Financial Aid Financial Aid Financial Aid and Eligibility Criteria 1. Citizenship—Students must be: U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, U.S. Permanent Residents, or refugees with an 1-94 record. All permanent residents must have valid ID cards from the U.S. Government. 2. Application—Students must establish their financial need by means of the appropriate financial aid applications which may be secured from the Office of Financial Aid or High School Counselor. ACT Family Financial Statement (FFS) is the preferred application. After students have properly completed and sent in their FFS form, they will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) in the mail. This report must be brought in to the Financial Aid Office at WSC in order to be processed for financial aid. 3. Priority Deadline—May 1st is the priority deadline for submitting the SAR to the Financial Aids Office. Students submitting the SAR after May 1st may find that some funding sources are depleted. 4. Matriculation—Students must either be enrolled or be accepted for enrollment (matriculated) at Weber State College. 5. Academic Eligibility—A student must maintain the academic standards of the institution (listed on pages 6-7) in order to receive Federal funding. Students suspended from the institution will be eligible for financial aid when they are either reinstated through the appeal procedure, or have absented themselves from the institution for a period of one year, as the policy dictates, and have then applied for readmission to the College. 6. Progress Eligibility—In addition to maintaining academic standards a student must satisfactorily complete— receive grades other than I, W, UW, NC, E and Audit—a specified number of hours as outlined below. a. Criteria - Freshmen will be required to complete at least 75 percent of the hours that qualify them as either full-time, three-quarter, or half-time financially-aided students. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be required to satisfactorily complete 100 percent of the hours that qualify them as full-time, three-quarter, or half-time financially-aided students. For the purpose of Financial Aids, students are classified according to the following schedule: Undergraduate Students: Full-time = 12 (or more) credit hours Three-quarter time = 9 credit hours Half-time = 6 credit hours Not eligible = 5 credit hours or fewer Graduate Students: Full-time students - 6 or more credit hours Not eligible - 5 credit hours or fewer A student might satisfactorily complete fewer hours than required resulting in minus credit hours which could lead to a loss of financial aid eligibility. Example: A full-time student carrying 15 credit hours would have to satisfactorily complete at least 12 hours to avoid receiving minus credit hours. If the student satisfactorily completes only 10 hours, that student would receive two minus credit hours and would be placed on financial aid warning status as explained in (b) through (e). b. Eligibility Status For freshmen and sophomores: Warning = 1 to 6 minus credit hours (or credit hours fewer than those that qualified them as full, three-quarter or half-time). Probation = 7 to 12 minus credit hours Suspension = 13 or more minus credit hours For juniors and seniors: Warning = 1 to 3 minus credit hours Probation = 4 to 6 minus credit hours Suspension = 7 or more minus credit hours Note: Students will be allowed one quarter on probation, even if their first quarter deficit is greater than the suspension criteria identified above. Suspension refers to suspension from financial aid eligibility, as opposed to suspension from WSC. Students continue on Warning/ Probation until they either: (1) reduce their minus hours to zero; or (2) increase their minus hours and are suspended. c. Reinstatement - Students suspended from financial aid eligibility can regain eligibility by: (1) Continuing their enrollment without financial aid, and reducing their credit-hour deficiency to zero. (2) Remaining out of school for one year or more. Upon readmission they would be eligible for aid on a probationary status. Their aid would continue on probation as long as they reduce their credit-hour deficit by at least one credit hour each quarter until they are back in good standing (zero deficit). Note: Financially-aided students must apply for financial aid each year, and those meeting the need criteria will be eligible to continue receiving aid as long as they also meet the progress criteria outlined above. Satisfactory progress of financially-aided students will be tracked by the Eligibility Office, and students will be notified quarterly of their status. d. Repeat Courses - Courses being repeated do not count toward the total credit-hour load for financial aid eligibility. e. Remedial Courses — Students who are required to register for remedial (non-degree) courses may count the credit hours for those courses toward their total credit-hour load for financial aid eligibility as long as they are passed at a satisfactory level (C- or better). 7. Major Program— Students reaching sophomore status (45 or more hours) must declare an academic major and should begin enrolling in appropriate courses leading to completion of that program. 8. Maximum Eligibility — Undergraduate students lose their eligibility for continued financial aid when they: (a) have graduated with a Bachelor's degree; or (b) have been given aid for sixteen quarters as a full-time student or the equivalent as a part-time student, or any combination thereof. For example: Half-time students will be eligible General Information for 32 quarters of aid as long as they meet all other criteria. Students are further advised that although the Financial Aid Office will assist, advise, and consult, the student is solely responsible for the completion of the appropriate financial aid application. It is solely the responsibility of the student to provide copies of a valid Student Aid Report (SAR) to the Financial Aid Office. Even though May 1st is the priority deadline, Student Aid Reports (SAR) and supporting documents received by the Office of Financial Aid on or before July 15th will assure students of receiving available funding awards or checks in time for Autumn registration. SAR's received later than July 15th will be processed as quickly as possible but with no assurance that awards or checks will be ready for Autumn Registration. Financial Aid Waiver Request Procedure Students who are denied initial granting or continuance of Financial Aid, and who feel their denial was based on an error or misunderstanding, may request eligibility by exception by the following steps: 1. Request an interview with a Financial Aid administrator, 2. Write a letter addressed to the Financial Aid Committee, explaining their circumstances, and turn this letter in at the Financial Aid office. The Financial Aid Committee meets on an "as needed" basis. The Committee action will be reported to appealing students through the Financial Aid Office. Financial Aid Programs The financial aid programs of grants, loans, and work opportunities available to eligible students are identified and described as follows: College Work-Study (CWS) Students may be eligible to work part-time to earn part of their education expenses if they are enrolled at least half-time as an undergraduate or graduate student and have demonstrated financial need as determined by the FFS or the Federal application. The Financial Aid Office arranges jobs on campus or off campus with public or private non-profit agencies. Career Services handles the posting of work-study job openings and referring students to the positions. If students are found to be eligible, they may be employed for as many as twenty (20) hours a week as determined by their award. In arranging a job and determining how many hours a week students may work under this program, the financial aid officer will take into consideration: (1) their need for financial assistance; (2) their class schedule; and (3) their health and academic progress. In general, the salary received is at least equal to the current minimum wage. Stafford Loan (formerly Guaranteed Student Loan - GSL) Students may apply for a loan if they are enrolled or have been accepted for enrollment in a degree or certificate program. A student who is enrolled on at least a half-time basis may borrow a maximum of $2,625 per academic year for freshmen and sophomores, $4,000 for juniors and seniors, and $7,500 for graduate and professional students. The total aggregate maximum amount for undergraduates is $17,250 and $54,750 for cumulative undergraduate and graduate study. The interest rate under current regulations does not exceed nine (9) percent. Current regulations require a need analysis for all Stafford applicants. A need analysis application approved by the Secretary for use in the campus-based programs (Perkins loan, SEOG, CWS) must be used to determine the family contribution for all Stafford applicants. The Financial Aid Office will not certify a Stafford application for any student who is in default on a previous education loan (NDSL, PLUS, Stafford, SLS, etc) or who owes a refund on a grant (PELL, SEOG, SSIG) received for attendance at ANY institution. It is the student's responsibility to submit the certified loan application to his/her lender. This loan is guaranteed by the State and insured by the Federal Government.This loan must be repaid. Payments begin six months after the student graduates or drops below half-time. The borrower may be allowed up to ten years to repay the loan. Minimum repayment amount is $600 per year depending on the size of the debt. Students may be granted payment deferments - up to 24 months while seeking and unable to find employment; up to three years while serving in the Armed Forces, Peace Corps, full time volunteer under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, active duty member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, officer of the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service, or pursuing a full-time course of study at an eligible institution, etc. Interest shall accrue and be paid during periods of deferment. For details about these and additional deferments, application forms, information on Supplemental Loans for Students (SLS) and PLUS loans, contact the Financial Aid Office, or your commercial lender. Pell Grant Regularly enrolled and matriculated students may be eligible for Pell Grants as determined by their need analysis (Student Aid Report) if they are an undergraduate enrolled for at least six credit hours. The authorized maximum Pell Grant is 60% of the eligible students' cost of education or $2100.00, whichever is less. A program of instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), that is necessary to enable a student to use existing knowledge, training or skills, qualifies for Pell if the student is otherwise eligible. Student Services Interdisc. Programs Allied Health Sciences Arts& Humanities Business & Economics Education Natural Sciences Social Sciences Technology 10 11 Continuing Education