Important Financial Aid Updates and FAQs Updated 04/2021
The Financial Aid Office is open. We do encourage you to call or email to set up an appointment if you need assistance. If you have questions, please email us at financialaid@helenacollege.edu.
The Financial Aid Office, with guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, is working to address questions and concerns of Helena College students who are impacted by the recent developments from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Financial Aid Office appreciates your understanding during this time and will do our very best to assist you. In order to answer some of the most frequently asked questions, we have created this COVID-19 FAQ.
This information will be updated regularly as it becomes available to inform our students, faculty, staff, and larger community regarding any possible financial aid implications related to COVID-19.
We are awaiting further guidance from the College and U.S. Department of Education and will update these items as we obtain the information.
In general, students must continue to maintain minimum program enrollment requirements (online or in person) to receive aid.
- Current Pell Grant and SEOG awards should not be affected
- Current Federal Direct Loan awards should not be affected
- The U.S. Department of Education is updating the following site regularly: https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/coronavirus.
- Federal Work Study (see section below)
- For all Federal Subsidized, Unsubsidized and PLUS loan borrowers:
- All interest will be waived until September 30, 2021
- Administrative forbearance will not result in capitalized interest
- Interest waiver will be automatic
- All interest will be waived until September 30, 2021
- For Federal Subsidized, Unsubsidized, and PLUS loan borrowers in repayment status:
- Payments paused until September 30, 2021
- Borrowers can request an administrative forbearance from their loan servicer
- Coronavirus and Loan Forbearance Information for student and parent borrowers.
- To provide relief to student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 national emergency, the US Department of Education has made an administrative forbearance option available to federal student loan borrowers, which allows you to temporarily stop making your monthly loan payments. Read more about these options in the borrower Q&As to learn more, and contact your loan servicer to find out your specific options.
- Borrowers can complete an Income Driven Repayment (IDP) application
- Borrowers have the option to continue paying normally-- this would decrease priniple significantly
- Involuntary collections will be suspended
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
- Months of paused payments on qualifying student loans will still count towards the PSLF 120 payments for public employees
- Contact loan servicer to ensure correct status of forbearance
- Possible legislation coming to include months of service for job attached, furloughed employees and public employees working less than 30 hours due to COVID-19
- Months of paused payments on qualifying student loans will still count towards the PSLF 120 payments for public employees
Fall 2021 Work Study positions will be available soon, each department must submit a safety plan to ensure all work study students are protected. More information to come.
Based on guidance received by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE), at this time, Montana University System (MUS) financial aid programs for the spring 2020 term should not be substantially affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. In general, students must continue to maintain minimum program enrolment requirements to receive the various state aid programs they were awarded.
Q: Am I eligible for financial aid for remote (online) learning?
A: Yes, you are eligible for federal, state and Helena College financial aid while you are enrolled in remote learning. You must still be enrolled for the required number of credits (half-time, full-time, etc.) to be eligible.
Q: What if I have extra expenses caused by COVID-19?
A: If you need additional funding, or other COVID-19 related expenses, federal regulations permit us to increase your cost of attendance to allow for this additional educational expense. Typically for students this increased cost of attendance is covered by an offer of either a federal subsidized/unsubsidized student loan or a parent PLUS loan depending on your remaining federal eligibility. If you would like to request a budget adjustment, please contact us from your HC student email at financialaid@helenacollege.edu
Q: What if my parent(s)/spouse are financially impacted by illness, work closure or other COVID-19 related financial hardships?
A: The U.S. Department of Education allows the Financial Aid Office to reassess your family's ability to contribute to your educational expenses if their income has been impacted as a result of illness or income reduction. Please contact our office from your HC student email at financialaid@helenacollege.edu to inquire about this process. You may be eligible for a special circumstances for Income Reduction or Medical Expenses.
A: Yes! We are available. Our phone number is: 406-447-6916 and our email is: financialaid@helenacollege.edu. If you are a student, please email from your Helena College student email. You can set up an appointment through Starfish.
Q: Can I talk to someone one-on-one?
A: Yes! Valerie and Dana will continue to be available for appointments which can be scheduled through Starfish. When requesting your appointment please provide a brief summary of what your questions are regarding to help us be more prepared for your appointment. These meetings can be via phone or Teams in order to maintain social distancing.
Q: Your office has requested I complete a form to complete my financial aid requirements. How do I get it to you?
A: Forms can always be submitted through your HC student email to financialaid@helenacollege.edu.
Please do not email any sensitive information, instead fax to 406-447-6397 or send via U.S. mail.
After ink signing the form, please scan or photograph the document and ensure it (and any required documentation) is formatted as a JPEG, PNG, or PDF file. If you decide to email documents as any other personal identifying information prior to scanning the attachment.
You may also fax documents to 406-447-6397.
Other HC updates related to COVID-19 are available at: http://helenacollege.edu/campus_safety/health_advisories.aspx
Information will be updated as it becomes available.
