What is the impact of the Financial Aid Census Date on students?
The units a student is enrolled in on Census Date is critically important as it could have implications on students’ aid eligibility for that semester and beyond. Thus, it’s important that students follow the dates outlined on the Academic Calendar and ensure they drop/add within the guidelines to place themselves within their desired enrollment level (i.e., full-time, half-time/part-time, or less-than-half time).
What happens if I add or drop a class?
Dropping Classes Before the Census Date: A Pell disbursement made at the beginning of the semester is based on a student’s enrollment level at that time. If a student drops any classes between the time of the initial disbursement and the Census Date for that semester, the Pell Grant may be reduced or canceled. Or result in a required repayment of funds.
Adding Classes After the Financial Aid Census Date: If a student adds a class after the Census Date for the semester, the Pell Grant will typically not be increased.
Who do I contact if I have questions about how my aid will be affected?
Contact the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) for questions about financial aid. The OFA is the campus expert for financial aid and is the best resource to ask about aid eligibility, award amounts, effects of adding/dropping courses, maintaining aid eligibility, etc. Each department on campus has a special role in a student’s educational planning, but other offices on campus are not expected to know the intricate details of financial aid.
The OFA is in the One Stop, building 23, and is open Monday-Thursday 8 am -7 pm, and Friday from 8-4:30 (with the exception of summer term). Students can also call our Connect to Success Center at 760-245-4271 or email at info@vvc.edu. The Connect to Success Center is an extension of the OFA and is knowledgeable about financial aid matters and can assist with a student's financial aid questions.
Administrative Drops
Students are sometimes administratively dropped from a course at the start of the semester for not successfully passing a prerequisite course, course cancelation, or because a student has not attended the course during the first two weeks of a semester. If this occurs, a student may need to register for a different course(es) required for his/her program of study. It is the student’s responsibility to maintain the appropriate number of units per semester to remain eligible for the financial aid for which a student has been awarded/disbursed and to avoid any repayment of aid. If financial aid needs to be repaid, any unpaid balance could prevent a student from registering for future semesters until the balance is paid.