BOOK GRANTS & FINANCIAL AID
How does a student qualify to receive a book grant?
In order to see if a student qualifies to receive a Promise book grant, they must have a FAFSA or Dream Act application on file with financial aid. Students who are awarded the CCPG will most likely qualify to receive the book grant.
Name 2 ways that a student can lose their promise eligibility.
A student can lose their Promise eligibility for any of the following reason below:
-Less than 12 units at census - no appeal
-Less than 2.0 GPA at the end of their first year
-No financial aid on file
Name 3 Reasons why a student can submit an appeal.
-Reduced unit load
-Exception to academic progress requirement
-Leave of Absence or Deferment
-Late program admissions or late enrollment
-Extenuating circumstances
What are the 4 main items needed on your flyer to properly post or share an event on canvas or Instagram?
Date, time, link or website, description of event.
You are meeting with a student during a mentor meeting. The student feels overwhelmed in classes and asks if they can drop below 12 units for the semester. How do you respond?
Talk to the student more to learn more. Refer to resources that may be helpful. Recommend a meeting with a Promise Retention Counselor to discuss their current class load. If counselor approved, they can appeal for a reduced unit load/extenuating circumstances.
What is the difference between a year 1 and year 2 book grant.
Eligible year 1 Promise book grant accounts are set up at your campus of record bookstore. Students who have been confirmed to participate in the Promise program will receive a notification prior to the start of the fall semester as to when they can access their Promise textbook funds. (Will be dispersed in rounds 1, 2, &3)
Eligible year 2 Promise students will receive their grant via direct deposit or check after the add/drop (census) deadline. For Fall, this is usually mid/late September.
What counts as an engagement activity for promise?
Any of the following:
- Mentor meeting
- Promise event
-Counseling Drop in Hours
- Progress Report Workshops
- Any other campus event offered (transfer, career, ASC, etc.)
A student emails you saying they no longer want to be in the program. How do you proceed?
Respond to the student to confirm their dismissal. Forward to District to officially remove them from the program. Move the student from active to dismissed list. In the comments, “Student requested to withdraw (date)”
The student then would need to be deleted from Canvas.
You are assigned the promise email for the day and you do not know how to respond to an email. What should you do?
Ask for help. Check in with another peer mentor who may be working during this time. If still unsure, flag the email in Promise. Text Sara and let her know you will leave the email flagged in the Promise email. Once responded to, go back and review the email for familiarity.
A student emails you saying they don't know why they were dropped. You do a check and see they enrolled in 9 units at census. They claim to now be enrolled in 13 units because they added a second 8 week class that starts later. They are confused why they were dismissed and want to stay in the program. How do you respond?
Check the census list. Verify the unit total at the census deadline. Reply to the student with the unit total that was reported at census. Explain that 12 units by the census deadline is the requirement to remain eligible in Promise. In order to move forward, the student must meet with a counselor and appeal for late enrollment.
A student received a book grant in their first year. Will they automatically get a book grant for year 2?
No, book grants are not automatically awarded for a second year. Book grants are awarded based on students' financial aid need.
A student is considering taking classes during intersession and/or summer. Does the Promise program cover these semesters?
The Promise program covers any courses you decide to take in intersession (no limit). Classes completed during winter intersession will count towards overall units completed for Spring.
To be eligible for enrollment and health fee waiver students must enroll and maintain a minimum of 12 units during the Summer 2020. Please note: Enrolling in 12 units during the summer is not recommended. As you are considering taking 12 units in a condensed time frame (usually 8 weeks), it would be equivalent to taking 24 units in the 16-week-long semester. Failure to complete 12 units will result in payment of all courses.
A student was dismissed for no FAFSA on file but claims they submitted it. What do you do?
Check the Missing FA list to verify if the student is still missing. Check the comments to see if any updates were inputted. Reply back to ask for the date it was submitted and screenshot. Verify with Sara or Financial Aid that it is in the system. Update the notes accordingly so the rest of the group is up to date.
How do you set up a counseling appointment for a Promise Retention Counselor?
For Randy & Trish:
1. In SARS, Double click on OUTRCH or PROMISE to schedule an appointment (Be sure there is at least one hour available)
2. When in the Student Appointment Screen, first Extend the appointment to 60 minutes (All Counseling appointments must be scheduled for one hour). Second, enter in Student ID (student’s information will populate). Third, type in reason for appointment in the Comments section. Lastly, place a checkmark on Online Meeting (after you “commit” the appointment, it will automatically populate the zoom link)
3. Enter Initials under Commit Confirmation.
4. Reopen Student Appointment. Copy & Paste Meeting URL. Send an Email with the Meeting URL to the Student, as well as CC the appropriate counselor.
For Crystal: Email the student for a few dates and times that work for them based on Crystal's availability (Wed-Fri 10a-5p). Email Crystal to confirm date/time works, then send confirmation email to student and cc Crystal.
A student wasn't enrolled at 12 units at census and you have a meeting with them. What do you tell them in the meeting if they ask about their Promise status?
Let the student know they are not meeting full time status as required by the program. If no appeal is on file, the student will be dismissed. Recommend they meet with a counselor and appeal. The student may be required to add additional courses in order to remain eligible in Promise.
What happens to a first year students unused book balance at the end of the semester?
At the end of the semester, any remaining balance may be rolled over for the following semester or refunded back to the student via direct deposit or check.
What are the 5 main steps to applying for Promise and which step makes a prospective student’s promise status official.
STEP 1: SDCCD Admissions Application
STEP 2: Financial Aid Application
STEP 3: Promise Application
STEP 4: Online New Student Orientation and Abbreviated Education Plan
STEP 5: Promise Contract and Promise Orientation
Signing the Promise contract online officially marks the student as “Promise.”
A student needs to submit an appeal. What do you say in the email when attaching the appeal form?
Thank you for reaching out. If you'd like to remain in the program, I would highly advise meeting with one of our Promise Retention Counselors to discuss the appeal process. You can send me 3 dates/times this week or next week that work best for you, and I'll go ahead and schedule the appointment via Zoom.
Attached you will find the petition to appeal to the San Diego Promise Program. Please fill it out completely, and attach the 1-page explanation and any other additional documents you may deem necessary to elaborate on your extenuating circumstances.
Once complete, send it directly to our Promise Coordinator, Sara Griswold. Her email is sgriswold@sdccd.edu.
What is the best way to confirm a student's status in the program?
Look at the Miramar Active list or Dismissed list to see where the student shows up. To confirm, look a the most recent census list (this will show the # of units enrolled at census to ensure the student is okay). You can also review the District master list at any time for confirmation.
A student is below 12 units at census. They notify you they are taking units at another college. They ask if this counts as units towards promise. How do you respond?
Units taken outside the SDCCD do not count towards the 12 units needed for Promise. Stress the importance than communication is key and in the future, remind the student that they should have been in contact with us about their situation before the semester began. At this time, the student would need to meet with a counselor and submit an appeal for late enrollment or for a reduced unit load in order to continue.
A student is asking if they have a book grant and what the remaining balance is. How would you reply to their email?
First, you would want to look up the student ID number to confirm that they are a Promise student and were awarded the book grant. If they are on the list, you can advise them to contact the bookstore to check the balance, or forward their email to the District to see if they can give you the most up to date balance.
How does a student renew their eligibility for Year 2?
According to Assembly Bill 19 and Assembly Bill 2, students must maintain eligibility requirements throughout their first-year in order to be considered for second-year funding. Updated financial aid files for the second year, good academic standing, and program requirements must be maintained in order to receive second-year funding. Only those students admitted to the Promise Program for their first year are eligible for consideration for second-year funding.
At the end of the first year, the District will determine if students successfully completed the program requirements (units completed/GPA). Students that will be continuing in the program for a second year will be notified via email (June/July).
Students that do not meet requirement may have an opportunity to meet with a counselor and submit an appeal. The Summer 2021 appeal period is June 23 - July 19.
Students do not have to apply for a second year in the Promise program.
A student emails Promise asking why they were dismissed. What would you do in this situation to be able to respond to the student?
Check to see if the student is a first or second year. Check to see if they show up on the active or dismissed list. In the notes, view the reason why they were dismissed. Respond to the student accordingly and if appeal is an option, follow up to schedule a counselor meeting.
A parent emails the Promise email asking if their child submitted the progress report. How do you respond?
FERPA - Respond and let the parent know that the student can email Promise and we can respond directly.
A student is under 12 units at census and received a dismissal email. They mention that they are part of the DSPS program. What do you do?
Refer the student to see DSPS. The student will need to meet with a counselor to determine if they are eligible to receive special accommodations through the DSPS program. If a reduced unit form is warranted, they will need to submit to the Promise Coordinator for approval. No need to appeal.