Student Financial Services
CONDITIONS OF AWARD
Beginning with Award Year 2008-2009
Students receiving any type of financial aid must carefully read the following information prior to accepting or declining aid offered. Contact the Office of Student Financial Services if you have any questions. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday. The office is located on the second floor in Palmer Hall. Telephone: (205) 665-6050; Fax (205) 665-6047.
You will be notified of your financial aid award from the University of Montevallo at your home address. In the near future, award notifications will be sent to your UM email address.
When you receive your award letter, please mark “accept” or “decline” and sign the award letter and submit it to the Office of Student Financial Services.
By accepting the aid that has been offered, you agree to comply with the conditions of your award explained here. Failure to meet the requirements may result in your having to repay funds and/or being denied future financial aid from the University of Montevallo.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AWARD
Any need based financial aid is subject to revision for any of the following reasons:
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In the process of verifying the information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, an error is discovered which when corrected changes your eligibility;
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A change in regulations governing federal, state or institutional programs occurs and requires an adjustment to be made;
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Funding levels in federal, state or institutional programs are reduced;
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Additional assistance is received which was not previously included in the award package.
Report to the Office of Student Financial Services any additional assistance received from other sources including scholarships, loans, fellowship, and other educational benefits. This includes veteran benefits and vocational rehabilitation benefits. If this information reaches the Office of Student Financial Services after an award has been made, the aid initially awarded may be adjusted. You may be required to repay federal aid that was awarded prior to the adjustment.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESSTo receive federal aid you must be making satisfactory academic progress as defined in the University Bulletin and at http://www.montevallo.edu/finaid/Basic_Information.shtm#SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS.
ENROLLMENT STATUSUnless otherwise stated, all aid is based on enrollment as a full time student which is defined as 12 credit hours per semester for undergraduates and 9 credit hours for graduates. To receive federal loans, you must enroll for a minimum of 6 credit hours which is considered half time for undergraduates and graduate students. If you drop below full time, certain types of aid may be cancelled or reduced. Notify the Office of Student Financial Services if you do not enroll as a full time student.
CEASE TO ATTEND CLASSNotify the Office of Student Financial Services if you cease to attend class at the University before the end of the term. If you withdraw or cease to attend prior to the 60% point of the term, you may be required to repay all or a portion of the aid you received. University records cannot be released until repayment is made. If you cannot complete the term, you are strongly advised to complete the official withdrawal process in Records.
For more information, please read Consequences of Withdrawal which is located on the following page of the UM website: www.montevallo.edu/finaid/Basic_Information.shtm#STUDENT%20financial%20aid%20POLICIES.
AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF INFORMATION
By accepting your award you are authorizing the Office of Student Financial Services to release information about the amount and type of aid you are receiving to other offices and agencies as may be needed to administer the financial aid programs. This includes the release of information for collection of student loans in the event repayment obligations are not met. You also agree to allow the release of your major, grade point average and general biographical information to donors of any scholarship or special funds which you may receive.
TYPES OF AID THAT MAY BE AWARDED
Typically scholarships and grants do not have to be repaid. Loans must be repaid.
Scholarships
Scholarships typically require full time enrollment (Undergraduate 12 hours; Graduate 9 hours). Most institutional scholarships are awarded by the various departments or by the Scholarship Committee and the Office of Admissions. Typically as these scholarships are awarded you will receive information from the department making the award.
Several types of scholarships (athletics, MAPS, etc.) which cover specific charges such as tuition will be shown on the award letter as estimated. This is because the actual charges may not be known at the time of the award. These estimates will be changed when actual amounts are known.
Federal Pell Grant (FAFSA Required)
This grant is based on income, cost of attendance and enrollment status. Funds are awarded based on full time (12 hours or more), ¾ time (9-11 hours), ½ time (6-8 hours) and less than half time. Often students enrolled less than half time are not eligible for assistance.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FAFSA Required)
This grant is awarded to the neediest Pell Grant recipients based on hours of enrollment. Funds are limited.
Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (FAFSA Required)
This grant is awarded to students who are eligible for Pell Grant and have completed a rigorous high school curriculum. High school transcript must be on file in the Office of Admissions and students must be enrolled full time (12 or more credit hours). Federal regulations governing this program are too numerous to include in this document.
Federal National SMART Grant (FAFSA Required)
This grant is awarded to college juniors and seniors who are eligible for Pell Grant and are majoring in specific fields of math, science and foreign languages. Federal regulations governing this program are too numerous to include in this document.
Alabama Student Assistance Grant (FAFSA Required)
This grant is awarded to the neediest Pell Grant recipients based on hours of enrollment. Funds are limited.
Federal Work Study (FAFSA Required)
Students awarded work study will be paid monthly for hours worked during the previous month. Contact the Career Counseling Center in Main Hall for job openings. Then contact the department you are interested in and if hired you will need to verify citizenship and complete state and federal tax information prior to working. You will also need to contact the Office of Student Financial Services to activate your job placement and complete additional paperwork. Funds are limited.
Federal Perkins Loan (FAFSA Required)
The Perkins Loan is for the purpose of helping to meet your educational expenses. After you “accept” the loan offer, you will receive additional information from the Office of Student Financial Services regarding repayment, the signing of your promissory note, etc. It is a loan so it must be repaid according to the conditions of the Master Promissory Note (MPN). The University of Montevallo is the lender, but repayment will be handled by Campus Partners. By accepting the Perkins Loan, you are consenting to use an electronic signature process to sign your MPN with Campus Partners. You are also confirming that you have the necessary hardware/software to view and complete the electronic process. If you do not consent to this process, you must notify the Office of Student Financial Services in writing and a separate process will be set up for you. You may cancel or reduce the loan by contacting the Office of Student Financial Services.
Federal Stafford Loan (FAFSA required)
(Subsidized/Unsubsidized) – new borrowers or borrowers who change lenders must go to www.kheaa.com to complete the process.
For a list of Federal Stafford Loan lender benefits, please click this link: forms/StaffordLenderList.pdf
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From KHEAA’s home page click Entrance and Exit Counseling and select Mapping Your Future and make certain you complete “entrance” not “exit” counseling.
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Go back to KHEAA’s home page and click eSign Your MPN. There you will sign the Master Promissory Note and also select a lender.
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If you decide to cancel or reduce the amount of the loan after signing the MPN, contact the Office of Student Financial Services immediately.
If you prefer to use a lender not on the list, do not complete the process! Immediately notify the Office of Student Financial Services that you will be using a different lender. Provide the lender name and the guarantee agency if known. Your loan will be processed in a different manner, but in most cases this will still be an automated process.
Federal GradPLUS Loan (FAFSA required)
This is a federal loan for graduate students only. If this loan is part of your award letter, you have contacted financial aid and requested the loan. Typically graduate students at the University of Montevallo are not eligible for this loan because the Stafford loan covers the entire cost of attendance with no remaining eligibility. In some cases, the funds may be available during the summer.
For a list of Federal GradPLUS lender benefits, please click this link: forms/GradPLUSLenderList.pdf
If you have not already completed the process, please go online at www.kheaa.com and click on eSign Your MPN and select PLUS Graduate/Professional Loan. You will complete entrance counseling with Mapping Your Future (if you have not already done so) and select a lender. The loan will be certified electronically.
FEDERAL PARENT PLUS LOANS (FAFSA required)If the Parent PLUS loan is on the award letter, your parent has probably already completed at least a portion of the process indicated here.
Parents of dependent students may borrow up to the cost of attendance minus any financial aid that the student receives. Parents begin repayment within 60 days of the final disbursement. This loan is not automatically awarded.
To apply for the loan, a parent may go online at www.kheaa.com and click on "Pre-approval Zip Decision" and select PLUS Parent. If the loan is pre-approved online, the parent may download the PLUS Parent Loan application at www.montevallo.edu/finaid/forms/ or request the form from the Office of Student Financial Services. The application must be completed and submitted to the Office of Student Financial Services for certification. If the loan is not pre-approved but denied, the dependent student may contact the Office of Student Financial Services to request additional funds through the unsubsidized Stafford loan program.
For a list of Federal Parent PLUS lender benefits, please click this link and follow the instructions: forms/PLUSLenderList.pdf
TITLE IV AUTHORIZATION FORM
Federal regulations state that in order to insure that your Federal Student Aid may be used to pay indirect charges (such as a library fine) or unpaid charges from a prior semester; you must complete and submit the required Title IV Authorization Form to the Office of Student Financial Services. Please give this your immediate attention to avoid delays in crediting your account and receiving your refund on a timely basis. You may download this form at http://www.montevallo.edu/finaid/forms/.
REFUNDSCrediting funds to your student account: If you have met all eligibility requirements on a timely basis, your aid will be credited to your account ten days before classes begin. If the aid exceeds the amount of the charges, a refund will be issued by the Cashier’s Office. The IRS considers funds received from grants and scholarships that exceed the cost of tuition, fees, and books to be taxable. Contact the IRS for details.
LOAN CANCELLATION OR REDUCTION
If you are receiving funds through any of the federal loan programs and wish to cancel or reduce any portion of the disbursement, please advise the Office of Student Financial Services immediately.
SUMMER AIDAid for the summer is based on the total hours for which you enroll during the summer (May, Summer I and Summer II) and any remaining eligibility you may have for the year. If you have received the annual maximum for federal aid during the fall and spring semesters, there will be no remaining eligibility for the summer. Applications for summer 2008 are available at http://www.montevallo.edu/finaid/forms/. Beginning with the summer 2009, you will be notified of any eligibility without submitting a supplemental application.
REAPPLYTo be considered for federal aid each year, you must reapply by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon after January 1 as possible at www.fafsa.ed.gov. The priority date for UM students to file the FAFSA is April 1. Federal aid is not automatically renewed.
REVIEWStudents are encouraged to review all of the financial aid information provided on the UM website and to become familiar with Banner Self Service. Contact the Office of Student Financial Services if you have questions or concerns.