time frame is measured in credit hours.
  • When the 150% maximum time frame has been reached, financial aid will cease even if the student is meeting other measures of SAP.
• There is a 6-year lifetime limit on the use of the Pell Grant.
  • The measure refers to Lifetime Eligibility Used or LEU.
  • Students have eligibility for no more than six academic years (or its equivalent) of full-time Pell Grant funding.
  • Part-time students will have the terms reviewed on a fractional basis.
  • Those planning to transfer to a 4-year institution should not exhaust more than 6 of their full-time semester awards at DCCC to allow for remaining eligibility to complete their first bachelor’s degree.
• A maximum of 30 credit hours of pre-curricular classes may be attempted and counted towards enrollment for financial aid purposes. After attempting 30 hours, no further federal or state aid may be paid for pre-curricular classes.

Satisfactory Academic Progress & Maximum Time Frame

• Audits - Audited courses may not be counted towards the total number of hours of enrollment for a term as no credit will be earned.
• Credit by Exam - Credit awarded based upon an institutionally administered exam is not counted in the total number of hours of enrollment.
• Incompletes - Incompletes (I) will not affect a student’s GPA in the SAP review because it is temporary and will be replaced with a final grade. SAP will be evaluated on the final grade during the next term’s review.
• Pre-curriculum Courses - Pre-curriculum courses (courses numbered less than 100) are allowed and calculated in a student’s enrollment status for students needing skill-building course work. A maximum of 30 credit hours of precurriculum work is allowed and these hours are considered in SAP calculations. After the maximum has been met, no further federal or state aid may be disbursed for pre-curriculum hours.
• Repeats - Federal rules allow a one-time repeat of a previously passed course. Courses not previously passed may be repeated by students. When a course is repeated the highest grade will be used to determine GPA. The previous hours attempted will be counted as hours attempted when reviewing SAP completion rate and maximum time frame.
• Summer Courses - Summer Session grades and hours attempted and earned will be included in the calculation of SAP as for any other term.
• Transfer Credits - Hours accepted from other institutions and evaluated in the student’s current program are included in the calculation of the completion rate and maximum time frame. Transfer hours count both as hours attempted and hours completed.
• Withdrawals - Withdrawals (W) adversely affect a student’s SAP by reducing the number of hours successfully completed and may result in a recalculation of a student’s award for the term.

Evaluation & Financial Aid Statuses

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be evaluated at the end of each term after final grades have been posted with the Records Office. Students will be notified of their status via their DCCC email account.

• Satisfactory - Students in their first term at DCCC or those who have attended and meet or exceed the SAP requirements are considered in satisfactory status for financial aid purposes.
• Financial Aid Warning - The first term a student fails to meet SAP, the student will be notified that they have been placed on financial aid warning for the next academic term. The student may continue to receive financial aid during the warning term, but must improve GPA and/or completion rate to prevent progressing to financial aid probation.
• Financial Aid Suspension - The second or subsequent term a student does not meet SAP, the student will be notified that financial aid has been suspended.
• Probation on Appeal - The status granted to allow a student with extenuating circumstances the opportunity to improve SAP over time with specified conditions.  This includes traditional SAP probation for GPA and/or completion rate improvements as well as Maximum Time Frame requirements for completing a program within a specified time frame.
• Financial Aid Termination - When a student previously granted a SAP Appeal fails to meet required conditions for continued eligibility.

Appeals

Students may appeal Financial Aid Suspension if extenuating circumstances resulted in poor academic performance/progress. Appeals should be submitted within 30 days of notification of a student’s status.

• Appeals should be submitted via the Financial Aid (SAP) Appeal Form to sap_appeals@davidsonccc.edu accompanied by statements and/or supporting documentation along with Academic Advising Plan.
• The appeal must detail the circumstances resulting in the unsatisfactory progress such as extended illness/injury of student or family member of death of a relative.
• Appeals will be reviewed within 15 business days of receipt.  Students will be notified of the results of the appeal via their DCCC email account.
• Students awaiting a decision regarding their appeal are responsible for any tuition and enrollment charges. Financial aid will not be available, nor will students’ school charges be held while an appeal is being reviewed.
• Successful appeals will result in the student being granted the status of Probation on Appeal for a specified number of terms based on their Academic Advising Plan.
  • Probation on Appeal status requires students to meet a higher term-based standard for SAP evaluation. This is in an effort to improved cumulative SAP measures in the shortest possible time.
  • Students granted Probation on Appeal (unless otherwise documented) must earn a minimum term-based GPA of 2.5 and complete 100% of hours attempted.
  • Students meeting Probation on Appeal standards will be granted continued Probation on Appeal status for the remaining terms with the continuation of the conditions listed above with the requirement to achieve the cumulative SAP standards by the final term of Probation on Appeal. Students who regain cumulative SAP standards before their final term of Probation on Appeal may be returned to Satisfactory Academic Progress status.
  • Students unsuccessful in meeting Probation on Appeal standards or who do not reach cumulative SAP standards by the final term of Probation on Appeal will have financial aid at DCCC Terminated.
  • SAP Appeal denial will be communicated to the student via DCCC email. Denial of an appeal will result in Financial Aid Termination.
  • Students not satisfied with the result may appeal the decision following the process outlined in the College’s General Complaint Policy, beginning with Step 2.

Reinstatement of Financial Aid

Students whose aid has been terminated/suspended based upon SAP standards may seek reinstatement of financial aid after regaining cumulative SAP or after meeting all SAP standards for at least two consecutive terms and earning a total of 12 credit hours.

• Requests for reinstatement of financial aid may be submitted by email to sap_appeals@davidsonccc.edu with the subject line: Reinstatement Request. The message must include the student’s full name and DCCC Student ID number along with the request and a statement regarding the circumstances contributing to the student’s progress and goals. A transcript may be attached to document improvement.
• Reinstatement requests will be reviewed within 15 business days of receipt. Students will be notified of the results of the appeal via their DCCC email account. Students awaiting a decision regarding their appeal are responsible for any enrollment charges. Financial aid will not be available, nor students’ school charges held while an appeal is being reviewed.

Withdrawal & Return of Federal & State funds Policy for Financial Aid Students

Financial aid funds are awarded to a student with an expectation that the student will attend school for the entire period of the financial aid award.  When a student withdraws from all courses, federal and state financial aid regulations require that the unearned portion of financial aid funds received by the student be repaid. Students will be billed for the repayment.

• Students receiving federal financial aid who find it necessary to withdraw from all classes after the 10% census date, but before completing 60% of the academic term will have the amount of their federal and state financial aid award(s), recalculated.
  • Students are responsible for submitting the Schedule Change Form to Academic Advising to officially withdraw from classes.
  • Students must contact the Financial Aid Office to determine the impact the total withdrawal on their current award and ability to meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements.
• If, in the recalculation, the student has earned federal financial aid funds for the current term that have not yet been disbursed, a Post-withdrawal Disbursement of Federal Financial Aid will be processed and applied to the student’s account.
• Recalculation of financial aid may result in overpayment and the need to return funds to the appropriate federal and/or state program(s) such as direct loans, Pell and other federal and state scholarships and grants.
  • When an overpayment has been calculated, the student must repay any unearned portion of the award to the College. The College will return the funds to the appropriate federal and/or state programs.
  • Unearned aid is returned to federal and state programs in the following order (unless the student did not receive aid from that source): Unsubsidized Direct Loans, Subsidized Direct Loans, PLUS Loans, Pell Grant, SEOG, other federal grant programs and, when applicable, the North Carolina Community College Grant, and the North Carolina Education Lottery Scholarship.
• The amount of federal aid to be returned (overpayment) is calculated by multiplying total institutional charges (tuition and fees) by the percentage of unearned aid.
  • The earned portion of federal financial aid is determined by dividing the number of days completed by the student by the total days in the term. This determines the percentage of the term completed and the percentage of aid earned by the student.
  • The unearned portion of financial aid will be 100% minus the percent earned.
  • Unearned aid shall be returned first by the College from the student’s account.
  • If the total amount of unearned aid is greater than the amount returned by the College from the student’s account, the student owes an overpayment to DCCC.
  • The student will be responsible for any portion of institutional charges outstanding after financial aid funds are returned and will be billed accordingly.
  • E-mail notification will be sent to the student’s campus e-mail to notify them of the calculation. Students must check their StormTrac account for the exact amount of the return owed to DCCC if applicable.
  • If the student fails to repay their portion of the refund to the College, within 45 days the debt will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education as an overpayment and federal aid eligibility will be lost until satisfactory arrangements are made to pay the debt.

Veteran’s Educational Services

The College is approved by the North Carolina State Approving Agency to certify enrollment of Veterans, reservists, and eligible dependents with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under the following programs:

Chapter 30 - Montgomery GI Bill
Chapter 31 - Vocational Rehabilitation
Chapter 33 - Post 9/11 Montgomery GI Bill
Chapter 35 - Survivors’ and Dependents’ Education Benefits
Chapter 1606 - Selected Reserve, Montgomery GI Bill

Students are encouraged to apply for benefits as early as possible through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (opens in new window) website and contact the College’s Veterans Affairs Representative in Enrollment Services located on the first floor of the B.E. Mendenhall Jr. Building on the Davidson Campus. 

Students may also visit the GI Bill  (opens in new window) website or call the VA directly at 1-888-GIBILL1 for the most up-to-date information on VA education benefits.

Document Requirements

Title 38 of the United States Code: Veterans’ Benefits, CFR 21.4253 (d)(3) and CFR 21.4254 (c)(4), and the College’s program approval with the North Carolina State Approving Agency requires the College to obtain an official high school transcript or its equivalent, and official college transcripts from all previously attended institutions before enrollment is certified with the Veterans Administration.

Other required documents may include but are not limited to: DD214, DCCC VA Contract, and/or other documents that verify status. 

Course Load for Veterans, Dependents and Reservists

A student receiving Department of Veteran Affairs benefits is required to enroll in a full-time academic load (12 or more credit hours each Fall/Spring semester) in order to receive full educational benefits. Students enrolled for 3/4 or 1/2 of the full-time requirements are eligible for prorated benefits. Students enrolled less than 1/2 time status are compensated for in-state tuition and fees only.

Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act Program

This program sponsors students who are preparing themselves for a job or career in Davidson County’s local labor market. Financial assistance may be provided for skills training to include degree, diploma, and certificate programs, as well as occupational related training offered through the Workforce and Continuing Education Division.

• Financial assistance is evaluated by an employment counselor through the student’s county of residence. The applicant must meet economic and employment guidelines.
• An applicants’ ability to be successful in selected curriculum is evaluated.
• Students must attend full-time as defined by the curriculum.
• Students must maintain a minimum “C” or 2.0 GPA.

How to Apply

Applicants must apply through Davidson Works or the JobLink Career Centers, participating partners in the JobLink Career Center systems in Davidson and Davie counties. Locations are:

Lexington Office:
Davidson Works
555A West Center Street Extension
Lexington, NC  27295 
336-242-2065

Thomasville Office:
NCWorks Career Center
211 West Colonial Drive
Thomasville, NC  27360
336-474-2655

Mocksville Office:
JobLink Career Center
375 Hospital Street, Suite 101
Mocksville, NC  27028 
336-751-3315