Financial Aid Office Closed Oct. 8 – 17

In order to process financial aid files and other tasks, the Financial Aid office will close to in-person services Wednesday, October 8 through Friday, October 17. We ask that students and staff please limit email and phone calls to our office during this time.

Students who were recently notified to appear in person to complete V4 or V5 verification should check in at the Welcome Desk in Foss for assistance during our closure.

If you have already emailed or left a voicemail, we are working as quickly as we can to get back to you.

We thank you for your patience and support.

Funding Opportunities through Workforce Education!    

As we begin the new quarter, now is the perfect time to help students learn about the financial resources available to them. Many may qualify for Workforce Education funding without realizing it!

Your help with spreading this information increases the chances of eligible students finding the financial assistance they need.

Please consider: 

  • Posting an announcement on canvas  
  • Sending the content below via email 
  • Putting WFE information in your syllabus for future quarters 

Thank you for your continued support! 

Please share the following information with students:

Workforce Education May Be Able to Pay for Your College! 

Are you seeking money to pay for college, books, and other needs? Workforce Education may be able to help! 

What we offer:  

  • Money for tuition and fees  
  • Financial aid for books, school supplies, and transportation costs 
  • Personalized one-on-one support and coaching  

To qualify, you must be a Washington resident who is enrolled in a Professional Technical Program or Transfer Program while receiving Basic Food. Additionally, you must meet at least ONE of the following criteria: 

  • Meet low-income standards (e.g., a family of one making less than $2,608.33, etc.). Please find more information on our income guidelines here.    
  • Currently unemployed or under-employed. Explore qualifying unemployment situations.    
  • Receive TANF/Cash Assistance from DSHS – WorkFirst    

*Please note that international students are not eligible for funding based on our grant guidelines.    

Click here to start your application.

Visit our website: https://www.shoreline.edu/workforce/    

Have questions? Call us at 206-546-6961 or Email workforce@shoreline.edu    

Join us for an information session on Zoom every Wednesday from 2 – 3 PM: https://startnextquarter.org/Survey/SurveyHome.aspx (Zoom link will be sent after completing the survey). 

Changes to Financial Aid Service Hours

To allow sufficient time for processing student aid and other vital tasks, the financial aid office is making the following changes to its in-person service hours:

  • Summer Quarter: From Aug. 7 – Aug. 29, the financial aid office will be closed to in-person services from Noon-5pm on Thursdays in addition to the campus closures on Fridays.
  • Fall Quarter: Beginning Sept. 1, the financial aid office will be closed to in-person services on Fridays (phones available 10am to 2pm) throughout fall quarter.

We will continue to monitor emails and voicemails to the financial aid office and will respond to messages within 7-10 business days. 

Students should check their email along with the tasks, message center, and financial aid tiles in ctcLink for updates on their financial aid status.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this peak processing time.

Important Financial Aid Updates

Greetings!

2023-2024 Financial Aid 

Great news! The Financial Aid Office is current on reviewing files for Winter quarter.  Students who have already applied and submitted all required documentation should receive an aid offer notification if they have not so already. Disbursement of financial aid money begins on January 5 for winter quarter. This date is based on compliance of when funds to students can be disbursed. 

Students applying now should check that all outstanding documents have been submitted and plan to pay their tuition (or make tuition payment arrangement) if their aid has not been finalized by the tuition deadline of January 3, 2024.   Note: Because the disbursement of financial aid will start on January 5, all financial aid students who have an aid offer notification are protected from being dropped for non-payment. 

Please encourage students who plan to attend this coming Winter and/or Spring to apply for 2023-2024 financial aid if they have not already done so. For assistance with financial aid application and/or questions, please have students visit our financial aid office, M-TH, 8-5pm, and Friday, 8-12 or by email at Financialaid@shoreline.edu.

To see if students are eligible for other funding opportunities, check https://www.shoreline.edu/apply-and-aid/funding-and-aid/default.aspx

2024-2025 Financial Aid Application 

The biggest change to financial aid in 40 years is occurring with the 2024-25 FAFSA. These changes impact how students and their parents are required to complete the application as well as processing for financial aid offices.  It will require the financial aid office to learn new policies, create new forms, and set up the ctcLink system. These are just a few examples of the changes the financial aid office will be implementing. 

Students across the country are expected to be able to complete the 2024-2025 aid applications starting on December 31, 2023.  This is much later than the usual October 1 date the form becomes available.   The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be completed at www.studentaid.gov/fafsa and the Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA) can be completed at www.wsac.gov/wasfa.   The 2024-2025 financial aid applications are for students who plan to enroll for the 2024-2025 year (Summer 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025 & Spring 2025).  

To learn more about the changes and the communication to our students, please visit:  https://www.shoreline.edu/apply-and-aid/funding-and-aid/financial-aid/fafsa-simplification.aspx

Based on these unprecendented changes, the financial aid office is not expected to receive applications until late January.  As a result, we anticipate the earliest we may begin processing files is late March or early April. We will  communicate any changes to this timeline.  Please help narrate the timeline to our students and encourage them to apply as early as possible. We will make sure all students who apply and submit their required documents by our recommended priority deadlines are protected from being dropped for non-payment while they await their aid offer. 

Winter Quarter Emergency Aid

The Winter quarter emergency aid application opens on December 28. The Financial Aid Office will begin disbursing emergency aid on January 5.

Starting Winter quarter emergency aid will be handled through the Benefits Hub. For assistance with the application or questions, students can either schedule an appointment with a Benefits Hub Coach at https://benefitshub.as.me/schedule.php or email emergencyaid@shoreline.edu.

Financial Aid Processing Delays

Dear Campus Community,

I am writing to update you about the delays in processing financial aid by our Financial Aid Office (FAO) at Shoreline. When the College first converted from the old HP system to the new ctcLink system in March, the FAO team continued to navigate many of its familiar processes (specifically during the Spring Quarter) in HP.  And they did so as they simultaneously trained and prepared their staff on cTcLink. Their goal was to fully train their staff by the start of the Summer Quarter. 

It has been a steep learning curve for the FAO team (which many of you across campus have also navigated). They have done a tremendous job in managing this transition, onboarding new staff, and offering continuous training. Since the start of the Spring Quarter, the FAO team has also experienced many other unforeseen issues, including limited staffing, fraudulent enrollment activity, delays in communication and error-resolution from the SBCTC, as well as the structure and format of the training required to gain confidence in using cTcLink. 

The College has taken the issues above seriously, and has undertaken the following steps to provide support to the FAO team and for our students:

·         Develop an immediate connection to the SBCTC to gain support – and immediate response – when staff at Shoreline need assistance with processing financial aid.  Our new Dean, Chippi Bello, has been communicating with SBCTC to ensure regular feedback and training are occurring.

·         Identify additional outside staff to assist in daily financial aid processing.  Chippi Bello identified two individuals currently supporting the college in contract service that can assist in file review processing. We are seeking additional support for the team by adding two more part-time staff (for a total of 4 additional temporary staff).

·         The FAO team is reviewing and prioritizing their workload accordingly and making file review a top priority.

Although navigating these new processes around application review and packaging of financial aid for students in cTcLink is more cumbersome than in the previous system, the FAO team continues to learn and improve its capabilities. Additionally, they have been communicating and explaining these delays to students in the interest of transparency. Notably, any student who has applied for aid currently in the processing pipeline will have a hold placed on their account to prevent them from being dropped while the FAO team reviews and processes their application.  We ask that you please share this information with any concerned student you may interact with. 

If there are additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact Chippi Bello or me. 

Sincerely,

Dean Bello (cbello@shoreline.edu) and VP King.

Shoreline Community College

pking@shoreline.edu

206.546.4651