As a recipient of federal, state, institutional, or private student aid funds, you may exercise certain rights and meet certain responsibilities. The following is a summary of these certain rights and responsibilities:
Student Rights
- You have the right to know what financial aid programs are available at your school.
- You have the right to know the deadlines for submitting applications for each of the financial aid programs available.
- You have the right to know how financial aid will be distributed, how decisions on that distribution are made, and the basis for these decisions.
- You have the right to know how your 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 your budget.
- You have the right to know what resources (such as parental consideration, other financial aid, your assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation of your need.
- You have the right to know how much of your financial need, as determined by the institution, has been met.
- You have the right to request an explanation of the various programs in your student aid package.
- You have the right to know your school’s refund policy.
- You have the right to know what portion of the financial aid you received must be repaid and what portion is grant aid. If the aid is a loan, you have the right to know what the interest rate is, the total amount that must be repaid, the pay-back procedures, the length of time you have to repay the loan, and when repayment is to begin.
- You have the right to know how the school determines whether you are making satisfactory progress and what happens if you are not.
- You have the right to know if you are offered a Federal Work Study job, what the job is, what hours you will work, what your duties will be, the amount you will be paid for each hour worked, and how and when you will compensated.
- You have the right to know the location, hours, and counseling procedures of the school’s financial aid office
Student Responsibilities
- You must complete all application forms accurately and submit them by the stated deadline.
- You must provide correct and thorough information. Misreporting information on financial aid forms is a violation of law. Funds obtained on the basis of false information will have to be repaid and might subject you to penalties under the U.S. criminal code.
- You must return all additional documentation, verification, corrections, and/or new information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or the agency to which you submitted your application.
- You are responsible for reading and understanding all forms that you are asked to sign and for keeping copies of them.
- You must accept responsibility for all agreements that you sign. If you receive a loan(s), you will have to repay the loan funds disbursed to you, less any amount returned to your lender by your school even if you do not complete your degree.
- You must perform the work that is agreed upon in accepting a Federal Work-Study Award.
- You must be aware of and comply with the deadlines for application or reapplication for aid.
- You are responsible for maintaining a current address with the Financial Aid Office.
- You are responsible for using any funds received for financial aid including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan, Grant Programs, institutional and private aid for expenses related to attendance at Wilberforce University.
- You are responsible for maintaining and knowing whether you are maintaining satisfactory academic progress in the course of study you are pursuing according to standards and practices of Wilberforce University.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
General Information
Federal regulations require that all federal financial aid recipients be enrolled in a degree-seeking program and maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a degree to maintain eligibility. Wilberforce University complies with this requirement by monitoring each aid recipient’s cumulative grade point average (GPA), completion rate, and maximum time frame for completion of a degree. The following describes Wilberforce’s method for monitoring each of these measures.
The Policy
In order to maintain eligibility for the continued receipt of financial aid, students must make satisfactory progress toward the completion of a degree as defined by the policies established by the financial aid office in conjunction with Department of Education guidelines. The requirements for satisfactory academic progress for students receiving federal financial aid at Wilberforce University are as follows:
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards
At Wilberforce University a student is making satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of their degree provided the student is meeting the following standards:
| Credit Hours Attempted including: Repeats, W’s and F’s | Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) | Required Completion Rate for All Credit Hours Attempted |
| 0-30 | 2.00 | 67% (2/3) |
| 30-60 | 2.00 | 67% (2/3) |
| 61 or more | 2.00 | 67% (2/3) |
| Graduate | 3.00 | 75% (3/4) |
Time Frame: Recipients of federally funded financial aid must complete their program within 150% of their program’s required units. For example, a student in a 120 unit program must receive his/her degree within 180 units
Remedial Courses: Up to 12 hours of remedial course work will not be included in determining the maximum allowable credit hours.
Repeated Courses: Repeated courses are added into hours attempted but not hours completed.
Withdrawal Courses: Classes that are withdrawn from are added into attempted hours but not hours completed. Enrollment of less than 6 credit hours may affect financial aid eligibility.
All financial aid recipients will be permitted to receive a minimum of two semesters of financial aid before an evaluation of credit hours will be rendered, unless the student is suspended or dismissed following his or her first semester of study.
Otherwise, a review will be made on an annual basis of his/her grade point average and the number of credit hours completed, or after every two semesters of study.
If after two semesters of study a student is classified as failing to make satisfactory academic progress, he or she will be placed on financial aid probation for the next two semesters of study. During the financial aid probation period, the student is considered to be making satisfactory academic progress and, therefore, remains eligible for federal student financial assistance.
At the end of two semesters of study or at the end of the academic year of a probationary period, if the student has not brought up the cumulative grade point average to an acceptable level according to the standards of the University, he/she will be terminated from the Student Financial Aid Programs at Wilberforce University. The suspension or termination of federal assistance will occur immediately following the term in which the student was deemed not making satisfactory academic progress.
Once a student has been determined as not making satisfactory academic progress, the student will be immediately ineligible to receive Federal Student Financial Aid. In addition, if it is determined that it is impossible for that student to graduate within the maximum time frame for completion of his/her academic program, the student will be ineligible to receive Federal Student Aid.
Appeal Procedures
In order for you to appeal your financial aid suspension, you must be enrolled in school. The Director of Financial Aid will not review your appeal or forward your written appeal to the Admissions/Financial Aid Sub-Committee if you are not an admitted student. If you are academically suspended, you must be readmitted for your financial aid appeal to be considered. If you are an academically dismissed student, your appeal will not be reviewed unless your dismissal has been overturned by the Academic Dean or you have been academically reinstated to the university.
Appeals for consideration of aid for the Fall Semester must be on file no later than the 1st Friday in July of the academic year for which you plan to be enrolled. Appeals for consideration of aid for the Spring Semester must be on file no later than the 1st Friday in December of the academic year for which you planned to be enrolled.
Your appeal must include the circumstances that affected your academic performance during the academic year and must be fully articulated in writing to the Director of Financial Aid. Include any documentation that you feel lends evidence to your written appeal such as statements from health and legal practitioners, ministers, instructors, counselors, family members, etc.
All appeals will be reviewed by the Director of Financial Aid. Decisions rendered which continue to deny aid may be appealed to the Admissions/Financial Aid Subcommittee. The Admissions/Financial Aid Subcommittee’s decisions shall be final.
Reinstatement
If aid is withheld for unsatisfactory academic progress, the student must take courses at the University at the student’s expense until the minimum grade point average and credit hours are achieved. Once the student fulfills the grade point average and credit hours standards, the student should schedule an appointment with the Office of Financial Aid to discuss reinstatement.
Once a reinstatement has been regained, a student may be paid for the payment period in which he or she regained satisfactory progress or when satisfactory-progress standards were waived when the student’s special circumstances warranted the waiving of the satisfactory academic progress standards. A student may not be paid for any payment periods in which the student did not meet the standards.
Basic Budget
Individual costs vary according to differences in course of study, resident or non-resident status, dependent or independent status, and spending habits.
Costs are divided into two categories: direct and indirect. Direct costs are paid directly to the institution and are standard and consistent for each full-time student contracting for the same charges. Indirect costs are not paid directly to the institution and may vary from student to student depending on such factors such as lifestyle, distance from home to campus, and academic major.
In determining financial need, all costs (direct and indirect) are considered as the total Cost of Attendance (COA). Typical 2016-2017 direct costs for a full-time student who contracts for tuition and fees, room and board are as follows:
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Wilberforce University will charge you for the direct costs for which you contract. In most cases students should be prepared to pay for indirect costs, such as books and supplies upon arrival on campus.
Students living at home and/or residing off campus could eliminate the Housing and meals figure, but may find it necessary to add an appropriate figure for household maintenance expenses, meals, miscellaneous and personal expenses, as well as, increased traveling expenses.
Revision of Award
All awards are based on the determination of financial need and availability of funds. Any change in the student’s financial circumstances must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. The receipt of an outside scholarship or loan, for instance, would mean that a student’s financial need had changed and that a revised award would be in order. Similarly, the loss of a job by a parent may reduce the family’s income and possibly make the student eligible for additional assistance. The student is encouraged to discuss any changes in his/her financial situation with the professional staff of the Financial Aid Office.
Over Award Policy
An over award is financial aid that exceeds a student’s financial need and/or cost of attendance. When a student receives federal and/or state aid, Wilberforce University is required to adhere to all associated regulations. All aid, including scholarships, grants, loans, tuition remission, awards, and prizes must be counted as estimated financial assistance in a student’s total aid package.
When the Student Financial Aid Office identifies an over award, adjustments will be made to the student’s aid package to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. Adjustments to financial aid will occur in the following order: Self-help aid, such as loans and work-study awards, institutional aid, scholarships, grants. If an over award occurs after aid has been disbursed, the student may be required to repay all or a portion of their financial aid to the University.
Institutional Packaging Policy
The sum of all institutional aid received by a student cannot exceed the Wilberforce University’s direct costs. Direct costs include tuition, room, board, and books. Any funding paid by Wilberforce University may be considered institutional aid. Some examples are admission-based scholarships, departmental awards, employee tuition remission and athletic scholarships.
Wilberforce University reserves the right to adjust institutional scholarship awards when a student’s total institutional aid exceeds the designated limit.