From staff reports

 Lamar State College Orange and Port Arthur want to assist every student during this time of uncertainty and economic unrest. Therefore, during the summer 2020 semester we will continue providing LSCO and LSCPA students with the hope of a productive and secure future by offering all students – new and returning – the opportunity to pursue their educational goals and enroll in two summer courses for free!

“We understand people are struggling,” LSCO President Dr. Thomas Johnson said. “LSCO and Lamar PA want to help make it easier to get a college education.”

While other schools are offering free credit hours to qualifying students, LSCO and LSCPA are offering two 3-credit hour courses to anyone who attends during the summer session.

The tuition and fees for two 3-credit hour courses in the Summer 2020 semester will be paid for every student who completes and submits a 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and uses LSCO’s school code 016748 or LSCPA’s school code 016666.

Steps to apply and register for Summer 2020 semester courses:

1. New students. Complete and submit the Admissions Application (www.applytexas.org) for the summer of 2020.
2. All students. Complete and submit the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 Financial Aid Application (www.fafsa.ed.gov). Use LSCO’s school code 016748 or LSCPA’s code 016666.
3. All students. Register for summer classes at LSCO or LSCPA
   1. New students must meet with an advisor virtually or by phone to register.
   2. Continuing students can register directly through their self-service account.

Note: Students who qualify for a Pell Grant and/or other grants will have the tuition and fees for the two free Summer 2020 semester courses paid by their financial aid award. Any student who does not qualify for a Pell Grant and/or other grants will have the tuition and fees for the two free Summer 2020 semester courses paid by LSCO or LSCPA institutional or grant funds. Some courses offer free textbooks (open source).

Any student who enrolls in only one 3-credit hour course this summer and completes and submits the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 FAFSA will receive the credit for their one 3-credit hour course.

Students who enrolls in two 3-credit hour course this summer in any combination and completes and submits the 2019/2020, 2020/2021 FAFSA will receive the credit. Students can enroll in any combination of summer courses and receive a credit for up to two 3-credit hour courses:

• one 3-credit hour course during summer one and one 3-credit hour course during summer two
• two 3-credit hour courses during summer one
• two 3-credit hour courses during summer two
• one 3-credit hour course during the all summer semester and one 3-credit hour course during either short summer semester
• two 3-credit hour courses during the all summer semester

Students are able to enroll in more than two 3-credit hour courses during the summer, according to LSCO and LSCPA registration guidelines. Students are encouraged to contact an advisor or refer to the student handbook for details on enrollment limits during the summer semester. However, LSCO and LSCPA will only credit student accounts for two 3-credit hour courses if they complete and submit the 2019/2020, 2020/2021 FAFSA and use LSCO’s code 016748 or LSCPA’s code 016666.

In Financial Aid completion, Texas ranks a distant 31, with a completion rate of 55.2 percent among the 50 states. LSCO and LSCPA want to ensure that every eligible Texan uses the free resources available from federal aid. If you qualify, Financial Aid funds will be applied to your student account. If your Financial Aid is not enough to cover tuition, LSCO/LSCPA will cover the remaining expenses for students who have completed and submitted a 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 FAFSA. If your Financial Aid exceeds the cost of attendance, remaining funds will be issued as a refund. All students who submit the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 FAFSA qualify and will be able to take up to two 3-credit hour courses any time this summer.

For assistance completing the FAFSA, please contact the LSCO Financial Aid staff by calling (409) 882-3317 or emailing finaid@lsco.edu or LSCPA Financial Aid staff by calling (409) 984-6203 or emailing financialaid@lamarpa.edu.

Does my account get reviewed for the credit automatically? Do I need to do something else?

Yes, your account does get reviewed for the credit automatically. As long as you completed the FAFSA for 2019/2020, 2020/2021, then you should be on track for a credit for up to two 3-credit hour courses this summer. We will begin processing credits as soon as you enroll in coursework. College staff will contact you via your LSCO or LSCPA email address if you need to take further action.

Students must complete both the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 FAFSA and assign LSCO code 016748 or LSCPA code 016666 before the account can be reviewed. Therefore, LSCO/LSCPA Financial Aid staff begins reviewing student accounts to confirm that this requirement has been met. Once the review process has been completed, your tuition will be credited. College staff will contact you via your LSCO or LSCPA email address if you need to take further action.

I have completed my 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 FAFSA for another school. What do I do?

You would need to add Lamar State College Orange or Lamar State College Port Arthur to your record. While completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you must list at least one college to receive your information. To add colleges after you have already submitted your FAFSA, click the Login button on the home page and log into FAFSA on the Web. Click Make FAFSA Corrections, and then navigate to the “School Selection” page. To search for a college that you want to receive your information, select the state in which the college is located, then enter the city and/or school name, and click Search. We will search our database and display your results in order by the best match. You can re-sort the list in alphabetical order by School Name. From the Search Results, you can select up to ten colleges to add to your list of Selected Schools. You can select an individual college, or you can press the Ctrl button on your keyboard and select multiple colleges. After you have selected the college(s), click the ADD>> button to add the college(s) to your list of Selected Schools. LSCO’s school code is 016748 and LSCPA’s code is 016666.

College staff will begin reviewing your account to see if you have completed and submitted all the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 FAFSA, assigning the LSCO school code of 016748 or LSCPA code of 016666 in order to confirm that the credit can be applied. Once the review process has been completed, your account will be credited for up to two 3-credit hour courses enrolled in this summer. The business office will begin initiating the process for a refund as soon as your account has been cleared.

We are currently evaluating students that have enrolled and will process credits to qualified students. Once your credit has been processed, and your balance is zero, the payment plan will stop.

High school students from districts that are partnering with LSCO and LSCPA can enroll in summer classes and receive the two 3-credit hour opportunity this summer. Enrollment must be approved and coordinated with the dual credit student’s district. Contact the LSCO Dual Credit Coordinator at cara.richard@lsco.edu or LSCPA Director of Dual Credit Programs, Hilda Billups, at 409-984-6102 or billupshm@lamarpa.edu for steps on how to register for up to two 3-credit hour courses for free this summer.