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Interstate Passport
Aerial view of campus

Aerial view of campus

At Miles Community College, we have a great way for students to transfer to select out-of-state institutions. The Interstate Passport® Program at MCC allows you to transfer your general education credits to any other network-member institution as a block instead of credit-by-credit. You can save time and money by completing the Passport at MCC if you plan to attend a college or university from one of the participating institutions to which you have been accepted. Visit interstatepassport.wiche.edu/institute for colleges and universities within the network or visit interstatepassport.wiche.edu for more information



    A Passport awarded by Miles Community College signifies that you have not only completed your lower-division general education requirements here, but will be recognized as having completed the lower-division general education requirements of every other school participating in the Interstate Passport Network.

    The Passport is accepted by other Network schools because it means you have achieved the general education learning outcomes that all Network schools agree are important as a foundation for upper-division coursework, career, and civic life, even though the courses and credits may be different. It is also a milestone of completion representing approximately 25-30% of a bachelor’s degree.

    Our school has created a menu of course options that meet our own lower-division general education requirements and, at the same time, cover the areas that all of the Interstate Passport Network schools have agreed are important in general education. You must earn a C or better in each course you apply to your Passport. Contact Carla Cummins at Registrar@milescc.edu for more information.

    With a Passport, you will have a strong academic foundation upon which to build as you advance in your studies. Many of the skills and knowledge you acquire in earning the Passport are those sought after by employers, so documentation of that achievement may also be helpful in early work force positions.

    If you have a Passport, your lower-division general education requirements will be met at all schools that are members of the Interstate Passport Network. Each school displays the Network’s official logo on their website to let students know that their Passports will be valued there.

    Incoming transfer students with a Passport should contact the Registrar’s Office at registrar@milescc.edu for information about transferring in a Passport. Your Passport block will be accepted, but depending on the program you choose, there may be additional core classes that you will need to satisfy to earn a degree at MCC.

    Click here to find out which colleges and universities participate in this student-friendly national program. Then reach out to the student contact listed on the school’s profile of your choice or talk with one of our advisors.

    Any adjustment to Cost of Attendance is only helpful to students that are already fully funded.

    An increase to the Cost of Attendance can be done for childcare expenses, purchase of a computer, and for special equipment or supplies needed for a degree program.

    The FAFSA makes the assumption that the best estimate of a family's current financial resources is the income and resources they had in the prior year. Due to extenuating circumstances, this may not actually be the case.

    If the income information reported on the FAFSA does not adequately reflect a family's financial situation, MCC's financial aid staff has the authority to make adjustments to the FAFSA data that may result in a change to a student's aid eligibility.

    Adjustments are not made for such things like regional differences in cost of living, the purchase of a new or used vehicle or an accounting of personal income against monthly bills. All adjustments are made at the discretion of staff in the financial aid office.

     Changes in Income
    If a parent, student, or student's spouse has lost a job, retired, or otherwise had a substantial loss of income, adjustments can be made to the income figures reported on the FAFSA.

    In such a case, the student should submit an estimate of income for the academic year (July 1 through the following June 30). The estimate should include itemized amounts of unemployment benefits, severance pay, worker's compensation and any other taxable or untaxed income reported on the FAFSA.
     Out of Pocket Medical Expenses
    If a family has paid a substantial amount toward medical bills in the prior or current year, an adjustment may be made to account for this unusual expense.

    Adjustments can only be made for payments actually made by the family for after-tax expenses. It can include anything that the IRS allows to be claimed, such as doctors bills, the cost of prescriptions, medical supplies and insurance premiums paid with after-tax funds.

    It does not include bills paid by an insurance company, over the counter medication, or health insurance paid with pretax dollars (since they are already removed from income figures).
     Changes in Marital Status
    The following situations may result in a drastic change in a family's financial strength for which the financial aid staff may make changes to the FAFSA data:

    • Dependent student's parents separate or divorce
    • Student's parent or spouse dies
    • Student separates or divorces

    If one of these situations occurs, a student should write a letter with the effective date, supporting documentation (e.g. death certificate), and an accounting of which income and resources are attributed to each individual.

    If a dependent student marries after filing the FAFSA they may request reclassification to independent student status. To do so, they must be married, request the change, and have it approved before the end of the first term they receive aid in the academic year. Students who make this request will be required to provide a copy of the marriage certificate and a copy of spouse tax transcript for the year being reported on the FAFSA.

    Students who cannot answer yes to any of the dependency questions on the FAFSA can submit an appeal to the financial aid office requesting that they be declared independent. If granted, eligibility for federal aid is then based solely on the student's income.

    To have an appeal approved, there must be extenuating circumstances which prevent the student from providing parental information on the FAFSA. To have the independent status carried forward into subsequent academic years, the student must submit a letter requesting that it be renewed.

    Appeals granted to students by other colleges do not apply to MCC. The student must go through MCC's appeal process to be granted independence at MCC.

     Extenuating Circumstances
    Dependency overrides can only be granted if an extenuating circumstance exists.

    In reviewing appeals, the committee is looking for evidence that it is not reasonable to expect the student to seek out information from their parents because it would be unsafe, unhealthy, or the parents are inaccessible.

    Examples of extenuating circumstances include:

    • Physical or sexual abuse
    • Abandonment by both parents
    • History of neglect due to parental alcohol or drug abuse
    • Incarceration of the custodial parent
    • Other circumstances which prevent the student from having contact with the parents

    A parent's refusal to provide information on the FAFSA, or the fact that a student is self-supporting, in and of themselves, are not reasons for which a dependency override can be granted.
     Dependency Change Process
    A student will need to complete the FAFSA online. When asked if you would like to provide parental information, they should say they are unable to do so. This will leave the FAFSA incomplete, pending the approval of the dependency status change.

    The student will need to submit the Request for Special Circumstance/Judgement form to the financial aid office. Along with the form, at least two sources of written documentation of support need to be submitted.

    Official notification from the Director of Financial Aid with a decision will be sent within 30 days.
     Annual Renewal
    An approved dependency change is for one academic year at a time. If a student has been changed to Independent for the current year, the student will need to submit a letter requesting that the dependency change be renewed. The letter should be a confirmation that the situation that was originally documented remains unchanged.
     Denied Request Options
    If a student request for dependency change is denied, the Parent Refusal to Complete FAFSA Affidavit form is the next course of action. Students can either update their FAFSA to include parental information, or have their parent complete the affidavit.

    Submitting the affidavit limits students to receiving only the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan in the amount for which dependent students are eligible.

    30% of all students that complete a FAFSA are selected for verification. Selection is made by the US Department of Education (ED) and can occur in multiple years if an applicant meets ED's criteria. If a student is selected, the student will need to provide the required verification documents to the financial aid office before an award offer can be made.

    The financial aid office is required to ask for additional documentation if, while reviewing a student's file, there appears to be conflicting information.

    Documents required are listed on both the initial letter sent to students via US mail and the Financial Aid tab in Banner Self-Service. Links to the necessary forms are provided in the Forms & Policies section of the Financial Aid webpage.

    Additional Verification Information

     IRS Data Retrieval Tool
    As part of the verification process, students and parents may be required to submit their federal income tax return data to the financial aid office. The IRS Data Retrieval Tool allows users to transfer tax information directly from the IRS to the FAFSA. This information is then forwarded to the schools listed on the FAFSA, which in turn satisfies the requirement to provide tax data.

    Note: If after using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool a family will not see the numbers imported from the IRS. You will see Transferred from the IRS. If any information is altered after the transfer, an IRS Tax Return Transcript will be required.

    Not everyone is able to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. The alternate way of providing the required data is to submit an IRS tax return transcript.
     IRS Tax Return Transcript
    If unable to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, a copy of your IRS Tax Return Transcript will be required. A tax return transcript is a record of the tax data that is in the IRS database. For verification purposes, photocopies of the 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ are not allowed.

    For information on requesting a return transcript, refer to the IRS Retrieval and Tax Transcript Instructions.
     Identity and Educational Purpose
    To satisfy verification requirements, some students are required to confirm their identity. Students can do this by bringing current government issued photo ID, in person to the financial aid office.

    For online students and those that wish to complete before coming to campus, can do so by completing the Identity Statement of Education Purpose form. This form must be completed in front of a notary public and the original document, along with a copy of the ID presented to the notary, must be sent in the mail to the financial aid office. This form cannot be accepted via fax or scanned.