Rights and Responsibilities

Rights

  1. To know what financial aid programs are available at his/her school.
  2. To know the established application deadlines for each of the available programs.
  3. To know how his/her financial need was determined, including how costs for tuition and fees, room and board, travel, books and supplies, and personal and miscellaneous expenses were considered in his/her educational budget.
  4. To know how much of his/her financial need has been met as determined by the Office of Financial Aid at his/her school or college.
  5. To know what resources (such as student contribution, other financial aid, personal assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation of his/her need.
  6. To know what portion of the financial aid award the student received must be repaid and what portion is grant aid. If a loan is awarded to the student, he/she has the right to know: what the interest rate is, the total amount to be repaid, specific repayment procedures, when repayment begins and the length of the repayment period.
  7. To have a fair and objective analysis of his/her financial situation and financial need by the Office of Financial Aid; and to have the financial need determination, aid awarding and disbursements processes explained to him/her by a member of the Financial Aid staff.
  8. To appeal for a revision or reconsideration of his/her financial aid award by submitting a written appeal to the Office of Financial Aid. The student may be required to provide additional documentation to support his/her appeal.

Responsibilities

  1. To provide accurate and complete information on all application forms and supplemental documents. Misrepresentation or the falsification of information and/or statements on application forms for federal financial aid is a violation of law and can be considered a criminal offense subject to penalties under the U.S. Code. Penalties also apply to state and institutional student aid funds.
  2. To submit all required and additionally requested forms and documentation to the appropriate agency/institution by the established deadlines.
  3. To read and understand all literature, correspondence and forms that the student is asked/required to sign and to keep copies of each for his/her personal records.
  4. To accept responsibility for all agreements that the student signs including federal, state and institutional aid award letters, student employment contracts and loan repayment procedures.
  5. To maintain satisfactory academic progress in accordance with institutional policies which govern the receipt of federal, state and institutional financial aid awards.
  6. To report changes in the following areas to the Office of Financial Aid: (e.g., total number of credits enrolled per term; withdrawal and/or leave of absence intent; change in division status (day/evening), etc.)*
    • enrollment status*
    • anticipated graduation date*
    • name and/or address*
    • financial status/resources
    • marital status

*These changes must also be reported to the appropriate lending institution of each student loan that the student has previously or is currently receiving.

Note: Failure to meet these requirements for reporting changes could result in a total loss of aid, a revision of past awards, and/or serious disciplinary action. In cases where it appears that fraud or willful misrepresentation is involved, the Office of Financial Aid must notify the U.S. Department of Education's Inspector General's Office for further action.