Randolph Community College will participate in FAFSA Day on Saturday, Feb. 18, in which college financial aid officers and other volunteers will help students complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms over the Internet.

The program is open to students who plan to attend college in the 2012-13 academic year and will be held at approximately 100 locations across North Carolina. RCC's event will be held from 9 a.m.-noon, Feb. 18, in Rooms 111, 113, 115, and 117 of the M.H. Branson Business Education Center on the Asheboro Campus. The event is free and students should register for FAFSA Day by calling the College Foundation of North Carolina toll free at 1-866-866-CFNC or by going to www.cfnc.org/fafsaday. On the Web site, click on Randolph County on the North Carolina map to register for RCC's event.

Participants should bring their completed 2011 federal 1040 tax forms and each student and one parent should obtain a FAFSA Personal Identification Number (PIN) prior to FAFSA Day from the U.S. Department of Education at www.pin.ed.gov.

It is helpful (though not required) for attendees to complete as much of the 2012-2013 FAFSA on the Web Worksheet as possible and then bring it with them on FAFSA Day.

RCC's Asheboro Campus is located at 629 Industrial Park Avenue. Take the McDowell Road exit from 220 Bypass. Follow the signs and use entrance B or C. The Business Education Center is located just behind the Computer Technology Center

Change in Federal Pell Grant Duration of Eligibility

January 18, 2012

On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 (Public Law 112-74). One of the changes resulting from this Act is a reduction in the length of time a student may receive funding from the Federal Pell Grant program. To summarize the information provided below, students will now be limited to 12 full-time semesters or the equivalent of Federal Pell Grant funding and there will be no grandfathering. Since there is no grandfathering, unlike before, all Pell Grant funds received will be considered in the count, not just those received since the 2008-2009 award year.

Federal Pell Grant Duration of Eligibility - Public Law 112-74 amended HEA section 401(c)(5) to reduce the duration of a student’s eligibility to receive a Federal Pell Grant from 18 semesters (or its equivalent) to 12 semesters (or its equivalent). This provision applies to all Federal Pell Grant eligible students effective with the 2012-13 award year. The calculation of the duration of a student’s eligibility will include all years of the student’s receipt of Federal Pell Grant funding. This change in the duration of students’ Federal Pell Grant eligibility is not limited only to students who received their first Federal Pell Grant on or after the 2008-2009 award year, as the HEA previously provided when the duration of eligibility was 18 semesters.

So, for example, if a student enrolls full-time (12 or more credit hours), he or she will no longer be eligible for Federal Pell Grant after 12 semesters of receiving Federal Pell Grant. If a student attends half-time (6-8 credit hours) every semester, the student would be eligible for 24 semesters, which is the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters. Furthermore, if a student received Pell Grant funds during any previous semesters, at any institution, those are factored into the total.

As always, please let us know if you have any questions regarding this change.

Randolph Community College Presidential Scholarship

December 8, 2011

If you're a high school senior in Randolph County, you just might be a Randolph Community College Presidential Scholar!

Five high school seniors will be selected as RCC Presidential Scholars and will

Receive a $2,500 scholarship for their first year of study ($1,250 fall and $1,250 spring) that is renewable for the second year
Participate in RCC's prestigious Student Leadership Academy during their first year of enrollment
Meet regularly with RCC's president, Dr. Robert S. Shackleford Jr.

For more information, please click here.

N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund information

November 28, 2011

The Office of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs wanted to take a moment to inform you of a program that was created by the N.C. General Assembly in 2004 to help struggling homeowners. The N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund helps North Carolina homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments due to job loss or temporary financial hardship. For qualified homeowners, the fund can provide an interest-free loan of up to $36,000 to pay your mortgage and other related expenses for up to 36 months while you search or retrain for new employment.

For more information, please visit our Online Resources page.

Office of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs closed for holidays

The Office of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs will be closed to observe the Thanksgiving holiday November 24-27. We will reopen on Monday at 8 a.m.

Hope you all have a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

Veterans Retraining Assistance Program for Unemployed Veterans

November 23, 2011

Congress passed, and the President has signed into law, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. The new law Includes a provision creating the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program for unemployed Veterans. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the Department of Labor (DoL) are working together to roll out this new program on July 1, 2012. The new program will provide retraining for Veterans hardest hit by current economic conditions.

The Veterans Retraining Assistance Program offers 12 months of training assistance to unemployed Veterans. To qualify, a Veteran must:

Be between the ages of 35 and 60
Be unemployed (as determined by DoL) with special consideration given to Veterans who have been unemployed for more than 26 weeks
Have an other than dishonorable discharge
Not be eligible for any other VA education benefit program (e.g.: the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Montgomery GI Bill, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Assistance)
Not be in receipt of compensation due to unemployability
Not be enrolled in a federal or state job training program

The program is limited to 45,000 participants during fiscal year (FY) 2012, and to 54,000 participants from Oct. 1, 2012, through March 31, 2014. Participants may receive up to 12 months of assistance at the full-time payment rate under the Montgomery GI Bill–Active Duty program (currently $1,473 per month). Applications will be submitted through DoL and benefits paid by VA. DoL will provide employment assistance to every Veteran who participates upon completion of their program.

Participants must be enrolled in a VA approved program of education offered by a community college or technical school. The program must lead to an Associate Degree, Non-College Degree, or a Certification, and train the Veteran for a high demand occupation.

VA will publish more details about the program as they become available.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy Change

November 21, 2011

As a result of changes required by the U.S. Department of Education, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for financial aid eligibility at Randolph Community College will be measured using a Financial Aid GPA. This is not the same as your academic cumulative GPA. The Financial Aid GPA will now include grades earned in developmental courses and college courses.

If you have questions about the new Financial Aid GPA, please visit our website at http://www.randolph.edu/fin_aid/sap_policy.php or call (336) 633-0223.

Anticipated Fall Session Check Disbursement Date

August 22, 2011

The Office of Financial Aid and Veterans Affairs is pleased to announce that net disbursement checks for students enrolled in the Fall 2011 semester will be available Friday, September 23 in the RCC Business Office. The Business Office is located in the Administrative/Education Center on the main campus and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. If you are unable to pick up your check during these times or have special circumstances that prevent you from coming to campus, please let us know and we will do our best to assist you.

Thank you for your time and feel free to contact us with any questions.

Welcome from the Office of Financial Aid and Veteran Affairs!

August 15, 2011

The Office of Financial Aid and Veteran Affairs would like to welcome all of our Fall 2011 students! As you start this semester, we would like to remind you to turn in all requested paperwork if you have yet to do so. We will continue to process aid through the semester, so again, please turn in all requested paperwork as soon as possible. We would also like to remind you of the following:

Please continue to check, and clean out, your CampusCruiser e-mail as this is our primary method for communication.
Please check WebAdvisor to check the status of your financial aid or access your finanail aid award letter.
Please make yourself familiar with the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.
Please be aware that if you are receiving federal aid and drop all of your classes, you will be subject to a Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculation.
If you have any general questions about financial aid, please use the Award Information Sheet as a reference.