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SCC provides financial aid to eligible students. The Financial Aid Office publishes a financial aid brochure which is available in the Financial Aid Office or on the website at https://www.sccsc.edu/financial-aid/index.php.
The following financial aid programs are available at SCC:
- Federal Pell Grant (FPELL)
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Federal Work Study Program (FWS)
- South Carolina Need Based Grant (SCNBG)
- Federal Direct Student Loans
- South Carolina Teacher Loan (SCTL)
- LIFE Scholarship
- S.C. Palmetto Fellows Scholarship per CHE (SCPFS)
- Lottery Tuition Assistance (LTAP)
- Scholarships
- SC WINS
- SCC Free Tuition - renewed for Fall 2023 (FTI)
Veterans Assistance
Spartanburg Community College is approved by the State Approving Agency for training of the following:
- Service persons; veterans; dependents and reservists under Title 38, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.
- The following VA educational benefits:
- Active Duty Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 30), Selected Reserve Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 1606), Survivors and Dependents (Chapter 35),Vocational Rehabilitation (Chapter 31) and the Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2008 (Chapter 33). The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs is the only agency that can determine eligibility for and award this benefit. To determine eligibility, call the VA Regional Office at (888) 442-4551. Then, contact SCC’s office to obtain the appropriate forms for certification.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Students receiving financial assistance through a federal program or S.C. Need Based Grant must be making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree, diploma or certificate. The Financial Aid Office must monitor the progress of all students to ensure that they are making satisfactory progress toward completion of their program. This policy is in addition to the academic standards required by the College. The cumulative review determines the student’s eligibility for financial assistance based on his or her academic history. Whether the student has received financial assistance previously is not a factor in determining eligibility. The SAP statuses are “re-evaluated” after each enrolled semester. Students who fail SAP requirements for either financial aid warning, suspension or maximum time-frame are to be notified via their SCC email account. The complete policy is in the SCC catalog and is available in the Financial Aid Office as well as within an online catalog version on the SCC website at https://www.sccsc.edu/catalog.php.
Communication With Students
The majority of communications from the Financial Aid Office will be sent to SCC student email accounts. Students must review their email and announcements regularly through MySCC Portal to ensure they have the latest information about their financial aid status.
Student Refund/Withdrawal Federal Return of Funds
It is the policy of Spartanburg Community College that students or sponsoring agencies/ programs receive a fair and equitable refund of tuition charges if a student withdraws from a term or a full-time student reduces the number of credit hours to below 12 credit hours. Federal financial aid recipients are defined as those students who receive Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Direct Loans. Institutional costs include tuition, fees and charges made in the Book Inn using federal financial aid.
I. Official Withdrawal
Official term withdrawal is defined as a student’s formal notification of his or her intent to withdraw from all courses for a term. A student’s withdrawal date is defined as the actual date the student submits information to Registrar’s Office to drop a course or courses. To officially withdraw from a course or courses, a student must provide official notice to Registrar’s Office electronically or in person.
A federal financial aid recipient who does not officially withdraw from a term is considered to be withdrawn if he or she does not complete all days he or she is scheduled to complete within a payment period or abandons all courses. The last day of academic attendance or attendance at an academically-related activity will be used for calculating the amount of aid to be returned to the federal government based on Section III, and the student will not be eligible for a refund based on the College’s refund policy as outlined in Section II.
A student is not considered to be withdrawn from a term if at the time the student drops the last class in a term he or she submits written confirmation stating he or she will attend a later start term in the same payment period (semester).
II. College Refund Policy
To receive a refund of tuition and eligible fee charges, a student must officially withdraw from the College as outlined in Section I or reduce the number of credit hours to below 12 credit hours. A federal financial aid recipient who is eligible for a refund will have the refund amount applied toward the amount the student owes the College based on the return of funds policy outlined in Section III.
The refund percent is based on the date the completed add/drop/withdrawal form is received by the Registrar’s office. Institutional charges for a semester will be refunded at the following rate:
FALL TERM AND SPRING TERM
|
REFUND PERCENT
|
WITHDRAWAL OR NET REDUCTION OF CREDIT HOURS |
| 100% |
1st - 8th calendar day of the term |
If the calculated refund dates fall on a day that the College is closed, the date will be moved forward to the next day the College is open.
The number of calendar days used to calculate refunds will be pro-rated for terms that vary in length from the traditional term, including Summer.
A federal financial aid recipient who withdraws from a term and is eligible to receive a refund will have the refund amount applied toward the outstanding debt the student owes the College based on the return of fund procedure outlined in Section III.
Non-federal financial aid recipients will have the refund amount returned to the sponsoring agencies/programs in the following priority, not to exceed the awarded amount:
- Private (Alternative) Loan
- Sponsorships
- Tuition Waivers
- SCC Scholarships
- Outside or Community Scholarships
- Life Scholarship
- S.C. Need Based
- Other aid or assistance
- Lottery Tuition Assistance
- SC WINS
Financial aid recipients who are eligible at the time of disbursement and later reduce the number of credit hours during the refund period will receive a tuition refund. A student’s satisfactory academic progress and future eligibility for financial aid programs will be based on the number of credit hours enrolled at the time of disbursement.
III. Return of Federal Financial Aid
A student’s federal financial aid eligibility must be recalculated for students who withdraw, drop out, are dismissed or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60 percent of a term. A student enrolled in at least one class during the full term will have the recalculation for all classes based on the date for the full term.
The recalculation of eligibility is based on the percent of earned aid using the following formula:
- Percent of earned aid = Number of calendar days attended in the semester divided by total number of calendar days in the semester
Federal financial aid must be returned to the federal government based on the percent of unearned aid using the following formula:
Aid to be returned - (100% - percent of aid earned) X the amount of federal financial aid disbursed.
The amount of aid to be returned is the responsibility of the College and the student. However, the student will be responsible for repaying the College for the amount that the College was required to return on his or her behalf less any refund that the student is eligible for under Section II. Therefore, a student who does not complete at least 60 percent of a term will owe a repayment to the College and/or the federal government for the amount of unearned federal financial aid.
A student who owes the College may not be permitted to register for a subsequent term or obtain an official academic transcript until the debt is paid. Payment should be made to the Business Office. A student who owes the federal government may be reported to the U.S. Department of Education and be required to provide documentation of a satisfactory payment arrangement before federal or state financial aid eligibility is restored.
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