Financing Your Education

Investing in Your Education

A college education is one of the best investments in the future that many students will make. Some experts say a college degree has the potential of adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to an individual’s lifetime earnings.

In a world that is daily becoming more complex, more and more occupations require specialized training and educational and learning skills.

As with any investment, there are financial considerations in earning a college degree.

VVC offers a number of financial aid programs, scholarships, and work-study programs to help students finance their educations.

Eligibility and Qualifications

Each financial aid program has specific requirements. However, the programs described in this section of the catalog share the following eligibility criteria:

• U.S. citizenship, permanent resident visa, or California Dream Act (AB 540 eligible student).
• Enrollment in courses in accordance with the VVC Educational Program Plan and regular attendance in VVC classes.
• Satisfactory academic progress (financial aid satisfactory progress policy will be given to you during the initial financial aid counseling).
• Financial need as determined by the information listed in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act application.
• Ability to Benefit, or high school diploma.
• High School Diploma, GED, or Ability to Benefit, in some cases.
• Students must be in a valid program of study and taking classes that go toward their program. Classes taken outside of the program will not be funded!

Financial Aid

The Financial Aid Office assists students who are seeking financial help to pay for the costs of attending Victor Valley College. Money may be provided to cover the cost of tuition and/or enrollment fees, books, transportation, and partial living expenses. Students may be working and still qualify to receive financial aid. For the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), visit Federal Student Aid.  For the California Dream Act application, visit the California Student Aid Commission.  Applying on time is critical.

You may begin the FAFSA application process any time after October 1st for the following school year beginning in August. The priority deadline for certain federal and state aid is March 2nd for the upcoming school year beginning in August.

The processor will forward the Student Aid Report (SAR) to the student. Additional documentation may be required to support the data submitted on the application. It is important that all requested documentation be returned as soon as possible.

Financial Aid awards are not made until a student’s file is complete.

The Financial Aid Office is available to help with the process. Students may find applying for aid difficult and confusing. Those needing help or advice are encouraged to contact the Financial Aid Office (760) 245-4271, ext. 2277 or visit us on the VVC Financial Aid Home Page. We offer FAFSA Labs for those students seeking help filling out the FAFSA application. Please check online for dates and times.

Types of Financial Aid

California State Aid

California College Promise Grant - (formerly know as the Board of Governors Fee Waiver)

This waiver is available to residents of California and certain AB 540 eligible students to cover the additional cost due to fees initiated on July 1, 1985. Students must demonstrate financial need and complete the FAFSA or California College Promise Grant Fee Waiver Application. The maximum waiver covers the community college enrollment fee and discounted parking.

Beginning Fall 2016 the California College Promise Grant will be based on Academic/Progress Standards. Students must meet two consecutive primary terms of Academic and Progress standards in order to continue to receive the CCPG fee waiver.

Please visit the VVC California College Promise Grant page for more information.

State Grants

California, through the Student Aid Commission, offers state-funded grants for undergraduate students. There are grants for both academic and vocational higher education programs, including the new entitlement program. Cal Grant A, B or C applicants must have financial need, be legal California residents or meet AB540 requirements, attending an eligible school in California, be in a program of study leading directly to an undergraduate degree or certificate, be enrolled at least half-time and not possess a baccalaureate degree prior to receiving an award. A student can accept only one Cal Grant. The Financial Aid Office has complete Cal Grant eligibility and application information. Students with qualifying dependents may receive additional aid.

Cal Grant A helps students with tuition/fee costs. The minimum eligible course length is two academic years.

Cal Grant B provides a living allowance for very low income students. More than half of all new Cal Grant B recipients begin at a public community college.

The Cal Grant B award for freshmen is usually limited to the non-tuition costs of attending college such as living expenses, books and supplies, transportation, etc. When renewed by sophomores and above, a Cal Grant B may also cover all or part of tuition/fee costs. The minimum eligible course length is 12 months.

Cal Grant C helps vocational education students with tuition and training costs. Recipients must be enrolled in a vocational program at a community or independent college or a vocational school course of study from 4 to 24 months in length.

Cal Grant B Entitlement Awards

• Provides grant funds for access costs for low-income students. This grant is to be used for living expenses and expenses related to transportation, supplies and books. Beginning with the second year of Cal Grant B benefits, Cal Grant B also helps pay for tuition/ fees for California residents attending qualifying institutions offering undergraduate academic programs of not less than one academic year. 
• Awards are guaranteed for those who meet the program eligibility criteria.

Student Success Completion Grant (SSCG)

Provides an additional $1298 a year for students who have either a Cal Grant B or Cal Grant C, and who are enrolled in 12.0 to 14.5 units. Student enrolled in 15.0 or more units may qualify up to $4000 a year.

How to Apply for State Grants

To apply for a Cal Grant, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and file it between October 1 and the Cal Grant March 2 deadlines. If you are a student who qualifies for the California Dream Act student you would complete the CA Dream Act application. Also complete any additional application requirements such as providing the Student Aid Commission with a verified grade point average or test scores. Community college students have until September 2 to apply for a Cal Grant B award, but earlier application is advised.

General Cal Grant Eligibility Requirements

All Cal Grant applicants must:

• Be California residents
• Be U.S. citizens, eligible non-citizens, or California Dream Act (AB 540 eligible student).
• Meet U.S. Selective Service requirements
• Attend an eligible California qualifying postsecondary institution
• Be enrolled at least half-time
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined at school of attendance
• Have family income and assets below the established ceilings
• Not be in default on any student loan
• Not owe any federal or state grant refund

Federal Aid

Each degree and certificate in this catalog lists whether or not it is eligible for Federal Financial Aid. Some programs have a pending status. 

Pending Status: This program has been approved by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), but is awaiting Department of Education approval for full eligibility for federal financial aid. During pending approval status, the school can award and disburse financial aid but must review what was awarded and disbursed if the program is not approved.

Federal Pell Grant

This is the primary grant for eligible undergraduate students it ranges from $672 to $6495 for the academic award year.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

The FSEOG is available to assist undergraduate students. The standard award is $400 per year based upon the availability of funds. This grant is awarded to students who have a great financial need.

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program

The federal student loan program, under which eligible students borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education at participating schools, is another form of aid, but must be paid back. Victor Valley College participates in the Direct Subsidized Loan and Direct Unsubsidized Loan program. Students interested in loans will need to meet certain criteria. It is recommended to take advantage of grants, scholarships, and other aid before requesting a student loan.

Federal Work Study Program (FWS)

FWS is a form of federally funded financial aid which provides paid work experience as part of the financial aid package. If interested, please search and apply for jobs Online using the FWS link from the Financial Aid Office’s website.

Return of Title IV Funds

There is a federal law about repaying money back if you leave school. If you receive any TITLE IV Funds (Pell Grant, FSEOG, Direct Loans) you may owe money back to the Federal Programs.

Here is how it works: According to the day that you withdraw, the Financial Aid Office will calculate the part of the grant that you have earned and what you may owe. NOTE: If you withdraw after you have earned 60% of your Title IV Funds, you will not owe any repayment.

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funds a financial aid program for full-time students of American Indian descent who demonstrate financial need. To be eligible for a BIA Grant, students must be at least 25 percent American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut by blood, as recognized by a tribal group. 

Veterans and GIBill® Benefits

The Veterans Resource Center (VRC) is on lower campus in building 80.01A, B, & C.

The VRC has a listing of which VVC degrees and certificates are eligible for Veterans Educational Benefits.

We process GIBill® Benefits for the following Chapters: 30 (Montgomery), 31 (VR&E), 33 (Post-911), 35 (Dependents), and 1606 (Reserves). Please visit the GIBill® website for information on your specific eligibility.

Veterans and eligible dependents, please visit the US Department of Veterans Affairs website to complete an application for GIBill® education benefits. If you are already approved for benefits, you should bring a copy of your GIBill® Certificate of Eligibility (COE) letter to the VRC and let us know that you are interested in using your benefits at Victor Valley College.

In some cases, the dependent or surviving spouse and children of a veteran can get educational assistance through a GIBill® or a college fee waiver program.  Please visit the VRC or county VA office for more information.

Students cannot receive benefits for repeating a course that was previously completed successfully.

Students need to report any adjustments to their class load to the VRC to avoid an over or under payment of GIBill® benefits.  

In order to be eligible for GIBill® education benefits, students must maintain academic standards as outlined in the college catalog under Academic Standards, Probation and Dismissal Policies.

The VA requires that students using GIBill® benefits have a current GIBill® Education plan, prepared by a VVC Counselor. GIBill® students have until the end of their first enrollment period to get their educational plan. The educational plan must show the student’s declared program and have all prior credits evaluated. 

Students must submit official transcripts or documents from other institutions to the Admissions and Records Office. This includes educational transcripts, foreign transcript evaluations, military transcripts, and exams (AP, IB, DANTES, CLEP). Official transcripts or documents are required before degrees and certificates can be awarded. Students may bring unofficial copies of the documents noted above to their counseling appointments for evaluation. Counselors can use unofficial documents to guide students, however, these determinations are not final until official transcripts are received by Admissions & Records.

Active duty military may be eligible for Tuition Assistance (TA) from their respective branch of service. Contact your base/post education office for TA forms and additional information.

If you have questions or need assistance, please visit our VVC Veterans Resource Center website for contact and additional information.

Scholarships and Awards

The Victor Valley College Foundation facilitates dozens of private sponsored scholarships and awards that are given to Victor Valley College students each year.

Students are invited to apply for scholarships annually from January – March for awards made to support the following academic year beginning in August. Interested students can access the online application from the College financial aid web page or through the VVC Foundation’s website. The Foundation also posts links to scholarship opportunities from outside agencies on its website.

Eligibility requirements and award amounts vary from scholarship to scholarship. Students may be awarded based on academic excellence, financial need or other criteria established by the sponsoring organization. For questions regarding scholarships, please contact the Foundation Office.

Tuition and Fees

Students are encouraged to plan their educational budget to cover basic college costs while attending Victor Valley College: tuition, fees, books, and supplies. Fees listed are subject to change.

VVC accurately informs all its current and prospective students about the total cost of education, including tuition, fees, and other required expenses, including textbooks and other instructional materials. The tuition fees are listed on the VVC website on our Fees & Refunds page. Students are also made aware of the enrollment fee (including resident, international, and non-resident fees), parking permit fee, student activities fee, student representation fee, and student transportation fee. The website also has Pay with Payment Plan options and policies listed for students who cannot pay for their education. The tuition for the College is $46 per credit, which is set by the California Education Code. All CTE, Licensure based programs, and Not for Credit, publicize all the fees, and other related costs. In addition, the library has textbooks on reserve. The College has many programs that offer textbook assistance for students.

Enrollment Fee

Enrollment fees for California residents are set by the California Legislature for all of the state community colleges. Refer to the Admissions & Records Fees & Refunds page for the most up-to-date fee information. Enrollment and other fees may be refunded for full-term length classes due to program changes made during the first two weeks of a semester. Refunds for short-term classes are granted for program changes made prior to 10% of the class meetings.

A student who is a member of an active or reserve United States military service and who has withdrawn from classes due to military orders may file a petition with the district requesting refund of enrollment fees. The district will refund the entire enrollment fee unless academic credit has been awarded.

Student Center fees are refunded for students withdrawing from classes prior to the first day of the semester.

Parking fees are refunded in full after complete withdrawal from classes prior to the first day of the semester. After classes begin, no refund will be given.

A full refund will be given for ASB (Associated Student Body) fees upon complete withdrawal and surrender of the ASB card prior to the first day of the semester. Parking permits and ASB cards must be surrendered upon withdrawal from school in order to receive refunds.

Nonresident Tuition

Students who are not considered residents of California pay all regular in-state fees plus a non-resident tuition fee, charged on the number of units taken. Refer to the current Schedule of Classes for more on charges.

AB 540 Nonresident Tuition Waiver

Any student other than a nonimmigrant alien, who meets all of the following requirements, shall be exempt for paying nonresident tuition at the California Community Colleges, the California State University and the University of California.

• The student must have attended a high school (public or private) in California for three or more years.
• The student must have graduated from a California high school or attained the equivalency in California prior to the start of the term.
• An alien student who is without lawful immigration status must file an affidavit with the college or university stating that he or she has filed an application to legalize his or her immigration status, or will file an application as soon as he or she is eligible to do so.
• Students eligible for this exemption who are transferring to another California public college or university must submit a new request (and documentation if required) to each college under consideration.
• Nonresident students meeting the criteria will be exempted from the payment of nonresident tuition, but they WILL NOT be classified as California residents. Therefore, students WILL NOT be eligible for any state supported financial aid such as the California College Promise Grant, CalGrant, etc.
• This exemption IS NOT available to students who are absent from California and taking distance education classes from California community colleges.

Please see Admission and Records for the Exemption Request form.

Parking Fees/ASB Fees

Parking lots located around the campus are provided for students displaying valid parking permits.

Semester permits are available from the Bursar. The parking fee is $40 per vehicle, per semester, for the fall and spring semesters. The parking fee for Financial Aid students is $20 per vehicle per semester. Motorcycle permits are $5 in addition to the purchase of a vehicle permit. The paring fee for Summer/Winter is $20 per vehicle. Parking fees are subject to change. Permits are required Monday through Saturday.

Alternative Parking Options

In addition to semester parking permits, the College offers students and visitors two alternate parking options:

1. Daily parking permits are available in vending machines located on campus (machines accept quarters only).
2. Parking meters are located in Lot #6. They are intended to meet short-term parking needs (meters accept quarters only). Student permits are not valid in metered stalls.

Student Center Fee

During the 1992 Spring Semester, the student body approved a Student Center Fee of $1 per semester unit, up to a maximum of $10 per year.

Student Representation Fee

Each student is charged $1.00 per semester (Fall/Spring). The student representation fee is authorized by California Education Code Section 76060.5 and implements Title 5 regulations commencing with Section 54801. Title 5, Section 54805 requires a notice to be provided to students stating that: “the money collected pursuant to this article shall be expended to provide support for students or representatives who may be stating their positions and view points before city, county, and district government, and before offices and agencies of the state and federal government.”

Transportation Fee

Student transportation fee: all students registering for credit classes will be charged a mandatory, non-waivable Transportation Fee. For Fall/Spring term, the fee for students enrolled in less than 6 units will be $5.50 and students enrolled in 6 or more units will be a maximum of $6.00. For Summer/Winter terms, the fee will be $3.00 per student. The Student Transportation Fee is authorized by revised California Education Code Section 76361 and allows for this fee based upon the favorable vote of a majority of the students of the district who voted at an election on the question of whether or not the governing board should require all students to pay a fee for transportation services. 

Textbooks and Small Supplies

Students enrolled in classes will need textbooks and other supplies for most of the courses in which they are enrolled. The cost of textbooks purchased by the student at the beginning of each course and supplies varies from course to course. For financial planning purposes, a full-time student at Victor Valley College should plan on spending approximately $500 per year for books and small supplies such as notebooks, pens, and pencils. Textbooks and supplies may be purchased at the college bookstore, located in the Student Activities Center (SAC) or purchased online at the Rams Bookstore website.

Textbooks may be bought back by the college bookstore at the end of the semester. A book “buy-back” is held at the bookstore during Finals Week, the last week of each regular semester. Book buy-backs are conducted on the last two days of the 6-week summer sessions.

The bookstore’s refund policy is attached to every receipt at the time of purchase. Students should read the policy carefully to determine what may be refunded.

It's easy! To enroll in a class without any textbook fees, open the schedule of classes and filter class results by Course Types through the drop-down. The class results will automatically populate to show only low and no cost classes.

Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) 

This is a Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) course.  The total cost of required instructional materials for this course is $0.

Open Educational Resources (OER) 

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials that are freely available or openly licensed so that everyone has permission to adopt, reuse, revise, or redistribute these materials. The total cost of required instructional materials for this course is $0.

Low Textbook Cost (LTC) 

This is a Low Textbook Cost (LTC) course. The total cost of required instructional materials for this course is less than $50.

Fee Review

Fees are subject to review without notice due to budgetary considerations in the state legislature, the California Board of Governors, and/or the Victor Valley College District Board of Trustees.

Refund Policies

In the event of a withdrawal from classes, a portion of the fees paid may be refunded to the student. Refunds for withdrawals from classes must be requested by the student using a Request For Refund form. A $10 processing fee will be charged for student-initiated refunds. Students not requesting refunds may apply their credit balance toward their student fees in the next semester provided the withdrawal deadlines are met.

Refund Policy

Registration fees are refundable when a student withdraws from class(es) by the 10% point of the length of the course for short term courses, by the end of the 4th day for winter/summer course, or by the end of the second week for full-term fall/ spring semester courses. The processing fee will be deducted from the refund. No refunds will be made after the second week of instruction. Students requesting a refund will be assessed a $10.00 service fee.

Collection and Refund of Fees/Tuition

Collection

Prior to the start of each term, all registration fees must be paid in full within five (5) working days of registering. Beginning the first day of each term, fees must be paid within 24 hours of registration. At the Bursar’s Office, acceptable forms of payment are: cash, check, money order, MasterCard, debit card, Visa, Discover and American Express. Acceptable forms of Online payment are: MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express.

Failure to Pay Financial Obligations

The District may withhold grades, transcripts and diplomas, and may withhold enrollment privileges or any combination thereof from any student or former student who has been provided with written notice that he or she has failed to pay a proper financial obligation due to the District. Any item or items withheld shall be released when the student satisfactorily meets the financial obligation (California Education Code Sections 76300-76396.4 and Victor Valley Community College District AP 5030 for additional information including “Drop for Non-Payment” provision

Collection when Legislature Changes Fees Following Registration

When, by an act of the Legislature, the registration fees are increased during a semester in which a student has already registered and paid fees in full, the student will be sent a bill informing them of the fee increase. The student will be allowed to continue enrollment for the semester currently in progress, but will not be given a copy of a transcript, or allowed to enroll in classes the following semester until payment for the fee increase is made in full.

Fees

There will be no refund of parking fees, associated student body fees, student representation fees, or student use fees beginning on the first official day of instruction.

A Refund Request Form must be submitted to the Bursar’s Office by the drop deadline. Please refer to the current term schedule for specific dates. A refund check will be mailed to the student within (6) to eight (8) weeks.

Students will receive a full refund for any classes cancelled by the College or from which they are administratively dropped. Refund will be processed automatically by the District. No Refund Request Form is required and the refund processing fee will be waived.