Financial Aid Award Policies and Procedures

To better understand Del Mar College’s policies and procedures for awarding and disbursing student financial aid, read the following information.

Accepting/Rejecting Award

Refer to Steps to Accepting Your Award and follow the listed steps. Awards can only be accepted or rejected online.

Steps to Accepting Your Award Online

To accept or reject your financial aid award, please follow the steps below. Awards will be cancelled or classes may be dropped if your awards are not accepted. 

Go to WebDMC.

1. Log into WebDMC using your DMC User ID and password
2. Select on "Students" icon
3. Under Financial Aid, click on "Financial Aid Checklist"
4. Select the appropriate award year and click “My Awards”
5. Select “Accept or Reject Awards”

Year Round Federal Pell Grant

Effective from the 2018-2019 school year, an eligible student may receive a full Federal Pell Grant for Summer even if they received a full Federal Pell Grant during the fall and spring semesters. Student must be enrolled in at least halftime (6 – 8) hour to receive an additional Pell Grant. Year-round Federal Pell Grant availability can provide students with an excellent opportunity to accelerate program completion, possibly saving on overall degree cost and limiting student loan debt.

If an eligible student in the 2023/2024 academic year receives a full-time Pell award of $3,697 in each of the fall and spring semesters, this student will now be eligible to receive up to another full-time Pell Grant of $3,697 for the summer semester. Under Year Round Pell, this student would be eligible to receive up to a total of $11,092 or 150% of their scheduled Federal Pell Grant during one academic year.

Note: All Federal Pell Grant payments continue to count toward lifetime limits of 600%. And all other eligibility requirements will still apply.

Students who receive the maximum Student Loan for the fall and spring semester may not be eligible for Loans during the summer sessions. Also, you cannot receive financial aid from two different schools for the same enrollment period.

Awards

* Some funds require specific enrollment levels to maintain that award -see Glossary section for specific requirements. Be cautious in selecting your classes, failure to enroll for the proper hours may result in cancellation or reduction of funds awarded.

Pell Grant Awards and TEOG Awards (TEOG1 AND TEOG2) are based on full-time enrollment and will be adjusted based on actual enrollment once the census date has passed for the course (this includes late start classes), see Glossary section .

For example in the 2023/2024 Academic Year, if your fall Pell award is $3,698 at full-time (12 or more hours) and you enroll half-time (6 to 8 hours), your award will be adjusted to $1,849 for the semester.

All other awards are based on minimum enrollment as stated in the Glossary section. Pell Grant Awards for summer are based on the amount of funds students have remaining for the Academic Year. Students are eligible for awarding based on half-time enrollment level (6-8 hrs.) and will be adjusted based on actual enrollment hours.

Lifetime Eligibility Used Limit

The Consolidation Appropriations Act of 2012 has set a limit on how many times a student may receive Pell Grant. A student may receive Pell Grant for approximately 12 full-time semesters (600%). The Department of Education will notify you as you approach or reach the limit. Once you have reached the limit, you will no longer be Pell eligible.

First time Direct Loan Borrowers

Loan proceeds for ALL first time borrowers will be delayed 30 days from the beginning of the semester of the loan period.

Loans for 1st time DMC borrowers are expected to be released on or after the following dates depending on the refund preference selection:

 

For 2023/2024:

• Fall 2023: October 4, 2023
• Spring 2024: February 23, 2024
• Summer 2024: July 3, 2024

 

Loans have very specific requirements before being disbursed. Instructions and detailed information can be found at Direct Student Loan Borrowers Instructions. Should you not comply with specific requirements, the loan will be canceled and you may owe money to the College.

Federal (FWSP) and Texas (TXWS) Work Study Program

If you have been awarded FWSP or TXWS funds and are definitely interested in work study, you must accept your offer and continue to check your WebDMC email for notice of all pertinent employee information, including a mandatory orientation. Please reject the award if you are not interested so we can award other students.

Rapid Track, Block courses, mini semester

If you enroll in short semester courses in addition to long term courses or for short semesters only, your award will be calculated based on the census date of that course. In some cases, you will not receive a disbursement until mid-semester, depending on the census date for the short course(s).  Financial aid programs will not cover courses added after the 12 th class day of a semester or if you drop a course during the semester.  For the summer, financial aid programs will not cover courses added after the 4th class day of a semester or if you drop a course during the semester.

Repeated Courses

Financial Aid regulations prohibit, in some cases, payment of previously repeated courses. Rules will permit payment for retaking a course under the following conditions.

• If student earns/receives non-passing grade (I, R, W, F) in a course; the student may retake the course and can be included for payment.
• If the student passes the course (“D” is considered passing), the student may retake the course one time to improve the grade and can be included for payment.
• Any subsequent repetition of a passed course may not be counted for payment. Retaking courses will be counted in evaluating the student’s record for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and maximum time frame eligibility. Find detailed information regarding DMC’s SAP Policy to  protect your financial aid.

ALL disbursements require an accepted award on file (on the Web). Financial aid awards must be accepted by census date in order to cover tuition and fees. The student will be dropped if the award is not accepted or payment is not made. If you receive an award email and have accepted the awards prior to or during registration, grants, loans (see below for loans) and scholarships may be used to cover your tuition and fees, up to the amount of your eligibility. If you receive an award email after registration contact Financial Aid Services for the expected disbursement dates (see Financial Aid Disbursement Schedules).

TXCON, TEOG1 and TEOG2 funds are not disbursed until funds from the state are received; disbursement dates for these awards vary depending on funding from the state.

Bookstore Charging

Accepted awards may be used to cover tuition/fee charges and will allow you to buy (charge) your books/supplies at the DMC Bookstore on campus.

Charge Periods:

2022-2023:

• Fall 2022: August 21- September 12, 2023
• Spring 2023: January 8 - January 30, 2024
• Summer I 2023: May 20 - May 30, 2024
• Summer II 2023: July 1- July 15, 2024

Should you choose not to use this option, your remaining funds, after tuition and fee charges have been deducted, will be deposited to your Refund Selection made through WebDMC.

Also, refer to  Bookstore Charging for additional information regarding DMC’s disbursement process.

Change in Enrollment/Complete Withdrawal

If changes in enrollment occur before the census day (block courses included), Pell Grant is recalculated in accordance with the scheduled eligibility for that enrollment status and students may owe funds back to the program or to Del Mar College. This includes classes that are dropped due to the class being canceled or classes that cannot be covered due to being repeated courses.

Loan Recipients: If you drop below six semester hours during the fall or spring term, and if you drop below three semester hours during the summer term, you must complete an exit interview. A hold will be placed on your records until this requirement is met.

WARNING: Students who completely withdraw during the first 60% of the semester or who fail to earn a passing grade in classes enrolled will have a Return of Title IV Funds formula applied to their account.

This formula shows what you have earned for the time period you were enrolled. Any unearned portion must be returned to the Federal Financial Aid Programs.

What does this mean?

Should a student withdraw from Del Mar College at any time within the first 60% of the semester or fail to earn a passing grade in all courses enrolled for while receiving federal funds, the student will owe money back to the federal programs and/or to Del Mar College. Before beginning the withdrawal process or decide to no longer attend classes, talk to a financial aid representative.

NOTE: If you fail to earn a passing grade in at least one course, a determination will be made to see if you earned all the funds disbursed to you. Should you stop attending classes without notifying anyone, your instructor will report the last date you attended class. That date will be used to determine if funds are owed.

Glossary

PELL

Pell Grant is a federal grant awarded to you based on your expected family contribution (EFC), which is calculated from the FAFSA.

For 2023/2024, award amounts range from $384 to $3,697 per semester.

(Including Summer, see Year Round Pell), depending on actual enrollment and EFC. The higher the EFC, the lower the amount of eligibility. Some recipients may enroll in as few as one credit hour.

PELL prorated amounts based on enrollment level, Max award per semester

Semester hours	2022-2023	2023-2024
12 or more hours	$3,448	$3,697
9-11 hours	$2,586	$2,773
6-8 hours	$1,724	$1,849
1-5 hours	$862	$925