Student Policies

Financial Aid Policies

The LSUS Financial Aid Office participates in the following Title IV Federal Financial Aid programs:  the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Family of Educational Loan Programs (commonly called Stafford Student Loans) and Federal Work-Study.

Filing For Financial Aid

• Apply for a personal identification number (PIN) at www.pin.ed.gov.  If you are a dependent student, you will need to obtain a PIN for your parent(s) as well.  The PIN will be used to sign your FAFSA electronically.

• Complete the FAFSA on the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov.  LSUS’s school code is 002013.

• After the FAFSA has been processed by the Department of Education, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR).  Your SAR will be emailed to you if you provided an email address.  If you did not provide an email address, you must check the FAFSA website to obtain your SAR.  Your SAR is used to determine your eligibility for financial aid.

• If your SAR is selected for verification, additional documents will be required. These documents must be submitted to the LSUS Financial Aid Office before you can be awarded financial aid.

• If you are applying for a student loan for the first time at LSUS, you will be required to complete a master promissory note.  Promissory notes are available in the Financial Aid Office.  If you are a first-time LSUS student borrowing student loan funds you are required to complete entrance counseling.  Entrance counseling can be done on-line at www.mapping-your-future.org.

Please Note

• The process of filing for financial aid can take several weeks after your SAR is received.

• Applicants must be seeking a degree or teacher certification.

• Loan applicants must be enrolled in at least six credit hours at LSUS at the time of loan disbursement.  Graduate students must be enrolled in six graduate level credit hours at LSUS at the time of loan disbursement to receive loans at graduate levels.

• Students cannot receive federal financial aid for correspondence courses.

• Students must be fully accepted for admission to the University.  All academic transcripts must be on file and evaluated in the Office of Admissions and Records before you can be awarded.  Provisionally admitted students cannot receive financial aid.

• Students receiving financial aid must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress.

• Students must apply annually for financial aid.

Awarding Process

• After the SAR is received from the Department of Education the student is mailed a letter listing any documents necessary to complete the student’s financial aid file.
• After the required documents have been submitted, the student has been unconditionally accepted for admission and is making academic progress the student’s eligibility for awards is evaluated.
• The student is mailed an award letter listing the awards the student is eligible to receive or a denial letter stating the reason(s) that the student is not eligible for federal financial aid.

• The student returns one copy of the award letter to the Financial Aid Office accepting or declining each form of financial aid listed.

• Three weeks before the beginning of the term the student is required to logon to COMPASS.  Under Financial Aid is a “yes/no” financial aid approval.  The student must give their approval to have their financial aid applied against their tuition and fees.  This approval must be done by the Fee Payment deadline as listed in the University’s catalog or the day the student registers for classes.  If the student is awarded after the term has started the student must have given their approval in order to receive a reimbursement of their financial aid.

Processing Deadlines

If you are applying for financial aid the deadline for a complete file each term is:

• Fall - June 1 (Student is awarded for fall and spring)
• Spring-October 1 (Student is awarded for spring and summer)
• Summer - March 1 (Student is awarded for summer)

If you are attending the summer term a separate data form is required and is available in the Financial Aid Office after February 1 annually.

Complete Financial Aid File

A complete file contains the following documents:

• Student Aid Report
• Student Data Form
• Loan Application
• Loan Counseling if the student is a first-time borrower at LSUS

• Verification Process completed if required

Verification Requirements

Verification is a process required by the United States Department of Education on selected SARs received by LSUS.  Information on the student’s SAR must be checked against documents that the student is required to submit.  If a student’s SAR is selected the student is required to submit the following documents:

• Signed copies of the student’s and/or spouse’s 1040 federal income tax return
• If the student is dependent, signed copy of the parent’s 1040 federal income tax return
• Verification Worksheet
• Worksheet A, B and C from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid
• Other documents stating income and benefits, including but not limited to W2s, 1099s, social security statements

• Documents that establish the student’s dependency status

The verification process is completed before the student is awarded.  Verification must be completed by the following deadlines:

• For student eligible for a Federal Pell Grant within sixty days after the last date of enrollment

• For student eligible for a Federal Stafford Student Loan thirty days prior to the last official class day for the loan period

LSUS reserves the right to require a student to complete verification on any file personnel deem appropriate.

Enrollment Status Definition for Federal Student Aid

All students must be enrolled as at least a part-time student to have eligibility for a Federal Stafford Student Loan and most federal and state grant programs. Students participating in the Federal Work-Study Program at LSUS are generally enrolled at least full-time. Some undergraduate students may have eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant with an enrollment status of less than half-time. The following chart is used for determining a student's enrollment status:

Financial Aid Refund Policy

Students receiving financial aid and who withdraw from the university before attending classes must repay in full all Title IV financial aid except Work-Study received. A student receiving financial aid that withdraws from LSUS after the start of classes and before 60% of the term has lapsed will be responsible for repaying those funds to the U.S. Department of Education and/or LSUS. Refer to the LSUS Bulletin of Classes for LSUS's policy used to calculate the refund of institutional charges. The Federal "Return of Title IV Funds" formula dictates the amount of Federal Title IV aid that must be returned to the federal government by the student and the school if the student completely resigns from LSUS.

Financial aid involved in the formula is Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal LEAP Grant, Federal Stafford Loans or Federal PLUS loans. For determining the percentage of financial aid to be returned to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of calendar days remaining in the term is divided by the number of calendar days in the term. Scheduled breaks of five consecutive days are excluded. If funds remain after Title IV funds have been repaid, they will be used proportionally to repay LSUS scholarships, state scholarships and grants, other private scholarships and the student. This means that if a student receives grant or loan funds in excess of tuition and fees and resigns before 60% of the term has lapsed, the student is responsible for paying the U.S. Department of Education the unearned portion of the grant or loan. LSUS is in turn responsible for paying the U.S. Department of Education that unearned portion that was applied to the student's tuition and fees. Worksheets used to determine the amount of refund of Title IV aid are available upon request. A student's refund will be paid to the Title IV programs in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
2. Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
3. Federal PLUS
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
6. Other federal sources of aid

The non-Title IV share of an institutional refund will be distributed in the following order of priority:

1. State Vocational Rehabilitation
2. VA Vocational Rehabilitation
3. State/Institutional Fee Exemptions
4. LSUS Scholarships
5. State Scholarships
6. Privately funds scholarships/grants as required by donors
7. Student/Parent

The amount returned to a program will not exceed the amount received from that program for that term. If a student receiving a scholarship or financial aid has a fee refund due to dropping hours, the refund will be returned to the source of financial aid according to the following order unless the student's enrollment status still fulfills the requirement of all of his/her sources of financial aid:

1. State Vocational Rehabilitation
2. VA Vocational Rehabilitation
3. State Tuition Scholarship/Fee Exemption
4. LSUS Scholarship/Fee Exemption
5. State Scholarship
6. Federal Pell Grant
7. Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
8. Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan

If a student earns all “F” or “NC” grades at the end of a semester and the student’s teachers report that the student did not attend class past the sixty-percent (60%) point of the semester, that student has “unofficially” withdrawn from the university and is subjected to a Title IV refund.  Fifty-percent (50%) is used in calculating the “unearned” portion of the financial aid that the student has received.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Statement

To be eligible for any federally funded financial assistance, including loans, all students must initially and continually meet the following qualitative and quantitative requirements for satisfactory academic progress. 

Qualitative Measure

Undergraduate:  In measuring a student’s quality measure, cumulative grade point average (GPA), the student must possess the following minimum GPA depending on the number of hours attempted is: 

Graduate:  A graduate student is required to maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA on all graduate coursework.

Quantitative Measure

In calculating the quantitative measure, all hours attempted, including courses from which the student withdrew, received a grade of no credit (NC), incomplete (I) or in progress (IP) must be considered.

An undergraduate student must have completed a designated percentage of the cumulative hours attempted as outlined below:                

An undergraduate student cannot receive financial aid if he/she has attempted more than 150% of hours required for their degree program.  Typically this is 192 hours.

Undergraduate Who Has a Bachelor’s Degree:  A student who already has a bachelor’s degree and is seeking a second bachelor’s degree or teacher certificate is considered as an undergraduate for financial aid purposes.  When evaluating eligibility for financial aid, all undergraduate work is considered, and a student cannot exceed 150% of the hours required for their degree program or teacher certification.

Graduate:  A graduate student must pass at least 80% of all credit hours attempted.   A master’s degree student may attempt up to 150% of the hours required for their degree program.  To be eligible for a graduate student loan, a student must be enrolled in six hours of graduate work.  A graduate student completing required undergraduate courses before beginning graduate studies is considered as an undergraduate student for financial aid purposes.

Academic Bankruptcy:  Academic Bankruptcy only impacts a student’s GPA, (see qualitative measure above).  For Financial Aid purposes ALL HOURS attempted, (see quantitative measure above), are considered.

ACADEMIC PROGRESS IS REVIEWED AT THE END OF EACH SEMESTER ON ALL STUDENTS WHO FAIL TO EARN ANY HOURS.  THE STUDENT MUST MEET THE MEASURES LISTED ABOVE TO RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID.        

Re-establishing Eligibility to Receive Financial Aid

A student failing to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements is notified in writing.  The student may re-establish eligibility by passing enough courses to meet all of the requirements listed above.  Any student who does not meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements and who has mitigating circumstances may appeal his/her case in writing to the Student Financial Aid and Scholarship Committee (committee).  Students are required to document mitigating circumstances.  Students exceeding maximum hours must include a course schedule signed by their academic advisor or college dean outlining remaining required courses.

Conditions for Students on Appeal

If a student has been granted an appeal by the Student Financial Aid and Scholarship Committee, and it is determined during a subsequent review that there is another failure to meet the progress standards, the student is required to submit a new appeal letter and secure their approval to receive financial aid for the next term(s).  Students will be notified in writing if they are required to submit additional appeal letters.

Grant/Scholarship Repayment/Fee Refund

A student who does not complete a semester is responsible for repayment of a prorated amount of any portion of grant/scholarship payments he/she received during the term which cannot reasonably be attributed to meeting educational expenses related to enrollment at LSUS.  If a student is due a fee refund because of dropping hours or resigning from LSUS, this refund may be returned to the grant, scholarship and/or loan funds from which it was received.

                             SUBJECT TO REVISION WITHOUT NOTIFICATION 03/20/08