Financial Aid

Student Financial Assistance (SFA) at DACC is available in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and part-time employment. Students may obtain in-depth information and counseling from the DACC Financial Aid office, located on the first floor of Vermilion Hall in the west wing. Students may contact the office by phone at 217-443-8891 or email: finaid@dacc.edu. For detailed information on programs, important dates, and other Financial Aid information, visit https://www.dacc.edu/finaid/.

A Danville Area Community College student who may receive any State or Federal financial aid must meet the following minimum standards of program guidelines and academic progress for financial aid to be awarded.

1. A student must be enrolled in an eligible program of study that leads to a college-level degree, certificate, or transfer equivalent.
   
2. A student may receive financial aid while taking remedial classes and enrolled in an ineligible program. However, they can only receive financial aid for one academic year of remedial course, which amounts to 30 semester hours. This limit includes all attempted hours.
3. A student must be enrolled in the minimum number of hours required by the financial aid program.
4. Only students who have graduated from high school or have a GED are eligible to receive financial aid. The exception is the Ability to Benefit Criteria for students who meet this criterion and began attendance in their Degree-Seeking program at Danville Area Community College before July 1, 2012.
5. Apply for financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Use the paper application or use the Internet to apply at https://studentaid.gov/. The DACC School Code is 001669.
6. Provide verification documentation to establish the accuracy of FAFSA information should the student be selected for verification by the Department of Education.
7. Meet DACC's Standards of Academic Progress (SAP) per student aid regulations noted in this handbook.

Eligibility for SFA depends on each individual’s "Financial Need." Financial need arises when the costs of attending College during a specific period exceed the amount a student’s family can reasonably contribute from their income and assets. Because various sources of SFA funds are limited, it is usually necessary to meet a student's needs by combining several forms of aid. A financial aid package may combine multiple types of aid.

The first step to determine if you are eligible for any student aid (Federal and/or Illinois State) is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at https://studentaid.gov/. Eligibility for the need and non-need-based programs depends on the student’s family's financial resources as well as household size and number attending College (excluding parents). Resources for Blind and Visually Impaired Students: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) site allows visually-impaired users to complete the FAFSA using a browser and screen reader software. For more information, visit https://studentaid.gov/help/using-screen-reader-software; TTY number 800-730-9013.

The DACC Financial Aid Office requires copies of Tax Transcripts to complete the verification process; if selected, students can contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at 800-829-1040 to request a Tax Return Transcript. If students use the IRS data retrieval when completing the FAFSA, they will not have to submit a tax transcript unless they later change the tax fields.

IMPORTANT: If a student believes their family experiences an exceptional financial circumstance, they should complete the Appeal for Special Circumstances (ASC) form and submit it, along with supporting documentation, to the DACC Financial Aid Office. Students must have their FAFSA results on file and verified before a Special Circumstance can evaluated. Students can request the ASC form by contacting the Financial Aid Office.  Be sure to follow all instructions provided and submit the attachments requested with each applicable form.

NOTE: The Department of Education informs DACC when a student’s information needs to be verified, and DACC’s Financial Aid Office may verify all elements of the FAFSA data.  The student and their family must provide the necessary documentation to support the information required on the FAFSA.  Your financial aid file will remain incomplete until all verification is finished, which may delay any potential student financial aid you qualify for. Any instances of conflicting, erroneous, or omitted information may require a correction to your FAFSA data. Once your corrections are processed and returned, the Financial Aid Office will notify you of any changes to your eligibility. You must respond to all requests for verification documentation, complete the verification process, and make any necessary corrections before the end of the semester for which you are applying for student aid funds; otherwise, the institution will cancel all potential Student Financial Aid funds.