Maintaining Aid Eligibility
STEP 4: Maintaining Aid Eligibility
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Satisfactory Academic Progress
CLICK HERE FOR THE SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS APPEAL FORM.
Federal regulations require that Indiana University Southeast establish a policy to monitor the academic progress of students who apply for and/or receive federal, state, and institutional financial assistance. A student must be admitted to the university and enrolled in a degree-seeking program to be eligible for financial assistance. Only credit courses that count towards a degree-seeking program are included for determining aid eligibility. (A student can receive aid for a limited amount of remedial coursework that is included as part of a regular program.) For information specific to our policy for your status (i.e. A.S., B.S., M.A.) please refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (PDF) or come by the Office of Financial Aid.
How your progress will be monitored:
Your progress at IUS will be checked once per academic year during the qualification process.Your responsibilities:
Recipients of federal financial assistance are expected to attend classes throughout the term. Repayment of federal aid already received may be required if it is determined you have stopped attending classes and did not officially withdraw. Eligibility for subsequent academic terms may also be cancelled.You will be notified:
If you fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress, an email will be sent to your University email address concerning your SAP status. Your financial aid will be suspended until you have completed the process below.You are encouraged to appeal extenuating circumstances:
Students who fail to meet these standards and have mitigating circumstances may appeal to the Office of Financial Aid by completing the Reasonable Academic Progress Appeal form found on our Forms page. Our Appeal Committee reviews each appeal to determine student eligibility for continued financial aid.The most common reasons for appeal approval are:
- a learning disability,
- a severe injury or extended illness,
- the illness or death of a family member.
Appeals are reviewed within 15 business days. No deferments of IUS charges will be granted during the review timeframe.
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Change of Status
Students must notify the Office of Financial Aid if they receive any additional financial assistance after filing an application. Any change in the student's or the family's financial position should also be reported. In addition, students who have been granted assistance are responsible for notifying the Office of Financial Aid of any change in academic program, residence, telephone number, or marital status. Failure to carry out any of these responsibilities may result in cancellation of the student's award.
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Graduation
The Department of Education requires us to inform you of your responsibility to repay your Stafford loans through a process called 'Exit Counseling.' Please follow the link to perform your exit counseling if you are leaving IU Southeast to transfer to another school or are graduating. Congratulations on your new degree and good luck in your future endeavors!
Begin Exit Counseling for Stafford Loans
| Begin Exit Counseling for Perkins Loans
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Officially Withdrawing
Unofficial vs. Official Withdrawals from the University
If you decide to leave the university, you must follow the official withdrawal process. Details on this procedure are published in the Schedule of Classes or are available from the Office of the Registrar. If a problem prevents you from withdrawing in person, you should contact the Office of the Registrar for procedures to drop by phone (812-941-2240).
If you simply cease to attend your classes but do not officially withdraw, you will be considered to have "unofficially withdrawn" for financial aid purposes. Per federal regulation, your financial aid eligibility will be based on your last documented date of attendance. If no documentation of attendance exists, you will be considered to have never attended. Students who unofficially withdraw may be billed in accordance with federal regulations despite the fact that an "F" grade will appear on your transcript.
Withdrawing/Ceasing to Attend Class
In accordance with federal regulations, students who withdraw from the university before the end of the semester may be required to repay federal or state financial aid funds received for use during that semester. The amount of the repayment depends upon the point in the semester at which the student withdraws. Students who cease to attend but fail to withdraw may also be subject to repayment of financial aid. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for further information.
Switching classes/Partial withdrawal
If you are switching classes, try to do this during the first week of the semester. Dropping after this date will show as a withdrawal and count against your "Satisfactory Academic Progress". Even if you do not withdraw from all of your classes, all class drops after the first week are recorded as a "Withdrawal".
Students considering a complete or partial withdrawal from classes at IU Southeast should review the following information:
Fee Refund Schedule and Process (Bursar)
Repayment under Maintaining Eligibility
Return of Title IV Funds Policy
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Repayment
Repayment of Financial Aid Due to Withdrawal From Classes, Reduced Enrollment, or Failure to Attend Classes
If you withdraw from all classes after the semester or session begins and you have received money from a federal aid program, federal regulations require that part of the money you received be given back to the federal aid program. (This includes the Federal Pell Grant Program, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program, the Federal Stafford Loan Program, and the Federal Perkins Loan Program.) If you have not attended more than 60% of the semester or session, a percentage of your federal aid money will have to be repaid to the federal aid program.
When you withdraw from all classes, your tuition and fees for the semester or session will be adjusted according to IUS Fee Refund Policy (please see the Schedule of Classes for details). Then, if you received money from one or more of the federal aid programs, the Office of Student Financial Assistance will calculate the amount of money that has to be returned to the federal aid program(s), based upon how much of the semester or session you attended.
First, the Office of the Bursar will return a portion of the federal aid money used to pay institutional charges on your account (tuition, fees, and University housing). Sometimes this will leave some IU charges unpaid, and you will be billed for this amount.
Second, if you received federal aid money directly (as a refund check, for example) to be used for educational expenses that IU Southeast doesn’t bill you for, you may also have to return some portion of this money. The amounts will appear on your bursar bill in about 30 days after your withdrawal date, so that all IU charges and charge adjustments can be recorded.
In addition, you might be classified as an “unofficial withdrawal” if you receive all F grades or all F’s and W’s at the end of a semester or session. The latest last date of attendance recorded by your instructors will be used to calculate the amount of federal aid money that needs to be repaid. If you do not satisfactorily complete all coursework, you may also have future aid eligibility suspended. Please refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress - Appeal Process.
Return of State Funds
The State Student Assistance Commission (SSACI) return of funds period applies to all student financial aid administered by SSACI.
State grants are awarded to eligible students based on the assumption that they will attend full-time each semester. If you are enrolled less than full-time, you cannot receive any of the listed state grants: Higher Education, Academic Honors, Core 40, 21st Century Scholars. If you drop classes or withdraw from school, your state grant can be reduced or cancelled, even after the grant has been credited to your bursar account.
The measure of whether or not you are enrolled full-time is taken at the end of the SSACI census period, the end of the 4 th week of classes for an individual semester. If you drop classes and are enrolled less than full-time or withdraw completely before the end of the SSACI census period, you are ineligible to receive any of the listed state grants. You must be full-time at the end of the SSACI census period (the end of the 4 th week of classes for an individual semester).
There are two general cases in which all or a portion of an offered award might have to be returned to SSACI:
- Case 1. A student completely withdraws during the SSACI census period.
- Case 2. A student stays enrolled but drops below full-time during the SSACI census period ("withdraws from a class").
