SAP Appeals - 2023-2024

 

• There will still be a priority and a late deadline for SAP appeals for fall 2024- July 15 is priority and September 30 will be the late deadline

• They are only eliminating the late deadlines for spring and summer. There will only be one deadline for spring- November 30 and one deadline for summer- April 30

• Students turning in a SAP in January would be for the next cycle in summer- April 30

Office of Financial Aid - Events & APCAP Coaches

 This is the link for all the outreach activities happening in our office: https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/outreach-services.html

Contact us and Appointments: https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/connecting-with-financial-aid.html

Email for APCAP COACH (SAP appeal help): APCAPcoach@montgomerycollege.edu

(Coaches will mostly reach out to student by email rather than phone and my not respond directly to you if you refer a student)

APCAP COACH Team:

• Johnson-Turner, Everene
• Barbour, Wayne C
• Allen, William D

SHAW - Emergency Assistance Request Process

 Hi Counselors,

 The SHAW center has received a grant to be able to help students with emergency assistance. Please direct students to the link below to apply.

Thanks,

Katie

Hello Colleagues,

Students interested in being considered for emergency support from the SHaW Center must complete the SHaW Center Emergency Assistance Request Form.  We have received an increased number of requests this week, so it will take us 2-3 days to follow up with the student.  Please note that students must be currently enrolled/matriculating and all students are eligible to receive support. Also, requests for funding (cash/checks) and tuition support will not be approved.

Hope this helps.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Benita

Financial Aid - August Peak Operations

We have just updated our peak remote contact guidance on the web.  Students can still email and call. We have increased our hours and number of staff on the phone. We are not taking any new zoom appointments at this time, we are booked through the first week of school.  Counselors and Specialist are now also on the phones and assistants are paired with counselors if more assistance is needed.  If a student needs an extended appointment, that cannot be handle in one phone call, counselors will set a specific call back with that student.  

Messages to students:

·         Financial aid remote operations: https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/remote-service-options.html

·         Prepare students for an extended wait on phones, but if they hang on they will be served.   

·         If they did not put their social security number on their admissions application or the number is incorrect we will not be able to access their FAFSA, see letter below we recently sent out. With instructions.

·         They need to complete their files as soon as possible. There is an entire web page with information on how to submit electronic forms: https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/submitting-forms-electronically.html

·         When completing files,  Reservation Forms need to be submitted at least 5 days before the delete to ensure classes are held.

Hope this helps. We know student are frustrated with the time it is taking to respond, so are we, but we have all hands on deck and are still reviewing appeals and working on awarding files.  Judy

 

Judith M. Taylor
________________________________

Hello all,

We are getting ready to send suspense emails to 2021 aid year applicants.  For these applicants we are unable to bring their FAFSA into our system. Attached please find the email text.

If a student calls or emails about this, please check the following to instruct them accordingly:

1)      Check ‘SSN’ on SPAIDEN under ‘Biographical’ tab for the student. If its blank or incorrect (after verifying with them), ask them to mail a copy of their SSN card along with a copy of their picture ID (back and front) to:

Ernest Cartledge

Director of Records & Registration and College Registrar

____________ 

Once the SSN is updated on SPAIDEN, their FAFSA would be downloaded on the next data load run.

2)      If the student does not have the M# or you cannot find the student on SPAIDEN, then they need to get admitted to Montgomery College.

3)      If none of the above applies to them, then please contact Harry Li to see what the reason is.

Thanks,

Shamsah

DCTAG

As far as DCTAG paperwork is concerned, the office of student financial aid only takes their award letter. Students will need to write their M# on the DCTAG award letter and then mail it into :

Office of Student Financial Aid
20200 Observation Drive, SA -110
Germantown, MD  20876

Or

Email it to: Financialaid@montgomerycollege.edu

Thank you.

Tameka Cruz
Montgomery College
Coordinator of State Scholarships
Financial Aid Counselor
Financial Aid Line: 240-567-5100

Financial Aid Updates-Summer 2020

1) Electronic Financial Aid Forms - Most financial aid forms can now be completed and signed electronically.  Important:  Read the details!!!

https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/submitting-forms-electronically.html

2) SAP - Quick Notes - powerpoint in Counseling Discipline OneDrive

To summarize for Counseling: 

1. new forms are posted to MyMC under the FA tab

1. new forms will be converted to fillable PDF, but will take a little to make this happen

1. forms DO NOT need to be signed by Counselor

1. Counselors/advisors need to send e-mail from College e-mail and include required details – will create mock-up to share with Counselors

1. If our processes cause a delay for student, this should be communicated by Counselor to Chair -->FA Director

1. need to attach completed advising worksheet for Max Time

1. student must have change of program of study processed by Registrar before appeal can be submitted

1. not all of this has been communicated with all FA staff; plan is to share this later today

3) Other - SSN - It is important to note that the social security number issue is very important. If students are getting a message that they need to submit forms to the FAO and there is no list of forms needed on their financial aid requirements page, that means they need to verify that their social security number is in the system.  They should call the 5100 number from 10:00-2:00pm in order to verify what we need, if anything.

SAP Guidance - Summer 2020

Summer 2020 SAP Appeals were due April 15, 2020. Financial Aid will accept appeals/documentation for Summer 2020 SAP appeals through May 1, 2020 (this extension is not advertised online).

Protecting student’s ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII) is a huge concern for Financial Aid.  This is why Financial Aid cannot allow students to email documents directly to them. The IT security team says our email is not secure enough to send PII as it could be hacked and students could have their identities stolen. Financial Aid deletes all student emails with attachments. They are currently configuring an online tool for students to complete forms and upload other documentation electronically. It’s been taking a while because each form must be tested by IT to ensure it is secure. The hope is that it will be ready sometime in May (in time to be utilized for the largest SAP group for Fall 2020).

If students schedule appointments with you for support with submitting a SAP appeal for Summer 2020, the Financial Aid office needs your signature on the contract page. You can use electronic signatures in Adobe (for those with printers/scanners at home – you can also print/sign/scan/email if this is easier for you). You should email the signed contract page to FinancialAid@montgomerycollege.edu and in the subject line of the email list which type of SAP you assisted a student with: Max Time, PACE or GPA; in the subject line also include the student’s M# (this is not PII); in the message of the email be sure to include the student’s name. Please alert Financial Aid if forms are coming separately from the student in snail mail.

As a reminder, the ‘old SAP forms’ are still in circulation. We confirmed again with Financial Aid that Counseling Faculty do not have to complete the ‘calculation’ on the page. They really just need to know what courses the student still needs to complete to complete their program of study for their catalog year on file in Banner. You can make a note on the page that your signature verifies the academic planning component, not the calculation. For the Fall 2020 SAP group, new forms will be provided that do not include the calculation section on the form we sign.

Students also need to submit their signed contract page, as well as their appeal form, statement, and supporting documents. It is within the statement and supporting documents, where there is concern about PII being shared. Financial aid is checking physical ‘snail mail’ every two weeks. The next time they are visiting campus to check the mail is April 23, 2020. Students should ‘snail mail’ their signed appeal form, statement, and supporting documentation to the Germantown campus:

Office of Student Financial Aid

20200 Observation Drive, SA -110

Germantown, MD  20876

Additionally, Financial Aid shared the following:

Withdrawals before March 13, 2020 will not be considered COVID related

Withdrawals after March 13, 2020 can be considered WC if meets criteria

Financial Aid- Remote Options

Students can make an online appointment with a financial aid counselor via the web or MyMC. We also outline the remote service options.

https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/

https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/paying-for-college/financial-aid/remote-service-options.html

Melissa F. Gregory, EdD
Associate Senior Vice President for Student Affairs
Montgomery College

CT E229

(240)567-7319
melissa.gregory@montgomerycollege.edu

Financial Aid FAQs.

https://info.montgomerycollege.edu/students/resources/financial-aid-faqs.html

2019 - Financial Aid Awareness Month at Montgomery College

February is Financial Aid Awareness month! This year the Office of Student Financial Aid will be hosting “FAFSA Fridays” to assist students in completing the 2019-2020 FAFSA-on-the-Web.  “FAFSA Fridays” will be held in the Office of Student Financial Aid on each campus during these dates and times:

·        February 1, 2019, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

·        February 8, 2019, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

·        February 22, 2019, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

In addition, The Office of Student Financial Aid will be hosting “Turn It In Tuesday” on February 19^th from 8:30a.m. – 5p.m. to encourage and assist our students in completing their 2019-2020 financial aid requirements prior to our March 1^st priority deadline. 

Please share our flyer with your students and click here for more information on Financial Aid Awareness Month at Montgomery College: http://insidemc.montgomerycollege.edu/details.php?id=92767

Thank you,

Alexandra Gonzalez

Financial Aid Counselor

Montgomery College

51 Mannakee Street, ST 124

Rockville, MD 20850

(240) 567-7339

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Financial Aid - Winter/Summer Enrollment

Winter Enrollment:

• Coursework taken during the winter term is added to spring hours for determination of aid eligibility in the spring. For example:   a student taking 3 hrs in 201925 and 3 hours in 201930 would qualify for a loan during 201930 (so long as all hours are part of their POS).

Summer Enrollment:

• Summer I and summer II are counted as 1 semester (the same as fall and spring) so the hours are added together.
  
• Loans are not available in the summer unless the student is registered for 6 hours in the summer AND completed 6 hours in the spring (this only applies to loan eligibility).
  
• Pell eligible students can receive any portion of Pell grant that they did not use in fall or spring. So, if a student was ¾ time in the fall and full-time in the spring, they have ¼ Pell left for summer (for enrollment in 1-5 hours). If this student registered for 6 hours or more, they would get the remainder of their Pell and then be eligible for the additional Pell.
• New regulations allow a student to get an additional amount of Pell grant in the summer if they enroll in at least 6 hours. So a student that was enrolled FT in fall and FT in spring would have no Pell remaining if they enrolled in 1-5 hours, but would be eligible for an additional Pell grant if they registered for 6 hours or more (up to 12 hours).  

Student Financial Aid (2015-16 – IPEDS data)

Key data element:

First-time, full-time certificate seeking undergraduate students:

Any student financial aid:                             63%
Grants or scholarship aid:                             54%
- Federal grants:                                               42%
- Pell grants:                                                       42%
- Other Federal grants:                                     4%

State or local grants and scholarships:     17%
Institutional grants and scholarships:      23%

FA & Engineering

Also from Financial Aid- If a student is an Engineering major and they are required to take ENGL 101 and/or MATH 165 as prerequisites, please make sure to have them change their major to General Engineering. General Engineering is the only Engineering degree where ENGL 101 and MATH 165 are accepted for financial aid purposes.

2018 Peak Hours - Office of Student Financial Aid

The Office of Student Financial Aid will begin peak registration hours on Monday, January 8^th.   As a result, our office hours will be (8:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.) Monday – Thursday and (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.)  on Friday. 

Our phone lines will be accepting calls starting Monday, January 8^th from (9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), Monday – Friday.

We will return out regular rotational hours on Monday, February 5^th.

We hope this information will assist you in directing students with inquiries related to financial aid to our offices.

Michael A. Ferby

Germantown Campus Director

Office of Student Financial Aid

Montgomery College

20200 Observation Drive

Germantown, MD 20876

240-567-7811 (Office)

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DC-TAG

If a student is receiving DC-TAG, but unable to register for classes due to a cashier's hold, the Financial Aid Office have been given approval by Finance to lift the hold for a short period of time to allow the student to register.  Direct the student to meet with a Financial aid Counselor so that the hold can be lifted. 

* Financial Aid has requested funds for DCTAG for all of our students and waiting on them to send the funds to MC which we have been told it will be in a couple of weeks.

Pre-Health Science Codes Now Using General Studies-STEM

Jennifer Gottwald, Student Information Systems Specialist has confirmed the curriculum for all the pre-health science majors (201720 and forward) are now coded (behind the scenes) as General Studies STEM (2017-2018 catalog). Therefore, you should no longer have to advise students to change their major to General Studies STEM (unless they are following a catalog prior to Fall 2016).

Additionally, she coded the “pre” major for the School of Art + Design to follow 611Z (General Studies – Undecided), effective 201720.

Here is the list of Health Science programs that are now coded to run as General Studies STEM for the degree evaluation:

• Diagnostic Medical Sonography AAS: 530
• Health Information Management AAS: 550
• Mental Health Associate AAS: 560
• Nursing AS: 570
• Physical Therapist Assistant AAS: 580
• Radiologic (X-Ray) Technology AAS: 520
• Surgical Technology AAS: 590

SFASCRE - Courses Covered by Financial Aid

As you know, Federal Financial Aid will only pay for courses in a student’s major and catalog year on file in Banner. They have been running reports to determine which students are eligible to receive their aid this semester. So far, they have had some successful reports but 150 students did get deemed ineligible for aid. They need to review these students manually as it may be due to course substitutions, multiple attempts at a class, a course not in MC’s curriculum but in a transfer agreement with MC, and hidden prerequisites to name a few.

If you meet with a student that states their courses were not covered and you believe they should be (part of program of study or transfer agreement) please email the student’s name, M#, email address and phone number to Sherri Thompson with a brief explanation. Financial Aid will review on a case by case basis and this will help to improve the system moving forward.

____________________

We (counseling faculty) should now have viewable access to SFASCRE in Banner. This screen allows us to see if the courses a student is registered for ‘counts in program’ meaning eligibility to be covered.SFASCRE form is populated for a student with the results from Program of Study process. After the first initial run, if there are any updates to the student’s registration status for the term, a new sequence with updated results is generated on SFASCRE. Therefore, it is very important to look at the current sequence for the results.

1. On SFASCRE, enter the term and M# of the student
2. Click in View Current checkbox to see the most recent sequence for that student. If you don’t click in the box, then all the sequences available for the student for that term will be displayed.

Will all the courses registered by a student be covered by Federal Financial Aid?

Remedial, AELP and credit courses will be included if:

(Note: Make sure that you are looking at the current sequence for the term for the student)

Remedial courses that are on SFASCRE will be included in the enrollment hours (REPEAT Rule on ROAENRL for Federal Aid) if,

1. The Remedial Hours for that course is 30 or less AND
2. The Repeat Count for that course is ‘0’ or ‘1

For example, MATH 096 will be included in the enrollment status as the Remedial Hours for it is ‘12’ and the Repeat Count is ‘0’

AELP courses that are on SFASCRE will be included in the enrollment hours (REPEAT Rule on ROAENRL for Federal Aid) if,

1. The Repeat Count for that course is ‘0’ or ‘1

In the example, both AELW 930 and AELR 930 will be included in the enrollment status as the Repeat Count for the both is ‘0’.

Credit courses that are on SFASCRE will be included in the enrollment hours (REPEAT Rule on ROAENRL for Federal Aid) if,

1. The Count in Program for that course is ‘Yes’ AND
2. The Repeat Count for that course is ‘0’ or ‘1

In the example,

MATH 101 will be included in the enrollment status as the Repeat Count for it is ‘0’ and the Count in Program is ‘Yes’.

ENES 100 will be included in the enrollment status as the Repeat Count for it is ‘0’ and the Count in Program is ‘Yes’ (ENES 100L is ‘0’ credit so it does not matter).

ARTT 100 will not be included in the enrollment status as the Count in Program is ‘No’ for it.

ENGL 101 will be not be included in the enrollment status as the Repeat Count for it is ‘2’.

Priority FIN AID deadline (Fall 2017)

Financial aid priority deadline is now March 1 for the fall semester and November 1 for the spring semester.  This is a change from the May deadline last year. 

Individual Student SAP Calculation on MYMC

Hi All,

We are in the process of sending mid-semester SAP Reminder Email to all FA applicants. The email reminds the students to review the SAP standards and be aware of how their academic grades affect their eligibility to receive Financial Aid.

This year we are putting out individual student’s SAP calculation on MyMC. The system takes the data from SHISAPP (a form in Banner) and lets the student know if they are meeting the three SAP conditions. At the end of every term the data on MyMC will be refreshed as we refresh SHISAPP data in Banner. The students can get to this page by clicking on My Academic Progress (SAP) icon under Financial Aid Tools for Current Recipients section on Financial Aid page in MyMC.

Attached please find both the Reminder Email and the sample SSB page.

Please feel free to forward the notification to anyone who works with the students on Satisfactory Academic Progress. If you have any questions please let me know.

Thanks,

Shamsah

Financial Aid - Phone # for Counselor Use

We have an internal phone we use between the campuses for emergencies and problem cases.  We do not give this number to students.  It is at our front counter where someone is always there and as you can see if too many calls are coming in there, it could pose a problem and distraction.  I would be glad to give it to you with the understanding that they should call me or one of my Financial Aid Counselors first before calling that number.  I can give you names and numbers of my counselors if you want.

It is ext. 71511 internally.