Established by the North Carolina General Assembly in 2011, the Forgivable Education Loans for Service provides financial assistance to qualified students enrolled in an approved education program and committed to working in critical employment shortage professions in North Carolina. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority provides administration for the program. At High Point University eligible degree programs include the Nursing BSN.
Eligibility:
A recipient must meet the following eligibility criteria to be considered for FELS:
- Be a legal North Carolina resident and NC resident for tuition purposes
- You must complete the questionnaire on the Residency Determination System (RDS) website for the State of North Carolina at ncresidency.cfnc.org/residencyInfo/home. The RDS will ask you to provide your social security number as an identifier to be able to verify information with federal and state agencies to determine residency status. You will also be asked to provide residence information, federal and state tax return information, vehicle registration and driver’s license information. Once you start the RDS interview you will have 25 days to complete the interview, otherwise it will be cancelled and you will have to start again. Once the interview is complete the system will immediately let you know whether or not you have NC residency status. You will also receive a Residency Certification Number (RCN) that is a unique 10 digit identifier that serves as proof that you have completed residency determination. Once you have a determination made through the RDS website, it will last as long as you remain continuously enrolled at High Point University.
- RDS must be completed within 45 days of the start of the academic term for a student to receive funding.
- At the time of application, present a cumulative minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.80 for undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree
- Register with Selective Service System, if required
- Recipients must not be in default , or does not owe a refund, under any federal or state loan or grant program
- Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) accordingly to the policy of the institution
- Be willing to work in NC in a designated critical employment shortage profession
Value:
- Bachelor’s degree program Freshman and Sophomores can receive up to $3,000 annually for full-time status and $1,500 annually for part-time status (both amounts are awarded half in the Fall term and half in the Spring term) with a maximum aggregate limit of $20,000.
- Bachelor’s degree program Juniors and Seniors can receive up to $7,000 annually for full-time status and $3,500 annually for part-time status (both amounts are awarded half in the Fall term and half in the Spring term) with a maximum aggregate limit of $20,000.
Recipients must sign a promissory note agreeing to repay the loan by working in an approved position in North Carolina in their approved field of study. One loan will be forgiven for one year of full-time employment in a qualified position OR one loan will be forgiven for two years of part-time employment in a qualified position. Applications and all additional information are available online at www.CFNC.org/FELS. Application opens on the first business day in January annually. Please note that the priority application deadline is March 1st each year and funding is extremely limited.