FA Consortium Agreement

“Home School” - Houston Community College (HCC) will hereafter be referred to interchangeably as the “home” school.

 

“Host School” - The secondary institution will hereafter be referred to interchangeably as the “host” school.

 

Federal regulations do not allow students to receive federal financial aid from two schools at the same time. By completing a Consortium Agreement, a student can attend HCC, the “home” school institution, and another accredited school (referred to as the “host” institution) during the same semester and receive federal financial aid funding for the total combined units. This process most benefits Federal Pell Grant recipients who are enrolled in less than 12 credit hours at HCC.  

 

Student desiring to participate must be enrolled in a degree seeking program and meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements as determined by HCC.  Financial aid is disbursed according to the “home” school disbursement schedule. It is the student’s responsibility to pay all charges due to the “host” school. If tuition and fees are due at the host school prior to financial aid being disbursed to the student’s account at HCC, it is his or her responsibility to pay the “host” school.  The “host” school will verify enrollment, tuition and fees, course descriptions, and changes in enrollment status.

 

The student must remain enrolled in the approved courses at the “host” school through the Official Day of Record in order to remain eligible for aid awarded based on those hours enrolled. Otherwise, enrollment during that period may affect the financial aid eligibility. HCC is responsible for determining eligibility, awarding/disbursing aid, monitoring academic process, keeping records, returning funds, and federal reporting requirements. After all HCC charges are paid, HCC will disburse any excess aid to the student.

 

GETTING STARTED WITH THE CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT PROCESS:

HCC students must obtain a consortium agreement form from the “home” school financial aid office. HCC students must speak with their HCC academic advisor to ensure that the “host” school classes will apply to their degree program and transfer back to HCC. The “host” school advisor will to sign the Consortium Agreement form to verify that the courses that the student has enrolled in at the “host” school. All Consortium Agreements are processed as soon as soon possible, usually within (24-48) hours (except holidays, weekends, and peak processing periods). 

 

APPLYING FOR A CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT:

1. The “home” school financial aid department must be contacted to initiate the Consortium Agreement process and receive the form.
2. If the HCC student has questions about the form or process, contact Vicky Bradley, the financial aid department associate for HCC Consortiums Agreements, at 713-718-2851 -or- vicky.bradley@hccs.edu. Back-up employee for the HCC Consortium Agreement processing is Tiffany Joseph, financial aid associate.
3. Students must review the “student section” and sign the form. The signed form is sent or given to the “host” school administrator.
4. The “host” school administrator is responsible for verifying enrollment, costs for the term, and sign the form. Form is given back to the HCC student who is responsible for faxing, emailing, or hand delivering the form to the “home” school.

• Completed Consortium Agreement form is forwarded to Vicky Bradley in the financial aid department at HCC.
• Vicky Bradley will forward the Consortium Agreement to the student’s HCC advisor for verification that the class(es) apply to the student’s HCC degree program.
• Executed agreement (all signatures and verification completed) is processed by Vicky Bradley or back-up employee.
• Email Attachment
• Laserfiche Submission

 

EXECUTED CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT PROCESS:

Executed Consortium Agreements are received by:

NOTE:  Both methods require printing documents for verification and awarding.

PeopleSoft Processing

• Verify the information submitted on the Executed Consortium Agreement is complete.
• Vicky Bradley updates PeopleSoft with new enrollment status.
• Vicky Bradley verifies financial aid funds are available and awards the student accordingly to the number hours enrolled.

 

COMPLETING CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT VERIFCIATION:

• Finalized documents are scanned into student’s Laserfische record.
• Paper copies of Consortium Agreements are retained based on federal retention requirements.

 

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY: HCC Students requesting a consortium agreement must review, initial, and return the following statements prior to signing the consortium agreement. Statements are included on the “home” school consortium agreement form, which can be obtained through the Financial Aid Office. 

• I understand that the courses that I take at the Host School must be transferrable to my degree program at HCC
• I understand that I must be enrolled in courses as a degree-seeking student at HCC, and making satisfactory academic progress as specified by the HCC Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy
• I understand that I must submit the completed form along with a copy of my course schedule from the Host School to the HCC Financial Aid Office.
• I agree that I will submit grade transcripts to the Financial Aid Office from the Host School at the end of the semester and a hold will be placed on my account preventing future registration and financial aid disbursement until a grade transcript is received and reviewed by the Financial Aid Office.
• I understand that I am responsible for payment of all charges at the Host institution since financial aid awarded through HCC will not be disbursed unless off the conditions of the consortium agreement have been met.
• I understand that I must remain enrolled in the approved courses at the Host School through the Official Day of Record in order to remain eligible for aid awarded based on those hours. Any change in enrollment during the enrollment period may affect my financial aid eligibility.
• I understand that HCC will only report hours taken at HCC to the National Student Clearinghouse and this may have an impact on my student loans if I am enrolled in fewer than 6 hours at HCC
• I agree that I will NOT receive financial aid at the Host School