Will County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
The ARPA grant will support students who plan to pursue a career in Nursing, Elementary Education, Secondary Education, or Special Education. The grant will pay the dual credit tuition ($12/credit hour) for the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course in addition to any general education courses that are required for JJC’s Nursing program. For students who plan to pursue a career in one of the three education majors, the grant will pay for dual credit tuition for any of the general education courses required for those programs.
To receive ARPA grant funds, students must complete a brief scholarship application in which they will be asked to attest to their plans to pursue one of the qualifying educational programs and to attest to having financial need. Financial need is defined by the student’s household having a low or moderate income, the household having experienced unemployment as a result of the pandemic, or the household qualifying for Medicaid, PELL, SNAP, or WIC.
Students who meet the eligibility criteria for the ARPA grant will have an opportunity to express their interest in receiving funds through a grant sign-up sheet that the Dual Credit Office will send to each dual credit classroom. Once the Dual Credit Office receives the sign-up sheet from the high schools, students will receive a link to complete the electronic scholarship application in their JJC student email account. Within 2 weeks of students submitting the scholarship application, ARPA funds will be applied to their JJC student finance account.
ARPA scholarship applicants may receive up to $200 per semester to fund dual credit tuition. Students must apply for ARPA funds each semester. Since dual credit students are billed for tuition as soon as they are registered for classes, students who are eligible for the ARPA scholarship should apply for it as soon as possible to avoid receiving billing notices in their JJC student email account. ARPA scholarship applications will not be considered for the fall semester after December 1, 2023.
ARPA Grant
Pipeline for the Advancement of the Health Care Workforce Program (PATH)
The PATH grant will pay dual credit tuition for students who plan to pursue a career in Medical Assisting. The MA-102 course, offered in the spring 2024 semester, is the only dual credit course that is a part of the Medical Assistant program. To be eligible to receive PATH grant funds, to pay for this course, students must complete and submit the dual credit PATH grant application by February 29, 2024. Financial need is not required to qualify for PATH grant funds.
Students who plan to pursue the Medical Assistant program will have an opportunity to express their interest in receiving PATH grant funds through the grant sign-up sheet that the Dual Credit Office will send to the dual credit classes offering MA-102. Once the Dual Credit Office receives the sign-up sheet, students will receive a link to complete the electronic scholarship application in their JJC student email account. The PATH grant team will review student applications and contact students to schedule a Needs Assessment to determine whether students need assistance with transportation costs, child care, etc. that the PATH grant can fund. Students may complete the Needs Assessment by phone, virtually, or in-person at JJC. Once the Needs Assessment is complete, student applications will be processed and PATH funds will be applied to JJC student finance accounts.
PATH Grant
College and Career Pathway Endorsements (CCPE)
The CCPE grant will support FRL students who are not eligible for ARPA or PATH. All students who meet the ARPA and PATH grant requirements and complete the respective application process, will have their dual credit tuition funded. CCPE funding will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The $24,000 CCPE grant funds will be limited to $12,000 in the fall and $12,000 in the spring semesters so that students whose dual credit classes are only offered in the spring will have an opportunity to receive CCPE funding. CCPE grant funds must be expended by May 2024. There is no scholarship application for the CCPE grant. The only criteria to receive grant funds is that students be eligible to participate in the Free and Reduced Lunch program.
FRL lists will be provided to the Dual Credit Office by High School Administrators. This way FRL students will not receive a bill for dual credit classes (while CCPE funds for the semester are still available). Since students will be billed for dual credit classes when they are registered for them, if the Dual Credit Office does not have the list of FRL students for the class being registered, students will receive a bill for the classes in their JJC student email accounts.