| is
available to all prospective and currently enrolled students
who qualify and enroll in an approved career training program.
The Financial Aid offered at the CTE centers consists of the
Title IV Federal Pell Grant, Florida Bright Futures Scholarship,
Student Financial Aid Fund (SFAF), private scholarships and assistance
for targeted populations. Research for scholarships can be completed
on-line at www.fastweb.com or www.finaid.org.
Students
who wish to apply for Financial Aid must visit one of the
Financial Aid offices at a CTE center and complete the Orange
County Public School CTE Financial Aid Application and the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) application
for processing. It is recommended that the completed application
be submitted for processing a minimum of two weeks prior
to expected enrollment date. Complete your FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov
Other
Financial Assistance
Vocational
Rehabilitation, the One Stop Career Center and Third Party
agencies also provide financial assistance for educational
career training to help offset the cost of your education.
Veterans
Administration
The
Bureau of State Approving Agency for Veterans Training has
approved many of the certificate training programs offered
at the CTE centers. Visit one of the VA Certifying Officials
located in the Financial Aid office of the CTE centers to apply
for or re-activate your VA educational entitlements. Refer
to the Student Handbook for all the policies, procedures and
regulations that must be followed by all Veteran students.
PALMAS
Project
for Acquiring Language Mastery and Advanced Skills (PALMAS)
Refugee Program provides educational services to documented
refugees and asylees. Assistance with tuition, books, supplies,
and transportation is available to qualified individuals. Students
may attend any one of the four CTE centers. For specific orientation
and qualification information, please call us...
Click here
to Get Started...
All students seeking Financial Aid must have
proof of the previous year’s income and proof of current
income. For previous income, this may be in the form
of a copy of tax returns or a form 1722 obtained from the
IRS along with other untaxed income statements such as Unemployment,
Social Security, etc. For current income, this may be
in the form of current pay stubs, current unemployment pay
stubs, a notice of case action from HRS indicating the amount
received for AFDC and Food Stamps, a current statement from
Social Security stating the amount received, etc.
Satisfactory academic progress must be maintained
in order to receive financial aid. Satisfactory academic
progress is defined as student competency in 75 percent of
the work defined by the course guidelines and coursework
completion at an acceptable level of performance. The
Financial Aid Office will require an attendance/academic
progress report from the instructor every month. Documentation
supporting absences must be given to the Financial Aid Office
immediately upon student returning to school for approval.
FEDERAL PELL GRANT
As eligible institutions of higher
education, all four CTE Tech Centers participate in the Federal
Pell Grant program. To be a recipient, a student must
meet the Federal Pell Grant program’s criteria for student
eligibility and be enrolled in an approved program that is
at least 600 clock hours of supervised training. Eligibility
is determined by the Federal Government. The Federal Pell
Grant requires no repayment of funds that are properly distributed.
| Criteria for receiving
the Federal Pell Grant are |
| • |
Student must complete
a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. |
| • |
Approved program length must
be 600 clock hours or longer. |
| • |
Student must demonstrate financial
need. |
| • |
Student must have a high school
diploma or GED. |
| • |
Student must be a U.S. citizen
or an eligible non-citizen. |
| • |
Student must maintain
satisfactory academic progress and attendance. |
| • |
Student must be
working toward a job preparatory completion certificate. |
| • |
Student must not
be in default of a Federal Education Student Loan or
owe a refund on a Federal grant. |
| |
|
FLORIDA BRIGHT
FUTURES SCHOLARSHIP
Criteria for receiving the Florida
Bright Futures Scholarship are:
|
| • |
Student
must earn a “vocational ready” diploma. |
| • |
Student must complete
three vocational credits in a sequential program. |
| • |
Student must earn
a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale based on the 24
standard diploma credits. |
| • |
Student must earn
a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for secondary vocational
courses. |
| • |
Student must demonstrate
readiness for postsecondary education
by earning a passing score on the Florida College Entry Level
Placement Test or its equivalent. |
STUDENT FINANCIAL AID FUND (SFAF)
The SFAF scholarship is funded locally
from program tuition fees. The total amount available
to each school fluctuates with the tuition revenue collected
each year. A financial aid committee establishes the maximum
award per student. Those in all programs may be eligible
for this scholarship.
Criteria for
receiving the SFAF scholarship are: |
| • |
Student
must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. |
| • |
Student must demonstrate
proof of current financial need. |
| • |
Student must be
a Florida resident. |
| • |
Student must maintain
satisfactory academic progress and attendance. |
| • |
Student must be
working toward a job preparatory completion certificate. |
| • |
There may be more definitive
eligibility requirements at each WE Tech Center. |
OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS
Certain agencies sponsor scholarship
programs. Potential applicants should meet with a guidance
counselor or the financial aid staff to pick up an application
and discuss eligibility requirements. Scholarships are
awarded on a nondiscriminatory basis and are based on an expressed
desire to learn a vocational skill, economic need and other
factors.
OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Vocational Rehabilitation, the One
Stop Career Center and Third Party agencies also provide financial
assistance for educational career training to help offset the
cost of your education. A student may receive assistance
through another third party agency and may still be eligible
to receive the Federal Pell Grant. The OCPS CTE Tech Centers
encourage students currently assisted by other agencies to
complete the FAFSA form.
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
Students who meet the criteria for
education/training through this government agency may enroll
in vocational/technical programs at any of the four CTE Tech
Centers. Guidance counselors and the Vocational Rehabilitation
representative cooperate in serving students who qualify for
this assistance. The Vocational Rehabilitation Agency
requires students to apply for the Federal Pell Grant.
ONE STOP CAREER CENTER
The purpose
of the One Stop Career Center |
| • |
To provide locally
planned job training and placement services for individuals
who are unemployed or underemployed. Eligibility
is based on past income and work history. Special
programs are available for veterans, single parents,
handicapped persons, migrant workers, persons receiving
unemployment benefits or who have received notice of
a lay off or are long-term unemployed. The One Stop
Career Center will coordinate with other agencies to
create a workforce development system to better assist
our community. |
| |
|
| • |
To establish programs
to prepare youth and adults facing serious barriers to
employment for participation in the labor force by providing
job training and other services that will result in increased
employment and earning, increased educational and occupational
skills and decreased welfare dependency, thereby improving
the quality of the workforce and enhancing the productivity
and competitiveness of the Nation. |
| |
|
| • |
The One Stop Career
Center is funded by a grant from the Job and Education
Partnership Board. |
THIRD PARTY AGENCIES
We cooperate with agencies and employers
that help pay the expense of a student. After the student
has registered, the sponsor is billed for those expenses which
are eligible.
VETERANS EDUCATION BENEFITS
The Bureau of State Approving Agency
for Veterans Training has approved many of the certificate
training programs offered at the tech centers. Visit one
of the VA Certifying Officials located in the Financial Aid
Office of the tech centers to apply for or re-activate your
VA educational entitlements. Upon completion of the necessary
forms, the student must take them to the VA Certifying Official
with certified copies of their DD214, marriage license and
birth certificates of children (if applicable).
Online VA information is available at http://www.gibilla.gov
The documentation is then forwarded
to the Department of Veterans Affairs for processing. Upon
completion of the first day of class, the enrollment certification
is reported, by the VA Certifying Official, to the Department
of Veterans Affairs for processing. It takes approximately
4-8 weeks to activate benefits. The Department of Veterans
Affairs will send the benefit check directly to the entitled
individual. The student must pay all fees upon registration. A
deferment may be granted, if warranted, once per academic year
until the VA benefited student starts to receive the VA entitlement
checks. All veterans receiving educational benefits while
attending one of the tech centers are subject to the policies
and procedures of the school. The following regulations
apply:
Standards of Progress and Attendance
All students receiving Veterans Educational
benefits must maintain satisfactory academic progress in accordance
with the regularly prescribed standards and practices of the
institution in which the student is enrolled. If the student
is not making satisfactory academic progress according to those
standards and practices, educational benefits will be discontinued
for the student. Veteran and non-veteran students alike
will be referred to Student Services for counseling to a program
that may offer the possibility of success.
Attendance reports must be submitted monthly
to the schools’ VA Certifying Official.
Students must attend classes regularly;
all absences will be recorded and maintained by the school. Veterans are allowed (3) unexcussed absences and three (3) excussed absences within a calendar month. DVA will be notified when seven (7) absences and/or four (4) unexcused absences have been recorded within a calendar month and VA benefits will be terminated. All
absences are considered unexcused unless otherwise documented. These
criteria are considered excused absences: illness of self,
death of immediate family member, jury duty or active military
service. Documentation supporting absences must be given
to the VA Certifying Official immediately upon student returning
to school.
Satisfactory attendance is defined as compliance
with existing school attendance policy and the VA attendance
policy. One may be stricter than the other. It
is the student’s responsibility to adhere to both in
order to continue the educational program and receive monetary
benefits.
Satisfactory academic progress is defined as
mastery of at least 75 percent of assigned program competencies
for the particular valuation period and an overall performance
rating of average or above. Academic progress will be
reviewed by a VA Certifying Official at the end of each nine week
marking period or term.
Two unsatisfactory progress reports will result
in termination of Veterans educational benefits for program
enrolled.
The Department of Veterans Affairs will be
notified by the schools’ VA Certifying Official if
the veteran does not maintain satisfactory academic progress
or satisfactory attendance.
Reinstatement of Veteran Educational Benefits
VA Educational benefits discontinued
due to unsatisfactory attendance may be reinstated upon completion
of one calendar month of satisfactory attendance. VA Educational
benefits discontinued due to unsatisfactory academic progress
may be reinstated upon completion of a nine week marking period
or term of satisfactory academic progress. Documentation
must be in the student’s file before VA benefits may
be reinstated.
Credit for Remediation
A VA benefited student may receive
additional hours toward a program length for basic remediation
that is required for program completion. The student may receive
up to an additional 300 hours credit if the student is attending
a program of 750 hours or greater in length. The student
may receive up to an additional 150 hours credit if the student
is attending a program less than 750 hours in length.
Credit for Previous Training
A VA benefited student is required
to transfer previous training credits from an accredited institution
to one of the tech centers. Credit for previous training
will be evaluated by the instructor and granted, if appropriate. Upon
acceptance of the transfer credits, the training time may be
reduced. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the student
will be notified if previous training credit is granted. The
evaluation will be performed within the first 90 days of enrollment.
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION – Most
programs at Orlando Tech are approved for veterans who are
eligible for benefits through the Veterans Administration. Please
visit the Financial Aid office in Room 276 on the main floor
for more information.
Click here
to Get Started... |
