Financial Aid

To get and keep aid from almost all student financial programs, you must:

• Submit a completed FAFSA
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
• Have a valid Social Security Number
• Have a valid high school diploma, GED, or meet the requirements for home-schooling
• Be working toward a degree, diploma, or certificate that’s recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the State of Iowa as an eligible program for aid
• For males, be registered with Selective Service (if required)
• Make “Satisfactory Academic Progress” (see below)
• Not owe a refund on a Federal Grant
• Not be in default on a Federal Student Loan

To be eligible for student loans, you must be enrolled at least half-time each term (4 credit hours). Eligibility for a Pell Grant is determined by enrollment status; if you are enrolled less than full-time, a Pell Grant will be reduced accordingly.

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal SEOG Grant
• Federal Work-Study
• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct Parent PLUS Loans
• Iowa Scholarships & Grants

Note: The Iowa Tuition Grant is not eligible with IHCC. All loans must be repaid.

Limited funding is available. If you're eligible for financial aid, your need will be funded by various sources on a first-come, first-served basis, based on fund availability.

If you can demonstrate financial need and meet other eligibility requirements, you can receive need-based financial aid. Financial need is determined by your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) (computed from information provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — FAFSA) as compared to IHCC’s Cost of Attendance (COA).

Cost of Attendance (COA) − Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Financial Need

If you have a positive number remaining after your EFC is subtracted from your Cost of Attendance, you may qualify for some need-based aid sources. To meet with federal regulations, IHCC defines the neediest students as those whose EFC = 0 (zero).

You can’t receive more need-based aid than the amount of your financial need. For instance, if your COA is $16,000 and your EFC is 12000, your financial need is $4,000; this means you aren’t eligible for more than $4,000 in need-based aid.

How Cost of Attendance Is Calculated

If you borrow money to pay for college, you’ll be required to complete loan counseling. This process ensures that you understand your rights and responsibilities as a student loan borrower. You’ll also get tips and information to successfully manage your student loan repayment.

• Direct Loan Exit Counseling Guide
• Student Loan Repayment
• Exit Counseling & Repayment Toolkit (Inceptia)
• Rights & Responsibilities

Remember: Student loans are legal obligations that must be repaid, with interest, like a car loan or a home mortgage.

Attendance Dates

Each term, Indian Hills Community College asks their instructors to take attendance during the first week of class. On the 6th academic day of the term (by 4:00 pm), the Registrar’s office requires all attendance be reported for all students.

The attendance reporting dates for each term are:

• Fall Term: September 6, 2023
• Winter Term: November, 28, 2023
• Spring Term: February 29, 2024
• Summer Term: June 05, 2024

Transmission Dates

Once attendance has been reported to the Registrar, the Financial Assistance Office begins adjusting your cost of attendance budget based on your level of enrollment. Full time is eight (8) credit hours or more, three-quarter time is six to seven (6-7) credit hours, and half-time is four to five (4-5) credit hours.

Once budgets are set to the appropriate enrollment level, the Financial Assistance Office initiates a process that sends financial aid to your account paying charges on the student bill. If you have excess financial aid, you’ll see a negative balance until that refund amount is sent to your refund account.

If you’ve turned in all required documents, have a verified FAFSA, and have been marked as attending class, your financial aid will transmit to your account each term on these dates if you are a returning borrower:

• Fall Term: September 18, 2023 
• Winter Term: December 07, 2023
• Spring Term: March 12, 2024 
• Summer Term: June 17, 2024

And if you are a new borrower:

• Fall Term: September 26, 2023
• Winter Term: December 18, 2023
• Spring Term: March 21, 2024
• Summer Term: June 26, 2024

After the initial date for each term, the Financial Assistance Office will work to complete student files and the Business Office will transmit aid each week to student accounts.

Refund Dates

Finally, once aid has transmitted to your account, the IHCC Business Office will review the transactions and initiate an electronic funds transfer to your refund account.

If you’re a returning borrower, the refund dates are:

• Fall Term: September 25, 2023 
• Winter Term: December 15, 2023
• Spring Term: March 20, 2024
• Summer Term: June 24, 2024

If you’re a new borrower, federal law states that IHCC must hold your loan funds for 30 days into your first term of enrollment. That means you’ll see your refund on these dates:

• Fall Term: October 04, 2023
• Winter Term: December 23, 2023
• Spring Term: March 29, 2024
• Summer Term: July 08, 2024

After the initial date each term, excess financial aid will transmit to your refund account each week as files are completed for students who were marked as attending in their classes.

If you’re enrolled in late-starting classes, your aid will not transmit until attendance has been reported for that class.

Don’t assume you’re being accused of doing anything wrong! Department of Education sometimes uses a verification process to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, the IHCC Financial Aid Office will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported — you’ll find those forms linked below.

• Unsatisfactory academic progress
• Changes in enrollment (full-time, ¾-time, ½-time, less-than-½-time)
• Changes in housing status (off-campus, residence hall, with parents)
• Changes in family demographic information (i.e., household size)
• Changes in family financial information
• Notification or receipt of additional aid (such as loans, outside awards, scholarships, and veteran’s benefits)
• Academic changes (program, year in school, attendance, etc.)
• Clarification of financial aid application inconsistencies
• Correction of financial aid application information
• Lack of an IHCC application for admission on file, an incomplete admissions application, or lack of an active major
• Lack of a “degree-seeking” status
• Anything that affects/changes the basic federal eligibility formula
• Anything that affects/changes the laws or regulations that govern the compliance factors involved with the processing of federal or state aid
• Changes in allocations or funding levels (for example, legislative budget cuts)

IHCC is required to establish satisfactory academic progress (SAP) standards for students receiving federal and state financial aid in accordance with U.S. Department of Education regulations.

These standards are applicable to all students receiving federal and state financial assistance administered by the IHCC Financial Assistance Office. Some scholarships may be governed by more stringent criteria specific to those awards. These are the minimum standards.

The purpose for satisfactory academic progress standards is to ensure that only those recipients demonstrating satisfactory progress toward the completion of their educational programs, in a timely manner, continue to receive financial aid.

Your SAP will be assessed at the end of each academic term (all summer sessions will be assessed at the completion of the full summer term with all courses combined as one term). You must meet all the requirements at the end of each term as stated above to be considered satisfactory.

View the full Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Federal regulations state that if you, as a student …

• Withdraw completely,
• Fail all your courses, OR
• A combination of both (for any given term)

… IHCC is required to determine how much of the federal aid you received must be returned. In essence, if you receive no credit hours for a specified term, the Department of Education requires money back for what was not earned.

• Withdrawing/Failing and Its Impact on Financial Aid
• Withdrawal/Return of Federal Title IV Funds (R2T4)

• Withdrawing/Failing and Its Impact on Financial Aid
• Withdrawal/Return of Federal Title IV Funds (R2T4)
• Drug Law Violations: Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties
• IHCC Financial Assistance Office Policies and Procedures Manual

• Direct Subsidized Loan Changes
• Summer Aid Eligibility
• Gainful Employment Information
• Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties for Drug Law Violations
• Aggregate Loan Limits
• Important Direct Loan Information
• Paying with a College Savings Iowa 529 plan
• College Navigator-NCES/National Center for Education Statistics
• Institutional Code of Conduct for Education Loans

Note: Indian Hills Community College does not maintain a preferred lender list or preferred lender arrangement (Iowa Code 261F.6).

• How to Obtain a 2021 IRS Tax Return Transcript
• How to Obtain a 2021 IRS Verification of Non-filing Letter
• 2023-2024 Dependent Verification Worksheet
• 2023-2024 Independent Verification Worksheet
• 2023-2024 Student Nontax Filers
• 2023-2024 Parent Nontax Filers
• 2023-2024 Verification of Dependents Other Than Spouse or Children
• 2023-2024 Notary Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose
• 2023-2024 Graduate or Professional Degree Status
• 2023-2024 Aid Adjustment Request

• SAP Appeal Form
• Parent PLUS Loan Application
• Consortium Agreement
• Student Withdrawal Clearance Letter
• Acceptable Documents to Verify Citizenship
• Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return
• Simple Steps to Transfer Tax Information into Your FAFSA Form

Note: Forms are available in the Financial Aid Office at the Ottumwa and Centerville campuses, and are also available on our Financial Aid webpage; exceptions are the Special Circumstances Form and the Dependency Override Appeal Request Form, which will be made available upon student request. If you need a form that is not available online, please contact the Financial Aid Office.