Grants and Loans

Office of Financial Aid · Room A-108 · ext. 2170

Eligibility for every program below is determined from the FAFSA; see Financial Aid. The College participates in the Federal Pell Grant and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan programs. It does not participate in the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program or in the Federal Work-Study program.

Grants

Federal Pell Grant. A need-based grant for undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor’s degree. The amount is determined by the Student Aid Index (SAI) on the FAFSA, the cost of attendance, and the student’s enrollment intensity, and is reduced for enrollment of less than full time. A student may receive Pell Grant funds for the equivalent of six years of full-time enrollment (600 percent); the amount used is shown in the student’s StudentAid.gov account. Pell Grant funds do not have to be repaid except as required on withdrawal.

Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG). A need-based state grant administered by the Ohio Department of Higher Education for Ohio residents. Eligibility is determined by the Department from FAFSA information, within the SAI and household income limits the Department sets each year. At a two-year public college the grant is applied only to instructional and general charges not already covered by the Pell Grant and other grant aid; for many students at the College the resulting award is zero. The Department publishes the award table for each year. No separate application is made to the College.

Loans

Federal Direct Loans must be repaid with interest. The College recommends that students borrow only the amount needed for the cost of attendance after grants and scholarships. A student may decline a loan, or reduce the amount offered, in DroverNet.

Annual limits are prorated for a program, or a final period of enrollment, shorter than a full academic year. For periods of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 2026, federal law also reduces annual limits in proportion to enrollment for a student enrolled less than full time. A dependent student whose parent is denied a Parent PLUS Loan may be eligible for additional unsubsidized loan funds at the independent limit. Interest rates and origination fees are set by federal law and are published at StudentAid.gov.

Direct Subsidized Loan. Need-based. Interest does not accrue while the student is enrolled at least half time.

Direct Unsubsidized Loan. Not need-based. Interest accrues from disbursement.

Direct Parent PLUS Loan. Borrowed by a parent of a dependent student, subject to a credit check and to the federal annual and aggregate limits that took effect July 1, 2026. Application is made by the parent at StudentAid.gov.

Private loans. The College maintains no preferred lender list and will certify enrollment and cost of attendance for a private education loan from any lender the student chooses. Students are advised to use federal aid first.

Programs not eligible for federal aid

Clock-hour workforce certificates. Federal student aid is not available for the College’s clock-hour workforce certificates. Under federal rules, a program measured in clock hours must generally provide at least 600 clock hours of instruction over at least 15 weeks to be eligible for Pell Grant and Direct Loan funds, and must be approved for the institution by the U.S. Department of Education before any aid is paid. Most of the College’s clock-hour certificates are shorter than 600 hours. The College has not sought federal eligibility for any clock-hour certificate, including any that meets the minimum length. Federal law effective July 1, 2026 permits Pell Grant eligibility for certain short-term programs of 150 to 599 clock hours and 8 to fewer than 15 weeks that are approved by the Governor of the State and by the U.S. Department of Education and that meet federal completion, placement, and earnings requirements; no College program has been approved for that purpose. Funding that may be available for workforce certificates is described under Workforce Training Funding.

Credit certificates of fewer than 16 credit hours. A credit certificate must generally comprise at least 16 semester credit hours over at least 15 weeks of instruction to be eligible for federal aid. The following certificates, as published in the 2026–27 catalog, are below that length. Students enrolled only in these programs are not eligible for Pell Grant or Direct Loan funds.

Program eligibility is a federal determination about the length of a program. It is not a statement about the quality of a program or the employment of its graduates. A student enrolled in an eligible program who also takes a course from an ineligible program should consult the Office of Financial Aid.