2014-15-Undergraduate-Catalog

FINANCIAL AIDShenandoah

FINANCIAL AIDShenandoah University maintains a strong financial aid program to assist students in fundingtheir educational expenses. Financial aid is awarded according to an individual’s financialneed and academic success in relation to the university costs. Aid usually consists of acombination of scholarships, grants, loans, and employment.Application ProcedureFree Application for Student Aid (FAFSA): Students wishing to apply for financial aid arerequired to complete a FAFSA. The FAFSA becomes available January 1 at www.fafsa.govand must be filed each year of a student’s enrollment. Students should include ShenandoahUniversity’s Federal School Code of 003737 to ensure the university receives their FAFSAinformation.Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Application: Domiciled Virginia residents must return to theOffice of Financial Aid a completed Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Application by July 31.The application needs to be filed only once as long as the student maintains their domicileand full-time enrollment in an undergraduate program.Once a student has been accepted for admission and the Office of Financial Aid hasreceived their FAFSA, the Office of Financial Aid will determine what financial aid thestudent is eligible to receive and notify the student in writing with a financial aid awardnotice. Students should sign and return this award notice as quickly as possible.Students applying for summer financial aid should complete the FAFSA for both the currentand the following academic year.Satisfactory Academic ProgressAll undergraduate students must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)requirements in order to receive financial aid at Shenandoah University. Federal regulationsrequire each college or university to have an academic progress policy, which establishes theminimum standards of eligibility for financial aid. Undergraduate students must meet therequirements described below.Full-time students must successfully complete:16 credit hours after two semesters of study36 credit hours after four semesters of study60 credit hours after six semesters of study90 credit hours after eight semesters of studyThe baccalaureate degree in 10 semestersThe minimum credit hour requirements are prorated for students who attend less than fulltime(i.e., 75 percent for three-quarters enrollment, 50 percent for half-time enrollment).Full-time students must maintain the following minimum cumulative grade point averages:Credit Hours Graded*Minimum Cumulative GPA1.00 - 23.99 1.624.00 - 53.99 1.854.00 and above 2.0*Credit Hours Graded includes transfer credit hours transferred in to student’s program of study.Financial Aid • 88

Financial Aid • 89Finally, students must complete their degree within 150 percent of the published length oftheir academic program. For example, if a program requires 100 hours to complete,students must complete their degree at the point 150 hours are attempted. For any hoursattempted over 150, the student is not eligible for financial aid.Reinstatement of EligibilityStudents may re-establish eligibility for financial aid by completing the minimum number ofcredit hours and achieving the minimum cumulative grade point average.Appeal ProcessStudents who lose student financial aid eligibility by failing to make Satisfactory AcademicProgress may appeal. A required component of the appeal is the development of anacademic plan which outlines how the student will regain eligibility. Approved appeals resultin a student financial aid probationary status. Students will receive financial aid as long asthey are meeting requirements of the probation status as specified during the appealprocess. Students appeal in writing to the director of financial aid.Semester Limits for Financial AidStudents who intend to take longer than four years to complete a degree should realizethat many financial aid programs limit assistance to eight semesters of full-time study.Students who do not take these limitations into consideration may find themselves unableto obtain aid for a fifth year of study. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for moredetails if you will be attending for more than four years.Study AbroadStudents in a study-abroad program are eligible for aid if the program is approved for creditby the university. To receive aid, the student must be enrolled as a regular student atShenandoah University, and a contractual agreement must exist between the university andthe foreign college. The student will be charged at the university and upon being invoicedby the foreign college, like services (tuition and room and board) will be paid if equal to orless than SU services.Shenandoah University Aid ProgramsAid amounts vary by program; please contact the Office of Financial Aid for more details.All aid programs are awarded for tuition expenses and are renewable for a total of fouryears as long as the recipient maintains a 2.5 grade point average, maintains SatisfactoryAcademic Progress, and is enrolled full-time each semester in a degree program.Presidential Scholarship: The Presidential Scholarship is a highly selective, limitedscholarship available to incoming freshmen. In order to be considered, a student must havea minimum high school GPA of 3.8 and a score of 1200 on the SAT or its ACT equivalent.Scholastic and community activities are also considered in the evaluation process. Studentsmust maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and enroll in at least 12 credit hours a semester. ThePresidential Scholarship is awarded in place of the Academic Scholarship. No additionalapplication is required to apply; eligibility is determined based upon a student’s applicationfor admission to the university.