Office of Financial Aid
Award Letter Conditions/Policies and Procedures

Last Updated: 07/11/2011

1. All students are awarded initially for an academic year – either on Semesters for Fall/Spring or on T-Terms for T1-T4 (see #2 below).  You must sign and return the original (white copy) Notification of Financial Aid Award to the Financial Aid Office in a timely manner for proper processing of your award.  If not attending for Fall Semester or T-Term 1, you should indicate the Semester or T-Term you will attend on the bottom of the signed award letter.  If we award you prior to May for the approaching Fall, we will check Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) (see #10) after grades are issued; if you do not meet SAP, we will cancel your award pending your appeal.
   
   
2. Your award is divided into either two or four disbursements based upon your home location; Troy, Montgomery, Dothan, and Phenix City are Semester based (two disbursements) while Global Campus and unknown locations are T-Term based (four disbursements).  You can check your awarded disbursement pattern on your Trojan Web Express Award Status by year or by calling the Call Center (800) 414-5756.  Once you accept your award for the year, you may not change the disbursement pattern until the next academic year.  Federal law regarding equal disbursements requires your disbursements either be for Semesters (2) or for T-Terms (4).  There is rarely a good solution if you mix Semesters and T-Terms (see FAQ on the FA website).
   
   
3. All new and continuing federal loan borrowers must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) for the Federal Direct Student Loan Program.  Your loan is not guaranteed until the MPN is completed.  This sequence must be followed:  return the award letter, Troy University certifies the loan, and then you complete the MPN and Entrance Counseling. To complete an MPN and Entrance Counseling, please login at https://studentloans.gov and complete the steps. 
   
   
4. After you are awarded and enrolled you should not make changes yourself to your FAFSA data for the same award year in which you are enrolled.  Always request (in writing with documentation) for the financial aid office to make changes to you FAFSA data or your disbursements could be cancelled or reversed.  This is especially true if we have reviewed your data with a process called Verification.  If you make changes to FAFSA data altering your eligibility for assistance for the year in which you are currently enrolled, we will select you for Verification if the Department of Education failed to do so.
   
   
5. Student loan funds can only be disbursed for the period of the loan request.  If you cease to be enrolled, drop below half-time, or graduate, all loan funds for future disbursements will be cancelled.  Financial Aid is credited to your student account after the last day of free drop/add (approximately one week after classes have begun).  Student credit balances will be available through the Trojan One Card which will be mailed to the student and require activation.  Always make sure your address is correct.
   
   
6. If you did not/will not attend Fall Semester or T-Term 1, your award letter will be cancelled when we determine you are not enrolled.  You will need to send a Partial Year Loan Request Form after you have been awarded to reinstate aid cancelled for non-enrollment, to inform us of a grade level change, or to let us know that you are changing from an undergraduate to a graduate program.  Send this request form to Troy University in Troy, Dothan, or Montgomery for processing.  Not all requests can be accommodated.  Check our website or call the number above for more information.  We will check SAP again prior to reactivation of your awards.
   
   
7. Scholarship questions should be directed to the department or agency that selected you for the scholarship.  If you signed a scholarship agreement, you should review that document first.  If we renew your scholarship prior to May for the approaching Fall, we will check your eligibility for renewal after grades are issued.  If you do not meet the required renewal standards, your award will be cancelled and you will be notified.
   
   
8. Transfer of Funds Certification:  My signature on this award letter authorizes Troy University to transfer any student aid funds received to my student account for payment or charges related to my enrollment (including appropriate fines, fees, books, etc.).  See University Store for book charge policy. 
   
   
9. POLICIES GOVERNING FINANCIAL AID AWARDS

STUDENT EMPLOYMENT:  Any amount listed on your financial aid award letter for student employment is only an estimate of potential earnings.  Students offered employment would be paid minimum wage for actual hours worked, not to exceed 13 hours per week.  Students will be notified of the job assignments after their award notices are signed and returned.

COURSE LOAD:  You must enroll full time each Semester/T-Term at the appropriate level in order to receive maximum financial aid benefits.  If you drop hours your aid may be reduced or cancelled.  Students awarded graduate loan amounts are only eligible based on their graduate course load which counts toward their graduate degree.  Six Month Contract Learning courses, transient courses, and certification program courses are NOT eligible to receive federal assistance.

Academic Level Undergraduate Undergraduate Graduate Graduate
Attendance Pattern Semesters T-Terms Semesters T-Terms
Full Time 12 6 8-9 6
Three Quarter Time 9-11 4-5 7 4-5
Half Time 6-8 3 4-6 3

(NOTE: class attendance is required to receive any type of financial aid.  Students reported for non-attendance by faculty will have their aid reduced or cancelled.)

WITHDRAWALS:  Students who withdraw are required to notify the Financial Aid Office and may be required to repay all or part of any financial aid awarded for that Semester/T-Term.  You will be billed for any overpayment.  If you have any questions, visit www.troy.edu/financial/withdrawal.htm.  You will not be able to register for an approaching Semester/T-Term until any balance owed is repaid.

Pell Grant – (Can only be used at one institution for the same enrollment period.)  Multi-Institution Adjustments:  Awards are based on the total eligibility for the award year.  If a Pell Grant is received at another institution for the same award year, your student account will be adjusted and you will be responsible for any balance.  Typically, until we bill the Department of Education for your disbursed Pell Grant, we are not informed of your use of it at another institution (until that institution also bills the Department of Education) for the same award year.  You may avoid this problem by writing on your award letter that you have used part of your Pell Grant eligibility at another institution.  You should indicate whether the amount you received was for full time, three quarter time, half time or less than half time enrollment and the number of semesters or quarters you received it.

PERKINS LOANS:  Students awarded these loans must complete their promissory note online at http://www.troy.edu/financialaid/perkins.htm and return it to the Troy Financial Aid Office (Troy University, Troy, Alabama  36082) with their award letter.

SUMMER AWARDS:  All awards are set up for the Fall and Spring Semesters/T-Terms only.  Students desiring assistance for summer will be required to complete a separate application to determine if funds are available for Summer Semester/T-Term 5.  You can view your award online at Trojan Web Express.  ALL STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SAVE FUNDS FOR THIS PERIOD.

CHANGE OF STATUS/ADDITIONAL AWARDS:  Troy University reserves the right to adjust or cancel any aid if your academic or financial status changes OR if you receive additional types of aid that change your eligibility.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS:  All financial aid commitments are contingent upon the total receipt of federal and state allocations.

10. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirements

Beginning July 1, 2011, the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards will change in accordance with new federal regulations.

Troy University is required by Sec. 484(c) of the Higher Education Act 1965, as amended to establish Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for students receiving assistance through Title IV programs (Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study, State Grant, Perkins Loans, and Federal Stafford Student Loan Programs.) Troy University has adopted the following as its official policy governing a regular student’s satisfactory academic progress.

Satisfactory progress is not to be confused with “good standing”. A student can meet the Troy University standards of "good standing" and be allowed to enroll but may not meet the minimum standards of  " Satisfactory Progress" to receive financial aid while enrolled.

Grade Point Average and Completion Rate

To receive Title IV funds (Perkins Loan, Stafford Loan, Plus Loan, Pell Grant, Work-Study, State, or Supplemental Grant), a student must be making “satisfactory academic progress” toward completing his/her academic program.

For purposes of this standard, students must maintain a 2.0 undergraduates (3.0 graduate) cumulative grade point average (GPA) and successfully complete 80% of all hours attempted, including repeated courses, dropped courses, withdrawals, incompletes, and F/FA grades.

This standard is measured annually and begins immediately for graduate students and at the end of the first year for undergraduate students.

Maximum Eligibility

In addition to the above measures, the maximum length of a student’s program may not exceed 150% of the minimum length required to complete the program. The academic records office according to the published standards in the University Bulletin establishes the length of each program. Courses, which transfer from another post-secondary institution, will reduce the time frame accordingly.

Examples: (1) If your degree is a 120 hour program: 120 x 150% = 180 attempted hours maximum time frame. You are eligible for only the first 180 hours attempted.  (2) If you transfer and bring 70 hours credit into a 120 hour program: 120 x 150% = 180 – 70 = 110 hours maximum time allowed for degree funding.

However, if at any point it’s determined the student will not be able to meet the 150% time frame by graduation, the student becomes ineligible for federal aid.

Example: a student has already attempted 170 hours and is in a program that has a 180 hour maximum, but still has 30 hours left to complete the program; the student will not be eligible for federal aid because the program cannot be completed within the 180 hour time frame (170 + 30 = 200).

Second Degree Issues

Students who are working toward a degree level which they have already completed (AS, BS, MS, etc.) or who are working toward a degree which is lower than the one they hold, will have their maximum length of program established at no more than 100% of the normal time frame minus any credits, which transfer from any post-secondary institution.

However, if at any point it is determined the student will not be able to meet the 100% time frame by graduation, the student becomes ineligible for federal aid.

Example: a student is working on a second degree and has dropped or withdrawn after the free drop/add, or taken another course that does not pertain to the second degree; the student will not be eligible for federal aid because the program cannot be completed within the 100% time frame.

Students will not be eligible for federal aid when seeking a third degree above the second degree which is already attained.

Example: Students will not be eligible for federal aid if working on a third master’s degree.

Preparatory Coursework

A student may apply for a Stafford loan for prerequisite coursework that is necessary to be admitted in an eligible program.  The courses must be part of an eligible program offered by Troy University.  If enrolled at least half time in these prerequisite courses, the student is eligible for loans for one consecutive 12-month period (not per program) beginning on the first day of the loan period.

Example:  a student has a bachelor’s degree with a major in mathematics and wants to enroll in a graduate computer science program but needs 12 more semester hours of computer science coursework to meet the admission requirements.  The student may receive a Stafford loan if enrolled at least half time in undergraduate prerequisite courses that are required for enrollment in the graduate program.

Notification and Reinstatement

A student who is notified of his/her ineligibility for financial aid funds due to failure to meet these standards may submit a written letter of appeal for reinstatement. The written letter must state the basis for the appeal and include a copy of his/her current academic transcript along with supporting information.

Financial Aid Suspension

Financial Aid Suspension status is assigned to a student who fails to make SAP. A student who is placed on Financial Aid Suspension may only receive financial aid if the student re-establishes eligibility by meeting the standards set forth in this policy.

Financial Aid Probation

Financial Aid Probation is assigned to a student who fails to make SAP and who has successfully appealed and has had financial aid reinstated.  A student who is placed on financial aid probation may receive financial aid for one term/semester. At the conclusion of the term/semester, if the student meets the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student will be eligible for financial aid reinstatement.

If the student fails to meet overall Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of the probation, the student’s academic performance for the term/semester will be evaluated against the student’s Financial Aid Probationary Academic Plan.

The student is responsible to contact the financial aid office after grades are finalized for the probationary term/semester to request a SAP reevaluation for financial aid eligibility for the next term/semester.

The Financial Aid Probationary Academic Plan requires that the student: 

1. Must be at least half-time and have completed 100% of those classes for credit
2. Must have at least a 2.0 GPA for undergraduate students or 3.0 GPA for graduate students
3. Must not withdraw, drop, or have an incomplete during the probationary term/semester.

If you do not meet these requirements, you will be ineligible to receive financial aid and will be responsible for payments toward the student’s bill until you meet the satisfactory academic progress standards.  In order to have your financial aid reinstated at the end of the probationary period, you must contact the financial aid office after your grades have been finalized.

The professional financial aid office staff will review each appeal and respond to the student in writing stating the reason for reinstatement or upholding the denial of financial aid.  If your appeal is denied, the decision of the appeal committee is final.