Understanding Your Financial Aid

You will be notified if your FAFSA was selected for verification and you will need to provide the required documents needed to verify the information submitted on your FAFSA application.

Once we have received the FAFSA information and any required verification or clearance documentation, you will receive a Financial Aid Package Notification. This notification will ask you to review your package, accept the awards that you would like to receive, and complete the remaining documents necessary for you to receive the aid (i.e. Loans require a Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling).

All documents must be submitted within ten (10) days from the date you are notified.

Your Federal Financial Aid package is determined based on your computed Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number with consideration to the estimated cost of attendance for the academic year (as listed below) and any other specific financial aid program requirements.  A financial aid package can include a variety of combinations of gift aid and self-help aid. Your federal financial aid package is based on need and award limits; all tuition and fee charges for the academic year may not be covered completely through the Federal Program. The only way for CSU-Global Campus to determine your eligibility is if you apply.

The estimated cost of attendance includes tuition, books, and estimated indirect costs (housing, food, personal expenses, etc.) as well as estimated loan fees. Indirect costs (living expense allowance) are based upon guidance of the suggested monthly amounts from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE). As a fully online university, CSU-Global’s cost of attendance, however, does not include transportation and housing is modified to be 50% of the actual amount provided by the CCHE.

Estimated 2013-2014 Cost of Attendance Budgets Based on Eight (8) Months of Attendance

Cost of Attendance is based on the assumption that a student would attend all terms of the academic year. If a student chooses to take a term off within an academic year, the cost of attendance would be reduced by two months worth of indirect costs and estimated loan fees. Tuition and book amounts will be based on the credit hours expected for the academic year.

Students who are enrolled less than half-time have a separate cost of attendance, which does not include any housing allowance. Further, students who are living on a military base or who receive Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) will not have a housing allowance included in their budget. This applies to students where a member of the household (student, spouse, or parent) is receiving BAH during the academic year. Incarcerated students will only have tuition, books, and fees included in their budgets. Original budgets and packaging is based on the assumption that students attend all terms or all eight (8) months of the academic year.

Now that you’ve been awarded financial aid, the next step is to review your award letter and choose which awards you would like to accept. Accepting your awards means that you are acknowledging that you want to receive the financial aid awarded to you. When you accept a loan, you are accepting the responsibility of repaying these funds. Please note that you do not have to accept the entire award given to you if you do not need it. The Pell Grant is automatically accepted. 

To accept financial aid that has been awarded, follow these steps:

1. Open your web browser and go to https://mycampus.csuglobal.org/
2. Click on the first link, labeled "Student Portal Homepage"
3. Log in using your user ID and password
4. On the left hand side of the menu you should see a series of links with a green background.
5. Click on the link labeled "My Financial Aid."
6. Once you've clicked on it you should see a couple of options pop up underneath the green label. Click on the option labeled "Award Letter."
7. This will pull up information about your award letter.  The award letter shows you all of the awards that you are eligible to receive including grants and loans. Grants are automatically approved if you qualify; however, loans require your acceptance.
8. In the loan section you can accept the full amount of each award by clicking on the box all the way on the right hand side of the loan. However, if you want to accept only a portion, there is a text box to the left of the check box where you can enter the amount of the loan(s) you wish to accept.  Be sure that you submit the changes for the lower amount.
9. Be sure to check all of the awards that you want to accept, then scroll to the bottom of the page click on the "Accept All Awards" button.

Loan Entrance Counseling

The Department of Education requires that every student who accepts a federal Stafford loan first complete Loan Entrance Counseling. Loan Entrance Counseling provides you with important information regarding your rights, responsibilities, and obligations for the student loans you borrow. To complete entrance counseling, go to https://studentloans.gov and click on “Complete Entrance Counseling.” You will need a PIN issued by the Department of Education in order to utilize the loan counseling site. If you do not have a PIN or have forgotten the PIN, please visit the PIN website at http://www.pin.ed.gov. 

Master Promissory Note

Students that receive the federal Stafford loan are also required to complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN).  The MPN is used to simplify the loan process and only needs to be completed once even if you renew financial aid over multiple semesters (a new FAFSA form is required to re-apply each year). Your MPN includes instructions for deferment, repayment, and interest. You will receive information on how to complete your MPN online after you accept your loan.  The Borrowers' Rights and Responsibilities form and disclosure statement will be provided with your MPN. The disclosure statement is a reminder that you will be receiving a loan that must be repaid and includes:

• Loan principal amount
• Origination fee
• Insurance premium fee
• Cumulative principal debt for loans made by your lender
• Actual interest rate
• The name and address of your lender
• Net amount of each scheduled disbursement
• Expected date of each disbursement

Reapplying for Financial Aid

Students must reapply for Federal financial aid every award year by completing the most current FAFSA at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Privately awarded financial aid may require additional documentation to continue to receive scholarships and loans.  Carefully review your individual financial aid terms and conditions to ensure compliance with eligibility and academic standing while receiving financial aid.

Financial aid awards are divided into disbursements that coincide with the number of remaining terms in the semester. Disbursement of funds will not occur until all of the required paperwork has been completed, the drop/add period for the term has passed, and the student has met the disbursement criteria for the fund source.

• Federal Pell Grant – Funds can be disbursed even if enrollment status is less than half-time.
• Federal Loans– Loans will not be disbursed until a student is enrolled in at least half-time status for the semester. For undergraduate students, attendance in at least 6 credit hours is required. For graduate students, attendance in at least 3 credit hours is required.

The individual plan and schedule for disbursement is detailed in the Financial Aid Package Notification. 

Credit Balance

In the event that financial aid exceeds all the expenses for a term, a credit balance is created in the amount due back to the student. A check for this difference will be mailed to the student or an Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit will be initiated to the account on file within 14 days. For ACH deposits, student must have provided the approval form to CSU‐Global Financial Services 10 days prior to the start of the term. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the mailing address and account on file are accurate.

Federal and state regulations require that all students receiving financial assistance meet standards for satisfactory academic progress to maintain eligibility for their financial assistance. In order to comply with these regulations, CSU‐Global Campus has developed the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. This policy is designed to measure minimum acceptable academic progress for financial assistance purposes and includes both Qualitative and Quantitative criteria as outlined.

Qualitative and Quantitative Policy Criteria

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is designed to measure minimum acceptable academic progress for financial assistance purposes and includes both Qualitative and Quantitative criteria as outlined.

Qualitative

• Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA): Undergraduate & Degree-Plus students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.00. Graduate students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00.
• Repeating Courses: If a student does not receive a passing grade for a course, he/she may repeat the course one time (per course). Only the grade and credit for the most recent attempt will be used in calculating total hours earned and total cumulative grade point averages.
• GPA Calculation: Grades of W (Withdrawal) are not computed in the grade-point average but will count towards attempted hours addressed below.

Quantitative

• Credit Hours Earned: A student enrolled at the University must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 75% of the credit hours attempted. Satisfactory completion is defined as receiving a passing grade of D or better. Any transfer credits accepted by the university will count as completed courses in this calculation. Courses dropped within the drop/add period will not count towards completion percentage.
• Cumulative Credit Hours Limit: Students at the University may earn a maximum number of credit hours while pursuing a degree. Students will be allowed to earn a maximum of 150% of the number of hours required by the degree-granting program. Maximum credit hour limits for each type of degree-granting program are as follows:
• 1st Bachelor’s Degree: 180 semester hours
• 2nd Bachelor’s Degree: 45 semester hours
• Graduate Programs: 54 semester hours
• Please Note: Maximum credit hours earned include hours transferred from other institutions, all attempted credit hours at CSU-Global Campus including repeated courses, and hours earned during a period of academic renewal.
• Withdrawals and Incompletes: A grade of “W” for withdrawing from all or some of a student’s classes and incomplete grades are counted towards the students credit hours attempted. Students who receive incomplete grades are expected to complete the coursework by the end of the following term, unless there is an existing Satisfactory Progress issue.

Failure to Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements will not be enforced until the student has attempted 12 credit hours at CSU-Global Campus (students in the undergraduate program) or 6 credits (students in the graduate program).  After that point, Satisfactory Academic Progress will be measured at the end of each semester, regardless of the number of credits attempted therein.

Students who do not meet the SAP minimum requirements will be placed on a probationary status for the following semester in which they attempt credits.  Students will have one probationary semester in which to meet SAP requirements. At the end of the probationary semester, if students fail to meet SAP requirements, their financial aid will be suspended and they will lose their financial aid eligibility until SAP requirements are again being met, or an appeal for reinstatement has been submitted and approved by the Satisfactory Academic Progress Committee.  Appeals from students who are on Academic Suspension will not have their financial aid appeals reviewed until they have received an approval for the academic suspension appeal.  Students who have been denied their academic suspension will not have appeals for financial aid reviewed.

Appeal Process

If mitigating circumstances exist (e.g. medical withdrawal, death of an immediate family member, call to active duty military, catastrophic event, etc.) an appeal may be submitted up until the Friday before the next semester begins. Appeals submitted after the deadline will not be considered until the following semester. Complete appeal packets will consist of the following documents:

• Financial Aid Appeal Form
• Documentation supporting appeal (i.e. letter from advisor or faculty, medical documentation, obituary notice, graduation planning sheet)

I. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to prohibit conflicts of interest in situations involving student financial aid and to establish standards of conduct for employees with responsibility for student financial aid.  As a participant in the federal student aid programs, and more specifically the student loan programs, Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-G) is required to develop, publish, administer, and enforce a code of conduct that complies with the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. The obligations set out in this policy do not modify or supersede requirements previously set forth by other State and Federal law.

II. Applicability

This Policy applies to all employees in Student Financial Services and all other CSU-G employees who have responsibilities related to education loans or other forms of student financial aid. Agents of the University with responsibility for education loans or other student financial aid are also expected to abide by the terms of this Policy.

III. Definitions

A. Conflict of Interest: A conflict of interest exists when an employee’s financial interests or other opportunities for personal benefit may compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, the independence of judgment with which the employee performs his/her responsibilities at the University.

B. Gift: Any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than a de minimus amount. The term includes a gift of services, transportation, lodging, or meals, whether provided in kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred. The term “gift” does not include any of the following: 

1. Standard materials, activities, or programs on issues related to a loan, default aversion, default prevention, or financial literacy, such as a brochure, a workshop, or training.
2. Training or informational material furnished to the University as an integral part of a training session that is designed to improve the service of a lender, guarantor, or servicer of educational loans to the University, if such training contributes to the professional development of the University’s employees.
3. Favorable terms, conditions, and borrower benefits on an education loan provided to a student employed by the University   if such terms, conditions, or benefits are comparable to those provided to all students of the University and are not provided because of the student’s   employment with the University. 

4. Entrance and exit counseling services provided to borrowers to meet the University’s responsibilities for entrance and exit counseling under federal law, so long as the University’s employees are in control of the counseling, and such counseling does not promote the products or services of any specific lender.
5. Philanthropic contributions to an institution from a lender, servicer, or guarantor of education loans that are unrelated to education loans or any contribution from any lender, guarantor, or servicer that is not made in exchange for any advantage related to education loans.
6. State education grants, scholarships, or financial aid funds administered by or on behalf of a State.

C. Opportunity pool loan: A private education loan made by a lender to a student attending the University or the family member of such a student that involves a payment, directly or indirectly, by the University of points, premiums, additional interest, or financial support to such lender for the purpose of such lender extending credit to the student or the family. 


D. Revenue-sharing arrangement: An arrangement between the University and a lender under which (a) a lender provides or issues a loan to students attending the CSU-G or to their families; and (b) the CSU-G recommends the lender or the loan products of the lender and in exchange, the lender pays a fee or provides other materials benefits, including revenue or profit sharing, to the CSU-G or its employees.

IV. Institutional Policy Regarding Education Loans and Student Financial Aid

A. Revenue-Sharing Arrangements: 
The CSU-G will not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender. 


B. Interaction with Borrowers: 
When participating in the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), the CSU-G will not assign a first-time borrower’s federal loan, through award packaging or other methods, to a particular lender. The CSU-G will not refuse to certify, or delay certification of, any federal loan based on the borrower’s selection or a particular lender or guaranty agency. 


C. Private Loans: 
The CSU-G will not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans (as defined in the Federal Truth in Lending Act), including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the University providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with (i) a specified number of federal loans; (ii) a specified federal loan volume; or a preferred lender arrangement for federal loans.

D. Co-Branding: 
The CSU-G will not permit a private educational lender (as defined in the Federal Truth in Lending Act) to use the institution’s name, emblem, mascot, logo, or any other words, pictures, or symbols associated with CSU-G to imply endorsement of private educational loans by that lender.

E. Staffing Assistance: 
The CSU-G will not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing. Nothing in this section, however, prevents the CSU-G from accepting assistance from a lender related to (i) professional development training for its staff; (ii) providing educational counseling materials, financial literacy materials, or debt management materials to borrowers, provided that such materials disclose to borrowers the identification of any lender that assisted in preparing or providing such materials; or (iii) staffing services on a short-term, nonrecurring basis to assist the CSU-G with financial aid-related functions during emergencies, including State-declared or federally declared natural disasters, federally declared national disasters, and other localized disasters and emergencies identified by the Secretary of Education.

V.   Employee Code of Conduct

A. Conflicts of Interest: No employee shall have a conflict of interest with respect to any education loan or other student financial aid for which the employee has responsibility.
No employee may process any transaction related to his/her own personal financial aid eligibility or that of a relative. “For the purposes of this Policy, a “relative” is defined as an individual with whom an employee has a relationship by blood, marriage, adoption, domestic partnership, or other personal relationship in which objectivity might be impaired.”

B. Gifts: No employee may accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans. A gift to a family member of an employee or to any other individual based on that individual’s relationship with the employee shall be considered a gift to the employee if the gift is given with the knowledge and acquiescence of the employee and the employee has reason to believe the gift was given because of the employee’s position at the University.

C. Prohibited Contracting Arrangements: No employee shall accept from any lender or affiliate of any lender any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans. 


D. Advisory Board Compensation:
No employee who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors may receive anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors in return for that service.  The employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such boards, commissions or groups.

VI.   Policy Violations

Violations of this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal.

Loans and some other financial aid require a student to repay the borrowed amount with interest after graduation or change in student status. For many student loans a grace period of 6 months is typical, but each student loan (federal and private) is different, so contact your lender for specifics on your repayment expectations. Note: Grants and Scholarships generally do not have to be repaid if a student graduates from their degree program in good academic standing.

You have a choice of several repayment plans that are designed to meet the different needs of individual borrowers. The amount you pay and the length of time to repay your loans will vary depending on the repayment plan you choose. The Federal Student Aid website has Repayment Plans and Calculators for more information about the various repayment plans available to help calculate estimated repayment amounts under each of the different plans. Repayment options and expectations for private loans are available from the specific lender.

Loan Exit Counseling

You should complete Loan Exit Counseling when you have either dropped below half-time, withdrawn from the University, or graduated from your program. Loan Exit Counseling provides important information regarding your rights, responsibilities, and obligations for student loans you borrowed. Exit Counseling prepares you for repayment once you are no longer enrolled at least half-time and provides you with important information regarding your loan history. Loan Exit Counseling is provided through https://studentloans.gov, and this counseling will allow you to view all federal student loans that you have borrowed throughout your education and provides you with estimated repayment information.

Federal financial aid is awarded with the expectation that you will complete the coursework for which you received the funding. If you withdraw from all of your courses in a term or for the full semester, or do not complete your courses with a grade of D or higher determine what percentage of the disbursed financial aid you have earned.

Return to Title IV

Students who unregister from classes during the drop/add period for each term within the semester will receive a 100% tuition refund for that term and be responsible for repaying all of their financial aid funds back to the University. Students who withdraw after the drop/add period for each term within a semester will incur tuition charges.

Federal financial aid is awarded with the expectation that a student will complete the coursework for which he or she received the funding. If a student withdraws from all of their courses in a term or semester, CSU-Global Campus must use the U.S. Department of Education Return of Title IV funds guidelines to determine what percentage of the disbursed financial aid the student has earned. The amount of the course completed by each student at the time of withdrawal will be used to determine the amount of earned aid. If the University determines the student has not earned the full amount of the financial aid that was disbursed, Student Financial Services will return the unearned portion of funds to the U.S. Department of Education. This may create a balance of unpaid charges for which the student will be responsible. Please refer to Student Financial Services paragraph titled ‘Outstanding Student Account Balances’ in the academic catalog for more information.

Students who do not complete the official withdrawal process will receive the instructor assigned grade for all courses attempted. Students who do not earn a grade of D or higher in any of the courses attempted in a semester will also be subject to the Return of Title IV funds process described herein. Contact your financial aid advisor for further details.

Determining Earned Financial Aid

To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, CSU-Global Campus divides the number of calendar days the student has attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the semester (minus any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more).  The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (either to the student's university account or to the student directly by check or direct deposit) for the semester.

This calculation determines the amount of aid earned by the student that he or she may keep (for example, if the student attended 25% of the term, the student will have earned 25% of the aid disbursed). The unearned amount (total aid disbursed minus the earned amount) must be returned to the federal government by the university and/or the student.  CSU-Global Campus will notify and provide instructions to students who are required to return funds to the government.

If you are considering withdrawing from classes, it is recommended that you first speak with a Financial Advisor to determine how withdrawing will affect your situation.

Allocation of Returned Federal Funds

Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reimburse the individual federal programs from which a student has received the aid. Financial aid returned (by CSU-Global and/or the student or parent) must be allocated, in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:

• Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
• Federal Subsidized Direct Loan
• Federal Direct PLUS (Parent) Loan or Grad PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Other Federal Loan or Grant Assistance