| The University has the responsibility of the stewardship of public and private funds, and reserves the right to review all U.S. public records and conduct verification before finalizing a student's eligibility for financial aid.
Students who have been selected by the U.S. Department of Education and who receive need-based financial aid and institutional assistance must undergo the verification process before their financial aid is disbursed to their student accounts. The verification process is an extensive review of the family's financial need done by examining several documents including the FAFSA, the University Financial Aid Application, federal tax returns, and other public records. Additionally, corporate tax returns, monthly income and expense statements, and non-custodial parent statements are sometimes required to complete the verification process.
All entering undergraduate students are required to undergo the verification process beginning in May, provided all required documents have been submitted. Students will receive a revised financial aid award letter if changes were made to the original aid package as a result of the verification process. Students will receive an email if no changes were made to the preliminary aid package as a result of the verification process.
All returning undergraduate students only need to submit the FAFSA. Federal tax returns should not be submitted unless requested by Student Financial Services. The unsolicited submissin of tax returns will almost certainly delay the awarding of aid to returning undergraduate students.
Financial Aid Disbursement Procedures
All financial aid is awarded for an academic year (unless otherwise specified), one-half of the award being available each semester. All awards are automatically applied to the payment of tuition, fees, room costs, and meal plans. After all such deductions have been made, any remaining balance will be refunded to the student.
Receiving Outside Educational Resources
Federal regulations and University policies require Student Financial Services to consider all sources of assistance received by a student when determining eligibility for financial aid.
Outside educational resources include, but are not limited to, Social Security Educational Benefits, Veterans Benefits, Vocational Rehabilitation benefits, payments from Bureau of Indian Affairs, Americorps, Prepayment Tuition Plans, ROTC benefits, tuition benefits from employers, and any grants and scholarships from high school, private and civic organizations, foundations, businesses, or corporations.
It is the student's responsibility to notify Student Financial Services if they will receive any assistance not reflected on their award letter. If the student will receive outside scholarships, they must go to the Finances section of the Student Center in the Student Information System (SIS) and click on "Report Other Financial Aid". If the student has not applied for financial aid, this link will will not be displayed. In this case, the student should complete the Third Party Payment Form found here.
Reductions that must be made are done in the following order: any unmet need, need-based loans, work study and then need-based grants. Every effort will be made not to reduce University grants unless required by federal or state regulations and University policy. State grants are considered outside resources, and these will be used to reduce need-based grants before need-based loans or work study are reduced.
Please Note: For Title IV Federal financial aid programs and any need-based financial aid, the total financial aid package a student receives cannot exceed the University's estimated cost of attendance.
Pending Aid: Students who report non-university awards to Student Financial Services will receive financial aid pending annotated on their student billing accounts. Actual amounts will be credited to the student's account when the award funds are received.
At some point during the academic year, if it is deemed unlikely that unreceived non-university awards fund will be received, this pending aid may be removed from a student's account.
Certification of Enrollment: Sponsoring organizations often require verification of enrollment or academic record information before scholarship payments are made to the University. Students need to contact the Office of the University Registrar to request that this information be mailed if required by the sponsoring organization.
Third-party Billing: Sponsoring organizations may also require a billing statement from the University before scholarship payments are made to the University. Students need to submit a written request to the Scholarship and Fellowship Unit in Student Accounts for a billing statement to be mailed to the sponsoring organization.
Excess Funds - Refunds
Families may or may not find that the total charges on the student's account are covered by financial aid. When the total financial aid exceeds the charges, a refund is due to the student. For PLUS loans, unless parents indicate otherwise, credits resulting from PLUS proceeds will be refunded directly to the parent, provided the amount is more than the tuition and fees charges.
Credit balances resulting from overpayment may be offset against other University debts. Remaining balances are refunded by check or direct deposit. Amounts less than $5 are not refunded unless requested.
Refunds due to students are mailed or directly deposited into their personal bank account. If students prefer to receive refund checks instead of direct deposit, it is extremely important that they maintain correct addresses in SIS to avoid any delays in receiving their checks. |
