Career and Technical Certificates (CTC)

Career and Technical Certificate (CTC) programs are job preparatory programs through which a student receives a vocational certificate upon completion of instruction. A CTC consists of a series of clock hour courses that prepare students for entry level employment in specific career fields.

Students will be assessed tuition by the clock-hour, and transcripts will reflect the clock-hours attended instead of “credits.”

See information regarding students who are receiving VA benefits.

Clock Hour Programs

Definition

Certain vocational programs of study are considered to be clock hour programs for Title IV purposes. A program is considered to be a clock hour program if it meets the following:

• The program must measure student progress in clock hours to receive state or federal approval or licensure;
• The completion of clock hours is required for graduates to apply for approval to practice applicable occupation.

Financial Aid

Students enrolled in clock hour programs, who earned a standard high school diploma or equivalent, may be eligible for financial aid including: Pell Grants, SEOG Grants, work study, scholarships, Direct Loans, and the Florida Student Assistance Grant. Not all programs are eligible for financial aid. See the “Programs and Admission Requirements” listing for eligible programs.

Financial Aid Payment Periods and Disbursement Procedure

Financial aid for students enrolled in clock hour programs will be disbursed based on clock hours rather than on semester credit hours and will be divided in to two or more payments depending on the length of the program. A payment period is defined as clock hours and weeks of instructional time. Students must successfully complete the clock hours and the weeks of instructional time in a payment period to progress to the next payment period.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students enrolled in clock hour programs will have satisfactory academic progress (SAP) evaluated at the end of each payment period. At the time of review, students must have successfully completed both the clock hours and weeks of instructional time required for the payment period. Maximum Time Frame is measured in cumulative clock hours required to complete the program and expressed in calendar time. (Note that a student in a clock hour program cannot receive aid for hours beyond those in the program; the maximum time frame applies to the amount of calendar time the student takes to complete those hours.)

For example, if the program is 1200 clock hours and meets 30 clock hours per week, that means the program is 40 weeks in length. 150% of 40 weeks is 60 weeks. A student may receive aid while enrolled in this program for up to 60 weeks to complete the 1200 clock hours required for graduation.

Clock Hour Class Attendance

1. No more than 10% of class time may be considered excused absences that are not required to be made up. An instructor may follow a stricter policy in his/her class.
2. If a student needs to make up hours beyond the 10% excused absence policy, make-up clock hours must be completed under instructor supervision by the last published class date for the completion period. Makeup hours must be recorded on the Clock Hour Program Make Up Timesheet Form, signed by the instructor, and submitted to the Office of Financial Aid.
3. Attendance Records: instructors must take attendance; they must be able to prove attendance by documented evidence.

Testing

Some programs require the student to take the TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education) and meet minimum cutoff scores in reading, language, and mathematics prior to graduating with the certificate. Law Enforcement and Corrections programs require the Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test (BAT.) Check the “Programs and Admission Requirements” listing for test requirements.

Veterans

Veterans enrolled in CTC programs may be eligible to receive benefits. Please contact the Military & Veterans Services office to determine eligible programs. Veterans certified under a CTC program will be certified to the VA in clock hours per week instead of credit hours per term. If a program is measured in clock hours, benefits are paid based on clock hours of attendance per week. The beginning date, ending date, and number of clock hours a student is scheduled to attend each week must be reported. If clock hours per week vary and the benefit amount is affected, the variance must be reported for calendar weeks, Sunday through Saturday, between the beginning and ending dates.

Full-time measurement is 18 clock hours if classroom instruction predominates and 22 clock hours if shop practice predominates. The clock hour measurement for all approved programs measured and paid by clock hours is listed in WEAMS (Web Enabled Approval Management System).

Rate of Pursuit (for Chapter 33 Post 9/11)

VA will convert clock hours to credit and then calculate rate of pursuit. The monthly housing allowance is paid if rate of pursuit is more than 50%. Estimated amounts are in the table below. Please remember that the VA Regional Processing Office makes final determinations regarding payments.

Rate of Pursuit

Percentage	Shop Predominates	Theory Predominates
100%	22 clock hours or more	18 clock hours or more
90%	19 - 21 clock hours	16 - 17 clock hours
80%	17 - 18 clock hours	14 - 15 clock hours
70%	15 - 16 clock hours	12 - 13 clock hours
60%	13 - 14 clock hours	10 - 11 clock hours

Training Time, All Other Chapters (30, 32, 35, 1606, and 1607)

Clock hour training time for all other chapters is measured as follows:

Training Time

Status	Shop Predominates	Theory Predominates
Full	22 clock hours or more	18 clock hours or more
3/4	16 - 21 clock hours	13 - 17 clock hours
1/2	11 - 15 clock hours	9 - 12 clock hours
Less Than 1/2 Time1	1 -10 clock hours1	1 - 8 clock hours1

¹

VA only pays tuition and fees when training time is less than ½ time.

Note: Eastern Florida State College Certificate programs prepare the student for an entry-level job in a career field. Selected courses may supplement the theoretical knowledge and skills of employed workers

Admissions

Students must complete an application for admission to Eastern Florida State College and pay the application fee. An additional application to the program may be required if it is limited access. See the "Programs and Admission Requirements” listing for specific admission requirements such as testing and high school graduation.

Graduation Requirements

Responsibility for meeting the requirements for graduation rests with the student. The Career and Technical Certificate is awarded to those students who have:

1. Applied for graduation and paid the graduation fee prior to completing the program. Satisfactorily completed all courses within the program.
2. Completed at least 25% of the clock hours required for the certificate through instruction at EFSC.
3. Achieved a cumulative GPA of 2.00 or higher in the courses that comprise the program.
4. Completed all coursework with a final grade.
   • Students with a grade of “Incomplete” will not be processed for graduation until a final grade is posted. For graduation in the term of application, the final grade must be posted within the first three weeks of the following term. If the final grade is not posted within the first three weeks of the following term, student must reapply and repay. Student may request to have the “I” converted to a permanent ‘F’ if the course is not required for the credits to graduate.
5. Submitted all outstanding transcripts and removed all financial obligations to the college. Final transcript or diploma will not be released until student has removed all financial obligations to the college.

Available Programs