Financial aid for students with a
BACHELOR’S
DEGREE
Students entering College of DuPage with a Bachelor
of Arts (B.A.) degree must appeal to receive aid due to
the maximum time frame standard associated with the
Federal standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.
College of DuPage uses all attempted credits, including
transfer credits, when calculating the maximum time
frame for a student’s program. Students must finish
their program within 150 percent of the credit hours
required to complete the degree or certificate. Since
College of DuPage only offers certificate and associate
degrees, students that have already earned a B.A. have
exceeded the maximum time frame for their degree.
Students that have already completed a B.A. can
appeal to the Satisfactory Academic Progress
Committee for financial aid if they are seeking an
eligible degree from College of DuPage and plan on
enrolling in a minimum of six credit hours per term.
For a list of eligible degrees please visit
cod.edu/tuition/pdf/eligible_programs_13.pdf
JUST FOLLOW THESE
EASY STEPS TO BEGIN…
STEP ONE
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.gov.
• Use school code 006656
• Make sure you indicate you have earned a
B.A. degree
• You are not pursuing a graduate or doctorate
level program while attending College of DuPage,
so please verify your grade level and program of
study before you submit your application.
• Students with a B.A. degree are only eligible
for Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Work Study
or scholarships.
STEP TWO
Submit all academic transcripts to the Office of Student Records.
If you earned a degree from a college or university outside of the
United States, you need to provide the Office of Student Records
with an Educational Credential Evaluation (ECE).
STEP THREE
Type and sign an appeal letter explaining why you are pursuing a
degree at College of DuPage even though you already have a B.A.
STEP FOUR
Print a Degree Audit from your myACCESS account for
your intended degree or certificate to use as you complete
the following:
• Develop a term-by-term plan that details the required
courses needed to complete the program being pursued.
• Meet with a counselor to review your plan. The Counseling
Office is located in the Student Services Center (SSC),
Room 3200. Remember to bring your printed Degree
Audit and term-by-term plan with you when you meet
with your counselor.
• If the term-by-term plan is determined to fulfill
requirements to complete the intended degree or
certificate, the counselor needs to sign the plan.
STEP FIVE
Turn in your appeal letter and signed term-by-term plan to the
Office of Student Financial Assistance.
If your appeal is approved you will be placed on a provisional
status and your progress will be evaluated each term. Grades
of W, I, R, and/or F will put you back on discontinuance. Please
be aware you are limited to two (2) SAP appeals for your entire
enrollment at College of DuPage. Also, you are expected to
be enrolled each term in the classes indicated on the term-byterm plan you submitted with your appeal. Failure to enroll
in and complete the specified classes will cause your aid to be
discontinued. As a reminder, your aid cannot be awarded unless
you have submitted all the requested paperwork to our office.
Please check myACCESS under “My Documents” to see what
paperwork is required.
All appeals must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial
Assistance by the following due dates: Fall—Sept. 30, Spring—Feb.
28, Summer—June 30. Incomplete appeals will not be forwarded to
the Committee and late appeals will not be accepted.
425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599
Financial aid discontinuance does not affect scholarships, third party billing,
or Veterans’ benefits.
FA-15-18018(1/15)500