Student Parent Resources

Student Parent Scholarship Program

The Victoria Buffum Single Parent Scholarship is designed to provide year-long comprehensive support to CCV student parents that helps them build and maintain the momentum they need to meet their academic goals.

Take 8 to Graduate! The structure of this scholarship is grounded in research indicating students who take 8 classes a year keep going and get to graduation sooner. Conversely, students who take only 1-2 courses a semester take years to earn an associate degree. Many of these students don’t make it. They lose motivation, life gets in the way, and they drop out.

As parents, we know you are balancing a lot and full-time enrollment can be a challenge. We can’t increase the number of hours in a day, but these scholarships can give you more time to focus on your coursework by providing the extra support you need to work less or pay for childcare. When you take more classes, you are building momentum and getting to your goals sooner.

The Victoria Buffum Single Parent Scholarship incentivizes and rewards full-time enrollment. Students can receive up to $3,000 if they complete 24 credits over the course of three semesters or even $3,600 if they complete 30 credits. We made changes to the scholarship structure recently to increase both access to this scholarship along with added flexibility for busy single parents. Rather than require full-time enrollment for fall and spring semesters, students have the flexibility to complete the equivalent of full-time enrollment over the course of three semesters: fall, spring, and summer.

To learn more about this scholarship program, join Liz Jarvis, CCV’s Resource Access Manager, on any of the following dates for a virtual Q&A session. Each session attendee will be entered into a raffle for a free CCV hoodie!

• August Q&A: Monday, August 12 at 1:00pm: Register Here

Scholarship Benefits

Students selected for this program will receive:

• Two scholarships of $600 during the semester, for up to two consecutive semesters, for a total of $2,400.
• An additional $600 bonus scholarship awarded for completing 24 credits (8 classes) within an academic year (fall semester through summer semester) for a total of $3,000 in scholarships.
• If 24 credits are completed by the end of spring semester AND an additional 6 credits are taken in the following summer (30 credits in an academic year), another $600 bonus scholarship will be awarded (totaling $3,600).
• Access to a Laptop Loaner Program during scholarship participation.
• Access to free one-credit classes to earn 21st Century Skills Badges and show employers that you have the skills to be successful in the workplace,
• Additional support from CCV’s Resource Access Manager,
• Two engagement activities per semester with opportunities for connection, community, and learning.

Scholarship Disbursement Schedule

Scholarships will be awarded in the following amounts, at the indicated points during the semester when they meet scholarship conditions:

1. Fall 5th week: $600 awarded IF still meeting enrollment requirements.
2. Fall 14th week: $600 IF still enrollment requirements AND have registered for spring semester.
3. Spring 5th week: $600 awarded IF still meeting enrollment requirements.
4. Spring 14th week: $600 awarded IF still meeting enrollment requirements AND have registered for summer or fall semester.
5. Spring Bonus: At the 14th week of class, an extra $600 (total $1,200) awarded IF total credits since fall are equal to or greater than 24 credits (8 total classes in two consecutive semesters).
6. Summer Bonus: If Spring Bonus was not received, at the 14^th week of class, an extra $600 awarded IF total credits since fall are equal to or greater than 24 credits (8 total classes in two consecutive semesters). If Spring Bonus was received, at the 14^th week of class, another $600 awarded total credits since fall are equal to or greater than 30 credits.

Victoria Buffum Single Parent Scholarship Eligibility Requirements

This program, generously funded by the Vermont Community Foundation, provides financial support to CCV students who are single parents. To be considered eligible for this program, the student must:

• Be a single parent and meet ALL the following conditions:
  • Be either legally separated, divorced, widowed, OR unmarried, AND
  • Be the parent of at least one child that has been born prior to application date, AND
  • Have at least 50% custody of their child(ren), AND
  • Be the parent that their child(ren) lives with at least 50% of the time.
• Be a degree or certificate-seeking CCV student enrolled at least half-time (6 credits per semester by application deadline.
• Complete the FAFSA and Vermont Grant Application.
• Remain academically eligible for financial aid during participation.
• Must not currently be in student loan default.

Application Process

The online applications opens each summer for the upcoming academic year (fall and spring semester only). Each summer, links to this online application will be emailed to CCV students that have filled out the FAFSA indicating that they are single parents AND registered for fall semester. Students will be given an application deadline in the email by which they’ll need to register and have completed the online application.

2024-2025 scholarship applications closed on August 22, 2024.

Tiered Priority

All CCV student parents that are enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program and that are either single parents or have childcare costs may apply for this scholarship program, but priority will be given according to:

• Income: First priority will be given to students with household income at or under 125% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and second priority will be given to students with household income at or under 185% FPL.
• Good Academic Standing: Priority will be given to students maintaining a grade point average of 2.5 or higher in previous semesters.
• First-Come, First-Serve: After the above conditions are met, remaining decisions will be made based on application submission date.