Receiving Your Financial Aid
The student's estimated financial aid will be electronically applied toward the student's tuition, fees and dorm charges. The student may also provided written authorization to charge their books and supplies (purchased through the VC bookstore), minor prior year institutional charges ($200 maximum), or any other institutional educationally related cost to their financial aid account. Students can at any time modify or cancel their written authorization. The cancellation or modification is not retroactive. It will take effect on the date received by the financial aid office.
Grant, scholarship and loan balances will be disbursed by the Business Office within 30 days after the beginning of the semester. Grant and scholarship balances for students enrolled in the second compressed semester (Fall II, Spring II and Summer II) will be disbursed within 30 days after the beginning of that semester. As per federal regulations, Direct Loans are issued to students in multiple disbursements. Generally, this means students will receive equal portions of their loan each semester, except if their loan is only one semester in length. Disbursement dates will be posted on the Vernon College Financial Aid webpage.
The Business Office disburses balances at least twice monthly. Financial aid balances will be placed on the student’s Chaparral Card unless the student has designated a different direct deposit account. Students who do not have a Chaparral Card or who do not designate a direct deposit account will be mailed a check. Any financial aid offer will first be applied to the balance due Vernon College before being issued to the student.
Students must meet all enrollment and eligibility requirements in order to receive financial aid. Students who fail to establish eligibility (do not begin attendance in each class or do not attend classes through count day) will have their financial assistance reduced or cancelled.
Students employed through the work-study program are paid twice monthly. Time sheets must be submitted on the appropriate dates each month in order to receive a paycheck. Students, who fail to submit their time sheets by the designated date, will not receive payment until the following pay period.
For most students, the amount of financial aid they will receive is based on his or her enrollment status on the day after the census date, and aid will be adjusted accordingly. Fall I, Spring I, and Summer I enrollments will be determined on the day after the census date for the Fall, Spring, and/or Summer semesters. For students who are packaged after the census date, the amount of financial aid they will receive is based on his or her enrollment status as of the date they are packaged. For students who complete their file after the semester is completed, their aid will be based upon their final enrollment status and will include only courses completed (includes earned F's, in progress and incompletes), and dropped classes or withdraws will not be included in determining enrollment status. Enrollment status will be determined according to the following: Full-time, 12-semester hours or more; three-quarter time, 9 to 11-semester hours; half-time, 6 to 8-semster hours; and less-than-half-time, 1 to 5-semester hours. Courses the student enrolls in for the second compressed semester (Fall II, Spring II, or Summer II) will be excluded from the student's enrollment status until balance checks for the Fall, Spring, and /or Summer semester have been disbursed. There is a 30-semester hour limit for remedial course work for any individual student, Remedial hours attempted beyond the 30-hour limit will not be included in course load for determining enrollment status. Repeated courses will be included in determining course load as long as the repeated course is not the result of more than one repetition of a previously passed course. Courses that do not count toward a student's degree plan or certificate, with the exception of remedial courses, cannot be included to determine his or her enrollment status. Audit means to attend a course without working for or expecting to receive formal credit; therefore, audit classes cannot be included to determine a student's enrollment status. If the student enrolls in a compressed semester (Fall I or Fall II, Spring I or Spring II, Summer I or Summer II) or in a mini-term that is included as part of the previous semester (December or May mini) the student's final enrollment status for determining grant eligibility that semester, is the day after the census date for the semester of the last course taken. If a student drops, withdraws from or adds a class on or before the census date, the student's enrollment status will be adjusted and the student's grant aid recalculated. Recalculations will include both increases and decreases in enrollment up to the day after the census date of the student's last class.
1970 marked the beginning of Vernon College. Throughout this decade the College continued to grow and more students enrolled in both on- and off-campus courses. On January 20, 1970, a majority of the citizens of Wilbarger County voted to create the Wilbarger County Junior College District. Following that decision, Vernon Regional Junior College was established and on April 9, 1970, the newly elected Board of Trustees appointed Dr. David L. Norton as the College’s first president. Campus construction began in May 1971, and included an Academic Science Center, Administration-Fine Arts Center, Applied Arts Center, Library, and Student Center. The following year, on September 5, 1972, classes met for the first time on the Vernon campus with a total of 608 students. On August 1, 1974, Dr. Jim M. Williams became the College’s second president. In the fall semester of that year, combined on- and off-campus enrollment exceeded 800 students. During the 1975-76 academic year, the College expanded its services to include a learning center on Sheppard Air Force Base. During this year, enrollment in credit courses, both on- and off-campus, rose to a level of 1,199. The scope of the Vocational Nursing Program was enlarged during the 1976-77 academic year with the assumption of the Bethania School of Vocational Nursing in Wichita Falls. In August 1976 the Physical Education Center was dedicated in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas A. King longtime benefactors of Vernon College.
Growth and changes continued during the 1980s. In August 1980 a Student Residence Center, designed to house 128 students, opened for occupancy. Further expansion of program offerings in the Wichita Falls area was accomplished through absorption of an existing proprietary school that was renamed the Vernon College Technical Center and the integration of the nursing program from the Wichita Falls Independent School District. On March 22, 1982, Dr. Joe Mills took over the leadership of the College as the third president. That fall, the College fielded its first intercollegiate rodeo team. During 1983-84, the Department of Cosmetology and the Career Development Center (previously known as the North Texas Skills Center) were established in Wichita Falls. On the Vernon campus, the Chaparral Center was completed, and the Pease River farm purchased through a state land trade. The following academic year, 1984-85, Vernon College reached a record credit enrollment of 1,863 and a record continuing education enrollment of 7,056 registrations. A Vocational Nursing Program opened in Seymour, and the Board of Trustees established a college foundation and approved an agreement to allow construction of the Red River Valley Museum on the Vernon campus. In February 1987 the College played its first intercollegiate baseball game on the Vernon campus. During May of that year, the new Natatorium was opened in the King Physical Education Center. A newly constructed Athletic Dormitory opened to house 28 athletes in August 1988. In October, Trustees voted to add women’s volleyball as a varsity sport, effective with the fall 1989 semester. In May 1989 Vernon College moved all Wichita Falls programs to one centralized location—Century City Center. Since the College opened its doors 38 years ago, many individuals, corporations, foundations, and organizations have made an investment in our students through the creation of endowed and annual scholarships. As of this year, more than 100 scholarship funds are available to help students pursue their educational dreams.VERNON COLLEGE PHILOSOPHY: Vernon College is a constantly evolving institution, dedicated primarily to effective teaching and regional enhancement. With this dedication to teaching and to the community, the College encourages open inquiry, personal and social responsibility, critical thinking, and life-long learning for students, faculty, and other individuals within its service area. The College takes as its guiding educational principle the proposition that, insofar as available resources permit, instruction should be adapted to student needs. This principle requires both flexibility in instructional strategies and maintenance of high academic standards. Strong programs of assessment and accountability complement this educational principle. VC accepts the charge of providing a college atmosphere free of bias, in which students can exercise initiative and personal judgment, leading to a greater awareness of personal self-worth. It strives to provide every student with opportunities to develop the tools necessary to become a contributing, productive member of society.
Vision
VERNON COLLEGE VISION: Vernon College will promote a culture of success for our students and communities through learner-centered quality instructional programs and exemplary services.
Values
VERNON COLLEGE VALUES: Vernon College promotes a culture of success through our shared values and commitment to:
Accessibility
Accountability
Building Relationships
Diversity
Inclusion
Innovation
Leadership
Quality
Student Success
Teamwork
Our values define who we are and guide us in conducting our business every day. Our values are our morals – what is important to us at our college.
Mission
VERNON COLLEGE MISSION The mission of Vernon College is teaching, learning, and leading. Vernon College is a comprehensive community college that integrates education with opportunity through our instructional programs and student support services by means of traditional and distance learning modes. Therefore, to fulfill its mission, the College will provide access, within its available resources, to:
Career technical/workforce programs up to two years in length leading to associate degrees or certificates;
Career technical/workforce programs leading directly to employment in semi-skilled and skilled occupations;
Freshman and sophomore courses in arts and sciences, including the curricula leading to associate and baccalaureate degrees;
Ongoing adult education programs for occupational upgrading or personal enrichment;
Compensatory education programs designed to fulfill the commitment of an admissions policy allowing the enrollment of disadvantaged students; ;
A continuing program of counseling and guidance designed to assist students in achieving their individual educational goals;
Career technical/workforce development programs designed to meet local and statewide needs;
Support services for educational programs and college-related activities;
Adult literacy and other basic skills programs for adults; and
Other To help prospective and current students, faculty, and staff locate important information about Vernon College, this webpage provides links to helpful information on a variety of government mandated and consumer information. Examples are academic programs, cost of attendance, financial aid, safety and security, and institutional financial reports. Vernon College’s presentation of this information complies with the Higher Education Act, as amended, and implementing regulations.