PA State Grant (PHEAA)

The basic eligibility requirements reviewed by PHEAA when it receives an application are:

• Meets criteria for financial need
• Enrolled on at least a half-time basis in an Associate degree program and does not already have a Bachelor's degree
• U.S. high school graduate or the recipient of a G.E.D.
• Pennsylvania resident (domiciliary)
• Met the application deadline by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by May 1st of the academic year the student is attending

PA State grant award notices should be considered estimates. Even after a student has received a State grant award notice, PHEAA requires a college to conduct additional eligibility checks. PHEAA will send Northampton Community College (NCC) an official list of all students awarded State grants at the beginning of each semester (including summer). Your State grant will appear on your financial aid award as "estimated" until your eligibility is confirmed. The following are some of the eligibility checks that will be made by NCC financial aid staff prior to any State grant funds being disbursed to your account.

PHEAA considers full-time status as at least 12 credits in a semester and half-time status as at least 6 credits in a semester. Enrollment status can also be impacted by individual courses. Only credits that count as part of the student’s current program of study count towards the enrollment status used to determine eligibility. Please read the information on "Remedial Exception" below.

The FosterEd Program, created by Act 16 of 2019 and amended by Act 49 of 2019, mandates postsecondary institutions in the Commonwealth waive tuition and mandatory fees for youth who are or were in foster care. This waiver applies only to charges that remain after all other gift aid (federal, state, and other scholarships or grants) have been applied to the student’s account. The program is being administered collaboratively by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) in conjunction with the PA Departments of Education, Human Services, and Labor & Industry.

View eligibility requirements and access the application - https://www.pheaa.org/funding-opportunities/other-educational-aid/foster-education.shtml

If you think you may qualify for this program or are interested in more information, please contact the following individual who is the point of contact for Northampton Community College:

Maryann Haytmanek
Director, New Choices/New Option Program
610-861-5350

PHEAA defines a semester as approximately 15 weeks in length. Therefore, if you are taking accelerated courses at NCC, the amount of State grant you receive or the date you receive it could be affected. For example, if you were taking 2 courses, both within the same accelerated 6 week term, you would not be eligible for a State grant because the term length does not meet PHEAA's definition. If you were taking 2 courses, one a regular length course and the other an accelerated course starting later, a college would be required to withhold applying your State grant until the first day of the accelerated course.

In addition to all other eligibility criteria, students at Northampton Community College must be registered in at least 6 credits during the summer in a period of enrollment that’s at least 5 weeks in length to be considered for a Summer State grant. However, students cannot be registered exclusively in either of the 4 week summer sessions due to the length of these summer sessions. To apply for the State Grant for the summer and for common questions – PA State Grant Program: Summer Grant Program (pheaa.org)

If a student is taking remedial (developmental) or 0 level ESL courses, the student must also take at least 3 regular  college level? (100 level or higher) degree credits in a semester to be considered for a State grant. If a student is enrolled for 6 college level courses or 12 college level courses then a remedial exception is not required and remedial credits will not be towards academic progress. A student is only eligible to receive this type of combined credit payment (remedial exception) for 2 full-time or 4 part-time semesters. After a student has received the maximum number of remedial exceptions, only regular  college level degree credits can be used when determining enrollment status for additional State grants.

To be considered for a State grant a student must meet PHEAA's academic progress requirement. This requirement applies to students who received a State grant in a prior academic year. If a student received a State grant at a different college, an academic transcript from that college is required to confirm that academic progress was met. For the most recent year a State grant was received, a student must successfully complete at least 12 credits for each full-time grant and/or 6 credits for each part-time grant. For example, if a student received two full-time State grants in the prior year (Fall and Spring semesters), PHEAA requires the student to have successfully completed at least 24 credits in order to be eligible for a State grant in the current year.

Credits can only be counted toward Academic Progress the first time the student earns credit for the course in a term where a PA State Grant was awarded. If a student repeats a course where credits had been earned, the repeat credits cannot be counted toward Academic Progress unless those credits were not used in a previous Academic Progress review.

Students may also opt to submit an Academic Progress Exception Form, which if approved, may allow the student to meet the progress requirement for eligibility determination. The form may be found here:  -PA State Grant Program: Forms (pheaa.org)

A change in enrollment status can affect a student's eligibility for a State grant. The following are some examples of enrollment changes that may result in an adjustment to a student's State grant during a semester:

• Drop from full-time to half-time
• Drop from half-time to less than half-time
• Withdrawal
• Switching from a regular college level degree course to one that is remedial or 0 level ESL

When the tuition and fee costs incurred by a student for a semester are at least 25% less than the costs used by PHEAA to determine State grant eligibility, a college is required to report the actual costs incurred. PHEAA requires colleges to report such reduced costs and withhold applying State grant funds until the amount of a grant has been adjusted accordingly.

Monroe County students who take 6 or 7 credits in a semester will need to have their State grants adjusted due to substantially different actual costs than those used by PHEAA to calculate their awards.

A student is eligible for 4 years (8 full-time or 16 part-time semesters) of State grant aid in his/her lifetime. PHEAA only allows students to receive 2 years of State grants in a two-year academic program. Therefore, students attending Northampton Community College are limited to 4 full-time or 8 part-time semesters of State grant eligibility for most Associate degree programs.

Monroe County students who take 6 or 7 credits in a semester will need to have their State grants adjusted due to substantially different actual costs than those used by PHEAA to calculate their awards.

You can contact PHEAA or view the status of your State grant application.

If you have not already done so, use the "Sign In/Create an Account" section of this Web site to create an on-line account.

For common questions concerning the PA State - PA State Grant Program: FAQ (pheaa.org)