Financial Aid

Office of Student Financial Services

The Office of Student Financial Services has three main service functions:

Financial Aid: Financial aid counselors evaluate the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and determine eligibility for federal, state and institutional need-based funds.

Student Employment: While positions are not guaranteed and need-based work study isn’t included in initial awards for graduate students, SU’s Redhawk Network includes jobs that are funded by the employer and open to any interested student—not just those with work study awards—as well as jobs available to recent graduates.

Student Accounts: Student Accounts prepares and distributes bills for tuition and fees, room and board and insurance. The office takes payments, assesses late charges, sets up payment plans and distributes aid.

The office is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.

Applying for Federal Student Aid

To be considered for need-based financial aid, students must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. The FAFSA for the upcoming academic year—summer, fall, winter and spring quarters—becomes available on Jan. 1 at www.fafsa.gov. Students are encouraged to use their Personal Identification Number (PIN) to provide the required signature when completing the FAFSA online. If a PIN was not secured previously, students apply for the PIN from within the FAFSA website as they are completing the application. Be sure to list Seattle University’s Federal School Code—003790—in the appropriate section of the FAFSA so results will be sent to the university.

While FAFSAs are accepted and processed year-round, graduate students are strongly encouraged to have their FAFSAs filed by Feb. 1, or as soon after that date as possible, whether for summer quarter or the academic year starting in September. The earlier a file is completed the more likely funding will be available on the first official day of the term as published by the Registrar.

Financial need for a school year is defined as the difference between the cost of attendance at Seattle University and the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that is calculated from information provided on the FAFSA. Student Financial Services prepares a financial aid award to meet as much of a student’s need as possible. That award may include a combination of scholarships, grants and loans. Descriptions of the federal, state and institutional aid programs follow.

To be eligible for most financial aid programs students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Federal unsubsidized loans may supplement the need-based aid up to the full cost of attendance.

Financial Aid Programs for Graduate Students

Scholarships for Graduate Students

Seattle University offers a limited number of scholarships to graduate students. These scholarships are provided in recognition of a student’s ability to enhance our educational community. Scholarship renewal is based on scholarship specifics, satisfactory academic progress and, in some cases, continued need.

Marylou Wyse Scholarship

The Marylou Wyse Scholarship is awarded through the Graduate Admissions Office in consultation with the academic departments for select programs that vary year to year. This is a limited need-based scholarship that is awarded for two years. Students must maintain continuous enrollment of at least three credits per term but with a minimum of 12 credits per nine-month academic year. To be eligible students must complete the FAFSA each year.

Graduate Diversity Scholarship

The Graduate Diversity Scholarship is a limited scholarship available to outstanding candidates from under-represented populations. Students must be admitted into one of the following graduate programs: Education (Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Administration, Pre-service teacher certification—MIT only), Nursing and Theology and Ministry. Students should contact their department to apply.

Catholic School Special Tuition Grant

Eligible full-time religious and lay teachers and principals of Catholic schools under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Seattle may apply for this grant. Master in Teaching (MIT) and Doctor of Education (EdD) students are not eligible. The grant cannot be used to pay for MIT or EdD credits. Grants pay half of regular tuition for eligible graduate education courses and the student is responsible for the remainder of the charges. Additional information and the application for this grant become available on April 1 preceding the upcoming academic year in the Scholarships, Grants and VA Benefits category on the Forms tab of the Student Financial Services web site.

Matteo Ricci Consortia Schools Tuition Remission

Full-time employees of the six Matteo Ricci College consortia schools may be eligible for grant funds of up to 85 percent of tuition. Eligibility for the grant is determined by SU’s Matteo Ricci College.

Program-Specific Scholarships

Several graduate departments and programs offer program-specific scholarships and/or assistantships. Scholarships are generally limited; some awards may be based on need and some may be renewable. Students should contact their departments for specific information about availability, eligibility and application procedures.

Outside Scholarships

Outside scholarships are scholarships students bring with them to Seattle University. Students must inform Student Financial Services if they are receiving outside scholarships because they must be included in the resources available to meet costs. These scholarships then are listed as Private Outside Scholarships on the Seattle University Award Letter.

Outside scholarships that have been announced by their donors for which SU students may be eligible are posted at the Student Financial Services’ website in the Scholarship Search Quick Link on the bottom-left side of the home page.

Grants for Graduate Students

Students participating in master’s degree programs in special education or teaching may qualify for a federal TEACH Grant. In return for receiving a TEACH Grant, a student agrees to serve: as a highly qualified full-time teacher in a high-need field in a public or private elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students for at least four academic years within eight calendar years of completing the program of study for which they received a TEACH Grant.

Important: Failure to complete the service obligation in full will result in conversion of the TEACH grants to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan with interest charged from the date the grant was originally disbursed. The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan must be repaid to the U.S. Department of Education.

Veterans’ Educational Benefits

Selected academic programs at Seattle University are approved by the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board’s State Approving Agency for enrollment of persons eligible to receive educational benefits.

If you will be receiving Veterans Education Benefits and this is your first quarter at Seattle University, you must see the VA Certifying Official in Student Financial Services to set up your benefits.

Your official source for information about all VA educational benefits is www.GIBILL.va.gov. You can also call the Veterans Administration at (888) GIBILL-1 (888-442-4551).

Loans for Graduate Students

These are low-interest student loans that must be repaid.

Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans

Stafford loan repayment begins six months after a student leaves school or drops below half-time enrollment. A Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford loan is limited by the student’s financial need and does not accrue interest during enrollment or the six-month grace period. The interest rate is 6.8 percent.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is limited by the program’s annual and lifetime limits and by the student’s cost of attendance. The unsubsidized loan begins to accrue interest after the first disbursement; the interest rate is also 6.8 percent.

Stafford Loan terms and benefits are explained during the student’s required online entrance counseling session and are also included on the master promissory note the student signs before loan proceeds are disbursed.

If you are a first-time Federal Direct Stafford Loan borrower, you must complete an online entrance counseling session and a Master Promissory Note before your loan can be disbursed. The Missing Documents Letter that came in the packet with your award letter has additional details concerning these two requirements. You can also go to My Documents in the Communication section of the student menu at SUOnline for these details.

Once your financial aid file is complete and the appropriate documents have been completed, your loan funds will be disbursed to your student account each quarter, provided you are registered at least half-time. For graduate students, this means at least three credits each term.

For 2011-12, a 1.5 percent origination fee will be charged for each Direct Stafford Loan before it is disbursed to your student account. However, that amount will be decreased by a 1 percent rebate for presumed on-time payments when your loan enters repayment so the net fee will be .05 percent. For example, if your loan is for $1,000, $995 will be disbursed to your student account.

 Annual and aggregate loan limits are shown in the chart below.

                                                                                                       Annual                                        Aggregate
                                                                                                    Loan Limits                                 Maximum Limits

Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate Students (Grad PLUS)

As a graduate student, you may be eligible to borrow up to the amount of your total cost of education (as certified by Student Financial Services) less any financial aid you have been awarded. The Grad PLUS Loan is a non-need-based loan, which has a fixed interest rate of 7.9 percent. A fee of 2.5 percent will be deducted from the awarded amount before the loan is disbursed to your account. Repayment begins 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed for the academic year. For an academic year loan for three quarters (fall, winter and spring), repayment begins 60 days after the spring quarter disbursement in March. In-school deferment is available by contacting the Direct Loan Service Center at (800) 848-0979 to request a deferment.

As part of the Grad PLUS Loan application process, you must complete a FAFSA, which will determine initial eligibility for the PLUS Loan and also for Federal Direct Stafford Loan funding. While not mandatory, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of your annual Federal Direct Stafford Loan eligibility before applying for a Graduate PLUS Loan because the terms and conditions of the Direct Loan are better than those for the Graduate PLUS Loan.

To apply for a Graduate PLUS loan, the borrower will need to submit an online request at: www.studentloans.gov using his/her FAFSA PIN.  If the borrower has forgotten his/her PIN, the PIN can be retrieved at: www.pin.ed.gov.  After submitting the online PLUS request, the borrower will receive the results of the credit check for the loan.  If the credit check is approved, a first-time borrower will be required to sign the Graduate PLUS Master Promissory Note (MPN ) at the website using their PIN and will also be required to complete the loan entrance counseling process.  StudentLoans.gov will notify Seattle University that the loan has been approved and Student Financial Services will process the loan.

Federal Perkins Loan

This low interest loan is very limited and is not included in initial awards to graduate students.  Graduate students interested in this loan should contact Student Financial Services to be placed on a waiting list should funding become available. 

Private Educational Loans

If you choose to pursue other financing options, there are many private educational loan programs through which you may be approved to borrow up to your total cost of education minus any financial aid you have been awarded. Eligibility to receive these loans is based on credit-worthiness as determined by the specific lender to which you apply. To ensure that you have the amount you need at the time you need it:

• Contact our office if you need help determining how much you are eligible to borrow.
• Unless you specifically instruct otherwise, we certify loans to be evenly disbursed over the quarters you indicated on your loan application. So, if you know you will have uneven costs, be sure to tell us so your loan can be certified and disbursed to your student account accordingly.
• If you borrow more than the total due on your student account, the remaining balance will be refunded to you.
• Plan ahead. Request loans for the entire academic year at one time. It can take up to three weeks after the loan is approved to receive your loan funds and each separate application may impact your credit score.

If you choose to take out a private educational loan, as the borrower, you will be required to complete and submit a loan self-certification form to your lender. You can contact the lender of Student Financial Service to request a self-certification form. 

We will certify your private educational loan from any lender you select, regardless of whether or not you have chosen to apply for federal loans or other financial aid. However, we recommend that you look at the federal loans first and carefully compare rates, terms and benefits offered with any private loan you’re considering because the federal loans generally have better borrower benefits and repayment terms and conditions.

Private Educational Continuing Education Loans

Several lenders provide loans for students who are not seeking a degree (non-matriculated) or students who are enrolled less than half-time. These loans are generally called Continuing Education Loans and may be researched on the Web using any standard search engine. 

Private Lender Direct to Consumer (DTC) Loans

Some private lenders will make loans directly to you without contacting our office to verify how much you are able to borrow without affecting your other financial aid. We strongly encourage you to talk with us before taking out one of these loans because you may be eligible for other financial aid, including additional federal loans or certified private educational loans. You must also report the amount of your loan to our office and we must consider it as a resource in combination with any other aid you may be receiving. If you have not coordinated with the Student Financial Services Office ahead of time, the amount of your DTC Loan could result in a reduction or required repayment of other aid.

Work Study for Graduate Students

Work study is not included in initial awards for graduate students because funding is limited. Graduate students interested in work study should contact Student Financial Services to be placed on a waiting list should funding become available, in which case, graduate student could be considered for these programs:

On-Campus Federal Work Study

This need-based work program is federally funded. Students may work up to 20 hours per week at a position on campus and are paid monthly for hours worked. 

Off-Campus Federal Work Study (Community Service)

The need-based Federal Work Study Community Service program provides students with off-campus employment in jobs that foster career-related development skills through community service work, offering positions in approved non-profit businesses as well as in government agencies. 

Off-Campus State Work Study

This need-based work program for students who are permanent residents of Washington State is state-funded. Participating students may work up to 19 hours per week in off-campus positions. Opportunities are available in approved private businesses, non-profit organizations and in city and county government. 

Student Employment

Students who are not awarded need-based work-study but who want to work while attending Seattle University can use the university’s free job listing service. Jobs are posted on the Redhawk Network.

Dropping or Withdrawing from Classes

Dropping or Withdrawing from SOME, But Not All, of Your Classes

If you drop or withdraw from some, but not all, of your classes at Seattle University, adjustments may need to be made to your financial aid depending on several factors. Therefore, while general information about dropping or withdrawing from classes is given below, we strongly encourage you to contact a financial aid counselor in Student Financial Services before you actually drop or withdraw from any classes.

In general, if you drop or withdraw from some of your classes after classes begin, but are still enrolled for at least one credit, and your federal and/or state financial aid has been transmitted to your student account, that aid will not be affected for the quarter in progress as long as you met the original eligibility requirements. However, if you drop or withdraw from one or more classes during the add/drop period, institutional aid for the quarter will be withdrawn if you drop below full-time. Thereafter, your institutional aid will be reduced proportionally to the reduction in credits and the tuition refund level in effect at the time you drop or withdraw.

Any credit balance that results from dropping or withdrawing from classes will be refunded to you. However, keep in mind that because your eligibility to receive financial aid in subsequent quarters may depend on the number of credits you pass in the quarter in progress—and classes you drop or from which you withdraw do not count as passed—dropping or withdrawing from classes may affect your eligibility to receive financial aid in the future. Keep in mind that if you add a class after a refund has been processed, you will owe additional tuition for the current quarter.

If you drop or withdraw from all of your classes after your financial aid has been transmitted to your student account, be sure to see Dropping or Withdrawing From All of Your Classes below.

In general, if you drop or withdraw from some of your classes before you have established eligibility for aid, but are still enrolled at least half-time (three credits or more as a graduate student), your financial aid will be revised based on your new enrollment status. Again, keep in mind that because your eligibility to receive financial aid in subsequent quarters may depend on the number of credits you pass in the current quarter—and classes you drop or from which you withdraw do not count as “passed”—dropping or withdrawing from classes may affect your eligibility to receive financial aid in the future.

In general, if you drop below half-time enrollment (less than three credits as a graduate student) before you have established eligibility for aid, most or all of your financial aid will be canceled. You will, nonetheless, want to come in to talk with a financial aid counselor in Student Financial Services before you drop to less than half-time to be sure you understand the consequences.

Dropping or Withdrawing From ALL of Your Classes

If you drop or withdraw from all of your courses for the quarter, here is information about how your financial aid—the amount you will receive, the amount that will be withdrawn and returned and your future eligibility—will be affected.  Because additional, individual circumstances and information vary widely from student to student, and because dropping or withdrawing from all your classes may have different consequences for financial aid purposes than for academic purposes, we strongly encourage financial aid recipients to see a counselor in the Student Financial Services Office before actually dropping or withdrawing from all classes for the quarter.

Aid for subsequent quarters will be canceled unless you notify our office that you plan to return.  You may need to make up credits for the quarter from which you withdrew in order to receive aid again from Seattle University in the future.  Be sure to refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for more information.  The official date of your withdrawal will be the date of an online withdrawal transaction. If you begin attendance but cease to attend classes without notifying the University and your last date of attendance is not documented, the required return of financial aid will be based on attendance for 50 percent of the quarter and you will not be eligible for a tuition refund.

The Student Financial Services Office will determine your eligibility for a refund of charges for the quarter based on your official date of withdrawal as described above. Be sure to refer to the published academic calendar for refund periods and amounts.

According to federal regulations, federal funds must be returned to federal programs based on the percent of the term remaining after you are no longer enrolled unless you have completed more than 60 percent of the term. If you have completed more than 60 percent of the term, no return of federal funds is required. If you have completed 60 percent or less of the term, the Student Financial Services Office will determine how much of your federal aid was unearned as defined in federal regulations, and then return the unearned aid in the following order:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Graduate PLUS Loan
• Federal TEACH Grant
• Other Title IV Programs

Seattle University is required to return, on your behalf, the balance of unearned aid to the federal programs. Work study funding is not included in the calculation that determines your refund and you will not be required to repay any work study wages you have received for hours you have worked. You will be responsible for repaying, in accordance with the terms of your promissory note, any balance owed on the federal student loans disbursed to you that is not required to be returned by the university.

If you have received federal student loans while you attended Seattle University, federal law requires that you obtain loan exit counseling information through Seattle University. That counseling will give you information on your loans(s). Loan repayment will begin at the end of your grace period(s) as defined by the promissory note(s) you completed to receive the loans.

Student Financial Services will return Seattle University sponsored aid to its source, based on the University’s tuition refund calendar. For instance, if you will be refunded 50 percent of your tuition costs, then only 50 percent of the Seattle University sponsored financial aid will be applied to your student account.

If most of your tuition costs were covered by financial aid, then most of your refund will be returned to those financial aid programs. This does not apply to any private educational loans you may have received. Repayment of these loans is solely the responsibility of the borrower—you and/or your parent—once the funds have been applied to your student account.

If you paid with cash, check or credit card, the amount refunded will be based on the applicable refund percentage at the time you withdrew.In some cases you may be required to repay federal and/or state grant aid and/or the changes in the amount of financial aid you have earned prior to your complete withdrawal may result in a balance due from you to the university. In these cases, we send a revised student account invoice to let you know of the amount owed as a result of your complete withdrawal. Your future registration will be blocked and transcripts will be withheld until this balance is paid.

Sample Return of Funds calculations can be found by going to seattleu.edu/sfs. Once there, rest the cursor on the Financial Aid tab at the top of the homepage and click on Withdrawing from Some or All of Your Classes from the dropdown menu. Scroll to the bottom of the resulting page and click on the highlighted Sample Return of Funds Calculations link.

Hardship Withdrawals

Students granted a hardship withdrawal by their dean should keep in mind this withdrawal is for academic purposes only; tuition refunds follow the standard refund policy and are based on the official withdrawal date. A separate petition is required to request an exception to the standard refund policy. These requests are typically approved only if there was a death in the student’s immediate family or the student had an illness or injury that required three or more days of hospitalization.

2010-11 Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid Recipients

As a full-time student receiving financial aid, you must:

1. Meet the minimum qualitative standard by maintaining an acceptable cumulative grade point average (GPA) and
2. Meet the minimum quantitative standards by:
   1. Completing your degree within the maximum time frame allowed and
   2. Maintaining positive progress at an acceptable pace toward degree completion by passing a minimum number of credits during each review period. 

These requirements apply to your entire period of attendance at Seattle University, and in some instances may include your enrollment at other institutions before transferring to Seattle University, even though you may not have received financial aid for all terms of enrollment.

In addition, Seattle University limits institutional financial aid to a maximum of four years (12 quarters) for undergraduate students who were admitted as freshmen, and for a prorated number of years for transfer students. Institutional aid is not available for extending a program to complete more than one major or degree. This policy applies to all institutional aid including grants and scholarships. To complete the undergraduate program within the institutional funding period, we strongly encourage you to enroll for 15 credits per quarter. 

It is important for financial aid recipients to understand that satisfactory academic progress requirements and enrollment standards for financial aid purposes may not be the same as those for academic purposes. Satisfactory academic progress for eligibility to receive federal and institutional aid is reviewed at the end of each spring quarter. For state aid, progress is reviewed every quarter you receive state aid. While you will be notified via email if you have not maintained satisfactory academic progress, it is your responsibility to monitor your own progress.

GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)

Federal regulations require a qualitative measurement that is consistent with successful completion of a student’s program. As an undergraduate student, you are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0, including an additional review when you have earned 90 university level credits. As a graduate student, you are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0.

MAXIMUM TIME FRAME

Federal regulations require that the institution establish the standard length of time that you can receive aid while pursuing a degree. This requirement is called the “maximum time frame” for aid eligibility and, for undergraduate students, includes all applicable credits earned from all institutions attended since high school. You are eligible to receive financial aid until you have:

1. Attempted a maximum of 125 percent of the minimum number of credits required for your degree; or 
2. Completed all the courses required to earn your degree.

For undergraduate full-time students:

• Because the standard baccalaureate program is 180 credits, the program length is four years (12 quarters), based on 15 credits per quarter and three quarters per year, the maximum period of eligibility for federal aid is 125 percent of program length, which is 225 credits, or five years (15 quarters).
• For Washington State Need Grant, eligibility is limited to 15 full-time quarters and to 125 percent of the standard program length, or 225 credits.
• Institutional gift aid, including scholarships, is limited to the standard length of the program—four years if you were admitted as a freshman, three years if you were admitted as a sophomore, two years if you were admitted as a junior. 

For graduate students, the maximum period of eligibility for federal aid is limited to 125 percent of the standard program length. 

PACE

Each spring quarter, your academic record will be reviewed for “pace,” measuring progress toward degree within the maximum time frame. Pace is defined as the number of credits successfully completed or passed divided by the number of credits attempted. The minimum acceptable pace is 80 percent at any review period. 

If you have transfer credits, they will count as attempted and passed for the purpose of evaluating pace. 

If a class is repeated, successfully completed credits count only once; but each enrollment will count as credits attempted. Incomplete grades, withdrawals, and failed classes count as attempted credits but not passed credits. Credits that may not apply to the degree such as Culture and Language Bridge courses, where credits are counted for enrollment and receipt of financial aid, may be counted as passed credits for this purpose if a passing grade was assigned. Credits by exam, as well as other credits earned outside of a college level course, do not count as either attempted or passed credits.

You must pass the minimum number of credits based on the higher of your actual enrollment status (full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time or less than half-time) or the enrollment status for which you received financial aid, as noted on the “Enrollment Status” line of your award letter. For example, if you receive a half-time Pell grant but add classes later in the term which result in full-time enrollment, your progress standard will be based on your full-time enrollment. Enrollment status is defined as:

Institutional aid generally requires that you maintain full-time enrollment fall, winter and spring terms; institutional aid is not available during summer term. Institutional aid includes aid awarded through Student Financial Services and other offices at Seattle University. This aid originates from the institution’s general fund, departmental funds, the financial aid budget, gifts to the university, and endowed scholarship funds.

To qualify for aid with less than full-time enrollment status, institutional, state and federal aid may require proration and the reduced enrollment level will be reflected on your financial aid award notice.

Completed credits exclude incomplete grades, withdrawals, failed classes, repeated courses, audited courses and credits by examination.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC INSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS

As with all institutional aid, your scholarship is limited to four years (12 quarters) if you enter as a freshman. The number of terms allowed is prorated for transfer students. In addition to the named scholarships below, some other institutional scholarships come with specific requirements. Those requirements are disclosed in the offer letter associated with those scholarships instead of in this document.

Admits with Start Terms of Summer, 2011 or Later

If you receive a Sullivan Leadership Award, a Trustee, Campion, Messina, Xavier, Bannan or Honors Scholarship, you must meet all the standard satisfactory academic progress requirements and maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) requirement of at least 3.0. Failure to achieve this level of success for the Sullivan Leadership Award, Bannan or Honors Scholarship at the spring review may result in suspension of these awards. 

If you entered as a freshman and receive a Trustee or Campion Scholarship but do not meet the cumulative GPA requirement at the end of spring quarter, you will be placed on scholarship probation for the subsequent year. You will continue to receive the scholarship during that year, but must achieve the required cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, along with all other progress requirements, by the end of spring term of your probation year. If you have not successfully met the minimum cumulative GPA requirements by the end of spring quarter, but you have met all other institutional gift aid requirements, your scholarship will be replaced by one of lesser value. If you are unable to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end of spring quarter in your scholarship probation year, a Trustee Scholarship would be reduced to a Campion Scholarship, and a Campion Scholarship would be reduced to a Bellarmine Scholarship for the following year. The lower scholarship amount is set at the value of that scholarship when you were first enrolled at Seattle University.

If you entered as a transfer student and receive a Messina or Xavier Scholarship, but do not meet the cumulative GPA requirement at the end of spring quarter, you will be placed on scholarship probation for the subsequent year. You will continue to receive the scholarship during that year, but must achieve the required cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, along with all other progress requirements, by the end of spring term of your probation year. If you have not successfully met the minimum cumulative GPA requirements by the end of spring quarter, but you have met all other institutional gift aid requirements, your scholarship will be replaced by one of lesser value. If you are unable to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end of spring quarter in your scholarship probation year, a Messina Scholarship would be reduced to a Xavier Scholarship, and a Xavier Scholarship will be reduced to half of the amount of your original Xavier Scholarship. The lower scholarship amount is set at the value of that scholarship when you were first enrolled at Seattle University. 

If you have achieved academic progress but did not maintain the required cumulative GPA, it may be possible to improve your GPA by taking classes in the summer (without aid) on a “summer contract.” 

Admits with a Start Term Spring, 2011 or Earlier

The same logic applies as is noted above, but the scholarship titles are Presidential, Trustee and Campion. If, as the recipient of one of these awards, you are unable to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end of spring quarter in your scholarship probation year, a Presidential Scholarship would be reduced to a Trustee Scholarship and a Trustee Scholarship would be reduced to a Campion Scholarship for the following year. The lower scholarship amount is set at the value of that scholarship when you were first enrolled at Seattle University. If you received a Campion Scholarship, your scholarship will be reduced to half of the amount of your original award. 

ADDITIONAL STATE-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

If you are a Washington State Need Grant and/or Washington State Work Study recipient, your progress is monitored at the end of each quarter. If you have received an award from either of these funds, failure to complete at least 50% of the credits attempted in a quarter will result in the cancellation of your subsequent eligibility. If you complete at least 50 percent, but not all of the credits you attempt for a quarter, you will be placed on state aid probation. Receipt of state aid while on state aid probation is only permitted for two consecutive quarters. If your eligibility for state aid is suspended, but you had special circumstances that prevented satisfactory progress, such as a serious illness or injury or a death in the family, you may submit an appeal to request continued state eligibility; however, there is no appeal of the maximum limit of State Need Grant funding. See the “Appeals” section below.

If you are an Alaska State Loan undergraduate borrower, you must enroll for at least 12 credits per quarter and achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0. If you are a graduate student borrower, you must enroll for a minimum of 6 credits per quarter and achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. Appeals for reinstatement of Alaska loan eligibility are made to the Alaska Student Loan Commission.

APPEALS

If you fail to meet satisfactory progress standards because of special circumstances that prevented regular progress, such as illness or injury, a serious illness or death in your family, or other unanticipated circumstances that were beyond your control, you may appeal to continue on aid if:

1. You can resume the regular progress requirements within one additional term; or
2. You can resume regular progress on an academic plan that lasts longer than one term.

An appeal must be submitted in writing on a “Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Appeal Form” and must include a statement or explanation of the special circumstances that prevented you from passing sufficient credits, maintaining an acceptable cumulative GPA or completing a degree within the maximum timeframe, and what has changed in your situation that will allow you to regain satisfactory academic progress by the end of the next quarter. Your appeal must include supplemental documentation to support your case. In the case of maximum time frame, you must provide an action plan as described in the next paragraph.

If you cannot resume progress within one quarter on probation, in addition to the information above, your appeal to continue on aid must include an academic plan that, if followed, will ensure that you are able to meet the institution’s satisfactory academic progress standards by a designated point in time within the maximum time frame. The plan will designate the courses and grades that must be earned in order to regain progress. The plan will designate the date by which you will have regained satisfactory progress. 

If your appeal is granted, and you are allowed to continue to receive aid while on probation, your progress will be monitored at the end of each succeeding quarter until you have regained progress. If you do not successfully follow the plan each quarter, your financial aid will be suspended at the end of the quarter in which you do not successfully meet the plan’s requirements.

All appeals are evaluated by the counseling staff in the Student Financial Services office. If you have questions or want to initiate an appeal, contact that office to determine the most appropriate way to proceed.

REGAINING ELIGIBILITY TO RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID

If your aid eligibility is suspended due to lack of satisfactory academic progress, you may be able to regain eligibility by pursuing your education without the benefit of financial assistance from Seattle University. This may involve taking additional classes at Seattle University to raise your GPA to an acceptable level, or taking credits at Seattle University or another institution to regain “pace.” Please note that taking credits from another institution will require official transcripts and evaluation of transfer credit, and sometimes an application for readmission, before eligibility can be restored. 

Because regaining eligibility is generally difficult to do, we highly recommend that you meet with a Student Financial Services Counselor to ensure that you understand what is required to regain eligibility. When you have regained progress and are eligible to enroll at Seattle University, submit a request to the Student Financial Services office to confirm that you have regained eligibility. If additional courses were taken, submit your request after your courses have been evaluated and posted to your academic record by the Office of the Registrar.