Terms of Award

All awards on the award letter are contingent upon the following:

• • Del Mar College Financial Aid Services (FAS) actually receiving the anticipated federal and state funds, which could change upon the passing of new federal and state legislation.
  • The Admissions Office admitting you as a regular student, and your ability to remain at this status. Transfer students must have all transcripts submitted and have completed a Transfer Credit Hour Evaluation form from our office to receive financial aid funds. High School Graduates/GED recipients must have their final high school transcript submitted to Admissions to receive financial aid funds. Transfer Students failing to submit previous college transcripts may have their spring 2025 and future aid withheld.
  • Your compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) of the published program length. FAS reviews SAP for federal funding at the end of each semester. Texas Educational Opportunity Grant (TEOG1 or TEOG2) recipients must review DMC Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for the 1st year, however, must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA and 75% completion rate thereafter. In addition, recipients are limited to 75 attempted hours, 8 semesters, or receipt of Associate’s Degree (whichever occurs first). FAS reviews SAP for state funding at the end of each spring semester.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Guidelines for TEOG1 and TEOG2

GPA

End of Initial Year: Institution’s SAP Policy (above)
End of Subsequent Years: Minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA

Completion Rate

End of Initial Year: Institution’s SAP Policy (above)
End of Subsequent Years: 75% successful completion of attempted hours for the year

Degree Audit Regulations

The Department of Education Financial Aid regulations state that students are only eligible to receive financial aid funds for courses that count towards their active degree or certificate program. This regulation can be located in the Federal Student Aid Handbook (pages 1-13—1-14). You can locate the following exact regulation on the mentioned pages. "If a student is enrolled in courses that do not count toward his degree, certificate, or other recognized credential, they cannot be used to determine enrollment status unless they are eligible remedial courses. This means you cannot award the student aid for classes that do not count toward his degree, certificate, or other recognized credential."

Beginning Summer 2019 financial aid disbursements will be calculated based on a student's Del Mar College (DMC) eligible active academic program and the student's enrollment for the semester. Only classes required for a student's eligible active academic program will qualify for financial aid.

Step One: Eligible Academic Program

Federal regulations require DMC students to be in an eligible DMC academic program to receive financial aid. You can only receive financial aid for ONE active academic program.  You can update your academic program by submitting the Change of Major form available on the Registrar’s website, as well as within your campus Registrar's office.

Step Two: All classes MUST be part of your eligible active academic program 

Federal regulations require all DMC students to enroll in classes on their active academic program to be eligible for financial aid. Beginning Summer 2019 a comparison between your current active academic program and your enrollment will be calculated. Financial aid will ONLY be available for classes that are required on your active academic program.

Step Three: Review Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What DMC programs are eligible for financial aid?
A: Any credit program that grants an Associate’s Degree and any Certificate program at least 16 credit hours in length. Exception: recently approved certificate programs may be ineligible until we receive Federal approval.

Q: Why do I need to be in an eligible academic program?
A: Financial aid is only available for students who are pursuing a degree program and/or eligible certificate program at a college or university.

Q: How do I verify my active academic program or check if my classes are on my active academic program?
A: Check your degree plan. See the instructions on getting your degree plan from WebDMC.

Q: How do I change my academic program?
Submit the Change of Major form to update your major with Del Mar College. This form is available on the Registrar’s website, as well as within your campus Registrar's office. 

Q: How do I update my catalog year?
Submit the Change of Major form to update the catalog year with Del Mar College. This form is available on the Registrar’s website, as well as within your campus Registrar's office.

Q: What do I do if I have questions about which academic program to choose or which classes to choose for my academic program?
A: Please contact the appropriate advisor.

Pell Grant

If your SAI is between -1500 and 0 you will be awarded the maximum Pell award of $3698 fall and $3697 spring.

For students who received Pell grant based on full-time for both fall and spring, additional Pell may be available for the summer. The student must enroll for at least 6 hours. Other conditions apply. Contact Financial Aid Office for more regarding “Year-Round Pell grant” eligibility. For students who did not receive 100% Pell grant for fall and spring, Financial Aid will award remaining Pell grant first, then determine if additional funds are available for the student.

Pell Grant Lifetime Limit (LEU). The amount of Federal Pell Grant funds a student may receive over his or her lifetime is limited by federal regulations to the equivalent of six fulltime years (12 fulltime semesters). You can view Pell LEU information on the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) site.

Minimum enrollment requirements for major financial aid programs: Pell Grant - 1 hour; TX Public Ed Grant (TPEG) and SEOG - 6 hours (summer 3 hours); Fed Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loan & TEOG grant - 6 hours. Please note that all grant programs will prorate based on enrollment level.

Work-Study

If your award package includes Federal or State Work-Study (WS), the following applies:

If you have been awarded FWSP, FWSP2 or TXWS funds and are interested in work study, you must accept your offer and find a position within 2 weeks otherwise your award will be cancelled. Checking your student email for notice of all pertinent employee information including a possible mandatory orientation is crucial to being a successful work- study. Please reject the award if you are not interested in the program.

Federal Direct Loans

If you are requesting a Federal Direct Stafford Student Loan, please submit a new loan request online through the financial aid checklist on WebDMC or complete a Repackaging Request form at our office. 

Complete the Loan Entrance Counseling and Master Promissory Note online at studentaid.gov, enroll in at least 6 hours and maintain SAP prior to receiving their loan funds.

Schedule to attend a Mandatory Loan Advising Workshop if you haven’t already for Del Mar College or if you need a refresher. Students MUST attend one workshop prior to receiving their loan otherwise funds will not be disbursed.

Refer to Direct Loan Borrower Instructions for federal direct student loan requirements.

Other Awards Requiring SIX (6) Hours Minimum Enrollment (Half-Time)

FWSP Federal Work-Study Program TXWS Texas Work-Study Program

SEOG Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant

TPEG Texas Public Educational Grant – Texas Resident

TPEGN Texas Public Educational Grant – Non-Resident

Incarcerated Students

Federal regulations stipulate that a student can receive financial aid at only one school per semester. Federal regulations also indicate that incarcerated students are not eligible for Pell Grants or Federal loans. Please notify your campus Student Financial Aid Services immediately if you are receiving aid at another college or university or if you are incarcerated.

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 Census class day of a semester or if you drop a course during the semester.

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. Please see the Bookstore Charging Schedule. 

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. Please review the DMC SAP Policy.

Loan Recipients: If you drop below six semester hours during the fall or spring 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.

Classes that start after the beginning of the regular term will be paid seven days prior to the beginning of that class. This includes MOD Math, STSC, 8-week, Saturday and weekend classes.

Students who enroll in non-standard term class after his/her aid has been fully disbursed are responsible for payment of the tuition for the class.

For students who have a combination of long-term and short-term classes within the same semester, the official date of record (ODR) for ALL classes will be based on the ODR for the latest starting class and aid will be recalculated if students withdraw from hours prior to the ODR for the latest starting class.

Attendance Requirements

• Establish Attendance
  A student who fails to begin attendance in ALL classes are subject to all federal grant aid and/or federal loans being canceled and must repay funds. If a student only begins attendance in some of their classes, their Federal Pell Grant will be re-calculated based on the actual attendance. Students must attend ALL classes or have a documented, academically related activity at least once prior to the official date of record to earn the funds disbursed. This includes both in-person and online classes.

• Dropped or Canceled Courses
  Financial aid will be re-calculated if a student adjusts their hours through the official date of record for the semester. If a student drops a class or a class is canceled on or prior to the official date of record (ODR) AND the new enrollment drops to a level lower than originally used to pay aid, they are required to repay the difference between the paid amount and the new eligibility amount. Visit Student Financial Aid Services for questions about dropping classes after receiving aid.

• Withdrawal From All Courses
  Students who withdraw or fail ALL classes will have their attendance checked to determine if they stopped attending prior to completing 60% of their scheduled courses. If they did not attend up to the 60% mark, they  may have to repay funds to DMC and the federal government. Visit Student Financial Aid Services before withdrawing!

• Remedial Courses
  A student may receive financial aid for up to 30 credit hours of remedial course work. Remedial courses begin with zero.

• Repeated Classes
  A student is only allowed to repeat a course once if they received a passing grade (D or better). Any classes repeated more than once cannot be included in the enrollment level and will not result in receiving additional aid. 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. For detailed information regarding DMC’s SAP Policy refer to Del Mars Website for protecting your financial aid.

ALL disbursements require an accepted award on file (via WebDMC). 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 Schedule).