Center for Student Engagement NewsBlast

COVID-19 Announcements & Updates
FCC fall classes are being delivered primarily online to maintain public safety. Face to face instruction and student interactions will only be conducted when it is necessary, required, and feasible to do so in a safe environment.

FCC is in Stage 2 of the FCC Roadmap to Resilience and Recovery Plan. A detailed outline of Stage 2 is available in the FCC Roadmap to Resilience and Recovery Plan, which can be found here. 

FCC spring classes will be delivered primarily online as well. 

Below are other helpful links that provide information on course formats and virtual resources. 

• Course Formats
• Virtual Resources

Other Announcements 

FCC Spring 2021 Scholarships - Have you applied for scholarships? It's not too late to do so. The FCC Foundation is still accepting applications for spring semester scholarships. To apply, click here. The application period closes at midnight on December 31, 2020.

Survey for individuals who identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender-expansive
Do you identify as transgender, non-binary, or gender-expansive? The Frederick Center and The Frederick County Health Department are conducting a survey about your experiences in Frederick County pharmacies. This survey is intended for transgender/non-binary/gender-expansive teens and adults who live in Frederick County and aims to collect data regarding their experiences at Frederick County pharmacies. This survey will help provide a better understanding of service gaps regarding trans-specific health knowledge, insurance knowledge, and welcoming practices. If you identify as transgender, non-binary, and/or gender-expansive, please consider filling out this survey by clicking here.

Bookstore Announcements

• The Bookstore remains closed for walk-in business. Click here to place your order for curbside pickup or shipping. 
• Spring textbooks are now available to purchase online - Ordering for spring opened on December 1. Financial Aid can be used as a form of payment for a period at the start of each session. Be careful when selecting your course materials and be certain to review the return policy prior to completing your order.
• Virtual Buyback - Click here. You will receive payment via Paypal or direct deposit to your account.
• New Shipping Rates - The FCC Bookstore has been able to negotiate new shipping rates and are happily passing along the savings to you. Effective Saturday, December 5, the Bookstore rates will drop from $11.95 for the first item and $1.00 for each additional item to $6.95 for the first item and $1.00 for each additional item. 
• "Deck the Halls" Holiday Sale is in Progress:
  • 25% off all t-shirts
  • 30%-40% off all outerwear
  • 35%-40% off hats and athletics
  • 40%-50% off all drinkware
  • 40%-50% off food and fun

Financial Aid Announcements

• Spring 2021 Semester
  If you are planning on enrolling in the Spring 2021 semester, and you have not already completed your 2020-2021 FAFSA, please complete your FAFSA online by clicking here as soon as possible. If you need assistance, financial aid staff are available to help you. Please email the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@frederick.edu. A staff member will reply to your email and if needed, they will schedule a Zoom meeting with you to assist.
  If you have completed your 2020-2021 FAFSA, please log into your PeopleSoft account and check to see if you have outstanding tasks. If you click on the “Student Center” tile, you will see your "to do" list on the right hand side. Financial Aid staff are responding to emails and answering phone calls Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please leave a voicemail if your phone call is not answered. It is the goal of our staff to return voicemails within 24 business hours.
• Current Students
  Current students can view financial aid awards online in PeopleSoft. If you have outstanding items on your “to do” list, students can still fax documents to 301.624.2886. If you do not have access to a fax machine, one option is to use www.faxplus.com to fax documents to our office. If you have questions about your financial aid eligibility, please email financialaid@frederick.edu. Financial Aid will continue to disburse financial aid for students as attendance is confirmed by instructors. Students will receive an email when the financial aid has been disbursed. After the funds have been disbursed, please allow up to 14 days for the refund to be posted to your BankMobile account. You will receive a second email when the funds have posted to your BankMobile account. If you have questions, please email financialaid@frederick.edu.
• Financial Aid Special Circumstance
  The 2020-2021 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is based on 2018 income information. If you (or your parents, if dependent) have had significant, involuntary changes to income since 2018, you may be eligible for a ‘Special Circumstance’ review which will allow the FCC Financial Aid Office to make changes to your FAFSA using professional judgement, as authorized by law. Only students who can benefit from such as request should apply. If you are interested in applying for this, complete the 2020-2021 Request for Special Circumstance Adjustment form.
  Please note that submission of this form is not a guarantee that your situation will qualify you for further federal or state student aid.
• 2021-2022 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
  The 2021-2022 FAFSA is available. Students and parents of dependent students should submit the 2021-2022 FAFSA prior to Maryland’s priority deadline on March 1, 2021. If you need assistance completing the FAFSA, please email financialaid@frederick.edu to let us know. The Financial Aid Office will work with students to schedule a Zoom appointment to assist with completion of the FAFSA.
• 2021-2022 Maryland State Financial Aid Application (MSFAA)
  The Maryland State Financial Aid Application (MSFAA) is available to applicants who are ineligible to receive federal aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  The MSFAA allows qualified children of undocumented immigrants, who qualify for in-state tuition under §15–106.8 of the MD Education Article, to apply and be considered for certain types of State need-based financial aid such as: the Educational Assistance Grant, the Guaranteed​ Access Grant, the Campus Based Educational Assistance Grant, the Part Time Grant, the Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship, the Near Completer Grant, the Cybersecurity Public Service Scholarship Award, the Legislative Scholarship Program, and the Richard W. Collins III Leadership with Honor Scholarship. The 2021-2022 MSFAA is available. Students should submit the 2021-2022 MSFAA prior to Maryland’s priority deadline on March 1, 2021. To access the MSFAA, students must create a MDCAPS account first. If you need assistance completing the MSFAA please email financialaid@frederick.edu to let us know. The Financial Aid Office will work with students to schedule a Zoom appointment to assist with completion of the MSFAA.
  • Note: Students should not complete both a MSFAA and a FAFSA. Students who are not sure which application to complete should create a MDCAPS account first and complete the MSFAA
• Correspondence from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) Recently, MHEC began notifying students of potential eligibility for the Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship and the Guaranteed Access (GA) Grant for the 2021-2022 academic year. Both of these state financial aid programs require students to submit certain documents to MHEC. Please add donotreply@maryland.gov to your email contacts to ensure emails from MHEC do not go to your spam or junk folder. Required documents for Maryland Promise or the GA Grant must be submitted via email to documents.mhec@maryland.gov. The deadline to submit documents for consideration of the GA Grant is April 1, 2021 and the deadline to submit documents for consideration of Maryland Promise is June 30, 2021. As a reminder, students must submit their 2021-2022 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or Maryland State Financial Aid Application (MSFAA) by 3/1/2021 for consideration of either of these programs.

The FCC STEM Learning Center is hiring Peer Tutors (Learning Assistant I) in Math, Statistics, and/or Chemistry for Spring 2021. Applicants must have earned a high school diploma and a grade of B or better in appropriate credit courses. This is a great opportunity for education or STEM majors. Training is provided. Tutoring will be conducted over Zoom. Apply by clicking here. 
 
Do you need help with childcare expenses?  The Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program supports eligible FCC students by providing increased access to affordable child care services provided by the YMCA at its downtown Frederick location (1000 N. Market Street) or at the Carl and Norma Miller Children's Center located on the main FCC campus. Student-parents who are accepted into the program will receive a voucher to help cover the cost of childcare services. The CCAMPIS program is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Click here to learn more and to apply online.  Applications must be received by January 8, 2021.  If you have questions please email, Teri Bickel, at tbickel@frederick.edu.