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Financial Aid

Most of Southwest Virginia Community College’s students rely on financial aid to pay for their college degrees. You can receive financial aid in many different forms, including:

  • Scholarships
  • Grants
  • Work-study programs

Our Financial Aid counselors will work with you to develop an affordable college degree plan that fits your household budget. We’ll help you identify the financial aid programs, gather the forms, and meet the deadlines so you receive all the financial assistance you’re eligible for.

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Financial Aid Advisors

Financial Aid Advisors are available in Dellinger Hall Room 215, Monday – Friday from 7:45 am to 4:30 pm. If you need assistance by ZOOM session, contact one of the advisors to schedule an appointment.

  • Heather Riley, Coordinator, 276-964-7287, heather.riley@sw.edu
    • Enrollment Verification,
    • G3 Grants,
    • Athletic Funding,
    • Professional Judgments,
    • Title IV R2T4 Calculations,
    • Veteran’s Certifying Official
  • Jacky Rakes, Specialist, 276-964-7292, jacquline.rakes@sw.edu
    • Work Study,
    • FAFSA Verification,
    • Financial Aid Appeals
  • Jessica Ellis, Specialist, 276-964-7291, jessica.ellis@sw.edu
    • Tazewell County Connect,
    • Buchanan County Connect,
    • Tobacco Scholarship,
    • Financial Aid Appeals,
    • Consortium Agreements
  • Noah VanDyke, Interim Specialist, 276-964-7290, noah.vandyke@sw.edu
    • Verification,
    • Financial Aid
  • Erin Smith, Specialist, 276-964-7286, erin.smith@sw.edu
    • Scholarships,
    • RACE Liaison,
    • Financial Aid Appeals

To qualify for financial aid, you must:

  • Be enrolled in an eligible program of study.
  • Maintain satisfactory academic standing.
  • Not be in default on a federal educational loan or owe a repayment to a federal grant.

State and federally-funded aid programs require:

  • U.S. citizenship
  • Permanent residency, Asylum or refugee status
  • Virginia residency (state funds only)

Note:

  • Need-based financial aid is not available to international students, although many students can qualify for loans without demonstrating need.
  • Credits for audited courses do not count in any financial aid eligibility calculation.
  • All financial aid programs require placement in an eligible degree or certificate curriculum.

The Department of Education will determine if there are potential tax implications for receiving these funds.

Steps to get all the financial aid for which you’re eligible.

Contact Southwest Virginia Community College at 276-964-7724 or financialaid@sw.edu.

  • Even though you may have your SAR (Student Aid Report) distributed to multiple colleges, you can receive financial aid from only one college per semester.
  • A number of applications will be marked for verification by the federal government.  If your FAFSA application is selected for verification, you will receive a letter from SWCC detailing the information you will need to bring to the Financial Aid office.
  • When you register for classes, tuition will automatically be paid from the funds available to you in our Financial Aid award system.
  • When you visit the Campus Bookstore to purchase* your books and supplies, the charges will be deducted from your award balance if your type of award pays for books.
    *Make sure you have completed your Bookstore Authorization Form in MySouthwest, SIS Student Center To-do List.
  • You are responsible for any balance due on book purchases and tuition above the award balance available.
  • The new financial aid year begins with the Fall term. If your attendance at SWCC could depend on the financial aid available to you, we strongly urge you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Once your proof of class attendance sheet is submitted, if there is a remaining balance on your award after all charges are processed, a balance check is issued and mailed to you OR you may enroll in the Electronic Disbursement System. Information about this system and the disbursement dates is published on the sidebar of this page.

Please see the listing of your responsibilities as a work-study at SWCC below and also review the Workstudy Job Responsibilities and the Drug and Alcohol Policy.

College Work-Study Job Responsibilities:
It is extremely important that you understand your responsibilities in accepting part-time employment through this office. The information below should be read over carefully and the sheet signed and returned with your other paperwork to the Financial Aid Office, T-104. Only by assuring employers that students are more dependable than other part-time workers can we continue to improve the quality of student employment at Southwest Virginia Community College.

  1. Performance: You are always expected to give a regular, punctual, efficient, and cooperative performance on any job you accept.
  2. Duration: In accepting a part-time job, you agree to remain on the job for at least one semester, and generally for one academic year (Summer through Spring semesters). Barring unusually severe or prolonged illness or other eventuality, such as an unsatisfactory record in academic courses or unsatisfactory performance on the job.
  3. Illness: If illness or some other unforeseen circumstance prevents your attendance at work, you must notify your employer or supervisor in advance of your usual reporting time. Never “just fail to show,” even if you are ill.
  4. Conflicts: Any condition that might affect your performance on the job, such as your job conflicting with an actual exam, should be discussed with your supervisor beforehand. Unexcused absences may jeopardize your job.
  5. Termination: Part-time jobs are normally terminated only at the end of an academic year, but may terminate at the end of a term. (See #2 above) In the event of severe academic difficulty or unusually prolonged illness. You may be granted permission to leave your part-time job before the end of your commitment. However, you should resolve this problem through a conference with your supervisor and the Financial Aid Director. Two weeks notice is mandatory for any student who finds it necessary to leave his/her part-time job before the end of a term. Acceptance of a part-time job that is not within the scope of SWCC’s on-campus College Work-Study program could result in all of the financial aid awarded to the student being withdrawn.
  6. Cooperation: This office relies heavily on the student for help in maintaining an effective employment service for Southwest Virginia Community College students. The cooperation asked requires not only conscientious work on the job but also the courtesy of prompt and wholehearted response in matters connected with the administration of the program.

I understand that as my responsibility, I shall have to turn in my time sheets to the Financial Aid Office every two weeks, on the assigned dates, as instructed. The current Part-Time/Work Study calendar can be found on the Human Resources website.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION STATEMENT

Southwest Virginia Community College does not discriminate against employees, students, or applicants on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, or veteran status; or otherwise discriminate against employees or applicants who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or the compensation of other employees, or applicants; or any other basis protected by law.

The college is subject to Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974; Federal Executive Order 11246; Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA); Virginia’s State Executive Order Number Two; and all other applicable rules and regulations.

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All locations will return to regular schedule on Friday, October 4, 2024.