Financial Aid

Academic Standards of Progress for Recipients of Financial Aid

In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education and State of Illinois regulations, Rock Valley College established Standards of Academic Progress applicable to all financial aid recipients. These standards apply to all students receiving federal and state funding, including students using military education benefits and students receiving student loans or federal/RVC work-study employment.

Please note that all communication pertaining to academic standards will be conducted through the RVC student email account.

For a copy of the entire policy, students can contact the Financial Aid Office for the Financial Aid Handbook or view online on the Financial Aid Website.

Completion Rate Requirement: A student must achieve a 67% cumulative completion rate for all course work attempted at Rock Valley College. This applies whether or not the student previously received financial aid. In addition, the student must achieve a 67% cumulative completion rate for all course work attempted within a given semester.
a. Credit hours completed are defined as completion of a course by the end of a given semester in which a student is enrolled and receiving a grade of A, B, C, D, or P.
b. Credit hours attempted include all credit classes in which the student is enrolled after the last day to drop for refund. Course withdrawals after the last day to drop as well as courses with grades of “F” and “I” count as hours attempted for financial aid purposes.
c. Audits, proficiency tests, and non-credit courses are not included in the total number of credit hours attempted.

Grade-Point Average (GPA) Requirement for 2024–2025:
A student must maintain a minimum GPA requirement in order to continue receiving financial aid. Students can receive financial aid while on a Financial Aid Warning Status.

Scholarships and Veteran Benefits

Scholarships:

Scholarships are gift assistance for students based on academic achievement, athletic ability, community service, ethnic or family background, financial need, residency or specific field of study. Scholarships are awarded each term. To apply for, or learn more about the many RVC Foundation Scholarships please visit the RVC Foundation Scholarships Website.

Veteran Educational Benefits:

Eligibility is based on military service and determined by the Department of Veteran Affairs or by the Illinois Student Assistant Commission (ISAC). Students interested in using military education benefits, federal and/or state, should contact the Veterans Services Offices at (815) 921-4163. For more information or review of eligible military programs visit the RVC Veterans Website.

Rock Valley College offers priority registration to all students using military education benefits (service member, veteran, spouse and dependent).

As of August 1, 2019, per 38 USC 3679 (e), Rock Valley College will not take the actions listed below, against any student using Post 9/11 (Chapter 33), Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31), or Chapter 35 Dependent Education Assistance (DEA) while pending payment:

• Prevent their enrollment;

• Assess a late penalty fee

• Require they secure alternative or additional funding;

• Deny their access to any resources (access to classes, libraries, or other institutional facilities) available to other students who have satisfied their tuition and fee bills to the institution

To qualify for these provisions' student are required to:

• Supply a Certificate of Eligibility

• Submit a request to be certified

• Provide additional information as required for certification

Federal & State Aid

Federal and State Aid

• Grants: Need-based aid that does not require repayment. Students can only receive federal and state grants at one institution each semester.

  • Federal Pell Grant (PELL)

  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)

  • Illinois Monetary Award Program Grant (MAP)

• Loans: aid that requires repayment with interest. Students must be enrolled at least half time. RVC does not auto-package loans. Students that wish to obtain a federal loan must notify the Financial aid Office.

  • Federal Direct Subsidized Loans are loans that begin to accrue interest after a student graduates or becomes enrolled less than half time (6 credit hours).

  • Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans are loans awarded to students that do not demonstrate financial need. Interest begins to accrue at the time of disbursement.

  • Federal Direct Parent Loans are loans made to parents of dependent students to help cover the cost of higher education not covered by other financial aid.

• Federal Work-Study provides part-time job opportunities. Students may obtain a job on campus and earn a weekly paycheck.

Title IV Disbursement

RVC Financial aid is distributed based on a specific schedule. Except for student loans, the initial disbursement occurs approximately six weeks after the term begins, followed by weekly disbursements as needed. For student loans, first-time borrowers receive disbursements about 30 days after the term starts, while non-first-time borrowers may receive their first disbursement as early as the Monday prior to the start of classes. Note that these dates may change without notice; students may continue to monitor the RVC website for important deadlines regarding payment, financial aid, and registration dates. If a student's financial aid exceeds charges, any resulting credit balance will be disbursed to the student within 14 calendar days. The disbursement will be made based on the student's choice of direct deposit or refund check.

Rock Valley College follows federal and state financial aid regulations, impacting disbursement dates. Key factors include:

1. Packaging and Awarding: Completion of the financial aid process, requiring FAFSA data and necessary documentation.
2. Enrollment Status: Aid is based on courses that count toward a student's academic program. Any changes in enrollment impact disbursement; awards depend on actual enrollment, course schedule, and regulations.
3. Course Retakes: Financial aid covers a repeated course only once after successful completion.
4. First-Time Borrowers: First loan disbursement occurs after completing the initial 30 days of the academic program, per U.S. Department of Education requirements.

Title IV Credit Balance Policy

RVC's approach to disbursing student credit balances aligns with the Department of Education's Title IV requirements. A Title IV credit balance occurs when federal aid disbursed to a student's account exceeds their allowable institutional charges.

Allowable charges include: tuition, fees and bookstore charges; any leftover balance from a prior year can be covered by a Title IV credit balance, however, this cannot exceed $200, without the student's written permission.

RVC promptly pays the excess Title IV funds (credit balance) directly to the student; Or, in the case of a PLUS loan, the parent, no later than 14 days after:

• The date the balance appeared on the student account, if after the first day of the term for a payment period or,
• The first day of courses for the payment period if the credit balance appeared on the student account before the first day of courses.

Written authorization is required from the student or parent in the case of a PLUS loan to hold a credit balance in the student's account across terms within the same award year or apply current year aid funds to prior year allowable charges up to $200)

Return of Title IV Funds Policy

When a student applies for financial aid, the student agrees that Title IV financial funds will be used for educational purposes only. Therefore, if a student withdraws before completing their program, a portion of the funds received may have to be returned. RVC will calculate the amount of Title IV financial aid to be returned according to the U.S. Department of Education's prorate schedule. The Title IV fund programs impacted are Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), Direct Loans, and Direct PLUS Loans.

This policy applies to student who officially or unofficially withdraw, fail to return from a leave of absence, are dismissed from enrollment at RVC or receive all Fs due to nonattendance. It is separate and distinct from the Title IV credit balance policy. Therefore, credit balances due to a return may not have to be returned to the student but used to cover unpaid institutional charges.

Title IV funds are awarded under the assumption students will attend school for the entire period for which the aid is awarded. When a student withdraws they may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV aid that was originally scheduled to be received. Therefore, the amount of federal funds earned must be determined.

If the student received (or RVC or parent received on the student's behalf) less assistance than the amount they earned, the student may be able to receive those additional funds in the form of a post­ withdrawal disbursement. If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, RVC must get the student's permission before it can disburse them. The student may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds to not incur additional debt. If the student received more assistance than the student earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or the student.

If the student received more assistance than the amount they earned, those funds must be returned to the federal government. RVC returns a student's unearned funds to the government and the student will be billed for any balance due. For any loan funds that must be returned, the student (or parent for a Direct PLUS Loan) will repay the loan funds over a period of time in accordance with the terms of the promissory note.

RVC has 45 calendar days from the date it was determined the student withdrew to return all unearned funds. RVC is required to notify the student if they owe a repayment. RVC has 30 days to offer any post withdrawal disbursement of loan funds.

RVC is authorized to return any excess funds after applying them to current outstanding Cost of Attendance (COA) charges. In accordance with Federal Regulations, when Title IV aid is involved, the calculated amount of R2T4 funds is returned in the following order:

1. Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
2. Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
3. Federal Direct PLUS Loan
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
6. Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant

Repeated withdrawals can impact a student's eligibility to receive federal financial aid for future terms.