Illinois Central College is committed to the philosophy that all individuals who need, want, and are able to benefit from higher education should be provided the opportunity to realize their aspirations and goals. Illinois Central College offers a variety of financial aid to students who may encounter difficulty in meeting financial obligations while pursuing their education. Major types of aid include the Federal Pell Grant, State of Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP), Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Work Study Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and scholarships.
To apply and to be considered for financial aid you must:
Students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA form as soon as possible after October 1 of each year. Applications are accepted throughout the year. However, completed applications received by March 1 of each year are given priority status when determining eligibility for limited funded grants such as FSEOG and Federal Work Study.
Title IV funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. Students should understand that changing their class schedule anytime during the semester might alter the amount of financial aid they are eligible to receive.
If a student falls below 6 credit hours and has a student loan, the student may no longer be eligible to receive the loan.
Federal regulations state that financial aid is earned by attending class. You have not earned 100% of your financial aid until you have attended more than 60% of the term. If you withdraw before this date, a portion of your financial aid has not been earned.
The unearned portion is equal to the percentage of the term remaining on the date of withdrawal. Your financial aid eligibility will be recalculated based on your actual period of attendance using a specific credit hour-standard term formula. You may be asked to repay a portion of the aid that had been disbursed to you.
If it is found that the student owes part or all of their financial aid back to the Department of Education, the College will return that money, which will result in the student owing the College. This balance must be paid before future enrollments, graduation or the release of transcripts are allowed. The student will be notified via letter of any Return of Title IV obligations.
The term “Title IV Funds” includes the following programs:
Federal Pell Grant
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
Federal PLUS Parent Loan
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
Determining Date of Withdrawal
Your withdrawal date is determined in one of two ways.
If you officially withdraw from the institution, your withdrawal date is the last date you withdraw from all your financial aid eligible courses.
An unofficial withdrawal occurs when you stop being academically active in classes, but do not notify the institution of your withdrawal. At the mid-point of each semester, the institution checks for academic activity. In cases where a student is failing classes at the mid-point of the semester, each instructor will confirm whether the student is still active in class or will provide the last date of academic activity for each class. If you have ceased to be active in all classes, the latest date of academic activity in all classes will be used to determine the withdrawal date.
Repaying of Financial Aid
Once the institution has determined you have either officially or unofficially withdrawn from the institution, we will notify you (the student) within 30 days if you are required to repay a portion of your financial aid for the term. Illinois Central College returns funds within 45 days to the U.S. Department of Education.
In recalculating your financial aid eligibility, we will reduce your financial aid in the following order:
Post Withdrawal Disbursement
If a student has accepted Title IV financial aid by the date of the withdrawal, but the financial aid has not disbursed, the student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
Under these circumstances, an R2T4 calculation must be performed to determine whether the student is actually eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. Illinois Central College must make this determination within 30 calendar days after the student withdraws. The following conditions apply when processing a post-withdrawal disbursement:
If Title IV funds that are part of a post-withdrawal disbursement create a credit balance, the balance will be issued to the student within 14 days.
[Updated 2/8/2024 per Department of Education review]
An overpayment occurs when a student has been disbursed more aid than they are eligible to receive. This typically happens when a student changes their enrollment level by dropping classes before the refund date listed in their class schedule AFTER they have already been disbursed their aid.
The student who is in overpayment will be notified in writing through their student email account informing them of the situation. If an overpayment is not resolved, and if the student does not repay Title IV funds when required, the institution must report the overpayment to the U.S. Department of Education. Owing an overpayment of a federal grant or loan will prevent the student from qualifying for any future Title IV assistance at all colleges.
Eligible enrolled students whose grant, loan and/or scholarship funds exceed the outstanding charges on their student account may be eligible to use a bookstore charge to purchase books and supplies against their pending financial aid. These charges are automatically set up for Pell-eligible and loan-eligible students to use at the bookstore two weeks prior to the start of the semester for fall and spring semesters. Bookstore charges close the third Wednesday of the fall and spring semester. All charges made by the student will be posted to their ICC student account and will remain as an outstanding balance owed until the financial aid funds are received by ICC.
Bookstore charges close the third Wednesday of the fall and spring semester. All charges made by the student will be posted to their ICC student account and will remain as an outstanding balance owed until the financial aid funds are received by ICC. Books and supplies required for classes must be purchased before any other bookstore items such as electronics and clothing can be purchased.
It is important that you have finalized your enrollment and have submitted all requested financial aid documents to ensure an accurate bookstore charge is set up in a timely manner for your use in the bookstore. If you do not have all requested items submitted to the Financial Assistance Office, you will not be eligible for a bookstore charge.
By law, federal student aid funds can be used to pay up to 30 credit hours of remedial coursework. If the student has reached the maximum hours allowed, the student is notified prior to disbursement for the semester. Once the maximum number of remedial hours has been taken, the financial aid award is determined by subtracting the remedial hours from the total hours attempted for the current semester. The award is then calculated based on the remaining hours on the student class schedule.
By law, federal student aid funds can be used for one retake of a previously passed course. This applies when the original attempt of the course was paid for by financial aid. Federal student aid regulations state a passing grade for purposes of this law is any grade higher than an “F” regardless of any school or program policy requiring a higher qualitative grade for determination of passing the course. If a student withdraws before completing the course that they are being paid financial aid for retaking, then that is not counted as their one allowed retake for that course.
A student’s maximum duration of Pell grant eligibility is six full‑year academic awards. For term‑based schools, such as ICC, this is equal to twelve semesters of payment at full-time enrollment in each of those semesters. For example, if a student is enrolled full time for the semester and receives the Pell grant at full-time status, the student is using 50% of an academic year award. However, if the same student is enrolled at a half-time status for the semester, the student is only using 25% of an academic year award. If a student is close to reaching the lifetime eligibility limit and has applied for financial aid, the student will be notified by the U.S. Department of Education.
Students must be enrolled in an eligible program leading to a certificate or degree and be registered for at least six eligible credit hours to borrow a Federal Direct Loan for any semester of enrollment. Students in default on student loans are not eligible for student loans or any financial aid in the future until the default is resolved.
Loans will be certified for the amount requested or for the amount you are eligible, if less than the requested amount. If you are enrolled in less than 12 credit hours, your cost of attendance is adjusted to reflect the actual number of credit hours enrolled and your loan award will be recalculated. Any change in enrollment status after your loan is certified by ICC may require additional recalculation and revision of your original loan amount. If you submit a loan application prior to the tuition due date and you are determined eligible for the loan, you will be held in your classes.
Loan disbursements are completed in two payments during the loan period. If the student has requested a two semester loan (e.g., fall and spring loan), the student will receive one disbursement in each of the semesters. If the student has requested a one semester loan (e.g., fall only loan), the student will receive two disbursements in the semester. The second half of the disbursement is processed the week after midterm break. If the student’s enrollment level changes prior to the second disbursement, the loan amount may change. Per federal regulation, disbursements for first-time loan borrowers are not processed until 30 days after the start of the semester (approximately the 5th week of the academic semester).
Situations that may delay or cancel your student loan:
If your enrollment drops below six credit hours, any loan funds that have not been disbursed will be cancelled.
Student loan default, or not repaying your student loan debt, carries serious consequences. When taking out a student loan, you want to exhaust all other possible funding methods and borrow conservatively. Students that do not repay their student loans become ineligible for any financial aid and loans in the future. Defaulted loans can prevent students from renewing professional licenses. The federal government can collect on defaulted loans by confiscating federal tax refunds and garnishing wages. It is the student’s responsibility to always stay in contact with the loan servicer to stay current with address and enrollment information to help avoid default.
If you and your loan servicer disagree about the balance or status of your student loan and you have done everything you can to resolve the issue, you can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. They can help you find some resolution to the matter.
Please use the following information to contact the FSA Student Loan Ombudsman Group: