Determining Financial Need

When applying for federal student aid, the information provided on the FAFSA is used in a formula, established by the U.S. Congress, that calculates an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is used in an equation to determine financial need.

* Other financial assistance includes: any scholarships, fee waivers, vocational rehabilitation benefits, veterans benefits, etc.

Cost of Attendance
An estimate of expenses for education such as tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, and other related expenses. Please note that the figures listed on this website are strictly estimates and subject to change. The actual Cost of Attendance is determined when your FAFSA is reviewed.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
The amount expected to be available for your educational expenses. The EFC is calculated from income, asset information, household size, and number in college. If you are dependent, the EFC is a student and parent contribution. If you are independent, the EFC is a student (and/or spouse) contribution.

NOTE: Students who are classified as out-of-state for residency purposes, but are charged the eRate for tuition/fees, will have their Cost Of Attendance (COA) revised to reflect the reduced eRate tuition/fee charges.

NOTE: Students who are takings less than 12 graduate credit hours will have their tuition and fees adjusted.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

All students who receive federal or state financial aid must be enrolled in a program leading to a degree, an eligible non-degree program, or an eligible certificate program. Students must meet federal and institutional standards for academic progress in order to establish and retain aid eligibility. Students receiving athletic or other university administered awards must also meet the satisfactory academic progress standards that have been established by the awarding entity.

Academic progress for federal and state financial aid programs is based on three measures: Cumulative Grade Point Average, Pace of Progression based on credit hours completed compared to attempted, and a Maximum Timeframe for degree completion. While the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is a minimum requirement to maintain financial aid eligibility, students are encouraged to work closely with academic advisors and college personnel to achieve their educational goals. Good financial planning includes selecting meaningful coursework, completing all registered classes with satisfactory grades, and seeking your degree in a timely manner.

The following describes the university's standards for each of these three measures, and how these standards are reviewed:

1. Cumulative Grade-Point Average

   The following standards apply to the combined transfer/university cumulative GPA. Students must meet the following minimums which are consistent with the University's standard as published in the respective bulletin. Quality hours are those credits used to compute the grade-point average including grades of A, B, C, D, or F and transfer credits with a grade of incomplete. The first attempt of a course that is repeated is excluded from the quality hour computation.

   1. Undergraduate Students - must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA to receive federal and/or state student aid.
   2. Graduate Students - must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA to receive loans or work-study.
   3. Law Students - must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA to receive loans or work-study.

    

2. Pace of Progression

   All students are required to complete a minimum of 67% of all credit hours attempted. Courses with a grade of "D" or better count as completed. Credit hours attempted include audits, incompletes, withdrawals, and repeated or failed classes.

3. Maximum Timeframe

   1. Undergraduates - The maximum timeframe for the completion of an undergraduate degree is limited by federal regulations to 150% of the published length of the degree program. Most undergraduate programs at The University of Memphis are 120 hours. The maximum number of hours during which a student is eligible to receive financial aid is 180. The 180 hours includes transfer hours and all attempted hours. Credit hours attempted include audits, incompletes, withdrawals, and repeated or failed classes. Up to 30 hours of required remedial/ developmental courses are excluded from the maximum timeframe.
   2. Graduate Students - The maximum timeframe is determined by the degree completion requirements listed for the student's academic program in the Graduate Bulliten.
   3. Law Students - The maximum timeframe is determined by the degree completion requirements listed in the Cecil C. Humphrey's School of Law Bulliten.

    

4. Review of Progress Standards

   1. GPA - is reviewed upon admission as a transfer or readmitted student, and annually at the end of each spring semester.
   2. Pace of Progression - is reviewed annually at the end of each spring semester.
   3. Timeframe - is reviewed annually at the end of each spring semester.

   NOTE: SAP measurements can be reviewed more frequently if needed.

5. Notification/Appeals

   After the end of each spring semester, the academic records of all students who are receiving or applying for federal financial aid will be reviewed. Students whose financial aid eligibility is suspended as a result of failure to meet one or more of the standards of satisfactory academic progress will be notified by the Student Financial Aid Office.

   Each student must complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal on the basis of: student injury or illness, death of a relative, or other special circumstances. Each student's appeal must: 1) explain why satisfactory academic progress has been failed; 2) include documentation of the aforementioned explanation; and 3)indicated what has changed in the student's situation that will allow the student to make satisfactory academic progress at the student's next evaluation. In addition, if a student is appealing due to maximum timeframe, the student must also submit a Graduation Plan signed by the student's academic advisor.

   If the appeal is approved, the student must accept an academic plan as instructed and developed by the Student Financial Aid Office. Students with approved appeals will be placed on financial aid probation. This probation will last for one semester. If the student is not meeting satisfactory academic progress at the end of one semester, the student's probation will continue as long as the student is following their academic plan. Should the student fail to meet the satisfactory academic progress standards after one semester and fail to follow their academic plan, the student will no longer be eligible to receive any financial aid funds. The student is then responsible for paying his or her own fees and cannot be considered for aid eligibility until the standards of satisfactory progress are met.

   Students have the following options to maintain and restore financial aid eligibility:

   • Improve academic performance enough to meet the standards,
   • Successfully follow the academic plan as instructed and developed by the Student Financial Aid Office, or
   • Submit additional satisfactory academic progress appeals for different extenuating circumstances.

   A student may have a maximum of three (3) satisfactory academic progress appeals during their academic career at the University of Memphis.

6. Financial Aid Fresh Start

   Students accepted under the Academic Fresh Start Program will have their academic progress reviewed based upon all standards listed above, including all transfer coursework.

Aid Affected by SAP

The following is a list of financial aid programs affected when a student is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy:

Federal Pell Grant
Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
Federal TEACH Grant
Federal Work Study
Federal Perkins Loan
Federal Direct Loans (subsidized & unsubsidized)
Federal Direct PLUS Loan
Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
Tennessee Student Assistance Award (TSAA)
Other aid as may be determined by the Financial Aid Office

Repeated Coursework

Effective July 1, 2011, there is a rule change regarding federal financial aid and payment of repeated coursework. If you have taken and passed a course (with a grade of D or higher), federal financial aid will now only pay for you to repeat this course one time. Should you decide to repeat a course for a second (or more) time, federal financial aid will not cover the cost of that course.

If you are currently enrolled in a repeated course for the second time, and you passed the course the first time you enrolled in it, your financial aid may be revised. You should consider dropping the course and adding another course you have not taken before.

If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact the financial aid office at 901-678-4825, or e-mail us at financialaid@memphis.edu.

Aid Adjustments

Your financial aid award will be adjusted for the following reasons:

• Enrollment status is verified on the last day of the drop/add period for each semester. If you drop or add classes by this date, your Pell Grant and/or TSAC awards will be adjusted accordingly.
• Professors report non-attendance for any classes. Your aid, including student loans, will be adjusted if you do not attend any one of your classes (assuming the credit hours adjustment actually changes your aid eligibility).
• Receiving Pell Grant or Loans at two different colleges during the same academic year, which exceeds the total maximum limit for that year.
• Any aid may be adjusted, if you totally withdraw before the federal deadline to withdraw and you may have to repay the aid you did not earn. See more detailed information under "Return of Funds and Repayment".
• Lottery awards are adjusted based on hours enrolled on the census date for each semester.
• Direct Student loans and/or other student financial aid awards may be adjusted to prevent over award situations due to the receipt of either a fee discount, tuition aid, outside scholarship, change in residency classification, or similar assistance.

Return of Funds and Repayment

RETURN OF FUNDS:

1. Return of Title IV Aid - The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 established the concept that financial aid must be earned through class attendance. When you totally withdraw from all classes, The Student Financial Aid Office must calculate the amount of financial aid you have earned prior to withdrawing. Any Title IV aid received in excess of the earned amount is considered unearned. Unearned aid must be returned to the respective Federal Aid program(s).
2. Return of Aid Programs - Unearned aid amounts are to be returned to Title IV financial aid programs: Federal Direct Student Loan Programs (unsubsidized then subsidized); Federal Perkins Loan Program; Federal Direct PLUS loans; Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal SEOG Program; any other programs funded by Title IV including the Tennessee Student Assistance Program; other federal, state, private or institutional aid programs. Any amount remaining after the applicable programs have been fully repaid is returned to the student. A 100% refund to all aid programs will be given in the event of student death.
3. Earned Aid - A student has not earned 100% of their financial aid until s/he has attended more than 60% of the term. If a financial aid recipient totally withdraws on or before the 60% point of the term, there is a portion of the aid that has not been earned. The percentage of earned aid is determined by taking the number of days attended divided by the total number of days in the term. For example:
   
   

   	Days Student Attended Prior to Withdrawing	37
   divided by	Total Days in the Semester	100
   	Percentage of Earned Aid	37%

   
   
   
4. Unearned Aid - The percentage of unearned aid is calculated by subtracting the earned percentage from 100%. Using the previous example:
   
   

   	100% Aid Percentage	100%
   subtract	Percentage of Earned Aid	37%
   	Percentage of Unearned Aid	63%

   
   
   
5. Return of Unearned Aid Amount - Once the earned and unearned aid percentages are determined, the next step is to calculate the dollar amount of total unearned aid that must be returned. The Return of Unearned Aid Amount is determined by multiplying the unearned aid percentage by the total of all Title IV aid disbursed or eligible to be disbursed. Continuing with the previous example, the unearned aid percentage of 63% would be multiplied by the student's total aid disbursed:
   
   

   	Percentage of Unearned Aid	63%
   multiplied by	Total Aid Received	$2345.00
   	Unearned Aid Amount	$1477.35

   
   
   

6. Return of Fees - The unearned aid portion is repaid by both the student and the school. The school can use any fee adjustment refund generated by the withdrawal to pay the portion it owes back, However, depending on the time of withdrawal, the student may also be responsible for repaying a portion of his/her that had been previously paid by the financial aid. In almost every instance, the fee refund will be less than the total Return of Unearned Aid Amount. As a result, when a student withdraws, a balance will be created for the difference between the fee refund and the Return of Unearned Aid Amount. The student is responsible for paying this balance. Keeping with the above example, after a student completes 37 days of the term, s/he is eligible for a 25% fee refund per the Bursar's Office published calendar. This means 25% of the student's fees are credited to the student's account, which can affect the student's portion of aid owed back to the University:
   
   

   	Unearned Aid Amount	$1477.35
   subtract	25% Fee Refund (*example)	*$586.30
   	Difference on Account	$891.05

    

7. Post-Withdrawal Disbursements - If a student totally withdraws from a semester and receives less federal aid than the amount earned, then the student may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. The student must have met all of the conditions for a late disbursement prior to withdrawing. Grant funds will automatically be applied towards outstanding charges created by the withdrawal. Loan funds will not be applied until written confirmation is received from the borrower. If no confirmation is received, the loan is cancelled.
8. Non-Title IV Aid - Refunds applicable to non-Title IV funds will be distributed to the respective aid accounts in the same proportion as the aid awarded.
9. Dropping All Classes - To avoid financial penalties and aid adjustments, make sure you drop all classes prior to the beginning of the semester. If you drop all classes prior to the start of the semester, you will not be considered a student for that semester and, thus, not entitled to received any form of financial aid. Your aid will be cancelled and returned to the appropriate program(s). If you drop all your classes close to the beginning of the semester, and you have already received financial aid, you will be required to repay the entire amount of aid disbursed to you. Once the semester starts on the first day, you have begun to earn aid and a Return of Title IV Aid calculation must be completed.
10. Failing Classes - If you fail all of your classes in a semester, you may be subject to a Return of Title IV Aid calculation. If you have "earned" at least one of your "F"s (i.e., attended class until the end of the term and received an F for poor performance), then no calculation is required. However, if you received all Fs because you stopped attending at some point in the semester, then a R2T4 calculation is required based on the last date of attendance. If a last date of attendance cannot be determined, the 50% point of the semester will be used as the withdrawal date. An account balance will be created if the university is required to return financial aid.
11. Future Aid Eligibility - Withdrawing may affect your eligibility to receive financial aid in subsequent terms. Upon withdrawal, you should notify the Student Financial Aid Office when you plan to return so we can make necessary adjustments to you financial aid award. Students should also review the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.

REPAYMENT

1. When a student receives financial aid and one of the following situations occur: (a) the student is issued a contingency fee assessment that is not honored by the fund agency involved; (b) the student receives an overpayment due to non-eligibility or administrative error; (c) the student withdraws before the start of classes or fails to pay tuition/maintenance fees, the student must repay the total amount of aid received or overpaid.

Verification

Verification is a federally mandated review process. The Student Financial Aid Office is required to obtain and compare information submitted on tax documents, the verification form and the FAFSA.

Students selected for verification must complete the University of Memphis verification form and submit all required documents. Verification can be a lengthy process, therefore we strongly recommend that students and their families submit the form and all requested documents as soon as they are requested. Students should check their myMemphis account OFTEN for missing requirements.

Any differences between information entered on the verification form or other requested documents and the FAFSA will result in a new determination of financial need. This new determination of financial need may alter the student's financial aid eligibility.

• Students who are completing verification for the 2012-2013 academic year should submit signed copies of 2011 federal tax transcript.
• Students who are completing verification for the 2013-2014 academic year should submit copies of 2012 federal tax transcript.

Due to new federal regulations, beginning during the 2012-2013 academic year the Student Financial Aid Office will not be able to accept copies of tax returns for verification. It is now required to submit copies of official IRS Tax Return Transcripts (and an IRS Tax Account Transcript if you filed an amended tax return). These can be ordered online at www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-908-9946.