General Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to receive federal, state, or institutional financial aid, you must meet the following conditions. If you fail to meet one of these conditions at any time during the period covered by your financial aid offer, your award may be revised or cancelled:

• Be a U.S. Citizen or Eligible Non-Citizen;
• Not be in default on a prior education loan or owe a repayment on a prior education grant;
• Have earned a HS diploma, G.E.D. or has completed homeschooling at the secondary level as defined by state law;
• Be admitted to and maintain enrollment in an eligible program as a regular degree or certificate-seeking student;
• If male, be registered with the Selective Service Administration,
• Not have been convicted of a drug offense resulting in termination of eligibility for federal benefits,
• Meet the academic progress standards for maintaining satisfactory academic progress for financial aid,
• Not be incarcerated in a federal or state penal institution.

Verification of FAFSA Information

Your eligibility for financial aid may have been determined using estimated or incomplete information from your completed FAFSA. You may be requested to provide additional documentation to complete your financial aid file. Until all requested documentation is turned into the financial aid, you will not receive a financial aid package. Please visit your MyUCCS portal to review any outstanding financial aid documents. More Information

Accepting, Reducing, or Declining Awards

You can view updated information about your financial aid awards online. Follow these steps to access your awards:

• Sign into the myUCCS Self Service,
• Click the Financial Aid tab in the Finances section,
• Click the "View Your Award Status" button,
• Under the Finances section click "Accept/Decline Awards", and select the current academic year.

Full-Time Enrollment

An undergraduate student is considered to be attending full-time in a semester if he is enrolled in 12 undergraduate credit hours during that semester. Full-time graduate students need to be enrolled in 5 graduate hours.

UCCS requires students to be enrolled in classes in order to receive financial aid. Enrollment levels help determine the amount of financial aid a student will receive.

The chart below can help you to determine your enrollment status for UCCS financial aid programs.

*Certain courses and credit levels may be aided differently. For more information contact the financial aid office.

Transfer Monitoring

The U.S. Department of Education requires all schools to initiate a Transfer Monitoring process for any student who begins studies mid-year or in the summer to verify remaining Title IV financial aid eligibility for the award year. A Transfer Monitoring Hold must be placed on your federal financial aid at UCCS for ten (10) days until this process has been completed.

There is no action needed by you during this process. However, if you did receive financial aid at another school during this award year, you must have any pending financial aid disbursements at that school canceled.

Federal Stafford Loan Fees

As a participant of the William D. Ford Direct loan program you are subject to a 1% origination fee on each loan you borrow in the 2013-2014 academic year. You will receive a Loan Disclosure statement from Direct Loan Servicing explaining all fees. Your financial aid award letter reflects the amount of your original principal balance. More Information

Stafford Borrower Rights and Responsibilities

As a Stafford Loan borrower, you are expected to understand your rights and responsibilities. For more information, review the Stafford rights and responsibilities page.

Loan Proration for Graduating Borrowers

Per Federal regulation UCCS is required to prorate a dependent or independent undergraduate student's annual Stafford loan limits, when they are enrolled in one semester and will graduate in the same academic year. This mostly will affect students that will graduate from their program of study at the end of the fall term. More Information

Additional Financial Assistance

If you receive additional funds not listed on your financial aid award letter (scholarships, grants, loans or other financial assistance.), report them immediately by contacting the financial aid office or logging into myUCCS and clicking "Report Private Scholarships." If there is any change to your financial aid eligibility because of the additional financial assistance, you will receive email notification that you have a revised award letter available. Please be aware that your current financial aid award may be adjusted or reduced, even if your aid has already disbursed.

Overawards

An "overaward" is when your need based awards exceed your financial need, or the total of your awards exceed your cost of attendance. If you have been overawarded, federal regulations require UCCS to adjust your awards which may result in a bill.

Common reasons an overaward can occur are:

• Receiving additional financial assistance
• Change in residency status
• Change in enrollment status
• Changes due to completion of verification

Work study Awards

An award of Federal , State, or Institutional Work Study provides you with an opportunity to work in a position, for which you have been hired, that is eligible for work study funding. The awards shown on your award letter are estimates of what you could earn based on your financial need, expected hours of work, and hourly pay rate. Work study funds are earned over the course of the academic year and are paid to you according to the UCCS payroll schedule. You are not guaranteed to earn this award amount, and this award amount may be reduced or canceled if you are unable to secure employment. More Information

Summer Financial Aid

Summer financial aid consists of unused financial aid eligibility from the prior Fall and Spring terms. If you are offered and accept the annual maximum limits of grants, loans, or other aid for the academic year, your financial aid eligibility for the Summer term will be limited to alternative loans.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students applying for, and those receiving Federal and State of Colorado financial aid from UCCS are required to maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) towards a degree. Maintaining SAP requires students to meet completion rate, maximum fundable semester hours, and minimum grade point average expectations. More Information

Processing Time Expectations

Please be aware that the Office of Financial Aid experiences seasonal changes in volume. These changes may affect expected processing times.

Withdrawals

The University defines withdrawing as a termination of all  your enrollment for the term. If a student withdraws:

• Prior to the scheduled census date for the term the student will receive a 100% tuition refund (less any non-refundable fees). State and institutional aid that has disbursed to the student account will be cancelled and the student may need to return these funds to the university.  Federal aid will be reduced using the Return of Title IV funds calculation.
• After the scheduled census date for the term, all federal (Title IV)aid will be adjusted according to federal regulations (Return of Title IV Aid). State and institutional aid will not be adjusted.

More information

Course Degree Applicability

It is presumed that the courses for which you register will apply to your general education requirements or to your requirements for a major. If a course is found not to meet any degree requirements, the Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to adjust your enrollment status for the purpose of determining award eligibility.