Financial Aid Policies

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP)
In order to receive Federal Student Aid, the U.S. Department of Education requires that students maintain satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of their degree.

Federal Student Aid includes Federal Pell Grant, Federal TEACH Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) and Federal Direct PLUS Loan.

Also, other Federal Agencies may require students to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress for their aid programs. The academic record of all students will be monitored to ensure compliance with the requirements specified below. Therefore, even the academic record of those who have not received Federal Student Aid in the past may impact future eligibility. Failure to meet the following standards will result in financial aid suspension of eligibility for Federal Student Aid. A review takes place at the end of every term (fall, spring, summer).

Qualitative Standard
Undergraduate Students:
An undergraduate student must meet minimum academic progression standards. These standards are based on the student's cumulative grade point average. The cumulative grade point average is calculated in accordance with the Mount Marty University institutional grading policy. All audited coursework is excluded from this calculation. Making satisfactory academic progression is as follows:

1. A student with a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better is considered to be in good academic standing.
2. If a student's cumulative grade point average falls below 2.0 in any academic term (i.e. fall, spring, summer), the student is placed on financial aid warning the following term.
3. While on financial aid warning, the student must earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better.
4. When a student on financial aid warning achieves a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better, the student is returned to good academic standing.
5. A student on financial aid warning who fails to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better is placed on financial aid suspension.

Graduate Students:
A graduate student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

Quantitative Standard (Pace)
In order to maintain satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degree, all students must successfully complete 67% of cumulative attempted credit hours. Attempted credit hours include all hours that would appear on a student's academic transcript at the end of any given term, including withdrawals, incompletes, repeated courses, remedial coursework, transfer hours and hours attempted at any time when not receiving Federal Student Aid. Audited coursework is not included. Hours that may have been part of a successful academic amnesty appeal will still be included. Successfully completed hours for undergraduate students include grades of A, B, C, D and P. Successfully completed hours for graduate students include grades of A, B, C, and P. All other grades would not be considered successful completion. Evaluation of this quantitative standard will be measured at the end of each term.

Maximum Attempted Credit Hours
The U.S. Department of Education has established a limit on the number of credit hours a student can attempt and still remain eligible for Federal Student Aid. This limit is based on 150% of the credit hours needed to complete the degree for which the student is pursuing. Students can consult the university catalog to find the duration of their program and then multiply that number by 1.5 to determine the credit hour limit that applies to their financial aid. Examples are listed below:

Course Incompletes, Transfer Credits, Withdrawals, Repetitions and Remedial Courses and Academic Suspension:
Remedial Courses: The university offers a limited number of remedial coursework. These credits are included in credits attempted and GPA is also calculated. However, these credits may not be applied toward graduation requirements.
Incomplete Courses: Courses shown as incomplete at the end of the term will have the credits calculated as attempted, but no GPA for the incomplete will be calculated. A grade of "I" (incomplete) may be changed to a passing grade within one term from the date of award of this grade if the student satisfactorily completes all the course requirements as set by the course instructor. Otherwise after this period "I" will automatically be changed to an "F" and SAP will be calculated on the "F" grade. 
Transfer Credits: All transfer credits accepted for the students program of study at the university will be counted as "attempted" and "completed" credits. Transfer credits will not be included in the calculation of the student's GPA. 
Withdrawals: After census date, a student may withdraw from a course through 60% of the term and receive a grade of "W". Credits with a status of "W" will be counted as attempted credits with no GPA calculation. Students that withdraw from the university after the 60% point in the term are assigned grades of "WP (withdrawal passing) or "WF" (withdrawal failing). WP grades are counted as attempted credits with no GPA calculation while WF grades are counted as attempted credits with an "F" GPA calculation. The university performs "Return of Title IV" calculations for all withdrawing students per the "Return of Title IV Funds Policy". If a withdrawn student returns back to the university, the university will apply the SAP policy in continuation of the student's SAP status at the time of the withdrawal.
Repeating Courses: When a student fails to earn a required grade for their program, the student will be responsible for any additional cost incurred for retaking the course. All repeated courses will be included in credits attempted. Only the GPA from the "best" grade will be used in the calculation of the GPA. 
Changing Programs of Study: A student changing from one major to another or adding an additional major will need to complete a change of major form. All the student's attempted credits are counted towards the 150% eligibility. SAP-status of a student will be applied in continuation from one major to the other.
Enrolling in a Second Program of Study: Students that have declared more than one major, may pursue their programs concurrently. Maximum duration for SAP will be based on 150% of the standard program degree requirements.
Academic Suspension: Students placed on any type of academic suspension other than failure to meet cumulative qualitative and quantitative academic progress standards immediately lose financial aid eligibility until the student is reinstated to the program.

Appeal of Financial Aid Suspension
Students who have had their eligibility for Federal Student Aid suspended may complete an appeal form to explain mitigating circumstances. There is no guarantee for approving a financial aid eligibility appeal. Such appeals will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Appeal forms are available in the Mount Marty University Financial Assistance Office or on the Mount Marty University Financial Assistance website. If an appeal is granted, the student will be placed on financial aid probation for one semester in order to meet satisfactory academic progress standards. The student may also be placed on an academic plan to regain satisfactory academic progress. If the student has not met the satisfactory academic progress standards after their one semester of probation,  their financial aid will be suspended. Likewise, if the student fails to achieve the conditions of their academic plan as provided in their appeal, their financial aid will be suspended. To ensure a timely review, students should make an appeal at least one month in advance of the start of the term for which they wish to receive aid. 

If a student is academically suspended for reasons other than failure to meet the cumulative quantitative and qualitative academic progress standards, and is subsequently reinstated to his or her program of study, the student may also be reinstated to financial aid eligibility as long as the student is otherwise eligible to receive financial aid. A separate appeals process is not necessary to reinstate financial aid eligibility under these circumstances. Eligibility will only be reinstated upon confirmation from the Registrar and/or Admissions office that the student has been officially reinstated to the program and is in good standing as a regularly admitted student.  

Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility
Students who have lost their Federal Aid eligibility, but have subsequently met the qualitative and/or quantitative standards as stated above, will have their aid eligibility reinstated. Reinstatement will be considered effective with the next term of attendance.

Satisfactory Academic Progress and Non-Federal Aid
There are also non-federal sources of financial assistance (institutional, local, private, state), which may require students to meet satisfactory academic progress standards. Students who apply for non-federal forms of aid are advised to review their academic standards in order to determine or ensure continued eligibility. Mount Marty University institutional aid has the same Financial Aid Suspension guidelines as stated above.

To be eligible for aid, a student must meet certain general criteria. As a recipient of federal student aid, a student has certain rights and responsibilities. Knowing what they are will put the student in a better position to make decisions about his/her educational goals and how to achieve them.

Student Rights

• To know what financial aid programs are available.
• To know the deadlines for submitting applications for each of the financial aid programs available.
• To know how financial aid will be distributed, how decisions on that distribution are made and the basis for these decisions.
• To know how financial need was determined. This includes how costs for tuition and fees, room and board, travel, books and supplies, personal and miscellaneous expenses, etc., are considered in the student's budget.
• To know what resources (such as parental contribution, other financial aid, assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation of financial need.
• To know how much financial need as determined by the institution has been met.
• To request an explanation of the various programs in students aid packages.
• To know the school's refund policy.
• To know what portion of the financial aid received must be repaid and what portion is grant aid. If the aid is a loan, the right to know what the interest rate is, the total amount that must be repaid, the payback procedures, the length of time to repay the loan and when repayment is to begin.
• To know how the school determines satisfactory progress and what happens if satisfactory progress is not made.
• To know if you are offered a college work-study position - what kind of job it is, what hours you must work, what your duties will be, what the rate of pay will be, and how and when you will be paid.
• To know that you can request that your aid package can be reconsidered if you believe a mistake has been made, or if your enrollment or financial circumstances have changed.

Student Responsibilities

• To review and consider all information about the school's program before you enroll.
• To complete all application forms accurately and submit them on time to the correct place.
• To provide correct information. In most instances, misreporting information on financial aid application forms is a violation of law and my be considered a criminal offense which could result in indictment under the U.S. Criminal Code.
• To return all additional documentation, verification, corrections and new information requested by either the financial aid office or the agency to which applications are submitted.
• To read and understand all forms that the student is asked to sign and to keep copies of them.
• To accept responsibility for all agreements signed.
• To perform the work that is agreed upon when accepting a Work-Study Award.
• To be aware of and comply with the deadlines for application or reapplication for aid.
• To be aware of the school's refund procedures.
• To complete an entrance and exit interview if you have a Perkins Loan, Nursing Loan, Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, or Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
• To notify your school of a change in your name, address, or attendance status (half-time, three-quarter-time, or full-time). If you have a loan, you must also notify your loan servicer of these changes.
• To repay immediately upon demand all financial aid over awards or mis-entitlements.

Transfer Students

• Check with the financial aid officer at the new school on financial aid availability.
• Check with the loan servicer to cancel a Federal Direct Loan from the prior school and reapply at the new school.
• Inform the new school's financial aid office of your DRN # and SAR transaction number from the Student Aid.
• Report, as well as submit any other documentation requested by the financial aid office.

Tuition refunds and/or adjustments are given to students who officially withdraw from the university or who incur a suspension. Refunds are made to the student according to the date of formal and official withdrawal or effective suspension date and according to the following schedule:

     16 Week Courses:

         100% tuition refund for courses dropped within the first week

         60% tuition refund for courses dropped within the second week

         0% tuition refund for courses dropped after the second week of classes

     8 Week Courses/Summer Courses:

         100% tuition refund for courses dropped before 2nd day of class begins

         75% tuition refund for courses dropped before 3rd day of class begins

         0% tuition refund for courses dropped after 3rd day of class

    All fees are nonrefundable once classes begin.  

A refund for room and board is determined according to the number of weeks the student had been in residence, with partial weeks counted as full weeks. 

Return of Title IV Funds Policy
This policy applies to students who withdraw or are expelled during the first 60% of the semester. The term "Title IV Funds" refers to the Federal financial aid programs authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (as amended) and includes the following programs: Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) and Federal TEACH Grants. The Return of Title IV Funds calculation is a federally mandated formula to determine how much federal funding was "earned" up to the time of withdrawal.

Title IV aid is earned in a prorated manner up to the 60% point in the semester. Title IV aid is viewed as being 100% earned after that point in time. If a student withdraws on or before the 60% point in the period of enrollment (calculated using calendar days), the student may be required to return all or a portion of the Federal Title IV funds they received. The calculation of the return of these funds may result in the student owing a balance to the university and/or the federal government. A copy of the "Return of Title IV Funds Worksheet" used for this calculation is available in the Mount Marty University Financial Assistance Office. The amount of funds to be returned to the federal government will be calculated from the date the student officially withdrew from classes or, in the case of an unofficial withdrawal, the last date the student was involved in an academically related activity. An official withdrawal occurs when a student follows the published process for withdrawing from the university prior to the end of the term.

Official Withdrawal: The student's official withdrawal date is:

• the date the student began the institution's withdrawal process by contacting the Registrar's Office and providing official notification (verbally or in writing) of their intent to withdraw from the university.

For tuition refunds and financial aid refunds, the date of withdrawal is the date the student notified the Registrar's Office. Room and board refunds are prorated based on the date the student moves out of the residence hall.

Unofficial Withdrawal: An "unofficial withdrawal" occurs when:

• a student leaves school without notice, or
• when all courses in which the student is enrolled are given an "F" grade due to non-completion of all courses

 For unofficial withdrawals, the student's last date of attendance or participation in an academic activity will be used to calculate the Return of Title IV Funds.

Mount Marty University responsibilities regarding "Return of Title IV Funds" include:

• Dispersing "Return of Title IV Funds" information to students
• Identifying students affected by this requirement
• Completing the "Return of Title IV Funds" worksheet calculation for those students and
• Returning any Title IV funds that are due the Title IV programs

The student's responsibilities regarding the "Return of Title IV Funds" include:

• Returning to the Title IV programs any funds that were disbursed directly to the student and for which the student was determined to be ineligible for after the "Return of Title IV Funds" worksheet calculation. If the student received a refund from financial aid used for education-related personal expenses or housing expenses, they may be required to return a portion of these funds to the school. This portion represents funds that were intended to pay for the student's education-related expenses through the end of the semester.
• Any unearned Title IV aid must be returned to the federal government within 45 days of the date of determination of the student's withdrawal. The Mount Marty University Financial Assistance Office will notify students with instructions on how to proceed if they are required to return funds to the federal government.

The order for the return of Title IV funds to the federal government is as follows:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal PLUS Loans
• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG)
• Federal Teacher Education Assistant for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH)

A student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement if prior to withdrawing, the student earned more federal financial aid than was disbursed. If a student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement for Title IV funds, the disbursement will be processed for the student and a refund will be issued within 14 days of the credit balance.

If the post-withdrawal disbursement includes loan funds, the Mount Marty University Financial Assistance Office must get the student's permission before it can disburse the loan funds. Students may choose to decline some or all of the loan funds in order not to incur additional debt. A notice will be sent out to the student, and the signed, original document must be returned to the Mount Marty University Financial Assistance Office within 14 days. 

Mount Marty University may automatically use all or a portion of the post-withdrawal disburement of grant funds for tuition and fees. However, the school needs the student's permission to use post-withdrawal grant disbursements for all other school charges. If the student does not provide their permission, the student will be offered funds. However, it may be in the student's best interest to allow the school to apply the funds to the student's balance and reduce the student's debt at the school.

It is also important to keep in mind that accepting a post-withdrawal disbursement of student loan funds will increase the student's overall student loan debt that must be repaid under the terms of the Master Promissory Note. Also, accepting the disbursement of grant funds will reduce the remaining amount of grant funds available to the student should the student continue their education at a later time. 

The Director of Financial Assistance may use professional judgment on a case-by-case basis for students with special circumstances. Professional judgment is used to take into consideration factors which have not been reflected on a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The professional judgment may either increase or decrease data elements used to calculate a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Expenses may also be added to a student's budgeted cost of attendance depending on the situation.

The Director will request any documentation from the student that is deemed necessary to make a determination. No professional judgment will be approved unless adequate information is provided.

Some examples of special conditions include elementary or secondary school tuition, unusual medical or dental expenses not covered by insurance, a family member who recently became unemployed and other situations which may effect the family's true ability to contribute. Circumstances which are brought before the director will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis to see if a professional judgment is warranted.

The Director may use professional judgment to override a student's dependency status if unusual circumstances justify such an action.  In cases of extreme circumstances the Director may override a dependency status in order to reflect the student's situation more accurately. Examples of these circumstances include parental abuse or abandonment. These situations must be documented by unbiased third party statements, along with evidence the student is financially independent.

Contact the Financial Assistance Office for more information if you feel you have a situation requiring a professional judgment.

You should receive a FAFSA Renewal Reminder from the Federal Processor that will be sent either to your valid email address or to your home address informing you on the reapplication process. You can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in one of two ways:

• Renewal FAFSA on the Web
  • You, along with a parent if dependent, can use your FSA ID to electronically sign your FAFSA. If you do not use a FSA ID to sign online, you will need to print a signature page, sign it, along with a parent if you are dependent, and mail it.
• Paper
  • Contact the Financial Assistance Office

Applying for a FSA ID
If you don't already have a FSA ID or forgot your FSA ID, you can apply for one online. You will need a FSA ID to electronically sign your FAFSA. If you are a dependent student, at least one parent should also apply for a FSA ID so they can electronically sign your FAFSA. Your FSA ID will be emailed to you within 1 to 5 days. If you do not provide a valid email address, your FSA ID will be mailed to you within 7 to 10 days.

If you have any questions, please contact the Mount Marty University Financial Assistance Office.

MMU Title IV Code: 003465
MMU Priority Date: March 1st