Financial
Assistance
at USAO
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Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
The FAFSA establishes eligibility for all federal/state grants, loans, and work programs. Students demonstrating financial need may qualify for a variety of different programs, including grants, loans, and the work-study program. In addition, there are programs available that are not based on financial need and are open to students who meet eligibility requirements.
The USAO Office of Financial Aid will determine eligibility for all programs based on the Federal Student Aid Report (SAR), which the student receives after the FAFSA has been processed.
The FAFSA is available from any high school counseling office, the USAO Financial Aid Office, or on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The USAO Federal Title IV Code number is 003167. Please be aware of state grant priority deadlines as listed on the FAFSA.
A financial aid package is the award made to a student based on need and may comprise one or more of the following: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal College Work-Study Program, USAO scholarships and grants, and state grants such as the Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG).
Every effort is made to secure funds for students with financial need. In compliance with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, USAO does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies or procedures. USAO complies with current federal and state policies.
Federal and State Assistance Programs
The following are among the wide variety of financial assistance programs available. More detailed information is available in the Office of Financial Aid.
Federal Pell Grants are designed to provide federal financial assistance to those who need it in order to attend post-high school educational institutions. Pell grants are intended to be the "floor" of a financial package and may be combined with other forms of aid in order to meet the full costs of education. The amount of the grant is determined on the basis of individual and family financial resources.
To be eligible for this aid, a student must be enrolled in an undergraduate course of study, may not previously have received a bachelor's degree, and have an established financial need. The student must also be a U.S. citizen, reside in the United States for other than temporary purposes, or be a permanent resident of the Trust Territories.
Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (SEOG) are designed for students of exceptional financial need who, without the grant, would be unable to continue their education. A student must be enrolled at least half-time (6 hours) in an undergraduate program to qualify.
Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG) is also available to early need-based, federal aid applicants. Students need to complete the FAFSA in early spring to be considered for the next academic year.
Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) provide funding for regular students enrolled in an eligible program of study at least half-time.
• The Stafford Loan is the federal government's major form of self-help aid. A subsidized Stafford Loan is awarded on basis of financial need; the unsubsidized Stafford Loan is not based on financial need.
• The Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) is available to parents of dependent students.
Federal Perkins Student Loan Program provides loans to students meeting the eligibility requirements as established by the SAR. The National Defense Educational Act requires that each borrower be at least a half-time (6 hours) student. Limited loan funds are available to students at all levels.
Federal Work-Study Program is funded with federal and institutional funds for students who qualify for assistance. To participate in this program, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of six credit hours and remain in good standing. However, priority is given to full-time students. A student may participate in the Federal Work-Study Program in addition to receiving other forms of aid.
Institutional Scholarships
All scholarship applications have early spring deadlines which are published in the USAO Easy App and on the USAO website. Applicants must be approved for admission to USAO and have completed the USAO financial aid application to be considered for any scholarship award. Late applications will be considered if funds are available.
Third Trimester Enrollment Scholarship is a unique, renewable scholarship that can help cut the cost of your education nearly 25 percent. The Third Trimester Scholarship is available to any Oklahoma resident who is a graduate of an Oklahoma high school and enters USAO as a beginning first-year student and who attends the first and second trimesters consecutively as a full-time student (earning a minimum of 12 hours each trimester). Students must be enrolled in 12 hours in independent study and/or summer term of the third trimester to qualify. The scholarship pays tuition up to 14 semester hours. The scholarship will be available for a total of three consecutive years if the student makes satisfactory academic progress and remains in continuous, full-time attendance.
Presidential Leadership Scholarships are four-year scholarships given to Oklahoma high school seniors having a GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and a composite ACT score of 24 or higher. Membership in three school organizations plus civic involvement and a minimum of three letters of recommendation are also required. A personal interview is conducted for finalists. It is a very selective process and a limited number of scholarships are awarded. Recipients must maintain contract requirements (GPA, attendance, leadership positions, participation, etc.) for renewal each year.
A limited number of Presidential Leadership Scholarships are available for continuing students who prove to be emerging leaders. Selection is based on the student's leadership record and an interview.
State Regents Baccalaureate Scholarships are available for a limited number of Oklahoma high school graduates who have an ACT composite score of 30 or higher. The scholarship provides full financial support for up to eight fall/spring trimesters. For further information, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Other Academic Scholarships include: Academic Scholarship, University Scholarships, Green & Gold Scholarship, Transfer Student Scholarship, International Student Scholarship.
Talent Scholarships are available for students in the areas of music, art, drama, and cheerleading. The student must demonstrate his or her talent at an audition or interview.
Named Endowed Scholarships are available to new and continuing students with high achievements. For example, the "Francis Davis Scholarship" was created in honor of a former faculty member in fine arts. Such funds, held as an endowment in the USAO Foundation or the USAO Alumni Association, produce income for scholarships annually.
The application, application deadlines, and specific criteria for all USAO scholarships are available in the USAO Easy App, on the website, and in the Financial Aid office. These are available on campus in the offices of the Registrar, Admissions, and Financial Aid.
The Office of Financial Aid also encourages students to seek and apply for private-sector scholarships and grants. For instance, many eligible students receive funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, Oklahoma National Guard, and many others. Free scholarship searches are available on the internet at www.fastweb.com and www.salliemae.com, as well as numerous other websites.
Student Responsibility
Students are responsible for knowing and understanding the criteria for Financial Aid eligibility, including their enrollment status, Satisfactory Academic Progress status, the refund policy, loan history, etc. We strongly encourage students to carefully read all correspondence received and save copies of all documents (i.e., tax returns, SARs, loan paperwork, etc.) in a safe and easily accessible location. We also encourage students to ask the Financial Aid Office directly if there are any questions regarding financial aid.
Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
USAO requires that minimum standards for "Satisfactory Academic Progress" (SAP) toward the earning of a degree are met by new and continuing students who are receiving financial aid. This is in accordance with federal guidelines set forth by the Department of Education. This aid includes the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant, FFEL Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), the Federal Loan Plus Program, and Perkins Loans.
USAO has also adopted this standard to govern its institutional based aid, which includes (but is not limited to): tuition and/or room waivers, academic, athletic, incentive, foundation, and talent scholarships.
ALL students participating in the financial aid programs at USAO will be evaluated uniformly at the end of each term.
It is the student's responsibility to be aware and know his or her eligibility status at the end of each term. Be aware that hours attempted on transcripts do not include hours attempted such as withdrawals. Also, the cumulative GPA on a grade report may differ from the student's retention / graduation GPA. If assistance is needed regarding financial aid eligibility status, contact the Financial Aid Office.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS STANDARDS
The minimum standards are as follows:
• Students must maintain a minimum of a 2.00 retention /graduation GPA.
• Students planning to enter teacher certification programs must maintain a minimum of a 2.50 retention / graduation GPA.
• Full-time students must complete a minimum of 12 hours in the enrollment period.*
• Three-quarter time students must complete a minimum of 9 hours in the enrollment period.*
• Half-time students must complete a minimum of 6 hours in the enrollment period.*
*Enrollment status is determined by the number of hours the student is enrolled in at the end of the designated add/drop date of each term. This is the student's total hours attempted for the term. All summer session hours will be added together to determine enrollment status for the summer.
The following grades are counted as hours attempted for financial aid, but not successfully completed: F, I, W, AW, WP, WF, and NP. Audited classes are not counted towards hours attempted or hours completed. Clep credits will be counted towards a student's overall hours attempted and earned, but will not excuse a previous term's deficit in hours.
All transfer students and all continuing USAO students applying for financial aid for the first time must meet the minimum standards described above. Financial aid will be held until transcripts from all schools attended by the student have been received and reviewed. It is required by federal regulation that all periods of enrollment be reviewed whether or not aid was previously received.
In addition, students must not exceed the maximum hour limit for completing their undergraduate coursework (including a second bachelor's degree and teaching certification). The maximum for a student to remain eligible for financial aid at USAO is 186 hours attempted (including all coursework from all collegiate schools attended such as remedial, non-credit, withdrawal, repeat, incomplete, pass, fail, etc.). Students pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree will be allowed a maximum of 202 hours due to the length of the program. Once the hour limit is met or passed, the student is considered to have "exhausted" their eligibility for financial aid and is automatically placed on financial aid suspension.
Financial Aid Probation and Suspension
If a student fails to meet the above minimum standards, the student will be placed on financial aid probation for the next term of enrollment. During this probationary term, the student will remain eligible for financial aid.
If, at the end of the probationary term, the student again fails to meet the minimum standards, the student will then be placed on financial aid suspension and cannot receive the assistance of federal or institutional financial aid. Students may still remain eligible for external resources, such as Vocational Rehabilitation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, ASCOG, etc.
If, during the probationary term, the student meets the minimum standards of GPA for the term and completes his or her enrollment status but the overall retention/graduation GPA remains below the minimum, the student may be continued on financial aid probation if the student is showing improvement.
If the student meets the minimum standards during the probationary term and/or corrects the GPA, the student is then removed from probation.
Any student who completes NONE of the hours attempted during a term and is not already on financial aid probation may be automatically suspended without a probationary period. If the zero completion is found to be justified by the appeals committee upon review of the circumstances surrounding the situation, the student may be placed on financial aid probation and remain eligible for financial aid. If the situation is not found justifiable, the student will remain on suspension and may go through the formal process of appeal or attend at his or her expense.
Students placed on financial aid suspension (with the exception of those exceeding the hour limit) may have their aid reinstated by attending their next term at USAO or another accredited institution and completing the minimum standards of their enrollment status successfully. Reinstatement requires that the student attempt a minimum of six hours. However, if the student enrolls as full-time, 12 hours must be completed. If the student enrolls as three-quarter time, 9 hours must be completed. The student must then request that the Financial Aid Office review his or her status to restore eligibility for aid.
Financial aid probation and suspension are completely separate from academic probation and suspension. However, a student who is academically suspended is automatically suspended from financial aid.
Appeal of Financial Aid Suspension
Students who are suspended from financial aid may submit an appeal of the suspension if there are extenuating circumstances affecting the student performance. Extenuating circumstances include (but are not limited to) illness, severe injury, or death in the family.
Appeal forms are available in the Financial Aid Office, Troutt Hall 108, and are also enclosed in the letter of notification of financial aid suspension. Appeals must be submitted by the deadline specified on the letter of notification.
Incomplete appeals will not be considered. Appeals must consist of a signed personal explanation of extenuating circumstances and a complete current mailing address, a degree plan completed with the assistance and signature of the student's advisor, and complete unofficial transcript(s).
Appeals will be reviewed by the School Relations/Student Aid Committee. Decisions will be mailed to the student following the committee meeting. If aid is re-instated upon the review of the appeal, the student will be continued on probation for the next term of enrollment. Aid will be based on available funding at the time of reinstatement.
All decisions of the committee are final (effective August 26, 2002).
Return of Title IV Funds Policy
This policy applies to a student who receives Title IV Aid and completely terminates enrollment (i.e., cancels his/her registration, withdraws, or is dismissed) or stops attending classes before completing more than 60 percent of the enrollment period. Refunds are determined according to the following policy:
• earlier of the date the student began the institution's withdrawal process or the date the student otherwise provided "official" notice; or
• if student didn't notify the school by midpoint in period; or
• date of the student's last attendance at a documented academically-related activity.
• providing each student with the information given in this policy;
• identifying students who are affected by this policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculation for those students;
• returning any Title IV Funds that are due the Title IV programs.
• returning to the Title IV programs (via university account) any funds that were disbursed directly to the student and for which the student was determined to be ineligible via the Return of Title IV funds calculation;
• the student will be billed for the amount the student owes to the Title IV programs and any amount due to the University resulting from the return of Title IV programs used to cover University charges.
The fees, procedures, and policies listed above supersede those published previously and are subject to change.
Any notification of a withdrawal or cancellation and request for a refund should be in writing and addressed to the appropriate institutional official. These would be, respectively, the Registrar or a Registrar's Office representative.
The Financial Aid staff is available to discuss your unique needs and make suggestions for improved aid opportunities. Help us help you.
Phone Numbers and Web Sites
General info about FAFSA 1-800-433-3243
Is my application processed? 1-800-433-3243
Hearing impaired/TDD 1-800-730-8913
Suspect fraud or waste? 1-800-647-8733
Online help www.ed.gov/studentaid
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)