General Student Aid Eligibility
To be eligible for Federal Student Aid funds, a student must meet the criteria listed below. The University ensures that eligibility requirements are met before the disbursement of aid occurs. A student must:
- Be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program
- Not be enrolled simultaneously in elementary or secondary school
- Have a high school diploma or recognized equivalent of a high school diploma.
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
- Have a valid Social Security Number with the Social Security Administration
- Not owe an overpayment on any Title IV funds or be in default on a Title IV educational loan unless satisfactory arrangements are made to repay or otherwise resolve the overpayment or default.
- Have not obtained loan amounts that exceed aggregate loan limits made under any Title IV loan program unless satisfactory arrangements are made.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP), as defined by the university Financial Aid Office.
- Complete the verification process, if selected to do so.
Students must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have the results sent to the University. Once the results are received by the University, they are reviewed to ensure that the student meets all eligibility criteria. If a student is deemed ineligible due to one of the above issues, the Student Financial Services team will notify the student of the steps needed to resolve the issue.
Financial Aid Programs and Assistance
The University participates in a variety of financial aid programs. Assistance may include scholarships, grants, and loans. Scholarships and grants are gift awards that do not need to be repaid. Loans are considered self-help awards, since repayment is required. The type and amounts of aid awarded depends upon the student’s financial need and the cost of attendance.
The University participates in the following Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs:
-
- Federal Direct Loan Program which includes:
Additional Assistance Options
Non-FSA assistance may be available to students. Click on the link below for additional information:
University Payment Plan and Fees
| Description of University Fees |
Fee Amounts |
| Returned Check Fee |
$25.00 |
| Declined Credit Card Fee |
$25.00 |
Application and Forms
The financial aid process begins when a student submits their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.studentaid.gov using the institution’s school code. Each applicant requesting federal financial aid must have a current and valid Institutional Student Information Report (ISIR) on file with the University and the U.S. Department of Education which is the output of a successfully submitted FAFSA.
The student financial services department will use ISIR information including the applicants Student Aid Index (SAI) to determine eligibility for all Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs. SAI has replaced the Expected Family Contribution as a formal evaluation of a student’s estimated financial resources to contribute toward their postsecondary education for a specific award year.
A FAFSA is required for each award year in which a student wishes to receive aid, but in some cases, an ISIR may be used for multiple academic years. As a best practice, students should complete a FAFSA annually as the new year’s FAFSA becomes available, typically October 1st.
Master Promissory Note (MPN)
The Master Promissory Note (MPN) is a legal document in which you promise to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees to the U.S. Department of Education. It also explains the terms and conditions of your loan(s).
In order to be eligible to receive a Direct loan, a borrower must sign an MPN which may be done by visiting the www.studentaid.gov web site.
Under the multi-year feature of the MPN for Direct loans, students can obtain additional loans without having to sign a new MPN for each academic year. However, a new MPN will be required at the University in the following situations:
- No disbursements were made on the MPN within 12 months of the date the borrower signed the MPN or
- Ten years have passed since the date the student signed the MPN; if a portion of the loan is made on or before the ten-year limit on the signature date, remaining disbursements of that loan can be made
The institution can refuse to certify a student’s loan application on a case-by-case basis, if the reason is documented for its action and the office provides the reason to the student in writing.
Entrance Counseling
Entrance counseling ensures you understand the terms and conditions of your loan and your rights and responsibilities. You’ll learn what a loan is, how interest works, your options for repayment, and how to avoid delinquency and default.
Entrance counseling is required before a borrower can receive their first disbursement of a Direct Loan or Direct PLUS Loan. The entrance counseling may remain valid for all future borrowing for the FSA program for which the counseling was completed. Students can access entrance counseling by logging in to www.studentaid.gov/entrance-counseling/ using their FSA ID.
Additional Loan counseling is required for students and/or parents borrowing Graduate PLUS or Parent PLUS loans with endorsers or adverse credit history.
Verification
Verification is the selective confirmation of certain student and parent-reported data (for dependent students). Applications are selected for verification either by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) or by the Student Financial Services (SFS) team. The Financial Aid Office verifies all applications selected by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS). Any Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) may be selected for verification, even if the prior ISIR was not selected.
On a case-by-case basis, the Financial Aid Office may institutionally select an application for verification if there is a discrepancy or a condition that is unusual and warrants review.
Estimated financial aid offers may be generated before verification as necessary. The verification process must be completed for selected applicants before any need-based Title IV aid will be disbursed. A student will receive an updated offer letter if, based on verification documentation, Title IV award amounts have changed.
Information that must be verified and the acceptable documentation for students selected for verification are determined annually and published before the start of an award year. In accordance with the new regulation, NU may verify different items from year to year.
Student Notification of Verification
Applicants selected for verification will be notified via notice of:
- The documentation needed to satisfy the verification requirements in their student portal
- The student responsibilities with respect to the verification application information, including the deadlines for completing the process and the consequences of failing to complete the process
- The notification methods if the offer letter changes as a result of verification and the time frame for such notification
- When the verification process is complete
The student must submit these documents to the Financial Aid Office in order to receive any Title IV aid for the award year. Students cannot avoid the verification process by choosing to decline a Pell Grant or Subsidized Direct loan, resulting in Unsubsidized Direct funds only.
Submission of Verification Documents
In most cases, a completed Verification Worksheet is sufficient to complete verification, when the student uses the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) available when filling out the FAFSA online. As a practice, and unless the student is selected for the verification process, the SFS team does not request Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statements with tax transcripts. W-2 forms are only requested when determining a separation of income, making a professional judgment, when the student is a nontax filer, and/or resolving conflicting data.
In the event the student has a qualified IRA rollover the University will request a written statement from the tax filer indicating the amount of the distribution that was included in the IRA rollover.
A student must submit all verification documents by the earlier of 120 days after the last day of the student’s enrollment or by the deadline published in the Federal Register (generally at the end of September following the end of the award year). Verification is considered complete when all requested documentation has been received, all errors have been corrected, and a valid ISIR is on file.
If required verification documentation is not submitted by the deadline, the student will not be eligible for any Title IV aid for the period of time the selected ISIR was used to determine eligibility.
Once a student is no longer enrolled, they may still submit verification documentation (using the deadline above) and receive a late disbursement if, during the time they were enrolled, the U.S. Department of Education had processed an ISIR with an official Student Aid Index (SAI). If the SAI changes based on the documentation received, any Pell grant award will be based on the lower SAI.
Referral of Fraud Cases
Suspicion of financial aid fraud should be reported to the Human Resources and Student & Financial Services leadership teams. The University refers for investigation to U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) any credible information indicating that a Title IV aid applicant, school employee, or third-party servicer may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with the Title IV programs.
Database Matches and Documentation
As part of processing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), student information is matched against multiple federal databases to confirm eligibility for federal aid. These matches help verify identity, citizenship, loan status, and overall eligibility for Title IV programs.
The following database matches are conducted:
- Social Security Administration (SSA): Verifies the Social Security number, name, and date of birth of applicants. Discrepancies may occur due to data entry errors or name changes.
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Confirms U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizen status.
- Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Identifies veteran status for certain benefits.
- National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS): Confirms whether the student has any fraudulent loans, is in default on a federal loan, owes a grant overpayment, has exceeded aggregate loan limits, or has an Unusual Enrollment History (UEH) flag. Aid cannot be disbursed until all NSLDS issues are resolved.
- Department of Justice (DOJ): Identifies individuals subject to a federal judgment lien or drug abuse hold, which must be satisfied before receiving additional federal aid.
- If a database match produces a comment code indicating conflicting or missing information, students may be asked to provide documentation to resolve the discrepancy. Financial aid will not be disbursed until all discrepancies are resolved. In addition, subsequent FAFSA transactions (ISIRs) are reviewed continuously, and eligibility may change if new matches or updates are received.
Student Budgets
Student budgets are an important component in the financial aid process. Standard student budgets are used to award financial aid by reflecting the cost of attendance for the average student population at a modest, but adequate, standard of living. The Student and Financial Services Team approves special budget considerations for additional costs on a case-by-case basis as covered through a Professional Judgment decision.
Direct and Indirect Costs
Students apply for financial assistance to help pay for costs related to receiving an education at the University. Some costs are direct charges such as tuition, books, and fees, while other costs are considered indirect costs such as housing, utilities, food, and other incidental personal expenses. Indirect costs are included in the student budget because they are costs a student must consider when determining the expense to attend the University. The student may apply for student financial assistance to help cover education-related expenses such as these.
Awarding/Packaging Financial Aid
The University’s institutional packaging philosophy ensures students are awarded aid from the Title IV student financial assistance programs in a consistent and equitable manner. Students are informed of the amount of Title IV aid for which they are eligible. A member from the Financial Aid Office will counsel the student regarding their rights and responsibilities. It is the student’s decision to determine the amount of student loan debt they believe is appropriate for them to cover their education costs, which may include direct and indirect costs.
Federal financial aid awards are intended to meet the student’s level of financial need. Financial aid recipients who qualify can expect to receive a Pell grant (a grant based on financial need) and scholarships first in order to reduce future loan indebtedness. The Pell grant program is available for students in an undergraduate program if the student meets all other eligibility criteria.
Packaging Overview
The combination of Title IV student financial aid programs offered to a student is referred to as packaging. Students are packaged with federal aid after all required documentation has been received, including an ISIR. An ISIR is accepted for release of payment from Title IV federal student financial aid programs when any conflicting information is resolved, additional information requested by the U.S. Department of Education in the ISIR is provided, and/or when students have completed the verification process.
Title IV federal student financial aid is awarded based on an academic year. For graduate students, the academic year is at least 18 credits and at least 30 instructional weeks. For undergraduate students, the academic year is at least 24 credits and at least 30 instructional weeks.
Professional Judgement
The FAFSA is completed using prior-prior year (two years prior) tax information that may no longer accurately reflect a student’s current financial or personal circumstances. To assist with this, institutions of higher education can leverage Professional Judgments to adjust a student’s application to more accurately reflect the student’s circumstances.
To request a Professional Judgment, a student can do the following:
- Contact their assigned Academic & Finance Counselor (AFC) via phone or email to indicate their request for a professional judgment for Unusual or Special Circumstances.
- The assigned AFC will review the student’s request and outline information that will need to be provided to support the request for Unusual or Special Circumstances.
- Students should expect to provide documentation to support their Unusual or Special Circumstances.
- Once the student provides their statement and necessary documentation, the Professional Judgment request is submitted by an AFC for review by the Financial Aid Processing Team.
- A Financial Aid Processing Specialist will then review the student’s statement and supporting documentation to determine if an adjustment is warranted.
- If approved, the student’s record will be updated to reflect the approved Professional Judgment request for the applicable Academic Year.
- If denied, the student’s record will be updated to reflect the reason for the denial.
Once a student has submitted their request and all required documentation, including their completed FAFSA form, the appeal will be reviewed within 10 business days. Timelines may vary based on time of year, complexity of the appeal, and appeal volume; appeals are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Documentation is critical throughout the Professional Judgment process. Schools must ensure that any supporting documentation collected is adequate to substantiate the student’s circumstances.
The University’s decision regarding adjustments is final and cannot be appealed unless new documentation is provided by the student for consideration.
Unusual and Special Circumstances That May Justify a Professional Judgment
Professional Judgment is an opportunity for the parent, student, or the University to account for exceptions in certain areas that might allow more financial aid eligibility. The goal of Professional Judgment is to consider whether current circumstances are hindering a student from receiving adequate financial assistance.
Special Circumstances refer to financial situations in which a Financial Aid Administrator or students may utilize Professional Judgment on a case-by-case basis to adjust specific components of a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA) or the data that was used to calculate their Student Aid Index (SAI).
Some examples of Special Circumstances that may be considered are:
- Change in employment status, income, or assets
- Change in housing status (e.g., homelessness)
- Tuition expenses at an elementary or secondary school
- Additional family members enrolled in college
- Medical, dental, or nursing home expenses not covered by insurance
- Child or dependent care expenses
- Severe disability of the student or other member of the student’s household
- Other changes or adjustments that impact the student’s costs or ability to pay for college
- Documentation may include (but is not limited to) the following:
- Written explanations of the special circumstances being experienced by the student and/or parent(s)
- Copies of third-party letters or testimonials
- Copies of receipts, bills, and/or payroll statements
- A documented interview between the student and the financial aid administrator
- Submission of a court order or official federal or state documentation that the student or the student’s parents or legal guardians are incarcerated
- A documented phone call or written statement, which confirms the unusual circumstances
Limits on the use of Professional Judgment
Professional Judgment may not be used to modify the SAI formula tables used in the SAI calculation.
Professional Judgment also may not be used to waive general student eligibility requirements or to avoid the intent of the law or regulations.
Dependency Override
Dependency Override is the process through which a student can appeal to have the dependency status as determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) overridden due to unusual circumstances.
National University Financial Aid Processing has the authority to exercise Dependency Overrides based upon unusual circumstances on a case-by-case basis.
Unusual Circumstances refer to the conditions that justify an institution making an adjustment to a student’s dependency status based on a unique situation (more commonly referred to as dependency override).
Dependency Override Criteria & Process
Circumstances That May Justify a Dependency Override
Following are some examples for which a student may request a Dependency Override:
- Victims of human trafficking
- Students legally granted refugee or asylum status
- Students voluntarily or involuntarily removed from the parents’ home
- Parental abandonment or estrangement
- Parental incarceration
Other students will continue to qualify as independent on their FAFSA form and are not required to provide parental information if they are one or more of the following:
- Were an orphan at the age of 13 or older
- Were a ward of the court
- Are or were in foster care
- Were an emancipated minor or in a legal guardianship as determined by a court in the student’s state of legal residence
- Are an unaccompanied homeless youth or are unaccompanied at risk of homelessness and self-supporting.
Please note that requesting a dependency override does not guarantee approval.
Limits on the use of Dependency Override
Dependency Override does not apply to situations in which parents refuse to financially contribute to the student’s education, are unwilling to provide their information, do not claim the student as an income tax dependent, or for a student who demonstrates total self-sufficiency. In addition, the fact that a student’s parents live in another country does not qualify as an unusual circumstance.
Processing Requests for Dependency Override
Student requests for Dependency Override should be submitted by the student to the Student Financial Services team.
To request a Dependency Override, a student can do the following:
- Contact their assigned Academic & Finance Counselor (AFC) via phone or email to indicate their request for a dependency override.
- The assigned AFC will review the student’s request and outline information that will need to be provided to support the request.
- Students should expect to provide documentation to support their request.
- Once the student provides their statement and necessary documentation, the request is submitted by an AFC for review by the Financial Aid Processing Team.
- A Financial Aid Processing Specialist will then review the student’s statement and supporting documentation to determine if an override is warranted.
- If approved, the student’s record will be updated to reflect the approved override request for the applicable Academic Year.
- If denied, the student’s record will be updated to reflect the reason for the denial.
Once a student has submitted their request and all required documentation, including their completed FAFSA form, the appeal will be reviewed within 10 business days. Timelines may vary based on time of year, complexity of the appeal, and appeal volume; appeals are reviewed on a first come first serve basis. Documentation is critical throughout the review process. Schools must ensure that any supporting documentation collected is adequate to substantiate the student’s circumstances.
Disbursement Process
Return of Title IV Funds
Title IV funds are awarded to a student under the assumption the student will attend the University during the entire period for which the assistance was awarded.
The University is required to determine whether any Title IV funds must be returned to the Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs when a student does not complete the period of enrollment in which the student is currently enrolled. For example, due to a student’s withdrawal from the University, the University dismissing a student, not participating in a course for more than 28 consecutive days, or a student transferring to a substantially different program.
The percentage of earned and unearned portions of Title IV aid is calculated based upon the scheduled number of days in the period of enrollment and the date either in which the student withdrew from the University or when the student ceased participating in their course work for more than 28 consecutive days. For purposes of determining the percentage of Title IV aid earned, the date of withdrawal is determined to be the last date the student participated in a course. For students who have ceased participating in their course for more than 28 consecutive days, the University will record in the Return of Title IV calculation worksheet, as the date of determination, the 14th day after the last date the student participated in an academic-related activity.
As mandated by the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the Return of Title IV calculation determines what portion of Title IV funds, whether disbursed or could have been disbursed, that can be used to pay institutional and non-institutional charges.
For students subject to a Return of Title IV calculation, the calculation accounts for the initial charges that are assessed for the period of enrollment. Initial charges may only be adjusted by those changes the University makes prior to the student’s withdrawal (for example, dropping a course unrelated to a withdrawal).
The following Title IV aid programs in which the University participates are covered in the Return of Title IV calculation and are referred to as the Title IV aid programs:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Direct Loan (subsidized and unsubsidized)
- Federal Direct PLUS Loan (for parents of dependent students and graduate students)
- Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant
If the calculation results in the return of funds, those funds will be returned first to the federal loan programs. If the remaining amount exceeds the amount of the loan disbursements, the remaining amount will be returned to the federal grant programs. The order, in which Title IV aid is returned, if required, is as follows:
|