Rights & Responsibilities for Federal Aid

Please read the items outlined below so that you are fully informed about your responsibilities and obligations when receiving federal aid. Additional information about federal aid can be found on Federal Student Aid.

1. Tuition Payment, Refunds and Deadlines

Tuition and fees are due before the start of each term. Federal aid accepted on MyUSU/Banner will count as payment before it disburses.
You are solely responsible for paying any remaining university charges beyond your federal aid payment (and any scholarships or waivers) before the Tuition and Fee Payment Deadline.
University charges including tuition, fees, housing, meal plans, etc. will be deducted from your federal aid.
Your federal aid payment may adjust as you drop and add classes at the beginning of the term.
Leftover federal aid, if any, is generally sent to you at the beginning of the semester by direct deposit or USPS mail.
Federal aid cannot be disbursed until the week before you begin attending classes. If you do not have any courses that start on the first day of the semester, your refund will be postponed until your classes begin.
There are established federal and school deadlines for accepting and receiving federal aid. Missing deadlines will make you ineligible for federal aid

2. Enrollment Affects Federal Aid Eligibility

Eligibility for Federal Pell Grants, federal or private student loans, Federal Work-Study, Federal TEACH and supplemental grants will be based on your enrollment each term.
Undergraduates taking 12 or more credits will generally receive the full amounts of aid they were offered on MyUSU/Banner.
Undergraduates taking less than 12 credits each term may have their aid adjusted (including student loans) to account for lower tuition costs.
Undergraduates dropping below 6 credits fall semester may have their future aid adjusted to account for lower than estimated tuition costs.
Graduates taking 5 or more credits will generally receive the full amounts of aid they were offered on MyUSU/Banner.
Graduates dropping below 5 credits fall semester may have their future aid adjusted to account for lower than estimated tuition costs.
Students will be notified of any changes in their eligibility and may need to pay back a portion of their federal aid.

3. Federal Pell Grants

If you are eligible, Federal Pell and Supplemental Grants are automatically accepted for you at the time you receive your federal aid offer notification.
Grants adjust or prorate as you add or drop classes during the first three weeks (or 20 percent) of the fall or spring term on a credit-by-credit basis.
To receive the full amount of your federal grant, you must enroll in 12 or more credits.
Grants may not adjust for any classes added after the first three weeks (or 20 percent) of fall and spring semesters even if the class has not started.
Grants will adjust down for any second 7-week session classes that were dropped before the class was scheduled to start.
Summer semester grants adjust or prorate based on the number of credits you are enrolled in and what sessions you are attending.
Federal Pell grants for the entire school year cannot be combined into one semester.
You cannot receive Federal Pell Grants from more than one school during the same or overlapping periods of enrollment.
The amount of Federal Pell Grant you may receive over your lifetime is the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters.
Federal Pell Grants are available to students who are currently enrolled in their first bachelor’s degree program or have not yet satisfied all academic requirements for their first bachelor’s degree.
You must notify us in writing if you want to decline your Federal Pell Grant.

4. Federal Student Loans Have Additional Requirements

Please be aware of annual and lifetime student loan limits. You may be eligible for additional loan funds that do not appear on MyUSU/Banner and may request them by contacting our office to review your loan eligibility.
Undergraduate federal student loans at USU require half-time enrollment (at least six credits) for disbursement and loan deferment regardless of grade level or semester.
Graduate federal student loans at USU generally require half-time enrollment (at least five credits) for disbursement and loan deferment.
You are fully responsible for repaying your student loans, all accrued interest, and meeting all other terms and conditions of the loan.
To receive a student loan, you must sign an online promissory note and complete online loan entrance counseling on studentaid.gov before your funds can be disbursed.
Federal Direct Student Loans are charged 1.057% in origination and guarantee fees. These fees are deducted from the loan before they are sent to USU. Please take this fee into consideration when modifying your loan amounts or calculating your out-of-pocket expenses.
Dropping below half-time enrollment any time during the semester will initiate the six-month grace period before Federal Direct Loan repayment begins.
Undergraduate loans may be reduced if the borrower is only attending one semester of an award year and is scheduled to graduate. Reductions generally occur when a student is below full-time enrollment and are proportional to the number of enrolled credits.
Please contact our office about your loan options if you are finishing your bachelor’s during the school year and starting graduate school in the spring or summer.

5. Federal Work Study (FWS)

To be eligible for a Federal Work Study job, you must meet all general eligibility criteria and have financial need.
You must submit your FAFSA as soon as possible every year. Funds are limited and may be awarded on a first-come-first-service basis.
You must be enrolled and attending classes for the semester you work. You must remain registered in at least one class to continue receiving federal work study. Dropping below half-time enrollment greatly reduces your cost of attendance and financial need for federal work-study.
You are not permitted to work during scheduled class times. Exceptions are permitted if:

an individual class is cancelled
the instructor has excused you from attending for a particular day
you are receiving credit for employment in an internship, externship, or community work-study experience
Any such exemptions must be documented and approved by your supervisor before starting your work shift during the previous scheduled class time.

Federal work study eligibility may decrease:

if you are enrolled less than full-time
if you receive other financial assistance including scholarships or outside funding
due to an increase in your FAFSA Student Aid Index
see other reasons in section 9.

FWS earnings are not disbursed to your student account and will not reduce your tuition bills. They are earned wages you can use to make payments toward your college costs.
You can have more than one FWS job under certain conditions. The maximum total hours you can work in one or more combined on-campus jobs, FWS-eligible or not, is 29 hours per week. You must inform your supervisors if you have multiple jobs on campus.
The amount of your FWS award cannot exceed your financial need which includes any grants, scholarships, and other need-based awards.
The amount you are awarded corresponds to 100% of your earnings, which 75% is covered by the Department of Education via the Federal Work-study program, plus 25% covered by your department.
Hourly wages vary among FWS jobs. Higher wages or hours may cause you to run out of eligibility. If you run out of FWS funds, your department can choose to employ you if they have enough operational budget to cover 100% of your wages.
Federal Work-Study is not a grant and earned FWS funds do not need to be repaid.
Unused earnings do not rollover to the following year.
Summer work has different federal requirements. If you or your department plan to extend your job through the summer, please ask your supervisor to contact our office to verify if you qualify.
You can continue working in the same or different FWS job each year as long as you continue to be eligible for FWS.

To continue working in the same position, please consult with your supervisor regarding employment opportunities for the following year.

To maintain eligibility:

Submit a FAFSA yearly.
Follow the required federal academic standards to remain in good standing.
Eligibility may vary depending on FAFSA information, other types of aid, family income, and other income from the previous year.

6. Dropping, Failing and Repeating Courses

You can only receive federal aid for one repeat or retake of a class you have already passed.
Grants adjust or prorate as you add or drop classes during the first three weeks (or 20 percent) of the fall or spring term on a credit-by-credit basis.
Summer semester grants adjust or prorate based on the number of credits you are enrolled in and on what sessions you are attending.
You must begin attendance (participating academically) in every class while receiving Federal Pell Grants. For online classes, academic participation means submitting assignments, quizzes, or tests. For federal aid purposes, logging into the course, and/or watching online content does not count as academic participation. If you don’t start one or more classes, you will be required to repay a portion of your grant funds immediately.
If you drop classes during the first three weeks, you may be required to repay a portion of your grant funds immediately.
If you withdraw from or fail a class and USU is not able to verify class participation, you may be required to repay the grant you received for that class. Please note that grants cannot be reinstated for NF grades without a grade change and verification of participation.
You may be required to immediately repay USU all or a portion of your federal aid if you completely withdraw from your classes during the semester.
You may be required to immediately repay USU all or a portion of your federal aid if you receive failing grades in all your classes after receiving federal aid funds.
If you don't plan on attending any courses for which you are already enrolled, you are responsible for dropping those courses.

Warning: Don't Lose your Aid!

7. Your Academic Responsibility

Federal aid comes with standards and limitations to encourage you to graduate in a timely manner.
To receive federal aid, federal law requires you to make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree.
Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.0 USU GPA after each term.
Undergraduate students must also earn passing grades in at least 67 percent of the courses on their transcript - including all transfer credits.
Graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 USU GPA after each term.
Graduate students must also earn passing grades in at least 50 percent of the courses on their transcript.
Federal aid recipients can attempt a limited number of credits before their federal aid is discontinued:

Certificate of Proficiency - 24 credits
Certificate Program - 45 credits
Associate’s Degree - 90 credits
First Bachelor's Degree - 180 credits
Second Bachelor’s Degree - 60 credits
Graduate Program - 60 credits

Appeals are available by request for students who had special circumstances that are now under control.

8. Other Requirements and Responsibilities

Federal aid may only be used for education-related expenses, including tuition, books, fees, transportation, and housing & food.
Eligibility and funding for Federal Work-Study are also subject to the rights and responsibilities on this page.
Audited courses, Continuing Education, and Workforce Development courses do not qualify for federal aid including loans.
You must notify Student Federal Support about any financial assistance which you may receive from other sources not reported to the FAFSA or showing on MyUSU/Banner. This includes any scholarships, rehabilitation assistance, veteran educational benefits, assistantships, fellowships, stipends etc.
According to federal regulations, federal aid including student loans must be adjusted to make room for scholarships, waivers, third-party tuition assistance etc. This may result in a reduction of federal aid that must be returned immediately.
You must notify Student Federal Support about any federal aid that you are receiving from another school.
Any loans received from more than one school may require adjustment to fit within federal loan limits.
USU is only required to keep comprehensive and accurate program and fiscal records related to the use of Federal program funds for a limited time, following the FSA Handbook, Volume 2, Chapter 7 specifications about Record Keeping, Privacy, and Electronic Processes.

9. Federal Aid Is Offered and Disbursed to You Provisionally

Important: Federal aid is subject to adjustment, cancellation, proration, or immediate repayment for the following reasons, even if it has already disbursed.

Any errors or conflicting information found during the application, verification, quality control, awarding, auditing, processing, or disbursing of your aid.
Any changes you make to your FAFSA that result in the verification of your application data.
Failure to submit any requested documentation after federal aid has been offered or disbursed.
The addition or adjustment of scholarships, waivers, fellowships, stipends, outside federal assistance, living allowances, etc. at any time during the award year.
Changes in enrollment, or not starting classes.
Only attending one semester in an award year before program completion.
Complete withdrawal, unofficial withdrawal (0.0 GPA), suspension from the university, or other academic action during the term.
Insufficient academic progress including low GPA, excessive credits, or frequent dropping, failing, or repeating classes.
Changes in residency, tuition costs, program costs, etc.
Changes in your admission status, matriculation or degree/certificate program, grade level, or graduation status.
Changes made to your academic transcript, such as the late inclusion of transfer credits.
Changes made to your federal aid awards from other schools you have attended.
Notifications from the United States Department of Education about federal grant and student loan limits, default, overpayment, change or loss of eligibility, etc.
Changes in federal and state laws, regulations, or funding appropriations.

You will be notified by mail or email if you are required to immediately repay any federal aid that was adjusted for the reasons above. Payment plans can be arranged to accommodate your ability to repay federal aid.