Microsoft Office Specialist

Financial Aid

Every day students are looking for ways to finance their education. One way to meet that challenge is by attending Moraine Valley Community College. More than 42 percent of our students receive some type of financial assistance, and our Financial Aid staff helps make the process easy.

In addition, you no longer need to estimate income and tax information. You can access your tax data (and parents’ data if required) directly from the IRS portal right away. They also will have information about your Expected Family Contributions earlier, which will help you go through the college application and selection process.

The Financial Aid office offers financial aid and information for funding at the federal, state, institutional, and private agency levels. Types of aid include grants, scholarships, work-study employment, and loans.

Award Year

Fall and Spring
Graduate – 30 weeks
For financial aid purposes, the definition of an award year is important because it affects how payment periods are calculated. Moraine Valley makes financial aid awards based on the college’s semester. A student’s financial aid is calculated by semester rather than by weeks or classes attended.

Award Letter

The official document issued by the Financial Aid Office that lists all of the aid awarded to the student.

Census Date

The census date, also known as the Pell Recalculation Date (PRD), is the last day for students to add or drop courses before ”locking in” their enrollment status for Pell Grant awarding purposes. Moraine Valley Community College uses the award period census date for all students who attend classes at the start of the semester. For students who begin attending classes after the term has started or have unknowingly been dropped from their classes and are attending anyway (not officially enrolled), the census date will be the date the Pell Grant is first calculated and disbursed.

FAFSA

The federal aid application. This must be completed by all students who want to be considered for financial aid at Moraine Valley. This application is free. You should never pay a third party to complete this application on your behalf.

Financial Aid Package

The total financial aid a student receives. The package may include federal and nonfederal aid such as grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships. These are combined in a “package” to help meet the student’s need.

Financial Need

The difference between the Cost of Attendance and the Estimated Family Contribution. This amount is your total eligibility for aid from all sources and is used to determine what your aid package will be.

Grant

A type of financial aid award based on need or merit that is not repaid by the student.

Guaranty Agency

The organization that administers the Federal Stafford Loan and Federal PLUS Loan programs in your state. The federal government sets loan limits and interest rates, but each state can set its own additional guidelines, within federal regulations.

Guaranty Fee

An insurance premium deducted from the borrower’s loan proceeds prior to disbursement and paid to the guaranty agency that ensures the loan. By law, the fee cannot exceed 1 percent of the loan amount.

Lender

A financial institution (bank, savings, and loan or credit union) that provides the funds for students and parents to borrow educational loans.

Needs Analysis

A process of reviewing a student’s aid application to determine the amount of financial aid a student is eligible to receive. Completing a needs analysis form (FAFSA) is the required first step in applying for most types of financial aid.

Origination Fee

A fee charged by the federal government and deducted from loan proceeds before disbursement to partially offset administrative costs of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

Pell Grant

A federal grant program for first-time undergraduates with financial need.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The policy of measuring quantitative, qualitative and maximum academic progress for financial aid eligibility. If a student fails to meet the minimum standards required by this policy, the financial aid award to that student is canceled.

Subsidized Loan

A need-based loan on which the interest is paid by the federal government during the in-school, grace and deferment periods.

Unmet Need

The amount of financial aid eligibility that is not met with financial aid awards.

Advance your career as a Microsoft Office Specialist

This program prepares students for careers in administrative support and first-line supervision.

Depending upon a student’s area of concentration, graduates will qualify for positions as an administrative assistant, legal office assistant, medical secretary, graphics and desktop publisher, web design assistant or office manager.
Students completing this program are expected to possess excellent keyboarding, proofreading and document-formatting skills. This includes: advanced computer application skills, strong communication skills, broad administrative support skills, excellent interpersonal skills, flexibility and professionalism. Students completing this program may be expected to supervise lower-level clerical staff.

Potential careers as a Microsoft Office Specialist

The Microsoft Office Specialist Certificate prepares you for roles that rely on strong computer application skills across a variety of industries, including business, healthcare, education and government. Graduates are prepared for positions where proficiency in Microsoft Office tools is essential. In these roles, you’ll use Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook to manage documents, organize data, create presentations and support daily operations.

Employment Outlook

About 354,000 openings for secretaries and administrative assistants are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Students with Previous Work Experience

• Get resume help
• Participate in mock interviews and internships on campus
• Explore business communication classes that help you navigate the professional world