Understanding Your Awards

• How Eligibility for Student Financial Aid is Calculated
• Terms and Conditions of the Financial Aid Package
• Changes to the Financial Aid Package
• Payment of Financial Aid
• Book Vouchers

Your Financial Aid Package

The Office of Financial Aid at Owens acts as a clearinghouse for many aid programs.

If you are eligible, and aid funds are available, you may receive a package composed of funds from different sources. These funds are combined with your resources to address your financial need. The financial assistance offered to you is the estimated financial aid package for the academic year.

While your individual circumstances may vary, grants and scholarships are generally the most beneficial type of financial aid, followed by Federal Work-Study.  You are encouraged to use these options prior to borrowing funds.  Federal Direct Loans generally have better repayment terms than private student loans

Eligibility for need-based aid is based on the estimated cost of attending Owens Community College, your Student Aid Index (SAI) based on the information that was provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) and your enrollment status. The types and amounts of financial aid in your package also are limited by regulatory maximums, your academic class status (freshman or sophomore), grade point average, fund availability and your enrollment status (full- or part-time).

Your financial aid awards will be posted to your Owens Ozone account. You should review all the information on your account and on the financial aid web site carefully. The web site contains important details about your financial aid package and your responsibilities as an aid recipient.

You are responsible for the information provided to you. You will be notified if you must respond to your award notice. If you receive additional financial aid assistance during the academic year, a new award notice will be sent by email to your Owens email account.

College Financing Plan

The College Financing Plan summarizes your financial aid so that you may compare financial aid awards among various colleges and universities. You may view the College Financing Plan in Ozone.  Locate the Financial Aid Summary card, verify that you are viewing the desired aid year, click the View Financial Aid Details link, and click on College Financing Plan. If you do not have an Ozone account, you may obtain one by completing an admissions application.

How Eligibility for Student Financial Aid is Calculated

Estimated Cost of Attendance

Financial aid is provided to you to pay for educational costs. While actual costs will vary from student to student, Owens Community College determines your eligibility using average cost figures according to your status as a dependent or independent student.

Cost of Attendance Components

The cost of attendance includes the following.

Direct costs (billed by the college)
Tuition and fees:   Instructional, general, and other fees which are charged by the college.  If you are assessed non-resident fees, this cost will be included.

 

Costs which may be direct or indirect costs
Books, course materials, supplies, and equipment:  If you choose to purchase books and supplies using a book voucher, these will be charged by the college.
Computer purchase expenses:  An allowance for expenses incurred to rent or buy a personal computer. See Adjustments to Cost of Attendance below.
Study abroad expenses

 

Indirect costs (not billed by the college –  these are other expenses related to attending college)
Federal student loan fees:  An allowance for the average cost of the origination fee for Federal Direct Loans.
Transportation:  An allowance for the average cost of transportation between your home and school.  If you are traveling to a clinical (or similar) location and your actual costs exceed the standard amount, see Adjustments to Cost of Attendance below.
Miscellaneous personal expenses
Living expenses:  Food, housing, and other expenses
Professional licensure, certification, or first professional credential costs:  An allowance for the costs associated with obtaining a license, certification, or a first professional credential.  This only applies to programs which prepare you for a profession that requires such a qualification.  If you are enrolled in a program which includes a licensure or certification cost, the allowance will automatically be included once you have reached a certain point in your program.  If you are ready to complete your certification and it is not already included in your Cost of Attendance, or to request an adjustment to retake a certification test, see Adjustments to Cost of Attendance below.
Cooperative education costs:  Reasonable costs associated with a work experience under a cooperative education program.  See Adjustments to Cost of Attendance below.
Dependent care costs:  An allowance for dependent care while you are in class, studying, performing field work or internships, or commuting.  See Adjustments to Cost of Attendance below.
Disability-related expenses:  An allowance for expenses associated with your disability which are not funded by other agencies.  See Adjustments to Cost of Attendance below.

 

Cost of Attendance Examples

The chart below lists cost examples for full-time enrollment in Fall and Spring semesters for an Ohio resident. These figures are averages and your actual cost may be different. If you are enrolled less than full-time or taking classes for only part of the semester, your cost of attendance will be updated after the freeze date has been reached.

The cost of attendance is not the amount owed to Owens.

2024-2025 (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025)	Independent	Dependent living with parents	Dependent living off-campus
Tuition and Fees	$5,894	$5,894	$5,894
Books and Supplies	$1,880	$1,880	$1,880
Transportation	$3,040	$3,040	$3,040
Miscellaneous Personal Expenses	$1,568	$1,568	$1,568
Living Expenses	$6,272	$2,912	$6,272
Total*	$18,654	$15,294	$18,654

*In addition to these costs, you may incur other expenses which vary depending on your major and other factors.  Please refer to the Cost of Attendance Components section above for a list of possible expenses.

Adjustments to Cost of Attendance

You may request an adjustment to your Cost of Attendance for the following situations.

• Computer purchase expenses
• Cooperative Education Costs
• Dependent Care Costs
• Disability-related expenses
• Additional transportation expenses to clinical (or similar) sites
• The cost of obtaining professional licensure, certification, or a first professional credential for your program of study, if it is not already included in your Cost of Attendance or you are requesting funds to retake a certification test

An adjustment to your Cost of Attendance does not guarantee that you will be eligible for additional aid.  Please discuss your situation with your Student Financial Services Advisor before submitting a request.  Requests must be processed by the last day of classes for the semester(s) you are attending for the academic year.  In order to ensure that your request can be reviewed, submit the Cost of Attendance Special Circumstances Request and all requested documentation as soon as possible, preferably no later than one week prior to the end of the semester, as listed below.

Semester	Submit by
Fall 2024	November 28, 2024
Spring 2025	May 1, 2025

 

Net Price Calculator

To obtain an estimate of the overall expenses and potential grant and scholarship aid for attendance at Owens, please go to the Net Price Calculator.

Student Aid Index (SAI)

The information that is provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) is used to calculate an index which is used in determining your eligibility for financial aid.  The formula for this calculation is established by federal law.  If you are considered a dependent student, parental data is also included in the formula.

The index is called the Student Aid Index (SAI). Certain information from the federal income tax return, assets, and family size are used in the formula.

Outside Aid

Federal regulations require you to disclose, and the Office of Financial Aid to include, outside awards in your financial aid package. As a result, the Office of Financial Aid may reduce the financial aid initially offered to you. When possible, loans and Federal Work-Study eligibility are adjusted before grants or scholarships. Federal Pell Grant funds are not reduced if you receive a scholarship or other education-based award.

Financial Need

Your financial need is the amount that remains after your SAI and other student resources are subtracted from the estimated cost of attendance.

If the resulting calculation is a positive figure, then you are considered to have financial need. The Office of Financial Aid attempts to meet your financial need by providing access to federal and state funds.

If your combined SAI and other resources are higher than the estimated cost of attendance, you will not be eligible for need-based aid, but may qualify for low-interest educational loans. On-campus employment is another source of funds to assist with paying for school expenses.

Change in Financial Circumstances

The Office of Financial Aid recognizes that a sudden change in family finances can have a direct impact on your ability to continue your education. If you, your spouse, or your parents experienced a substantial change to the income that was reported on the FAFSA®, you have the option to request an adjustment by submitting the Special Circumstances application along with all required documentation. Students who have not completed the verification process will also be required to submit verification documentation. The Office of Financial Aid can consider the financial changes and re-evaluate your eligibility for financial aid. Additional assistance will be based on availability of funds.

2024-2025 (Summer 2024, Fall 2024, and Spring 2025)

• 2024-2025 Dependent Student Special Circumstances Application
• 2024-2025 Independent Student Special Circumstances Application

Packaging Your Financial Aid

Since you will be the primary beneficiary of your college education, your package will contain self-help types of aid — loans and/or Federal Work-Study. You also may receive gift types of aid (grants or scholarships) if you demonstrate sufficient need and funds are available. Gift aid does not have to be repaid as long as you complete all classes for the semester. The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and Federal Work-Study are offered to eligible students on a first-applied, first-considered basis until funds are exhausted.

Terms and Conditions of the Financial Aid Package

Most financial aid is originally packaged assuming you will be a full-time student enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours for the entire length of each semester. Some aid programs require a minimum number of credit hours of enrollment. Audited courses and courses taken through the Workforce and Community Services Division do not count toward enrollment requirements.

Some aid programs have supplemental requirements in addition to enrollment and grade point average. Nursing and Federal Direct Loans require you to sign and complete a promissory note. First-time Federal Direct Loan borrowers must also complete Entrance Counseling. Students accepting an offer for Federal Work-Study, America Reads program, and America Counts program must be hired and perform their assigned job duties before they receive those funds.

If you are receiving any type of private, public or outside scholarship you must report it in writing to the Office of Financial Aid. Failure to do so may result in an over award, which may cause a balance on your Owens account and will require immediate repayment.

Changes to the Financial Aid Package

Your aid may be revised at any time, based on a change in your eligibility, your enrollment, or office or agency error. If your financial aid has already been credited to your student account, you may be responsible for partial or full repayment of the funds, regardless of the reason for the adjustment. As required by law, revision of your aid package may occur if:

• Your aid was based on false or inaccurate information (including estimated income data or grade level). This may be the result of corrections found during the verification process.
• The amount of financial aid received exceeds your calculated financial need.
• You do not maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• You fail to meet enrollment, grade point average, participation or other requirements for a specific award.
• You drop classes, stop attending classes, withdraw from the College or do not complete all modules for which you were registered for at the time those modules began.
• The Office of Financial Aid made an error in, or there has been a change in state or federal guidelines for, determining your eligibility for, or disbursement of, your financial aid awards.

The Office of Financial Aid has the right to review, adjust and cancel a financial aid award at any time due to changes in your financial or academic status or your failure to provide requested documentation. Financial aid is contingent upon many factors, including availability of federal, state and institutional funding.

Payment of Financial Aid

With the exception of Federal Work-Study, financial aid processed by the Office of Financial Aid will automatically be disbursed to your student account, provided your application is complete and you have met the requirements for each type of aid. The Office of Student Accounts will automatically deduct incurred costs (tuition, fees, lab costs, and other authorized charges such as books and supplies, etc.) from the financial aid that is credited to your account. Any remaining financial aid is refunded to you once the funds are available. With the exception of Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans for which the parent has requested the refund, refunds will be issued in the manner you have selected.

Please allow approximately 3-5 business days for the refund to be applied to your bank account after the “Refund as Selected” message appears on your Ozone student account.

For more information about your refund options, please visit the Office of Student Accounts website.

Private scholarship checks received by the College will be directly applied to your account unless otherwise specified by the scholarship donor. When the Office of Financial Aid is notified, it will be listed as part of your aid package as an “outside scholarship”.

If your Federal Direct Loan is for only one semester, the loan will be issued in two separate disbursements within the semester. The second disbursement will be provided after half of the semester has been completed. New freshman Federal Direct Loan borrowers should note that federal regulations require the first disbursement of a Federal Direct Loan to be delayed until 30 days after the start of classes.

All Federal Direct Loan borrowers are required to be enrolled, have attendance verified in and maintain at least six credit hours at time of disbursement.

Financial aid disbursements for eligible students begin on the dates listed below.

Semester	Financial aid disbursements for most students begin…	Loan disbursements for first-time loan borrowers begin…
Fall 2024	September 11, 2024	September 18, 2024
Spring 2025	February 5, 2025	February 12, 2025

Disbursements occur on most Wednesdays.

Book Vouchers

Financial aid recipients who are expected to have funds remaining after tuition costs are covered can use the excess to purchase or rent books and to purchase supplies from online eCampus Bookstore using a book voucher. You can only use the book voucher for books and supplies which are required for your education. This includes the purchase of one computer, laptop, or tablet for educational purposes during your entire academic career. You are expected to purchase required textbooks prior to purchasing other eligible items. As a reminder, your book voucher may include student loan funds which must be repaid; therefore, you should consider your purchases carefully.

The book voucher process works as follows.

1. As long as you meet certain eligibility requirements, your financial aid file is complete, and you have authorized the use of financial aid for bookstore charges via the Authorization Form, a book voucher will automatically be set up.
2. Confirmation of the book voucher and spending limit are posted on your Ozone account. Locate the Financial Aid Summary card.  Verify that you are viewing the desired aid year and click on active messages. If you do not have a book voucher, click here for more information or contact the Student Service Center. You may also check your spending limit and remaining balance at eCampus.
3. The book voucher can only be used at the eCampus website.  If you do not wish to use a book voucher, you may pay the bookstore using another method or may purchase books on your own elsewhere.
4. Purchases made using the book voucher will be charged to your student account, viewable in Ozone on the Term Account Balance card.
5. Financial aid for which you are eligible is disbursed to your student account and is used to pay tuition, fees, and book voucher purchases. Any financial aid remaining will be refunded to you.

Book vouchers are available during the following periods. All purchases must be made during the book voucher period, including purchases for courses which begin later in the term.

For students whose Satisfactory Academic Progress status is SAP Warning or SAP Probation, or who are near the maximum limit, the current semester’s grades must be reviewed before a book voucher can be issued for the next semester.

Semester	Book vouchers are available
Fall 2024	July 29, 2024 – September 6, 2024
Spring 2025	December 23, 2024 – January 31, 2025

FAFSA® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Education.