Scholarships and Financial Aid

The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (OSFA) coordinates all student financial assistance available at UW. Available aid includes scholarships, grants (Hathaway Need, Federal Pell, Federal SEOG, TEACH, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant), loans (Federal Direct, Federal PLUS and private) and employment (Federal Work-Study).

OSFA will help all qualified applicants to secure aid, but resources are limited. Aid is offered first to those applicants whose materials are completed and received by February 1 prior to the academic year for which aid is sought. Federal Pell Grants and Federal Direct Loans are available to qualified appli­cants throughout the year.

Unless another deadline is specified, prospective students seeking scholarships should send an application for admission, the nonrefund­able application fee and a copy of their current high school or college transcript to the UW Admissions Office by March 1. Students who have attended another college must have that college submit an academic transcript to the UW Admissions Office.

Students seeking federal aid or assistance based on their financial need must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Applicants may do so at studentaid.gov. Allow one week for process­ing. UW recommends using IRS Data Retrieval when completing the FAFSA. Final responsibility for ensuring that all required documents are received in a timely manner rests with the applicant. The FAFSA will be available October 1 for completion.

Eligibility Requirements

To receive federal financial aid (such as Federal Pell, Federal SEOG and Federal TEACH, Iraq and Afghanistan Service grants, Federal Work Study, Federal Direct [subsidized or unsubsidized], and Federal Direct PLUS loans) you must meet the following conditions and provide supporting documentation when requested to do so: have a high school diploma or its equivalent, be enrolled or accepted for admission as a regular student at UW, not be concurrently enrolled in an elementary or a secondary school, be enrolled in a degree program, be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, have a demonstrated financial need if required, be prepared to prove attendance, maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP), not be in default on a federal student loan or owe an overpayment of a federal grant at any institution (or, if so, have made satisfactory arrangements to repay or otherwise resolve the overpayment or default), not have borrowed in excess of the annual or aggregate loan limits of a federal loan program (loan borrowers only), agree to use funds received only for educational costs.

Enrollment Requirements

Students must attend classes to be eligible for federal financial aid or be prepared to pay all the money back. Most scholarships require the recipient to be enrolled full time in both fall and spring semesters, while completing a minimum of 24 credit hours by the end of spring semester. Hathaway Scholarships, Federal Pell Grants, and veteran’s benefits may be pro-rated for part-time en­rollment and Federal Direct Loans may only be borrowed by students enrolled for at least half time (a minimum of 6 hours for undergraduate and pharmacy students; a minimum of 4.5 hours for graduate and law students). Federal Pell Grants and Federal SEOG Grants are available to undergraduate students who have not completed the requirements for their first undergraduate degree. Classes for audit are not acceptable for any kind of financial aid. Generally, Federal aid is not available for continuous registration hours, or for audit hours. For details, contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

The University of Wyoming’s Office of Scholarships & Financial Aid is responsible for ensuring that all students receiving federal financial aid meet minimum standards.

If you are looking to appeal your “Not Eligible” SAP status, please read and understand the below policy. Once you have read and understood the policy, please complete the SAP Appeal and Academic Plan form. Please refer to our Frequently Asked SAP Questions page for more information regarding the appeal process.

Satisfactory Academic Progress is reviewed at the end of each semester (fall, spring, and summer) and the following three areas are measured:

1. Institutional Cumulative Grade Point Average 
   • Undergraduate & Professional programs - 2.0
   • Graduate programs - 3.0
2. Completion Percentage (Pace) 
   A student’s earned hours must equal or exceed 67% of all cumulative attempted hours since beginning classes.
   • Courses that are Failed, Withdrawn, Unsatisfactory or Incomplete (no matter where they are taken) are considered attempted but not earned hours.
   • Audit, Correspondence, Credit by exam, Remedial and Enrichment courses do not count as attempted or earned.
   • Successfully completed courses (grades of A, B, C, D, S), transfer hours accepted toward completion of student’s program, academic renewal hours earned through previous enrollment, advanced placement credit, credits earned through Study Abroad and Consortium agreements, credits earned while student is not receiving federal aid and experiential learning credits are all counted as attempted and earned.
   • Overall Earned Credits / Overall Attempted Credits = Pace
3. Maximum Timeframe
   A student is eligible for financial aid until they have attempted 150% of the minimum credit hours required to earn a specific degree. The University of Wyoming sets the following maximum timeframe for student degrees:
   • Undergraduate - 180 hours (150% of 120 hours)
   • Second Bachelor’s degree - 270 (150% of 180 hours)
   • Master’s Program - 45 hours (150% of 30 hours)
   • Doctorate Program - 108 hours (150% of 72 hours)
   • Law - 135 hours (150% of 90 hours)
   • Pharmacy - 213 hours (150% of 142 hours)

Transfer hours are included in the calculation of the Maximum Timeframe. When pursuing multiple degrees or changing majors the maximum timeframe may be adjusted based on a student generated appeal that includes a degree audit. All attempted credit hours are considered when calculating the maximum timeframe regardless of whether or not the student received financial aid for those hours. Any student with hours over the maximum timeframe are “Not Eligible” for further federal financial aid until a SAP appeal is received and approved by the committee. There will be no warning semester. Submitting an appeal does not guarantee approval. Students awaiting a decision on their SAP appeal are responsible for paying their tuition and fees by the payment deadline.

Financial Aid Eligibility Statuses

1. Financial Aid Warning
   Students who have not met the minimum standard requirements for the previous semester will be placed on a ‘Warning’ status. Students on ‘Warning’ status are eligible for financial aid for one additional semester. Students who do not meet minimum standard requirements at the end of their ‘Warning’ semester will be ‘Not Eligible’ for the next semester.
2. Financial Aid Probation
   Students who have successfully appealed a status of “Not Eligible” are placed on probation and are eligible to receive federal aid for one more semester. After probation, the student must be making SAP or successfully following their Academic Plan. Students are reviewed at the end of each semester for compliance with their Academic Plan and SAP Standards.
3. Not Eligible
   A student who does not meet SAP requirements at the end of the warning semester, whose SAP appeal has been denied, who has not fulfilled the requirements of their academic plan or who has met their maximum timeframe will be categorized as “Not Eligible.”

Reinstatement

If a student loses federal financial aid eligibility due to not meeting SAP standards or their appeal was denied, they can regain eligibility in one of the following ways:

1. Completing courses using their own resources that will satisfy the deficient SAP area.
2. Successfully appealing by submitting a SAP Appeal Form with supporting documentation.
3. Taking a minimum of 2 classes, 6 hours, no fails, no withdrawals and grades of “C” or better on their own. If successful, student can appeal for the next term.

SAP Appeal Process

A student that is “Not Eligible” for federal financial aid has the option to appeal. The student must submit a complete appeal form to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid by the end of the drop/add period of the term in which they are appealing. The complete appeal form including the academic plan and all supporting documentation will be presented to the SAP Appeal Committee. The SAP Appeal Form must include the following:

• an explanation of any extenuating circumstances that prevented the student from maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress,
• an explanation of what has changed that will allow the student to succeed academically,
• supporting documentation for the extenuating circumstances, their ability to improve, or both, and
• an Academic Plan signed by their academic advisor that will enable student success

All appeals are reviewed by a SAP committee. The review time for appeals may take 7-10 business days. Students will be notified of the results by email. If the appeal is granted, the notification will explain the terms of the approval. If the appeal is denied, students may request an additional review by the Director of Scholarships & Financial Aid if they have something that was not included in the original appeal to be considered. The Director’s decision is final.

Items to consider:

• Being declared ‘Not Eligible’ for federal financial aid does not mean a student has been academically dismissed from the University of Wyoming.
• Many scholarship recipients are required to maintain a higher credit hour level or grade point average than outlined in this policy. Guidelines on the minimum acceptable credits/grade point average for scholarship recipients are outlined by donors or in acceptance notices signed by the recipient.
• Students must submit complete appeal form with academic plan and supporting documentation by the end of add/drop period. Advisor signature and certification are required on the academic plan.
• Repeated courses:
  • A student can repeat a course one time and still receive federal aid for that course. On the third attempt, federal aid will not pay for that course.
  • All repeated courses will be calculated again in attempted hours and could pull down completion percentage (pace).

Financial Aid Federal Return of Funds Policy

A student who receives federal financial aid (other than Federal Work Study pay checks) and chooses to complete less than 60% of an academic term is considered not to have earned all the federal aid he or she has been awarded.

• If aid already disbursed is equal to earned aid, no further action is required.
• If aid already disbursed is less than earned aid, additional aid may be offered to the student after he or she withdraws.
• If aid already disbursed is greater than earned aid, UW and/or the student must return some federal funds.

To determine whether federal funds have been earned or must be returned, UW follows this procedure:

1. Determine the percentage of the term the student completed. This is calculated by dividing the number of calendar days (including weekends) in a term into the number of calendar days that the student was in attendance for that term.
2. Apply the percentage of time attended to the total amount of federal aid the student was eligible to receive for the term. This is the student’s “earned aid.”
3. Subtract the amount of earned aid from the amount of aid actually disbursed to the student. A positive remainder is the student’s “unearned aid.” A negative remainder is the student’s “earned aid” that may still be offered to the student.
4. Determine the amount of unearned aid remaining that must be repaid by the student. Subtract the amount of unearned aid repaid by the institution from the total amount of unearned aid.

All unearned aid will be returned to the federal student loan lender or federal aid accounts in the following order: (1) Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan; (2) Subsidized Federal Direct Loan; (3) Federal PLUS (Parent) Loan; (4) Federal Pell Grant; (5) Federal SEOG Grant. Any amount owed by the student on a grant will be reduced by 50%.

The date of a student’s withdrawal from UW will be the date of the student’s notification to the Dean of Students Office of an intent to withdraw if the student has no federal aid. For students who have received federal aid, the withdrawal date will be the last date of an academically related activity as reported by their instructors. When a student ceases to attend, but fails to officially withdraw from UW and has all F’s at the end of the semester, the withdrawal date will be the latest date of an academically related activity as reported by their instructors.

UW will repay the lesser of (1) the total amount of unearned aid or (2) an amount equal to the student’s institutional charges multiplied by the percentage of unearned aid. Whatever UW repays to the federal government will then show as a bill owed to UW by the student. “Institutional charges” is defined as charges for tuition and fees, plus room and board charges for students living in UW residence halls and apartments. It does not include such charges as bookstore charges, student health insurance premiums, parking citations, or library fines.

The amount of unearned aid owed by the student on a loan may be repaid under the normal repayment terms of the loan. The amount of unearned aid owed by the student on a grant must be repaid immediately.

Any amount of earned aid not yet disbursed to the student will be offered to the student. Such offers will cover any undisbursed grants first, followed by the undisbursed loans.

Examples of how the amount of unearned federal aid a student must return is calculated are available from a professional advisor in the OSFA. A chart detailing the percentage of earned and unearned aid, by calendar day of the semester, is provided in the term’s class schedule. In brief, to determine the per­centage of earned federal aid, the calculation will use the total number of calendar days in the term divided by the total number of calendar days the student attended.

Funds Distribution

Each student who registers has his or her own student account with the university. Once a qualified student has registered for classes and accepted their awards on WyoRecords, the OSFA will authorize the electronic transfer of funds from UW financial aid accounts to the student’s individual account at the university.

First-time borrowers of federal student loans must participate in entrance loan counseling (view a web presentation) and complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN). All student loan borrowers must participate in an exit loan interview (on the web) prior to leaving UW.

Federal Work-Study funds are processed through UW’s Payroll Department on a bi-monthly schedule. Payroll checks may be direct deposited or mailed to the student.

The university will automatically charge a student’s account for tuition and fees based on the student’s enrollment. Likewise, if the student is living in a university residence hall, room (housing) and board charges (food) will be placed on the student’s account.

Any financial aid credited to a student’s account will automatically pay tuition and fees first and then charges for room (housing) and board (food) in UW residence halls. Unless directed otherwise in writing by the student, any remainder will be applied to other university charges. If a negative balance results, a credit balance will be prepared by the university and will be refunded to the student through the University’s electronic refunding process. If a student has elected for the Title IV credit balance to be held until and applied to a future semester in that aid year, no refund will be processed. All outstanding refunds will be refunded at the end of each aid year’s spring semester and therefore cannot be held for a summer semester. 

Scholarships awarded for the academic year will be split into two equal payments to the recipient’s student account with one to be paid at the beginning of each semester. Most non-UW scholarships will be loaded and split into two equal payments, unless the donor specifies otherwise or the amount is <$1,000.

Students enrolled in a domestic or international exchange program, or a study abroad program approved by UW for academic credit, are eligible to apply for federal student financial assistance. Likewise, stu­dents concurrently enrolled in classes at two or more eligible institu­tions of post-secondary education may apply for federal aid. A special consortium agreement between institutions must be completed prior to each semester a concurrently enrolled student seeks aid. Those granted a Federal Work-Study allocation have opportunities to perform com­munity services to earn their allocation.

Information describing available aid, award criteria, rights and responsibilities of aid recipients, costs of attendance or refund and repayment policies and schedules is available by writing to Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, Dept. 3335, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071, or viewing the financial aid web site at www. uwyo.edu/SFA/.

Important: Students are assumed to be full-time when their initial financial aid is determined. If you plan to attend less than full-time in any semester, your cost of attendance (COA) to determine your financial aid will be adjusted to reflect your enrollment status after the add/drop period. It is always best to make the OSFA aware of your intended enrollment prior to the start of a semester so that accurate amounts of financial aid may be applied to your account. Students receiving non-UW scholarships may not be eligible to receive those funds if they are enrolled less than full-time; each donor will be consulted to determine if the funds have to be returned or not.

Financial aid policies are subject to change without notice to reflect modifications in federal, state and institutional laws and regulations.