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 Student Aid Index (SAI) (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) − Student Aid Index (SAI) = Financial Need

If you have a positive number remaining after your SAI 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 SAI = -1500 (based on FAFSA determination).

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 SAI 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 09, 2025
• Winter Term: December 01, 2025
• Spring Term: March 04, 2026
• Summer Term: June 09, 2026

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 15, 2025 
• Winter Term: December 04, 2025
• Spring Term: March 10, 2026 
• Summer Term: June 15, 2026

And if you are a new borrower:

• Fall Term: September 23, 2025
• Winter Term: December 15, 2025
• Spring Term: March 19, 2026
• Summer Term: June 24, 2026

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 22, 2025 
• Winter Term: December 12, 2025
• Spring Term: March 18, 2026
• Summer Term: June 22, 2026

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 01, 2025
• Winter Term: December 20, 2025
• Spring Term: March 27, 2026
• Summer Term: July 02, 2026

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)

Please visit the Federal Student Aid website for Frequently Asked Questions from students and parents! 

1. Apply for admission and be admitted to IHCC in an eligible program, as a degree-seeking student (otherwise you will not be eligible for financial aid).
2. Apply for a Federal Student Aid ID. If you’re a dependent student, you will also need to have your parent(s) apply for an FSA ID as well.
3. Gather your income tax returns, W-2s, and/or other proof of income. If you are a dependent student, you will also need your parents’ information as well.
4. Complete your FAFSA. The school code for Indian Hills Community College is 008298.
5. Review your FAFSA Submission Summary for errors or needed corrections and resubmit, if applicable.
6. You may be selected for “verification". If so, please complete and return any forms requested by the Financial Aid Office. The approximate processing time is 2-4 weeks once we receive all requested information, so get this information turned in as soon as possible!
7. Once you have been awarded, review your IHCC Financial Aid Offer for the terms covered by your financial aid, as summer term may not be included.
8. If you would like to utilize your student loans, please accept your loans online via your WIN Dashboard. You can find instructions on how to do this on your Aid Offer. You’ll also need to sign your Master Promissory Note and complete your Loan Entrance Counseling at studentaid.gov, and will need your FSA ID to do this. Print the confirmation page for your records.

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

• Gainful Employment Information
• Drug Law Violations: Federal Student Financial Aid Penalties
• 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).

• Cohort Default Rate

Cohort Fiscal Year		IHCC Official Default Rate		National Avg (Community College)
2022	|	0.0%	|	0.0%
​2021	|	0.0%	|	0.0%
​2020	|	0.0%	|	0.0%

Federal student loans are borrowed funds that must be repaid with interest. Failure to repay a loan can result in default for an individual student. A cohort default rate (CDR) is the percentage of a school’s borrowers who enter repayment of federal student loans during a fiscal year and default within the cohort default period.
The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) publishes cohort default rates based on the percentage of a school’s borrowers who enter repayment on Direct Loan Program loans during a federal fiscal year (October 1–September 30) and default before the end of the second following fiscal year.
Students should investigate and inquire about a school’s Cohort Default Rate (CDR) before taking on loan debt the same as they would graduation rate or job placement rate. Official Cohort Default Rates are updated annually by the federal government and posted publicly, and IHCC’s 3 year current CDR is posted above. 

• How to Obtain a 2023 IRS Tax Return Transcript for Student Tax Filers
• How to Obtain a 2023 IRS Tax Return Transcript for Parent Tax Filers
• 2025-2026 Dependent Verification Worksheet
• 2025-2026 Independent Verification Worksheet
• 2025-2026 Student Nontax Filers
• 2025-2026 Parent Nontax Filers
• 2025-2026 Verification of Dependents Other Than Spouse or Children
• 2025-2026 Notary Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose
• 2025-2026 Graduate or Professional Degree Status
• 2025-2026 Aid Adjustment Request

• How to Obtain a 2024 IRS Tax Return Transcript for Student Tax Filers
• How to Obtain a 2024 IRS Tax Return Transcript for Parent Tax Filers
• 2026-2027 Dependent Verification Worksheet
• 2026-2027 Independent Verification Worksheet
• 2026-2027 Student Nontax Filers
• 2026-2027 Parent Nontax Filers
• 2026-2027 Graduate or Professional Degree Status
• 2026-2027 Aid Adjustment Request

• SAP Appeal Form
• Consortium Agreement
• Student Withdrawal Clearance Letter
• Acceptable Documents to Verify Citizenship
• Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return

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. Additionally, the Notary Identity Verification form may be provided to students at the discretion of an authorized individual within the Financial Aid Office. If you need a form that is not available online, please contact the Financial Aid Office.

• One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA/OB3) - Financial Aid Changes
• Parent PLUS Loan Application
• Federal Parent PLUS Loan Changes for Current Borrowers
• Federal Parent PLUS Loan Changes for New Borrowers
• Private Education Loan Information – Student Choice & Transparency

  Indian Hills Community College is committed to providing students and families with clear, transparent information to support informed borrowing decisions. As part of this effort, below we have provided information and resources about private education loans.

  Please note the following:

  • No Endorsement of Lenders
    Indian Hills Community College does not endorse, recommend, or promote any specific lender. The provided materials are for informational purposes only.
  • No Preferred or Private Lender List
    Indian Hills Community College does not maintain a preferred or private lender list and does not recommend or promote any specific lenders.
  • General Information Only
    These resources offer general information about private education loans, including borrower rights, responsibilities, and considerations when comparing options.
  • Your Right to Choose
    Students and families are encouraged to select the loan that best fits their needs. You are not limited to any specific lender and may choose any eligible lender.

  We encourage all borrowers to carefully review loan terms, compare options, and choose the solution that best aligns with their financial goals.

  Resources:

• Private Education Loans: Information for Students & Families
• Private Loan Checklist for Prospective Student and Parent Borrowers

Certain academic programs prepare students to earn a professional license and/or certification in Iowa. In compliance with federal regulations regarding professional licensure, Indian Hills Community College is required to make the following disclosure with respect to professional licensure or certification outside the state of Iowa. The Indian Hills programs listed below lead to professional licensure or certification. 

• Associate Degree Nursing, A.A.S.
• Aviation Maintenance Technology, A.A.S.
• Aviation Professional Pilot, A.A.S.
• Dental Assisting, Diploma
• Dental Hygiene, A.A.S.
• Electrical & Renewable Energy Technology, A.A.S.
• Medical Insurance Coding, Diploma
• Medical Laboratory Assistant, Diploma
• Medical Laboratory Technology, A.A.S.
• Occupational Therapy Assistant, A.A.S.
• Physical Therapist Assistant, A.A.S.
• Practical Nursing, Diploma
• Radiologic Technology, A.A.S.
• Surgical Technology, A.A.S.

Use this Licensure and Certification Disclosure PDF to identify whether the program meets or does not meet educational licensure requirements in other states. 

If you do not live in Iowa and are considering one of these programs, it is highly recommended you contact the state in which you plan to practice to verify any state requirements. The U.S. Department of Education provides information about most licensed professions by state. 

This information is provided in accordance with 34 CFR 668.43(a)(5)(v).