Important Dates & Information
Bossier Parish Community College now offers the BPCC Book Pass. This digital textbook program provides students with quick and easy access to course materials for a fee of $25.50 per credit hour. The BPCC Book Pass allows every enrolled student access to all required materials on the first day of class.
Students will receive instructions on accessing their course materials via their BPCC student email. If students have physical materials, the campus store will communicate when they are available. Students can choose to opt-out of the BPCC Book Pass. For more information on how to do this, click here.
Winter 2024 and Spring 2025 SEMESTER ELECTRONIC BOOK Booksore AllowancE
**Important Information about the Winter Session**
- The Winter Session credit hours will combine with Spring 2025 credit hours to determine financial aid eligibility.
- Any Winter 2024 session financial aid eligibility will be combined with Spring 2025 eligibility and disbursed according to the Spring 2025 disbursement dates.
- You must be eligible for financial aid for the spring 2025 semester to qualify for the winter session.
Financial Aid recipients due a credit balance for the spring 2025 semester (after tuition/fees/housing charges are deducted) can participate in the electronic bookstore allowance process during the dates below.
| Session | Class Start Date |
First day you can order |
End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter 2024 | December 17, 2024 | December 2, 2024 | December 20, 2024 |
| Session A, B, and D | January 9, 2025 | January 2, 2025 | January 24, 2025 |
| Session J | January 27, 2025 | January 2, 2025, and again February 3, 2025 | January 24, 2025, and February 4, 2025 |
| Session C & F | March 6, 2025 | January 2, 2025, and again March 4, 2025 | January 24, 2025, and March 11, 2025 |
| Session G | April 10, 2025 | January 2, 2025, and again April 8, 2025 | January 24, 2025, and April 15, 2025 |
HOW TO USE YOUR FINANCIAL AID ALLOWANCE:
Students who wish to use the electronic allowance process to use their financial aid funds to purchase supplies must order using the following procedure:
You may access the bookstore web page and order your supplies.
At checkout, you can pay with your financial aid funds. Your “account number” is the same number as your “student ID number” (LoLA number). If your financial aid funds do not cover the entire cost of your purchase, you will need to enter a credit card as a second tender.
BOOK ALLOWANCE
A book allowance is an advance on your financial aid refund that allows you to purchase books and supplies at the BPCC Follett Bookstore. The amount of the book charges will be deducted from your financial aid refund.
When will I be able to purchase books with the electronic book allowance?
Dates for book allowance purchases will be prominently posted each semester under Books and Supplies on this page.
How do I qualify for a book allowance?
In order to qualify you must meet the following criteria:
- Be an undergraduate student registered for the semester
- Have a valid, current FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) on file with Bossier Parish Community College
- Have ALL financial aid requirements successfully satisfied
- Be meeting satisfactory academic progress standards
- Be awarded and have accepted financial aid with an expected credit balance of $100.00 or more for the semester. You may check your expected credit balance on LOLA. Be sure you choose the correct term – (example: fall 2014) and then view “Account Summary by Term”.
How much can I receive?
The amount depends on how much you have available in financial aid funding after your charges have been paid. This includes tuition and fees.
The maximum amount of a book allowance is $1,000.
Do I need to present the bookstore with a paper book voucher?
No. Staff at the bookstore can view your book allowance information online; however, you must show your BPCC Student ID and your schedule of classes.
Do I need to go to the Financial Aid office to obtain a paper book voucher?
No. You will need to go to the bookstore with your student ID and your schedule of classes.
What if I don’t spend the full amount of my allowance?
You will only be charged for the amount that you spend at the BPCC Follett Bookstore. If you do not use the full amount of the allowance, your account will be adjusted to reflect your actual purchases.
If you do not owe a student account balance, you will be issued a financial aid refund for the remaining amount. Refund processing will occur approximately two weeks after the first day of classes.
If you’ve made any changes to your registration or housing charges and your student account balance exceeds the amount of pending financial aid, you no longer qualify to participate in the book allowance program.
Continuously check your Student Account Summary page on LOLA to review your student account balance.
Also, check your financial aid awards. Changes to your financial aid that result in funds being reduced or removed may affect your eligibility.
BPCC delivers your refund with BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc. Visit this link for more information. Below are the earliest dates for the session that we will send funds to your BMTX, Inc. These dates only apply to eligible students whose documents were submitted on time and deemed eligible for financial aid before these dates. All other eligible financial aid recipients will receive later disbursements, regardless of the date you see on LoLA.
*** Financial aid processed after the dates below, the Financial Aid office will disburse eligible financial aid to your student account on Monday of each week, and the Business Office will send your refund to BMTX, Inc. on Thursday of each week after 5pm. Sign up for BankMobile Disbursements notifications to know when you will have access to your funds.
| Session | Class Start Date |
Eligible Grants and Student loans will pay towards your account balance (after 5pm): |
Funds will be sent to BMTX, Inc. (after 5pm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A, B, and D | January 9, 2025 | January 27, 2025 | ***January 30, 2025 |
| Session J | January 27, 2025 | February 10, 2025 | ***February 13, 2025 |
| Session E | February 6, 2025 | February 17, 2025 | ***February 20, 2025 |
| Session C & F | March 6, 2025 | March 24, 2025 | ***March 27, 2025 |
| Session G | April 10, 2025 | April 21, 2025 | ***April 24, 2025 |
TOPS recipients: Tops funding is provided by the Board of Regents/Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA). Any TOPS Award on your account is contingent upon a determination of eligibility by BOR/LOSFA and appropriations by the Louisiana Legislature to fund the program entirely. Colleges cannot request funds on your behalf until after the 14th class date. We estimate that we will apply the funds to your account balance approximately two weeks after receiving them. Continue to monitor your account summary on LoLA for updates.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: When BPCC sends your funds to BMTX, Inc. according to the dates above, BMTX, Inc. will issue your refund to the preferred method you chose during account creation. BPCC staff will not know the day you will have access to your funds. Please sign up for BankMobile Disbursements notifications to receive updates.
***The refund dates mentioned are subject to change. BPCC will disperse the refund within 14 days of the funds paid to your student account if there is a delay in processing a refund.
How do I find my refund amount?
- Log in to LoLA.
- Choose student.
- Choose account detail for term under My Account.
- Select your term.
- Scroll to the end of the term balance to see any refund is due to you.
- A refund due to you will be in parenthesis (1,000,000) OR
- You will see “Refund” if the system has generated.
If you do not see a refund or an amount in parenthesis, click on Home then check financial aid at Bossier Parish Community College to ensure you have financial aid in the offer tab. If you have unsatisfied requirements, then you will not receive financial aid until you complete the requirements and are deemed eligible for financial aid.
FINANCIAL AID CREDIT BALANCE REFUNDS
Refunds are available to students whose financial aid has been processed by the BPCC Financial Aid Office and who have awards posted and accepted on LOLA. Once the awards have been posted to the student account, the awards will apply to the charges (tuition, fees, books, etc.) owed to BPCC. If, after all charges are paid, a credit balance remains that is owed to the student, BPCC will issue a credit balance refund via BankMobile Disbursements, a technology solution, powered by BMTX, Inc.
Please refer to your LOLA account regarding your student balance information.
You can pay your balance:
- Online through your LOLA account using the CASHNet service by credit, debit card or E-Check.
(please note payments made by credit or debit card will be charged a 2.75% convenience fee, The E-Check option does not charge a convenience fee). - In person at the BPCC Business Office, Building F, 6220 East Texas Street, Bossier City, LA.
(Please note that the Business Office can no longer accept credit or debit cards at the window, However, the Business Office continues to accept cash, checks and money orders for payments).
If you have any questions concerning payment, contact the Business Office at businessoffice@bpcc.edu.
If you need assistance with financial aid, contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@bpcc.edu. Please do not submit documents or personal information to this email address; this is not a secure link. Submit your documents and/or questions containing personal information to our secure link called “SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS AND/OR DOCUMENTS HERE (secure link)” at https://www.bpcc.edu/index.php/financialaid/forms/1920/
The Financial Aid Appeals process is now available electronically. Students interested in submitting a financial aid appeal must complete the form online and upload supporting documentation. Paper forms are not available. It can take approximately 2-3 weeks from the date we receive a **completed appeal before the committee makes will decide.
**A completed appeal is an appeal that explains extenuating circumstances for all semesters you did not meet the satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements, provided documentation that supports your extenuating circumstance, and an explanation of how the circumstances have changed to ensure you will successfully complete your classes if the appeal is approved. If you have several semesters of unsatisfactory academic progress, you should be prepared to explain all of them. You can call the financial aid office to discuss what semesters you need to explain or review your unofficial transcripts on LoLA.
| Session | Class Start Date | Priority Appeal Deadline | ***Completed Appeals received after deadline will be reviewed beginning: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session A, B, and D | January 9, 2025 | January 3, 2025 | February 3, 2025 |
| Session J | January 27, 2025 | January 3, 2025 | February 3, 2025 |
| Session E | February 6, 2025 | January 3, 2025 | February 3, 2025 |
| Session C & F | March 6, 2025 | February 3, 2025 | March 17, 2025 |
| Session G | April 10, 2025 | March 10, 2025 | April 21, 2025 |
| Final deadline for Spring 2025 financial aid appeals: Friday, APRIL 25, 2025. No appeals will be accepted after this date, and you will be responsible for any balance due. | |||
Federal financial aid may NOT be awarded for courses that do not apply toward a student’s degree program. Each student is strongly encouraged to check with an advisor to ensure that the courses in which he/she is enrolled will apply towards the student’s degree program.
Submit your documents early!
Applying for Financial Aid is a lengthy process. The entire process could take up to three to four weeks after the student submits ALL documents required to complete his/her financial aid file. In order to have the student’s financial aid processed in time for registration/fee payment he/she must submit ALL requested documents according to the priority deadlines.
- Provisionally admitted students are not eligible for federal financial aid. If a student’s Admissions file is incomplete, he/she is considered a provisional student.
- All students must have a high school diploma or its equivalent in order to receive federal financial aid.
- If a student is missing official college academic transcripts or if his/her financial aid file is incomplete, the student is NOT eligible for financial aid. It is the student’s responsibility to make payment arrangement on the day of registration.
- If a student is determined ineligible for financial aid once all missing information is provided, he/she must make payment arrangement on the day of registration.
Awards may be reduced or cancelled without prior notification if a student is determined ineligible for financial aid funds that he/she has already received.
Attendance requirements
Students must begin attendance in ALL classes. Federal financial aid will be adjusted if a student does not begin attendance in ALL classes. If a student’s financial aid is disbursed to the student account and he/she never attends one or more classes, the student will be responsible for immediate REPAYMENT of a portion or perhaps the FULL amount of the financial aid. Additionally, if a financial aid recipient begins attendance in class, but resigns or stops attending all classes before completing more than 60% of the semester, he/she will owe money to the aid program and BPCC.
60% Date for Session A* only
You must ATTEND past this date.
| Fall 2024 | 10/22/2024 |
|---|---|
| Spring 2025 | 03/23/2025 |
| Summer 2025 | 07/01/2025 |
**Winter intersession is combined with the spring 2025 semester for financial aid purposes.
Please NOTE: Your instructors will provide the financial aid office with your last date of attendance. We will adjust your financial aid awards according to the last date you attended class, not the day you withdraw.
*The 60% date for other sessions or combinations of multiple sessions are not posted. The Financial Aid office must calculate a unique 60% date based on the combination of sessions you are attending.
BPCC Teacher Institute
A person who is a full-time Louisiana classroom teacher teaching on a temporary Louisiana teaching certificate in Louisiana in a public or private school, and who is working on permanent certification, may participate in the Teacher Institute. A teacher may take up to two 3-hour courses for $100 each ($200 maximum). Teachers must provide a copy of their T-Certificate and a letter from the school principal where they teach certifying that the course(s) they are taking at BPCC apply toward permanent certification. A new letter is required each semester! For more details, contact Holly French-Hart, Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Institutional Effectiveness, at 318-678-6132. (The program does not include paraprofessionals or teacher aides.)
Students must begin attendance in ALL classes. Federal financial aid will be adjusted if a student does not begin attendance in ALL classes. If a student’s financial aid is disbursed to the student account and he/she never attends one or more classes, the student will be responsible for immediate REPAYMENT of a portion or perhaps the FULL amount of the financial aid.
Additionally, if a financial aid recipient begins attendance in class, but resigns or stops attending all classes before completing more than 60% of the semester, he/she will owe money to the aid program and BPCC.
Please NOTE: Your instructors will provide the financial aid office with your last date of attendance. We will adjust your financial aid awards according to the last date you attended class, not the day you withdraw.
Federal Aid
| Fall: | June 1 |
|---|---|
| Spring: | October 1 |
Academic Tuition Waiver applications
| Fall: | March 31 |
|---|---|
| Spring: | October 1 |
If your application is selected for review in a process called verification, BPCC must compare information from your application with signed copies of federal tax returns for the student, and/or parents/step-parents/spouses as well as other income information. The law says we have the right and responsibility to require this information before awarding federal aid.
If there are differences between your application and verification documents, corrections may be required. Our office will submit the corrections to the Central Processor, electronically. You will be notified of a change in your EFC by a corrected SAR sent from the processor.
You must submit all documentation requested by the BPCC Financial Aid Office. Incomplete forms will be returned to student. BPCC must have your correct, complete information by your last day of enrollment in the current award year.
Verification for Pell-eligible students must be completed no later than 90 days after student’s last date of attendance at BPCC or August 31, of the applicable award year, whichever is earlier. Verification for Direct and PLUS loan students must be completed 10 days prior to student’s last day of attendance for a semester.
Your aid will not be processed if verification is not completed.
- Provisionally admitted students ARE NOT eligible for federal financial aid. If your Admissions file is incomplete,(i.e. missing documents such as immunization records, transcripts, etc…) you are considered a provisional student. You must have a complete Admissions file in order to receive federal financial aid.
- You must have a high school diploma or its equivalent in order to receive federal financial aid.
Student loan funds for first-time borrowers with fewer than 30 credit hours earned will not be mailed to students until after the 30th day of the semester. Federal regulations require these students to be subjected to a 30-day delayed disbursement on the first disbursement of their loans.
How your Pell is initially calculated:
The Pell Grant is initially based on full-time enrollment. The initial awards posted on LOLA are posted for the Pell grant amount for 12 hour enrollment. Once registration has been finalized, Pell Grants will be adjusted (re-calculated) to reflect the correct Pell grant amount based on the actual number of hours enrolled.
Pell Recalculation:
Pell grants will be adjusted (re-calculated) for the correct enrollment status during the “enrollment verification” period. The “enrollment verification” period typically occurs during the 1st – 9th day of class. This is a period of time when BPCC instructors report all students who are enrolled in classes but did not begin attendance (no shows). After the “enrollment verification” period (but no later than the 9th day of class), the Financial Aid office will “freeze” the enrolled hours. If the enrollment status has changed, for example, the student is no longer enrolled (or attending) 12 credit hours, the Pell grant will be adjusted downward. After the “freeze” process occurs, Pell grants will no longer be adjusted for students in session A.
Pell Recalculation for Modules/Sessions:
Pell grants will be re-calculated for students enrolled in modules/sessions after the first day of class for the module/session and after the “enrollment verification” (or “no show”) period for that module/session. An enrollment verification period will occur for each module.
Example: If you are enrolled for six hours in session A and later add a class in session C, your Pell will be re-calculated after the first day of class for session C and after the “no show” period has ended” (typically prior to the 10th day of class). When Pell is re-calculated, the Pell grant will be increased if your enrollment status has increased. However, if your enrollment status has decreased (due to dropping classes previously paid for session A), your Pell grant will be decreased and you will owe money to the College.
Will you owe money?
Yes, you may owe money due to Pell Recalculation.
Example: You enroll in nine (9) credit hours (three classes) for Session A and three (3) hours in a module/session that begins later in the semester. Once the financial aid office is notified that you have begun attendance in the three Session A classes, you will be awarded the Pell grant for nine (9) credit hours. When the module/session class begins (later in the semester) the financial aid office will recalculate your Pell grant. The instructor has verified that you began attendance in the session/module class. However, upon review, we notice that you have withdrawn from two of the Session A classes (dropped six (6) hours). When the Pell grant is recalculated, your new enrollment status is no longer nine (hours). Your enrollment status is now six (6) hours. Your Pell grant will be REDUCED to the six hour Pell amount and you will have to repay a portion of the Pell grant you received for Session A. You will owe money to the College as a result of Pell recalculation.
If I resign from school, will I owe money?
After an official or unofficial withdrawal from the College, a refund and/or repayment evaluation must be performed on students’ account to determine eligibility for refund or repayment.
Federal Regulations require that the College determine the amount of time each student attended the institution and apply appropriate refunding. You must earn more than 60% of your aid by ATTENDING more than 60% of your registered class time to keep all aid disbursed.
If you resign from all classes prior to attending 60% of the semester, you WILL owe money. The unearned portion of the federal aid you received must be returned to the federal programs.
NOTE: If a recipient of federal aid stops attending class without officially resigning from the College, a last date of attendance will be applied based on information received from the instructors and appropriate refunding applied. Attendance requires the student to participate in academic related activities (exams, discussion boards, assignments, etc.) Logging into the class without participating in an assigned activity is not considered as an “academic related activity”. Attending a face-to-face class without participating in an assigned activity is not considered as an “academic related activity”.
You must maintain attendance (participate in academic related activities) in at least one class beyond the 60% date. The 60% date is posted each semester on the financial aid web page.
The law specifies how your school must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance that you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), and Federal Perkins Loans.
Though your aid is posted to your account at the start of each period, you earn the funds as you complete the period. If you withdraw during your payment period or period of enrollment (your school can define these for you and tell you which one applies), the amount of Title IV program assistance that you have earned up to that point is determined by a specific formula. If you received (or your school or parent received on your behalf) less assistance than the amount that you earned, you may be able to receive those additional funds. If you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school and/or you.
The amount of assistance that you have earned is determined on a pro rate basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your payment period or period of enrollment, you earn 30% of the assistance you were originally scheduled to receive. Once you have completed more than 60% of the payment period or period of enrollment, you earn all the assistance that you were scheduled to receive for that period.
If you did not receive all of the funds that you earned, you may be due a post-withdrawal disbursement. If your post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, your school must get your permission before it can disburse them. You may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds so that you don’t incur additional debt. Your school may automatically use all or a portion of your post-withdrawal disbursement of grant funds for tuition, fees, and room and board charges (as contracted with the school). The school needs your permission to use the post-withdrawal grant disbursement for all other school charges. If you do not give your permission (some schools ask for this when you enroll), you will be offered the funds. However, it may be in your best interest to allow the school to keep the funds to reduce your debt at the school.
There are some Title IV funds that you were scheduled to receive that cannot be disbursed to you once you withdraw because of other eligibility requirements. For example, if you are a first-time, first-year undergraduate student and you have not completed the first 30 days of your program before you withdraw, you will not receive any Direct Loan funds that you would have received had you remained enrolled past the 30th day.
If you receive (or your school or parent receive on your behalf) excess Title IV program funds that must be returned, your school must return a portion of the excess equal to the lesser of:
- your institutional charges multiplied by the unearned percentage of your funds, or
- the entire amount of excess funds.
The school must return this amount even if it didn’t keep this amount of your Title IV program funds.
If your school is not required to return all of the excess funds, you must return the remaining amount.
Financial Aid Websites
- Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA)
- Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid Assistance (LOSFA)
- Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS)
- The SmartStudent Guide to Financial Aid
- National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) for Students
- Student Aid on the Web
- U.S. Department of Education
- Selective Service System
Scholarship WebSites
- Peterson’s Education Center
- Fastweb (source for private scholarships and grants)
- Scholarships.com
- CollegeBoard.com
- Career One Stop
- Gates Millennium Scholars
- Hispanic Scholarship Fund
- Jack Kent Cooke Foundation
- LSUS Bridge Scholarship