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Nolte Gateway Center, third floor
307-268-2323 or caspercollege.edu/enrollment-services
Enrollment Services administers and coordinates institutional, state, federal, and private financial assistance programs for qualified students including scholarships, grants, loans, and student employment based on merit and financial need. Awards recognize scholastic achievement, assist low-income students, and provide funding so students can reach their graduation goals. Contact Enrollment Services for detailed information on all financial aid programs. Financial aid policies and procedures may change without notice.
Enrollment Requirements for Federal Aid Eligibility
Enrollment Status: Students must be fully admitted and enrolled as degree seeking in an approved degree or certificate program to be eligible for consideration for federal aid. Loan applicants must be enrolled in at least six credits that are approved for federal funding.
Dual Enrolled Students: Students enrolled in two or more institutions simultaneously can only receive federal funding from one institution. Generally, students should select the institution from which they wish to earn their degree as their home institution. Students complete the home institution’s consortium form so that credits from all institutions required for the degree the student is seeking can be considered for aid funding.
Census Date: Generally, the 10th class day of each semester (fifth for summer) is the official census date. Students need to have their classes finalized by this date as aid awards will be recalculated and aid increased, reduced, or canceled as necessary. (See Withdrawing and Nonattendance: Impact of Financial Assistance)
Federal Student Financial Assistance Programs
Eligibility for most federal student aid programs is limited to fully admitted, degree-seeking students with documented financial need and who meet academic and satisfactory progress requirements. Students in default on a federal student loan or who owe a repayment to any institution for funds received under Title IV federal programs are not eligible to receive Title IV federal funds at any school until those funds are repaid or satisfactory repayment provisions have been met. Following are descriptions of the federal programs available to Casper College students. For more information, go to ed.gov.
To apply for federal grants, loans, or work-study, students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form available at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Additional steps are required for loans and work-study. Students who do not have internet access should contact Enrollment Services or their high school guidance office for assistance. Students must complete a new FAFSA each year. Early filing begins October 1 each year.
Pell Grant. The Federal Pell Grant is the foundational federal aid program, to which other federal and nonfederal aid sources may be added. The federal government establishes the dollar limit for the Pell Grant program each year. Pell Grants are for qualified undergraduates.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. FSEOG is a limited-fund grant awarded to undergraduates who meet the financial need requirements.
Federal Work-Study. This is a limited, need-based program. Students may work limited hours per week. Most positions are on campus.
Federal Direct Stafford Loan. These loans are made to students who request loan consideration. Repayment of the loan principal is deferred until the borrower either completes an education program or ceases to be enrolled for at least half time. The process has multiple steps for first-time borrowers. The FAFSA is the primary application form. A master promissory note and entrance loan counseling are required and available at caspercollege.edu/admissions/loans. Students must complete a student loan request each time they want to borrow.
Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students. Parents may be able to borrow for a dependent student with a PLUS loan. Repayment begins within 60 days for a parent. Applications are available at caspercollege.edu/admissions/loans.
Standards of Satisfactory Progress for Federal Student Financial Aid. In accordance with Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and all relevant amendments, students receiving federal assistance (i.e. Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, Federal Work-Study, etc.) must meet and maintain academic and satisfactory progress standards each term to remain eligible to receive assistance. The following information is subject to revision. Check with Enrollment Services for current standards. Standards are evaluated at the end of each term and include all terms attempted regardless of whether the student received financial assistance.
Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards
Grade Point Average. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Pace. Students must successfully complete on a cumulative basis at least 67 percent of the courses they attempt. Satisfactory progress ratios are calculated by dividing credits earned by credits attempted. For example, if 12 credits are attempted and nine credits are earned, the ratio is 9/12 = 75 percent. Grades of A, B, C, D, and S qualify as earned and attempted credits. Audits, incompletes, withdrawals, drops, F, and U grades are attempted credits but are not earned. Repeat courses count as attempted each try, but count as earned only once. Additional restrictions exist on multiple repeats.
Maximum Credits Attempted (maximum time frame). Federal regulations require students to complete their program of study within a reasonable period, defined as 1½ times the minimum credits required to complete a program. For programs requiring 60 credits, the regulations would allow up to 90 credits attempted. Students should determine the number of credits required for their selected program. All credits attempted are counted, whether or not aid is received. Credits earned at other schools are included. If it is determined that the student cannot complete his or her program by the maximum credits, the student is deemed ineligible for federal assistance.
Eligibility Status
Satisfactory. Satisfactory status is achieved when all standards of academic progress are being met or when a student is meeting the requirements established under an individual academic action plan.
Financial Aid Warning. A student on financial aid warning may receive Title IV funds (but may lose other assistance) for one payment period. During this period, the student must meet the required standards to avoid financial aid suspension.
Financial Aid Probation. A status assigned by the institution to a student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress and who has appealed and has had eligibility for aid reinstated under the conditions of an individual academic action plan.
Financial Aid Suspension. Students on financial aid suspension are ineligible to receive Title IV federal assistance.
Mitigating Circumstances. Federal regulations allow students to submit a written appeal for reconsideration by the college if the cause of their failure to meet the required standards was 1) the death of a relative of the student; 2) an injury or illness of the student; or 3) other significant extenuating circumstances. Circumstances need to be of sufficient magnitude and outside of the student’s control. If approved, an academic action plan will be established. The student must agree to and meet the requirements of the action plan, until they are once again meeting the overall standards of progress requirements. The Request for Reinstatement of Financial Aid form is available from Enrollment Services.
Withdrawing and Nonattendance: Impact on Federal Financial Assistance. Students who alter their enrollment status (drop or add courses) during a semester are subject to recalculation of their federal financial assistance eligibility and could be required to return a portion or all of their federal assistance. Students should review the following explanations.
Enrollment Changes prior to the Census Date: A student’s official enrollment status is determined at the end of the 10th class day of each semester (the fifth day for summer session). This is the “census date.” Previously offered assistance for the term will be reevaluated and either increased, decreased, canceled, or left unchanged based on the student’s status as of the census date. An increase in credits after this date cannot reinstate certain types of assistance lost because of inadequate enrollment on the census date. New awards calculated after the census dates are based on the student’s actual enrollment status as of the date of the calculation.
Nonattendance: Students must attend classes to be eligible for federal assistance. Students who fail to attend some or all of their courses must have their eligibility for federal assistance recalculated, excluding courses they are not attending, regardless of the student’s enrollment status. Students who never attend class must return all over-awarded funds. Students who claim federal funds and never attend class are subject to referral to the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Education for possible federal fraud investigation. Written examples of return of funds calculations are available at Enrollment Services. Enrollment Services reserves the right to modify or change the above policy as necessary. Return of funds regulations for students with Title IV federal funds are provided by 34 CFR 668.22.
Dropping Out, Withdrawing, or Expulsion: Students who unofficially withdraw (drop out, walk away, etc.), officially withdraw, or are expelled will have the percentage of aid earned (the amount of federal assistance the student can keep) calculated based on the percentage of the term completed. For example, if a student completes 20 percent of a term, federal rules consider 20 percent of their aid earned and 80 percent unearned and subject to return. The college uses the official withdrawal date or, for students who unofficially withdraw, the mid-point of the term or the last day the student participated in a documented, academic activity to calculate the percentage earned. Students who withdraw after completing at least 60 percent of the term are considered to have earned 100 percent of their federal assistance. (Students are still subject to the standards of progress evaluation.)
Verification Policies and Procedures for Federal Student Aid Applications. Enrollment Services is required to verify or validate FAFSA application information if the federal government selects the student during the FAFSA process, Enrollment Services has reason to believe any of the information critical to the calculation of the student’s expected family contribution is inaccurate, or the application information is in conflict with other information. Enrollment Services will notify applicants whose applications have been selected for verification. The notice will specify what information the applicant must verify, documents and procedures required for verification, period within which the applicant shall provide the required documentation, and consequences of the applicant’s failure to comply within the specified period. The period granted to the applicant to complete the required documentation may vary with the complexity of the requirements and the time remaining in the school term for which funding is sought. Normally, the student is afforded 30 days from the request date to provide verification documents to Enrollment Services.
The deadline for submission of verification documents is at least 30 days prior to the end of the school term for which the applicant is seeking funding to allow for processing and correction. If the applicant fails to provide the required documentation on time, the application becomes invalid and applicant forfeits assistance eligibility from Federal Title IV student aid programs for the program year for which the application was filed.
Enrollment Services will notify applicants who provide verification documents on time if the documents are accurate and all requirements have been met. If the verification documents reveal inaccuracies, Enrollment Services will correct and submit the Student Aid Report/Institutional Student Information Report for reprocessing. If the applicant submits incomplete or inadequate verification documents, Enrollment Services will notify the applicant as to how to correct deficiencies. Enrollment Services must refer any applicant to the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Department of Education for investigation if a review of an application for Title IV student aid indicates that the applicant may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with his or her application. Examples include, but are not limited to, false claims of independent student status, false claims of citizenship, use of false identities, forgery of signatures or certificates, and false statements of income.
Casper College Scholarships
Casper College administers and coordinates state, institutional, foundation, private agency, service club, and individual scholarships. Scholarship information, including criteria, application requirements, and deadline dates is available on the My CC Scholarship application portal at caspercollege.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/foundation-institution. Students may apply for scholarships January 1 to March 1 for fall semester and October 1 to November 1 for spring semester by visiting casper.awardspring.com/. For more information, contact Enrollment Services.
Scholarship Guidelines. Scholarship awards are intended to recognize academic and other achievements, encourage such performance, and assist as many qualified degree-seeking students as possible.
Tuition Awards Policy. Students may accept only one tuition scholarship. Students awarded more than one scholarship designated for tuition only must choose between the awards (unless otherwise noted). Scholarships not specifically designated for tuition and fees may be used toward any educational expense.
Total Award Limits. The total assistance a student may receive involving any combination of institution-controlled funds is limited to the student’s standard cost of attendance at Casper College. The college establishes standard budgets each year according to the federal Title IV financial aid program rules. In addition, all scholarships can have their own rules that could cause limitations should they conflict with the rules of other types
of assistance the student is awarded.
Recovery of Funds. Casper College reserves the right to recover funds from students who receive scholarship funds and subsequently drop out, withdraw, or fail to attend courses throughout the semester. Students who receive scholarships or other sources of financial aid are responsible for knowing the standards to receive and retain each type of aid.
Maintaining Eligibility.
The different types of scholarships require varying conditions to maintain each scholarship. Students should inquire with Enrollment Services about requirements to maintain their individual scholarships before they withdraw or change courses. The majority of Casper College scholarships are reviewed at the end of each semester for standards of progress.
Grade Point Averages. All grade point benchmarks in the scholarship descriptions are based on a 4.0 scale.
Activities Scholarships. Coaches or sponsors select scholarship awardees and stipulate award amounts for the following activities. All scholarships are subject to the scholarship guidelines including maintenance of eligibility and prescribed participation level. Scholarships are not guaranteed to be awarded again. Reapplication is permitted.
- Basketball, Men’s, Dan Russell
- Basketball, Women’s, Dwight Gunnare
- Chinook Newspaper, Peter Van Houten
- Expression Magazine, Terry Rasmussen
- Forensics, Doug Hall
- Journalism, Peter Van Houten
- Livestock Judging, Jeremy L. Burkett
- Music, Kristen Lenth
- Rodeo, Tom Parker
- Student Government, Kim Byrd
- Student Activities Board, Barb Meryhew
- Theatre and Dance, James Olm
- Visual Arts, Mike Olson
- Volleyball, Angel Sharman
- Writing Center, Julia Whyde
Academic Scholarships. Scholarships are awarded through a nomination or application process for the following academic areas. All scholarships are subject to the scholarship guidelines including maintenance of eligibility and prescribed participation level. The award amounts vary depending on GPA and credits enrolled. Scholarships are not guaranteed to be awarded again. Reapplication is permitted.
- Casper College Achievement Scholarship
- Casper College Advancement Scholarship
- Casper College Enrichment Scholarship
- Casper College Opportunity Scholarship
- Casper College Trustee Scholarship
- Dick Means Scholarship
- WUE Difference Scholarship
- General Education Development (GED) Scholarship
Foundation Scholarships
The Casper College Foundation, through the generous support of donors, has numerous scholarships available to Casper College students. Scholarship information, including criteria, application requirements, and deadline dates are available on the My CC Scholarship application portal. Students can apply for scholarships January 15 to March 15 by visiting caspercollege.edu/stars. Contact Enrollment Services for more information.
State-Funded Scholarships
The following scholarships are provided through support from the state of Wyoming. All are subject to the scholarship guidelines. Hathaway Scholarships. Hathaway provides merit and need-based awards to eligible Wyoming students. Four merit categories ranging from $3,360 to $1,680 per year are available to graduates of eligible Wyoming high schools, high school equivalency certificate (GED or HiSET) recipients, and home-schooled students. Each merit scholarship has specific eligibility requirements. For Hathaway Need scholarships, the program uses the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form to determine need. The FAFSA is not required for Hathaway Merit scholarships.
Each merit level has a Hathaway Success Curriculum outlined by state statute that students must complete in addition to the following criteria:
Hathaway Merit Scholarship Award Types and Eligibility Requirements
- Honors – $1,680 per semester, minimum GPA 3.5, and ACT score 25 or better.
- Performance – $1,260 per semester, minimum GPA 3.0, and ACT score 21 or better.
- Opportunity – $840 per semester, minimum GPA 2.5, and ACT score 19 or better.
- Provisional Opportunity – $840 per semester, minimum GPA 2.5, and ACT score 17 or WorkKeys score of 12 or better. NOTE: Provisional Opportunity Hathaway must be used initially at a community college. An additional four full-time semesters are available at a community college or UW if the student earns a certificate or degree.
Hathaway awards are available for the equivalent of four full-time semesters (two years) at a community college and four full-time semesters at the University of Wyoming. Students who enter an eligible professional program may request an extension.
Maintenance requirements include a minimum 2.5 Hathaway GPA for Honors and Performance recipients and 2.25 Hathaway GPA for Opportunity and Provisional Opportunity recipients. A Hathaway GPA includes all courses attempted for which a student has received Hathaway funding. Remedial courses do not count towards Hathaway GPA, credits or payment. Recipients must be enrolled continuously and complete six credits per semester if awarded Hathaway part time and twelve credits per semester if awarded full time. Students can earn back Hathaway scholarships depending on original payment and timeframe. Contact Enrollment Services or go to caspercollege.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/hathaway for Hathaway transfer
transcripts, eligibility recheck requests, extension requests, or for an application.
Combat Veterans and Surviving Spouse/Dependents Tuition Benefit. These benefits consist of the Wyoming Vietnam Veterans, Overseas Combat Veterans, Combat Veterans Surviving Spouse, and the Combat Veteran Surviving Orphan programs. Wyoming residency is a consideration for all hour parts. Special application is required with a copy of DD-214 or DD-215. Contact Enrollment Services for more details.
EMT, Firefighter, and Peace Officers Surviving Dependents Tuition Awards.
Authorized by the Wyoming Legislature, these awards will have special application and eligibility requirements. Contact Enrollment Services for more information.
Private Agency and Service Club Scholarships. Many outside organizations provide scholarship applications for Casper College degree-seeking students. For a current list, go to caspercollege.edu/financial-aid/scholarships. All scholarships are subject to the scholarship guidelines.
Other Financial Assistance Programs
Martha Vucurevich Trust Scholarship. This scholarship is available to Kelly Walsh High School and Natrona County High School graduates with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. The awarded amount varies. Students apply online through the scholarship portal at casper.awardspring.com.
Richardson Scholarship. This scholarship is available to graduates of Casper and Cheyenne public high schools. This scholarship provides awards based on financial need for up to six semesters at Casper College or a combined total of eight semesters at Casper College and the University of Wyoming. It requires a 2.0 GPA for consideration and at least 12 graduation credits attempted. Students must maintain a 2.0 GPA and complete 24 credits each year for continued eligibility. Students can use Hathaway and Richardson scholarships together. Note: students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form each year to apply for this award annually.
Student Employment Programs. Employment opportunities available include the work-study program, on-campus departmental positions, and community part-time employment. Students interested in working on or off campus should register for employment consideration with the Career Center.College Loan Funds. Casper College has short-term loan funds available. Consult with Accounting and Financial Management about the procedures required to qualify for a short-term loan.
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