This page provides valuable information about how your financial aid award is determined, disbursed to you, and when necessary refunded and/or repaid by you. The Financial Aid Office at Pueblo Community College makes every effort to use the following policies and procedures to provide an equitable, standardized process for awarding financial aid to students who would otherwise be unable to pursue a post-secondary education.

The basic premise of all federal and state financial assistance programs is that the primary responsibility for educational expenses rests first with the parents of a dependent student, the student and then financial aid programs. It is our policy to accept the use of the Federal Needs Analysis Methodology to determine the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This number indicates the student’s (and/or the parents’) ability to contribute toward the student’s education. This contribution is calculated based on the information provided by a student on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students wishing to receive financial aid such as grants, work-study, and student loans, must complete a FAFSA for the appropriate academic year. The application process is outlined on the "Getting Started" page.

To provide as many eligible students enough resources to approach the cost of attendance in a fair and equitable manner.

To distribute the available resources to eligible applicants that have completed files in the Financial Aid Office by the priority deadline of March 15th and have high unmet need.

Providing assistance in a manner which makes reasonable demands upon the student with respect to the amount of self-help required to meet the cost of attendance. Self-help is defined by working or borrowing to help pay for a portion of educational expenses.

To provide students with sufficient aid to complete an occupational objective, such as one certificate and/or one associate degree. For further details request the brochure entitled "Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards" which outlines the length of time one can receive financial aid at PCC.

WHAT IS A FINANCIAL AID "PACKAGE" OR "AWARD"?
A financial aid package or award will consist of at least one type of grant, if you are eligible and there are available funds. A package may be a combination of grants, awarded scholarships the financial aid office is aware of, and any self-help (student loans or work-study) the student may have applied and been approved for. PCC utilizes a "first-come, first-served based on need" packaging policy. However, the Director of Financial Aid will maintain the discretion to package the award to best meet the student’s particular situation. Read on for further details.

BEFORE YOU GET A FINANCIAL AID AWARD
You must have the results of your FAFSA application. This is usually several pages long, on colored paper and it is called a Student Aid Report, or SAR for short. It should arrive in the mail within several weeks after applying (or by email if you provided an email address on the FAFSA). Review this information for accuracy and if there are corrections contact the Financial Aid Office. Otherwise retain the SAR for your records.

• Be accepted into the college and meet other general eligibility requirements.
• If you were selected for a process called VERIFICATION then you must promptly submit appropriate documentation to the Financial Aid Office. See the next section.

WHAT IS VERIFICATION?
Verification is a process whereby you are required to submit documentation supporting the information that you originally supplied on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This will include income information, family size and marital status among other things. Your financial aid award will be based on the final verified information which may require the resubmission of your application to the federal processor. In accordance with federal regulations and PCC’s packaging policy, we cannot credit federal and state grants to your account, nor allow work-study employment or process student loans until the verification process is completed and we have received confirmation from the federal processor. You may have been selected for verification by the Department of Education or the Office of Financial Aid in compliance with federal requirements.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION may include the following: The Verification Worksheet is available from the Financial Aid Office. Please provide a copy of all other required documentation.

Verification Worksheet

• List family members by name, age, relationship to student and name of college attending, always include yourself.
• Complete the income information.
• Signed and dated by the student, and if dependent, at least one parent.

Taxed and Untaxed Income

• 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, 1040PC, 1040TEL Federal Income Tax Forms
• IRS letter 1722 (Income Tax Information)
• Child support received
• Other untaxed income as appropriate

Separation or Divorce

• Copy of legal separation or divorce papers
• Statement on letterhead from attorney stating intent to file for separation or divorce if a joint tax return was filed.

Eligible Non-Citizen

• Copy of alien registration card or other appropriate documentation.

Additional information is available from the Financial Aid Office upon request for the following areas of interest: Costs, Packaging Policy, Aid Distribution; Refunds and Repayments, Rights and Responsibilities; Services for Students with Disabilities; Drug & Alcohol Abuse; Security and Privacy Rights; Satisfactory Academic Progress; Students Loans; and Work-Study.

Information is subject to change without notice or obligation due to State or Federal Regulations.