Dear LACCD Faculty,

<<Myths about financial aid Revised.doc>> <<syllabus message 2008.doc>>

Welcome to LACCD Success.Net!   Success.Net is a collaborative network of faculty that offers resources and events designed to support you in your efforts to:

          o Increase Student Retention

          o Enhance Student Engagement & Participation in the Classroom

          o Create a Framework for High Academic Achievement and Success

          o Promote the Mastery and the Practice of Effective Learning Strategies

Beginning this spring, we’ll be sending you some simple, straightforward ideas and activities you can use in your classes to promote student success.  We’ll also be inviting you to participate in special workshops where you can meet fellow faculty, share best practices, and learn more about strategies for promoting the academic success of your students—in and out of the classroom.

First up are some materials that can help you help your students receive much needed financial aid information.

As recently reported in an in-depth study by the Institute for College Access and Success, California Community College students are far less likely to seek aid to help with all the costs associated with school including not only tuition but books, housing, transportation, and other education-related expenses.  This disparity in seeking assistance—just 34% of CCC students seek grants, loans, or work-study aid vs. 45% nationally—creates what the Chronicle of Education, in response to the ICAS study, describes as “sometimes insurmountable obstacles” to student success.

Attached please find two sets of materials that have been put together by a joint committee of LACCD Financial Aid Directors, members of the District’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and members of the District Academic Senate.  The first handout debunks some myths about financial aid to help students understand that assistance for educational costs is available and accessible to them; the second handout contains campus-specific contact information which you can cut and paste into your syllabus or other course materials.

As faculty you remain the principle point of contact for students on your campus; therefore, we encourage you to share these materials right at the start of the spring semester.  And we encourage you to tell students in your classes to pass this information along to their friends.  Together, let’s create a vibrant and engaging Success Network across the LACCD.

If you would like more information about the LACCD Financial Aid group, please contact David Beaulieu at dbeaulieu@email.laccd.edu.

For more information about the Institute for College Access and Success (including links to Green Lights and Red Tape, their report exposing “wide variations in financial aid policies and practices at the state’s community colleges, which can have a major impact on students’ access to available aid”),visit http://www.ticas.org/index.php

This email was sent on behalf of the LACCD Office of Institutional Effectiveness and its Success.Net; future correspondence will be sent from our official email address:  SuccessNet@email.laccd.edu

Five Big Myths about Financial Aid

You have to be very poor or very smart to qualify.

ü Income is only one of many criteria used to determine financial aid eligibility.  There are no fees required to apply for financial aid, and it is to the students’ advantage to see what kinds of programs are available to them.

ü Students must make satisfactory academic progress towards their educational goal.  They do not have to be straight-A students to qualify for aid.  They are encouraged to see their academic counselors to help them make informed decisions about their education.

Students must be full-time to receive aid.

ü Different financial aid programs have different eligibility requirements, but a student who takes even just one class can qualify for federal aid.  

BOG Fee Waiver is the only financial aid available at a community college

ü There are several types of financial aid available to those who qualify. There are grant programs, work-study and loans.  Students are encouraged to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be considered for a variety of aid.

All financial aid must be paid back except for the fee waiver.

ü Financial aid grants are free money and do not need to be paid back if students complete their coursework each term.  Work study is earned.  Loans, in general, must be repaid, but there are programs that enable students to have their loans repaid by the government.

Students should wait until they transfer to a university to receive financial aid.  

ü Students can actually lose their eligibility for some programs by not applying in their first year of college.  For example, the academic competitiveness grant is available only to freshmen and sophomore students; after students earn enough units to be in junior status they are no longer eligible.

If you need help paying for books and other college expenses,

call the financial aid office at

 (818) 364-7648

or visit in person @ the Instructional Building – Administration Wing

http://www.lamission.edu/financialaid/