GCC to host information sessions on low-interest Federal Direct Stafford Loans Nov. 4 at Locust Grove and Nov. 11 at Massaponax

Germanna Community College will offer Federal Direct Stafford Loans beginning with the spring 2011 semester. Federal Direct Stafford Loans are offered through the Department of Education and are being offered as a responsible alternative to private borrowing.

Click here for YouTube video about White House Community College Summit.

Direct loans are intended to help students and their families offset the rising cost of college tuition. Currently, Germanna offers several types of financial aid to our students including grants, scholarships, work study programs, and private student loans. The college is now able to offer Stafford loans, as well for those students who need additional financial aid to meet their educational expenses.

Stafford Loans have lower interest rates, longer repayment terms, deferment and forbearance options as well as early loan forgiveness for graduates working in public service.

For more information, click here. Or attend one of the following Information Sessions:

• Thursday, 11/4 at the Locust Grove Campus 10 a.m.-11 a.m. or 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Room 202

• Monday, 11/8 at the Fredericksburg Area Campus 10 a.m.-11 a.m. or 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Room 212

Previewing new jobs plan, president calls community colleges "America's most underappreciated asset"

In speech today, Obama says community colleges are key to retooling America's economy for long-term prosperity ... click below to watch video

Speaking at Lehigh Carbon Community College in Allentown, Pa. on Friday, Dec. 4, President Obama touted the decline in unemployment and said that community colleges like Germanna, which offer affordable, accessible degrees and job training, will play an important role in his plan to turn the economy around.

GERMANNA OPENS DANIEL CENTER TO PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TUESDAY FOR GIANT-SCREEN VIEWING OF INAUGURATION

How to share the excitement of Inaugural experience with a crowd and stay warm? Watch it on big screens at Germanna...



Germanna Community College is opening its Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper to public school students from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday so that they may watch the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama on the big screens in the center's main hall.

Germanna students are invited to watch the historic event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on big screens at the Locust Grove Campus and at the Fredericksburg Campus' Sealy Auditorium.

YOUNG PEOPLE PUT OBAMA OVER THE TOP-- AND PRESIDENT-ELECT HAS PROMISED TO HELP MAKE COLLEGE MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THEM, OTHERS

A record turnout by young voters may have put Barack Obama over the top.

MSNBC reports that young voters preferred Obama over John McCain by 68 percent to 30 percent — the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976.

And InsideHigherEd.com reports that that support may be rewarded with easier access to higher education, with special emphasis on aid to community colleges like Germanna:

[Obama said] that he worried about the challenges families faced paying for college. Included in his college access plans:

A fully refundable tax credit to cover the first $4,000 in college costs — enough for two years of community college tuition in most cases — for everyone. The only requirement would be 100 hours of public service a year; this could be performed in the summer or between semesters.


Simplification of federal aid applications. (There has been some progress on this issue, which attracts bipartisan support, since Obama spoke on it and prior to the election.)
A pledge to keep Pell Grant maximums rising at the level of inflation or higher if possible.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES: Obama has proposed a new grant program that would provide funds to community colleges to conduct more thorough analysis of the types of skills and technical education that are in high demand from students and local businesses; to create new associate of arts degree programs that cater to emerging careers; and to reward institutions that graduate more students and also increase their numbers of transfer students to four-year institutions.

OBAMA: "IT'S TIME TO CALL UPON OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGES ONCE AGAIN" TO HELP JUMP START U.S. ECONOMY

The two candidates most likely to face off in this fall's presidential election, Barack Obama and John McCain, both say community colleges must play a key role in preparing American workers to compete in an evolving global economy...
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