Office of Financial Assistance

The Application Process                                                     Student Responsibilities

 

EFC (Estimated Family Contribution)

The basic premise underlying financial aid programs is that the student and the student's family have the primary responsibility for paying for the student's post secondary education. Because the programs are intended to help students with financial need, eligibility for assistance from most of the programs is need based. Congress developed an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) formula to determine the financial strength of a student's family and the student's need for assistance. The information needed to calculate the EFC is provided on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Every student applying for Federal, State or Institutional aid must complete a FAFSA form each year.

Policies

The Office of Financial Assistance adheres to the following policies in the administration of the federal, state and institutional financial aid programs.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

The Higher Education Amendment Act of 1965, as amended, mandates institutions of higher education to establish a minimum standard of "Satisfactory Academic Progress" for students receiving financial aid. UIW makes its standard applicable to all federal, state and institutional financial assistance programs for the purpose of maintaining a consistent policy for all students receiving financial aid.

To make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), students must meet all of the following standards:

ACADEMIC STANDARDS

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA minimum requirement at the end of each academic year for all credit hours attempted at UIW:

MAXIMUM TIME FRAMES

The number of credit hours a student attempts may not exceed 125%of the number of credit hours required for graduation in his or her program of study, as published in the University catalog. That is, if the published number of hours required for graduation is 128, a student may not attempt more than 160 credit credit hours (128 x 1.25 = 160) and continue to receive financial aid. All periods of enrollment must be considered, even those for which the student did not receive financial aid as well as hours transferred in from another school. If the number of attempted hours reaches 125% of the hours required for graduation, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Attempted hours include all registered hours per semester whether or not the student earns a grade or receives credit. If the student drops a course before the 100% refund period it will not count towards attempted hours. Any courses dropped after the 100% refund period will be counted towards attempted hours. The following are considered hours attempted, but not completed:

  1. "F" grades for undergraduate students
  2. "D" or "F" grades for graduate students
  3. "AU" Audited courses
  4. "Q", "W", "WP", "WF" or "IP" grades

Completed hours include all semester hours for which the student earns a grade:

  1. "A" through "D" grades for undergraduate students
  2. "A" through "C" grades for graduate students
  3. "P" passing with credit
  4. all transfer hours accepted for credit

ENROLLMENT STATUS

During the academic year (Fall and Spring) a student who receives financial aid must successfully complete a minimum of 75% of all attempted course work. If the number of completed hours drops below 75% of attempted hours, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid. An example of meeting the enrollment status would be as follows: If a student attempts (registers for) 30 credit hours in an academic year, he or she must complete a minimum of 24 credit hours (75% x 30 = 24) in order to make SAP for the year.

REVIEW POLICY

At the end of each Academic Year (Spring semester) the Office of Financial Assistance will review the progress of each financial aid recipient for SAP. Students will be reviewed to ensure that they are meeting the following criteria:

  1. Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher (undergraduates) or, 3.0 or higher (graduates).
  2. Successful completion of at least 75% of all attempted course work for all period of enrollment (cumulative), even those for which the student did not receive financial aid.
  3. Total attempted hours does not exceed 125% of the published length of the program of study.

FINANCIAL AID TERMINATION

In the event the student does not meet the requirements for SAP, he or she will be placed on Financial Aid Termination. This means that the student will not be eligible for any type of federal, state or institutional aid until he or she has returned to satisfactory academic progress.

CONDITIONS FOR REINSTATEMENT

Students whose eligibility for financial aid has been terminated may appeal the decision, in writing to the Director of Financial Assistance if they believe that they had extenuating circumstances which led to their unsatisfactory progress. The Director will notify the student in writing of the decision. To appeal for the reinstatement of financial aid eligibility, complete and submit the SAP Termination Review Form.

If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for the next academic year. The student will need to meet the requirements before the end of the next academic year in order to receive financial aid for the following aid year.

If the student decides not to appeal the decision or their appeal is not approved, the student may attend UIW during a semester without federal, state or institutional aid, yet they are still eligible for Alternative Loans. Once they meet the SAP requirements again, their eligibility for aid will be reviewed for reinstatement.

Return of Title IV Funds

The Return of Title IV Funds Formula is applicable to any student receiving federal aid and withdraws from the UIW during the first 60% of a semester. These students will have their federal financial aid (Pell Grants, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, Perkins Loans, Federal Stafford and PLUS Loans) adjusted based on the percent of the semester completed before the withdrawal. There will be no adjustment to federal financial aid after the completion of at least 60% of the semester. If any refund remains after the required return of Title IV aid, the refund will be used to repay institutional funds, state grant funds, and other private sources and the student in proportion to the amount paid by each non-federal source, as long as there was no unpaid balance due at the time of withdrawal. If there is an unpaid balance, then all aid sources will be repaid before any refund is paid to the student.

Distribution Policy

Once the amount of the federal funds to be returned has been calculated, the funds will be returned to the appropriate program(s) in the following priority order:

  1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans
  2. Subsidized Federal Stafford Loans
  3. Federal PLUS Loans
  4. Federal Perkins Loans
  5. Federal Pell Grant
  6. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)

Special Circumstances

On the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), students are instructed to notify the Office of Financial Assistance if you or your family has unusual circumstances not reported on the FAFSA.  Please complete a Special Circumstances Form indicating your circumstances and submit it to the Office of Financial Assistance with the required documentation.

Changing Financial Aid status from Dependent to Independent

For federal student aid purposes, you must provide parent information if you answer NO to ALL of the following questions. If you answer YES to ANY of the following questions, you do not have to provide parent information.