General Information

Transition and Co-Requisite Courses

Halifax Community College is committed to student success in collegiate-level course work and occupational programs. Transition and co-requisite courses are required for students who do not have the minimum high school gpa and/or placement scores necessary to take English or math. Once the transition/co-requisite sequence is begun, students may not test out of the next level. It is imperative that students complete all transitional and co-requisite courses in a timely fashion.

Workforce and Economic Development/Continuing Education

Workforce and Economic Development/Continuing Education are defined as those activities engaged in by adults for the purpose of learning a trade, upgrading a skill, personal improvement, or cultural enrichment. Workforce and Economic Development/Continuing Education infer the concept of life-long learning. The purpose of Halifax Community College is to offer adults the opportunity to engage in vocational, cultural, and community service activities. In order to meet the desired goals and objectives of the college, the Department of Workforce and Economic Development/Continuing Education offers a variety of courses and programs. These non-curricular activities vary in length and are offered during the day and evening hours both on and off campus.

The development of continuing education activities for adults is based upon: (1) interest shown by the community, (2) availability of qualified instructional personnel, and (3) the availability of equipment, adequate teaching facilities, and funds. Whenever possible, courses are scheduled based on community needs and interests. Other courses and programs are developed at the request of individuals, businesses, industries and agencies.

Student Financial Aid

The primary purpose of the financial aid program at Halifax Community College is to provide assistance to students who, without aid, would be unable to continue their education. Through a program of grants, scholarships, loans, and employment, students enrolled at Halifax Community College are able to supplement their resources and those of their family to complete a course of study. The primary responsibility for financing the student's education rests with the family. The family is expected to contribute according to its income and assets, just as the student is expected to contribute to educational costs.

General Student Eligibility Criteria for Financial Aid
Students must be accepted for admission to the College before any action can be taken on their application for financial assistance, including grants, scholarships, student employment, or loans. A student must meet the following eligibility requirements to receive federal assistance.

Have a high school diploma or High School Equivalency Diploma (GED, ETS HiSET, TASC)
enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an eligible program
Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
Have a valid Social Security number
Be registered with the Selective Service Administration (males only)
Not be in default on a Title IV loan
Not owe a repayment on a Title IV grant or loan at any educational institution
Maintain satisfactory academic progress
Not be enrolled concurrently in an elementary or secondary school
A federal or state drug conviction may disqualify a student for Title IV funds
Incarcerated students are ineligible for Title IV funding

Financial Aid Priority Dates

In order to provide adequate time for processing and awarding financial aid prior to class starting, priority dates are identified for each semester. If you submit your financial aid application after the
established priority dates, you must be prepared to pay for tuition, fees, and books. Your award notification will be mailed in approximately two weeks once your file is complete.

Priority Dates

Fall Semester - July 1

Spring Semester - November 15

Summer Semester - May 1

How to Apply For Financial Aid
To apply for financial aid you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.gov. The FAFSA should be completed as soon as possible after October 1 for the upcoming academic year, using your/your parent's prior/prior year's federal tax information. If you prefer not to complete the application online you may call the Central Processing Center (1-800-433-3243) and request a paper application.

A Student Aid Report (SAR) will be mailed to the student once the FAFSA is submitted and processed. Applicants should review the SAR carefully and make all corrections. If no corrections are necessary, the SAR should be retained and financial aid will be awarded based on this information. If there are corrections, applicants should go to www.fafsa.gov to make the needed changes on the SAR. The Financial Aid Office will receive the student's record electronically from the federal processor.

Special Circumstances: If the student and/or family has unusual or extenuating circumstances that are not reflected on the FAFSA, he or she should contact the Financial Aid Office in 337. Supporting documentation is required.

Enrollment Status
The table below outlines the enrollment status based on the number of credits a student enrolls in during a semester.

CREDIT HOURS	ENROLLMENT STATUS
1-5	Less than half-time
6-8	Half-time
9-11	Three-quarter-time
12 or more	Full-time

Impact of Transferring Schools on the Federal Pell Grant Program

If a student transfers from one school to another, the financial aid does not automatically transfer with the student. To receive aid at HCC, the student should check with the Financial Aid Office to find out what programs are available and what steps must be taken.

Work-study

The Federal Work-Study program provides part-time employment to students with financial need to help meet their educational expenses. Employment is determined by the student's total financial need, class schedule, and academic progress. Students are paid monthly for hours worked.

Refer to the HCC Catalog for a complete description of Financial Aid programs and regulations.

Transcripts

A student may request a copy of an official transcript by filling out the proper form from the Registrar or by ordering online through the HCC website. An Official Curriculum Transcript costs $4.00. A Student Copy-Unofficial on plain paper costs $2.00.

Transcripts ordered online and sent electronically are $7.25 and $6.25 if mailed. If the student is indebted to the College, all debts must be cleared before the transcript will be released.

Grading System

HCC uses the following grading system. Students can calculate their grade point average by dividing the number of credit hours into the total grade points.

Grade	Explanation	Grade Points Per Credit
R	Repeat	No credit/transition grade
P1	Pass tier 1	No credit/transition grade
P2	Pass tier 2	No credit/transition grade
P3	Pass tier 3	No credit/transition grade
A	Excellent	4
B	Above Average	3
C	Average	2
D	Passing	1
F	Failure	0
AU	Audit	0
CE	Credit by Exam	0
CT	Credit Transfer	0
I	Incomplete	0
W/WD	Withdrew	0
WF	Withdrew Failing	0
WP	Withdrew Passing	0

"I" indicates that students have not completed some phase of the course work assigned, or that they have an excused absence for a test or examination (which will be administered at a later date).

A grade of "I" will not be given unless the student satisfactorily completes over seventy-five (75%) of the course requirements and has a passing grade.

Coursework for classes in which the grade of " I" has been awarded must be completed no later than the end of the subsequent 16-week semester or the "I "will convert to a grade of "F".

Note: A letter grade may be based on a 7-point scale or a 10-point at the instructor's discretion.

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated. Halifax Community College is responsible as an accredited institution for guaranteeing academic integrity. Cheating and plagiarism destroy academic integrity.

Cheating is the intent to deceive the instructor in his or her effort to evaluate fairly an academic assignment. Cheating includes copying another student's homework, classwork, or project (partly or entirely) and submitting it as his or her own; giving, receiving, offering, and/or soliciting information on a quiz, test, or exam; or plagiarism.

Plagiarism is the copying of any published work such as books, magazines, audiovisual programs, electronic media, and films or copying the essay or any written work of another student. Plagiarism occurs when a student uses direct quotations without proper credit and proper punctuation and when a student uses the ideas of another without giving proper credit.

Contact Information
If a student's mailing address, name, or phone number changes after registration, the Admission's Office must be notified at once. Students are responsible for all communications sent by College offices to the last address provided by the Admission's Office.

G-Mail
All registered HCC students are issued a Gmail account, which is required for use in all HCC course communications between students and instructors. HCC Gmail accounts are created when a student registers for a course and can be used indefinitely for personal and school-related communications. Each user receives 30GB of storage.

To access your HCC Gmail, launch your Web browser (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer) and navigate to this Web site: http://google.com.

NOTE: You can also access this page from HCC's homepage: www.halifaxcc.edu.

Click the link to Gmail.

Key-in your username using this format: first initial (followed by) full last name (followed by) the last 3 digits of your Colleague ID (followed by) @halifaxcc.edu.
- Example for Jane Doe whose Colleague student ID is 1234567: jdoe567@halifaxcc.edu.
Key-in your password using this format: four (4) zeros (followed by) the last 4 digits of your SSN.
- Example for Jane Doe whose last four digits of her SSN are 1234: 00001234
Click Sign-in.

Refer to this Web site for more information: http://www.halifaxcc.edu/email/.

HCC Gmail & Blackboard Accounts - Name Change
Please note w hen a student's legal name is changed within the College's Student Information System, that change will not result in a change to the student's username, email address or LMS
login. Since, a student's username is t heir unique identifier, a student's HCC email address, LMS login and username will not change.