1. To assist students in financing their post-secondary education, and
2. To attract students with a variety of abilities and skills to the college.

We encourage all students to carefully read this information about financial aid at GOCC, and also to read the Consumer Information Guide located on the GOCC Financial Aid Office (FAO) website:
https://www.glenoaks.edu/financial-aid/consumer-information/.

What is Financial Aid?

Financial aid is assistance to help students cover college-related expenses. These funds are administered by Glen Oaks and originate from the federal government, the State of Michigan, the institution, or a private funding source. Financial aid is made available to students through three basic types of programs:

1. Grants and Scholarships - Funds that do not need to be repaid.
2. Work Study Employment - Paid, work experience on and off campus.
3. Student Loans - Federal direct loan repayment begins six months after graduation. 

How to Apply for Financial Aid

To apply for grants, scholarships, work-study, and student loans at Glen Oaks Community College, complete the following steps:

1. Students, and parents of dependent students, obtain an FSA ID to sign the FAFSA electronically at: https://studentaid.gov.
2. Complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The student (and his/her parents, if student is dependent) complete the FAFSA online at https://studentaid.gov.    The FAFSA on the web worksheet may be obtained from high school guidance counselors or from the Financial Aid Office at Glen Oaks Community College. To have your FAFSA sent to Glen Oaks Community College, add the GOCC school code 002263.
   
   Note:  Students must complete the FAFSA each academic year.   The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible after October 1. The student (and parents) should complete the FAFSA using prior year completed tax filing information. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the FAFSA requires 2022 federal tax return data.
3. Submit additional verification documents if requested. If selected for verification by the Department of Education, the Glen Oaks Financial Aid Office may request verifying documents to complete your financial aid file.

Once all documentation has been received, the FAO will notify students of their federal aid package via their student Viking email, directing them to their myGOCC student portal.

Preferred Deadlines for Submitting the FAFSA

Students should submit their FAFSA as soon as possible, recognizing that some aid is awarded on a first come, first serve basis. The FAFSA process should be completed at least two months prior to the start of the semester for which aid is needed. Students are encouraged to complete the application process by these deadlines:

Semester                                Date
Fall Semester                          February 1
Winter Semester                     October 1
Summer Semester                  February 1

Students can submit their FAFSA after these dates, but there may be a delay in processing the student’s award in time for registration. Students who do have incomplete financial aid files at time of registration will be expected to pay all costs and will then be reimbursed if found to be eligible for aid. To help pay for charges not covered by financial aid, the Nelnet Payment Plan is available - for more information, contact the Glen Oaks Cashier or go to www.glenoaks.edu, click on Services and go to Cashier.

Special Reminders:

• Pay close attention to your Viking email and myGOCC student portal for documentation being requested and respond immediately.
• Develop a file for your financial aid information and always keep a copy of all forms submitted.
• Contact the Financial Aid Office with questions at 269-294-4260 and financialaid@glenoaks.edu.
• The federal government has expectations of students who receive financial aid such as maintaining satisfactory academic progress and attending classes in which they are enrolled.
• Students should be prepared to pay all non-tuition, fee and book expenses through the first four weeks of each semester. Financial aid in excess of tuition, fees and book charges is disbursed to the student beginning the fourth week of each semester.

General Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet the following general eligibility requirements to be considered for financial aid.

1. Admitted to Glen Oaks Community College and enrolled as a regular student. (Guest students, dual enrolled, CTE and EMC students are not eligible for financial aid.)
2. Pursuing a federally approved degree or certificate.
3. Have a high school diploma or GED certificate.
4. Not be in default on a student loan and/or do not owe a repayment on a federal grant previously received.
5. A U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen. Non-citizens who are in the United States on an F1, F2 student visa, J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa or G series visa (international organizations) are not eligible for financial aid.
6. Have a valid social security number.
7. Making satisfactory academic progress as defined by federal regulations and pursuant to Glen Oaks’ policy. See the SAP policy below.

Student’s Rights And Responsibilities

Once eligibility for aid has been determined, students will receive an Offer Letter in their myGOCC student portal that lists the types and amounts of financial aid that have been awarded to attend Glen Oaks Community College.

Pell Grant and SEOG awards are applied to the student's account if determined to be eligible from FAFSA. Donor scholarships have a separate application process and are applied to the account once the funds have been received. Student loans are requested through the myGOCC student portal. State aid is facilitated through Michigan Student Aid https://www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid.

Financial aid that is dependent on level of enrollment will be adjusted after the first two weeks of each semester. Pell grants are awarded based on full-time enrollment and are adjusted to reflect the student’s actual enrollment for that semester. Revised offer letters showing the adjusted amounts are available in the student's myGOCC student portal.

All financial aid is awarded expecting that you will attend the classes for which you are registered. Non-attendance in a class will result in a reduction of the financial aid award. If financial aid has already been disbursed, the student will be billed for any resulting balance due.

Financial aid is awarded to help pay for educational expenses, such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing and transportation. Financial aid is first applied toward tuition and fees. If the financial aid award exceeds the amount needed to cover the tuition and fees, then books may be charged against any remaining aid in the Oaks Store. If there is any remaining financial aid after all institutional and book expenses are paid, the student will receive the balance in the form of a refund check or direct deposit. These refund checks will be mailed from the Business Office. Refund checks are produced on a weekly basis starting the fourth week of classes each semester.

All financial aid is awarded subject to funding by federal, state, institutional or private sources. Some awards may be reduced or canceled in order to comply with federal, state or institutional eligibility guidelines. This occurs most often when students attend less than full-time, or when a student changes his or her enrollment status by adding, dropping, or withdrawing from classes.

Students who have special circumstances that may affect eligibility for financial aid, such as student or parental loss of employment or income, should contact the Glen Oaks Financial Aid Office.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

All federal and state financial aid recipients are required to maintain satisfactory academic progress as established by federal regulations. This policy is separate and distinct from the College’s Academic Probation and Suspension Policy, and applies to all students receiving federal and state aid administered by the GOCC Financial Aid Office.

Students must meet three criteria to maintain satisfactory academic progress. These criteria are monitored each semester after grades have been posted:

1. Grade-Point Average: The student must maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average on a cumulative basis. Transfer credits from other institutions will not be considered in this review.
2. Completion Percentage: Students must complete at least 67 percent of all credits attempted on a cumulative basis. Attempted credits include registered credits and transferred credits from other institutions. Completed credits include transfer credits, grades of CR, and 1.0 or higher. Incomplete credits include NC, W, 0.0 and Incomplete.
3. Maximum Time Frame: The number of attempted credits in which a student is expected to finish a program cannot exceed 150 percent of the published length of the program. Attempted credit hour limits apply whether or not the student has actually received financial aid for the entire time at GOCC. Transfer credits from previous schools count toward maximum timeframe. Students exceeding these attempted credit hour maximums will be on financial aid denial and will not be eligible for additional semesters of financial aid. A student may appeal financial aid denial for maximum time frame. See SAP Appeal information below.

SAP Warning And Denial

Students who fail to meet the GPA and/or completion criteria are placed on Warning for their following semester of enrollment. When on Warning, students may be eligible for grants, scholarships, and loan funds for one semester. After the warning semester, the student’s progress is again monitored. If the student’s cumulative progress meets or exceeds the GPA and completion criteria, the student may be removed from Warning. Students who fail to meet cumulative progress requirements for a second semester will be on financial aid Denial.

A student on financial aid Denial is ineligible to receive federal and state financial aid. To regain eligibility, a student on SAP Denial must do ALL the following:

1. Meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirement of 2.0; and
2. Meet the minimum cumulative completion rate requirement of 67 percent; and
3. Make a request, in writing, for a re-evaluation of his or her SAP status.

SAP Appeal

A student may appeal financial aid SAP Denial to the SAP Appeal Committee. Appeals may be granted if the student’s failure to make progress is shown by documentation to have been a result of illness or other extenuating circumstances. SAP Appeal forms are available electronically in Etrieve.  

How is Your Financial Aid Award Determined?

Most federal financial aid is based on “need.” “Need” is calculated using the following formula: Cost of Attendance - Student Aid Index = Financial Need

Cost of Attendance (COA) refers to tuition, fees, food, housing, living and personal expenses, books, supplies, and transportation. The information submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used to compute the Student Aid Index (SAI). The formula for the calculation of the SAI was developed by Congress and is used by all colleges and universities.

Return of Title IV Policy

Students who receive federal (Title IV) aid, (i.e. Pell, Work Study, SEOG and student loans) will be subject to the Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy.

This policy applies to students who completely withdraw and/or stop attending all of their classes. The federal government mandates that students who withdraw, or do not complete all classes, may only keep the financial aid they have “earned” up to the time of withdrawal or non-attendance. Title IV funds that have been disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by the college and/or the student to the federal government. After this calculation, the student could owe financial aid funds to the college, the government, or both.

The federal policy requires a return of Title IV aid if the student received funds from any of the federal programs and withdrew or stopped attending on or before completing 60% of the semester. After the 60% date, no return of funds is required. To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, the Financial Aid Office divides the number of calendar days the student has attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the semester (minus any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (to the student’s account and to the student directly by refund check) for the semester.

Students who receive financial assistance from a non-federal source (i.e. State of Michigan, private scholarship, Glen Oaks scholarship, etc.) may be required to return a portion of the funds to the source, depending on the terms of the scholarship.

A detailed explanation of this policy is available on the Glen Oaks Financial Aid website in the Consumer Information Guide.

Repeat Course Policy

The Financial Aid Office is required to monitor and adjust a student’s enrollment level for Title IV aid if, or when, they repeat course work for credit that they have already earned. Students can retake courses and receive federal aid if they had previously failed a course, but can only receive financial aid twice for a course that has been previously passed. A passing grade is defined as 1.0 or higher. Please note that the repeat course policy for financial aid is separate from institutional academic polices regarding repeat courses.

The policy allows a student to receive financial aid for a course under the following situations:

• To repeat any failed or withdrawn course until a passing grade is received.
• To repeat one time any course in which they originally received a passing grade of 1.0 or higher.

Program Evaluation Policy

Courses not listed as required for completion of an associate degree and/or certificate are not eligible for federal or state financial aid funds. Students should review their degree and/or certificate requirements before registering each semester by viewing on their myGOCC student portal or contacting their academic advisor.

Types of Student Financial Aid

An extensive description of all grants, scholarships, work-study employment, and student loans is available from the Glen Oaks Financial Aid Office and also available on the Glen Oaks Financial Aid website: https://www.glenoaks.edu/financial-aid/, and in the Consumer Information Guide.

Additional Financial Aid Opportunities

All students are strongly encouraged to explore additional sources of funding their education. Students may research scholarships and grants at their local libraries, in the Financial Aid Office, or on the internet.

Students are also encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office with any questions at: financialaid@glenoaks.edu and (269) 294-4260.