Policies

Office of Student Financial Assistance

Budget Forecast/Need Sheet

Change of Dependency Status

Disbursements

Eligibility for Federal Aid

Emergency Loan Fund Policy

Federal Work Study (FWS)

Financial Aid Revisions

Financial Aid Authorization

Release of Information

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Scholarship Policy

Tuition Waivers

Verification

Withdrawal Policy (Return of Title IV Funds Policy)

Budget Forecast or Need Sheet

Budget Forecast or Need Sheet is a document indicating estimated cost of attendance for a specific award year. The Budget Forecast is used to show private scholarship organizations the student's anticipated cost for college and what resources have been awarded. This is not a copy of your UAA bill.

If you are applying for a Scholarship that requires a Budget Forecast or Need Sheet, be aware of the organization's deadlines; they are not necessarily the same as UAA deadlines. Processing of Budget Forecasts during peak times of year, take between 8-10 business days to process.

To ensure that your Budget Forecast is processed on time, make sure you submit it at least 10 business days before the Scholarship agency deadline. Forecasts are processed in the order they are received. There is no guarantee that your Budget Forecast will be submitted to your scholarship agency by their deadline if submitted with less than the necessary 10 business days to process.

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Change of Dependency Status

Conditions for Requesting a Change of Dependency Status
The Federal Department of Education, using rules established by Congress, gives the following conditions for determination of dependency status. It is defined in statute rather than regulation under the HIGHER EDUCATION ACT AS AMENDED THROUGH DECEMBER 1994, TITLE IV, PART A, SECTION 480(d)

(d) INDEPENDENT STUDENT.--The term "independent", when used with respect to a student, means any individual who can answer yes to one of the following statements--
(1) is 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year;
(2) is an orphan or ward of the court or was a ward of the court until the individual
reached the age of 18;
(3) is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States
(4) is a graduate or professional student; (graduate and professional have
very specific definitions) (5) is married;
(6) has legal dependents other than a spouse that you support; or
(7) is a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented
determination of independence by reason of other unusual circumstances.

Process for Requesting a Dependency Override
If you feel that you have an unusual circumstance that may qualify you to become independent of your parents for financial aid purposes, please submit the following documentation. ( Please Note: income is not an unusual circumstance and a parents unwillingness to pay is not a reason to apply for a dependency override, as stated in DCL GEN-93-11, May 1993)

This documentation must include:
(1) A Professional Judgment: Change of Dependency Status Form
(2) A letter from you describing the circumstance in detail and
(3) A signed statement from two professionals, on letterhead, (counselor, MD, clergy,
caseworker, etc) who know your circumstances or
(4) A copy of Court papers indicating Ward of the Court status until age 18

We may take up to 30 days to review your appeal. After your request is reviewed a decision will be mailed to you in writing. The request for dependency override comes under the regulations dealing with professional judgement (Higher Education Act, sec. 479A(a)) and therefore the decision is final and cannot be appealed. You must reapply each year if your request is approved.

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Disbursements

All federal financial aid, most scholarships and tuition waivers awarded by university departments are applied directly to the student billing account at the beginning of each term or once the student has fulfilled the requirements to receive the funds.

After current charges on the student's billing account have been paid, any excess financial aid is disbursed to the student in the form of a refund check or deposited to your personal bank account via direct deposit (if you have set it up).

Be aware that the refund check will be mailed to the address listed in the Registrar's Office. Verify your address at UAOnline and if any changes need to be made click the personal information link.

Student loan and scholarship checks from external agencies will be available for students to sign in the disbursements office once received and processed. The disbursement office is located at the University Center inside the lobby.

You may check to see if monies have been applied to your student account in UAonline under the STUDENT ACCOUNT TAB

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Eligibility for Federal Aid

For all Federal Programs, the student must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen, a national or other eligible non-citizen. Permanent residents may be required to provide a copy of their I-151, I-551 or I-551C Alien Registration Receipt Card.

2. Not be in default on any National Direct Student Loan, Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford or Federal Supplemental Loans. This also applies to parents if applying for Federal Parent Loans (PLUS).

3. Have a valid Social Security number.

4. Not owe a refund or repayment on a Federal Pell Grant, State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) or Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG). This also applies to parents if applying for Federal PLUS loans.

5. Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a degree or certificate program.

6. (Males) Comply with U.S. Selective Service registraion requirements to be eligible for federal and state aid.

If you meet the above criteria, the first thing you need to do to apply for financial aid is complete the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov. You (and your parents) will need to apply for a PIN so you can sign your FAFSA electronically.

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Emergency Loan Fund Policy

The Emergency Loan Fund (ELF) is primarily to assist students with funds for books or other school-related costs during the first three weeks of the semester. The maximum loan amount for a full time student is $600, for three quarter time is $400 and for half time students the maximum is $200. The ELF application cannot be faxed or e-mailed.

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Federal Work Study (FWS)

If F.W.S is included in your award offer, you may apply for an open position on one of the UAA campuses. Check out the web site for information on how to obtain a position. Having an award does not guarantee you a position. The amount of your award is the maximum you are eligible to earn. It is important to note that F.W.S funds are paid to you in a paycheck if you get a qualifying position. They are not credited toward paying your school bill.

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Financial Aid Revisions

Under certain circumstances revisions can be made to your Financial Aid Award. Examples: You may have been offered a Loan or Work Study and initially turned it down, but now have changed your mind. Another example might be that you never accepted your loans on UAonline and they were canceled, so now you would like to reinstate them. You must turn in a Revision form stating what you would like changed and the total amounts requested per fund type.

NOTE regarding Summer Term Revision Requests: There is a separate Revision Request Form for those who will attend Summer semester. We cannot process a summer revision request until you register for summer classes.

See the Financial Aid Adjustment link for more details.

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Financial Aid Authorization

Use of Title IV funds to pay non-institutional charges. Without this authorization Title IV funds (including Pell, SEOG, and Stafford Subsidized, Unsubidized, and PLUS Loans), can only be used to pay for tuition and fees at the university. This form is an authorization allowing UAA to use Title IV funds to pay for non-institutional charges (such as: library fines, parking fines, health center charges, housing fees, fines, lost keys,damage charges, childcare and accounting fees). This form is also used to alot funds for deposit to your Wolfbucks account.

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Release of Information

In accordance with The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Financial Aid Office will not release information about the student to anyone, (including to parents and spouses), without the specific written consent of the student. An Authorization to Release of Educational Information Form must be completed stating the particular people authorized to obtain information. No information will be given without the form being signed and dated.

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Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

2008 - 2009 Appeal for Reinstatement of Financial Aid

The University of Alaska system has a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy that we believe is consistent with the institutional mission and academic policies of the University. For those who are interested in seeing the new short version click here.

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to retain Financial Aid eligibility whether they are presently receiving financial aid or not.

If a student presently receiving financial aid fails to complete Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) they may have their financial aid placed on probation or suspension until they have submitted an appeal and it has been approved, or they reinstate themselves according to the SAP policy.

Students who are not presently on financial aid but have failed to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress may be ineligible until they have submitted an appeal and it has been approved, or they reinstate themselves according to the SAP policy.

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Scholarship Policy

Scholarships may affect the level of other financial aid you may receive. Please notify the Financial Aid Office once you are aware you will be receiving a Scholarship. Financial holds on your student account may cause scholarship checks and refund checks to be held up. Monitor your Financial Aid Status on UAonline to see if your funds have come in.

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