Apply for Financial Aid

To apply for all federal and state funds, a student must complete the admissions process and the appropriate steps below.

An essential step to apply for financial aid is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at fafsa.gov. Be sure to list FVCC on your FAFSA. FVCC’s school code is 006777.

Step 1: Apply for admission to Flathead Valley Community College as a degree- or certificate-seeking student.

Step 2: Students and parents (if considered dependent) need to request a FSA ID (Federal Student Aid ID)

Step 3: Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on the web using your FSA ID by December 1st for priority consideration. The FVCC school code is 006777.

Step 4: Contact FVCC Financial Aid for appropriate school paperwork.

Step 5: Submit all paperwork and documentation requested by the financial aid office in a timely manner.

In order to be eligible for financial aid a student must:

Students must apply for financial aid each academic year. Applications are available after October 1 for the following fall and should be submitted as soon as possible using the prior prior year tax information. Applications are processed in the order received.  Students are notified of their fall awards beginning in December.

Flathead Valley Community College administers a variety of government financial assistance programs for degree-seeking students. Students are required to complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to determine eligibility.

Policies and procedures governing financial aid programs are subject to change at any time without prior notification or publication due to changes in college, state, and/or federal guidelines and regulations. FVCC is an equal opportunity and affirmative action organization that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, creed, service in the uniformed services as defined in state and federal law, veteran status, sex, age, political ideas, marital or family status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

Financial aid is awarded based on the student’s FAFSA application. Enrollment verification is completed after the census class day: 15th class day of fall and spring semesters; 10th class day of summer semester. Financial aid awards are adjusted based on the student’s current registration at the census class day. Any changes to enrollment after that date will not affect the value of a student’s award package, unless a student drops a course that has not started, or withdraws from all courses for that term.

Students who withdraw from classes after the 15th class day should review the eligibility section of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements to ensure they are maintaining the required academic standards.

If students receive more financial aid than their direct institutional costs, the college will issue a refund check about a month into the semester.

In some circumstances, students who are registered in late-starting classes may have their refund check reduced or held until they are in attendance in the late-starting courses and have passed the refund period for those courses. This excludes all Title IV (Federal Grants and Loans) recipients.

Financial Aid students who desire to officially withdraw from all classes must visit with the Director of Financial Aid at FVCC prior to starting the withdrawal process. The Director will explain the consequences of withdrawal to the student and explore possible alternatives that would preserve the student’s eligibility for continued aid. An official withdrawal is complete when the student fills out a withdrawal form, has all the necessary signatures, and turns the form into the Admission Office for processing.

For a student who officially withdraws, the withdrawal date is the earlier of the date they began the withdrawal process or last attended classes. For a student who didn’t officially withdraw (Unofficial Withdrawal), meaning that they stopped attending their classes without notification, the withdrawal date is the last date of attendance as reported by the instructor, or the 50% point of the semester.

The FVCC Financial Aid Office determines the amount of aid ‘earned’ by the student for a term using a federal formula known as Return of Title IV (R2T4) funds. The R2T4 calculation is done if the student withdraws (officially or unofficially) from a term and had received or may receive federal financial assistance in the form of a Federal Pell Grant, Iraq/Afghanistan Service Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Direct Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized), or Federal Parent PLUS loans.

The percentage of aid to be earned is equal to the number of calendar days completed in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester. Scheduled breaks of more than 5 consecutive days within a semester are excluded. The resulting percentage is then used along with the student’s school costs and total federal funds the student received (funds that were disbursed directly to the student’s bill and possibly refunded) or that the student was eligible to receive, to determine the amount of aid that they earned. If this percentage is greater than 60% it is not necessary to return funds. However, if it is less than 60%, the amount of funds not earned will be returned in the following order.

The order in which the aid must be returned is as follows:

If a student earned more federal aid than was previously disbursed to them at the time of withdrawal, they may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement (PWD). In the event of this, FVCC Financial Aid Office will process the disbursement and a refund will be issued within 14 days of the credit balance.

FVCC will disburse any Title IV grant funds a student is due as part of a post-withdrawal disbursement within 45 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew and disburse any loan funds a student accepts within 180 days of the date the school determined the student withdrew. The student or parent may choose to decline any portion of the loan, or the entire loan altogether.

If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loans, FVCC will send notification to the student or parent (in the event of a Plus loan), within 30 days of the date the FVCC determined the student withdrew. The student or parent (in the event of a Plus Loan) has 14 days to respond to give permission to disburse a federal loan.

Depending on when the student withdrew or it was determined the student withdrew from all classes it may result in an amount returned that exceeds the school’s portion. In this event the student is required to repay some funds. The student/parent will still be required to repay any loans used in accordance with the Master Promissory Note that was signed.

Title IV Grants funds are repaid if the amount by which the original overpayment exceeds 50% of the total Title IV grant funds disbursed or could have been disbursed to the student for the semester. If the amount is less than $50.00, the student is not responsible for returning funds to Title IV grant programs.

FVCC may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition and fees. However, the school needs the student’s permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If the student does not give permission, the student will be offered the funds, however, it may be in the student’s best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce the student’s debt at the school.

It is also important to understand that accepting any post-withdrawal disbursement can reduce the amount of grant eligibility for future use, or increase the student’s loan debt.

Student Eligibility Notification:

According to the US Department of Education regulations, all students enrolled in post-secondary education must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. These standards require, but are not limited to, attending classes, maintaining acceptable grades, completing a sufficient number of credit hours per semester, and completing the program of study within the maximum amount of allowable credits. A student who does not meet these standards is not eligible to receive federal and/or state funded financial aid. All semesters of attendance (Fall, Spring, and Summer) and all students are considered during SAP evaluation. Adherence to the standards indicated in this document will be necessary for continued financial aid eligibility.

New or returning students who have not previously received financial aid at FVCC will be notified of their status for aid eligibility after FVCC receives a copy of the student’s current FAFSA as well as transcripts from previous college(s) attendance. The FVCC Financial Aid Office will attempt to notify in writing any student currently receiving financial aid who is placed on Warning or Suspension status. This notice will be sent to the address and/or email that is listed on the FAFSA. However, failure to receive such notification does not relieve the student of the requirement to read, understand, and follow and the SAP standards for financial aid recipients.

Transfer Credits, Remedial Coursework, Repeat Coursework, Course Incompletes, and Withdrawals

For students new to FVCC, previous transfer coursework and transcripts are used in SAP calculation. The Grade Point Average (GPA) earned at previous institutions will not transfer to or merge with a student’s GPA at FVCC but will be evaluated according to the standards listed below, as though the student attended FVCC for the previous semester (i.e., if a student received a term/cumulative GPA of less than 2.00 their last semester at a previous institution, they will be evaluated as not meeting SAP standards). Only transfer credits from the student’s previous course of study that apply towards the student’s course of study at Flathead Valley Community College will count towards their Max Timeframe calculation.

Remedial or developmental coursework (i.e., courses below 100-level) must be evaluated in the same capacity as all other college courses with regards to meeting SAP Qualitative (GPA) requirements. However, remedial or developmental coursework will not be counted towards the Quantitative (Pace) standards of the SAP policy as attempted or completed credits.

Federal Regulations allow a student to retake any previously passed course a maximum of once per course; students are eligible to repeat courses, in which they have previously received an “D-” grade or higher, one additional time utilizing federal and/or state aid. A student that has repeated a previously failed course and now completed the course with a “D-” or higher grade will be ineligible for further repeats of the course utilizing federal and/or state aid. Students that have previously withdrawn from or failed a course are allowed to repeat the course. If the student receives a grade of “D-” or higher for the course, they have utilized their one repeat of the course; if the student, on their second attempt, withdraws without receiving a grade or receives an “F” grade, they are allowed to repeat the course until they receive a passing grade or until they no longer are meeting SAP standards shown above. Furthermore, students that have received an initial grade sufficient for program progression will be deemed ineligible to utilize federal and/or state aid for additional repeats of the course. Students deemed ineligible to repeat the course must pay for the course utilizing their own funds, and the ineligible course will not be factored into financial aid credit evaluations (i.e., a student enrolled at 12 credits in which a 3-credit course is an ineligible repeat will only be evaluated as though they were enrolled in 9 credits). Only the highest grade for repeated courses will be evaluated in the Qualitative (GPA) component, while all attempts of the course will be evaluated in the Quantitative (Pace) component as “attempted”.

Course Incompletes and Withdrawals (I, W, WI, U, NG) are counted in the Quantitative (Pace) component for SAP evaluation as “attempted” courses. Students with Incomplete, “I”, courses will be evaluated for the Qualitative (GPA) component once a grade has been received.

SAP Monitoring

Students’ records are reviewed for Qualitative and Quantitative Measurement and MXT at the end of each semester.