Financial Aid Policies

Students receiving financial assistance are required by federal regulation to be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in order to continue receiving aid while enrolled at Immaculata University.

Federal regulations require that an institution establish, publish, and apply reasonable standards for measuring whether a student, who is otherwise eligible for aid, is maintaining satisfactory academic progress in his or her course of study. The standards must be the same or stricter than the institution’s standards for a student enrolled in the same academic program who is not receiving financial aid. Listed below is the complete statement of minimum standards for satisfactory academic progress for financial aid recipients.

 

Maximum Timeframes for Completing Degree Requirements Students are expected to complete their program of study (degree) in the number of semesters indicated in the catalog. Transfer students and students changing programs are placed in an appropriate semester on the basis of credits transferred. Such students are expected to complete their degree according to the remaining semesters in their program plus one additional semester to allow for scheduling difficulties.  The maximum time frame for completing associate degree requirements is three years for full-time students and six years for part-time students.  The maximum time frame for completing baccalaureate degree requirements is six years (twelve full-time semesters) for full-time students and twelve years for part-time students. Transfer credits earned at other institutions that are applicable to the student’s program of study will be considered in determining the student’s maximum time frame for program completion.  You may view the Published Length of Programs at the link below for the complete list of program lengths. Students must make quantitative and qualitative progress toward their educational goals each academic year to receive assistance. The academic year consists of two regular semesters and the summer sessions.

Quantitative Standards Full-time students must successfully complete a minimum of 24 credit hours each academic year. Students admitted in January must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credits during their first spring semester. Students enrolled on a three-quarter-time basis (9-11 credits per semester) must successfully complete a minimum of 18 credit hours each academic year. Students enrolled on a half-time basis (6-8 credits per semester) must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credit hours each academic year.

Qualitative Standards Undergraduate students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 calculated at the end of the academic semester, and/or complete 75 percent of attempted credits within each academic semester in order to be considered a student in good standing. Graduate students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 calculated at the end of each semester to be considered a student in good standing.

Measurement of Academic Progress Requirements Academic progress will be measured at the end of each semester. Students who were enrolled during the fall and/or spring semesters and failed to meet the qualitative and/or quantitative requirements for academic progress can attempt to complete additional credits and bring up their GPA during the summer sessions. However, only credits earned at Immaculata University will affect the GPA. Credits taken at another university will only affect total credits. Upon completion of the additional credits, a new determination of academic progress will be made. Transfer students are evaluated for academic progress in May after the first spring semester attended at Immaculata University. Students who transfer in for the fall semester are evaluated on their academic performance at the end of their first fall and spring semesters. Students that transfer in beginning with the spring semester are evaluated on their performance during their first spring semester. All financial aid applicants are subject to the satisfactory academic standards regardless of whether or not they received financial assistance previously. Failures and withdrawals are courses attempted, not completed. Incompletes are not counted toward credits completed until after the coursework is successfully completed and posted by the registrar. Repeat courses will not count toward credits completed for satisfactory academic progress since the credits were already counted toward the quantitative standards the first time the course was completed.

When Minimum Standards of Academic Progress Are Not Achieved Students who do not make satisfactory academic progress will go through a set of warnings before they become federal student aid ineligible. The student will be notified by mail of SAP standing.

University Scholarship/Grant Standards Immaculata University offers traditional undergraduate students merit-based scholarships which are renewable for the four years a student is enrolled full-time. Students must maintain the following standards in order to receive their merit-based scholarships.

IU Grant: 2.0 GPA

Faculty Scholarship: 2.5 GPA

Dean’s Scholarship: 3.0 GPA

At the end of each semester, the Office of Financial Aid checks student eligibility. Students are notified in writing about gain/loss of scholarship eligibility. The student can appeal the decision to the Office of Financial Aid. The appeal must be submitted in writing and specify the extenuating circumstances which prevented achieving satisfactory academic progress. The following types of mitigating circumstances may be considered when a student appeals: extended illness, death in the family, and changes in educational objective. The Office of Financial Aid may request additional documentation and/or require a personal interview with the student. After the review, the Office of Financial Aid will notify the student in writing of the action taken. Reinstatement is not automatic. Students are responsible for making certain that the grades and credits completed have been properly posted with the registrar prior to requesting reinstatement of financial aid. Students are encouraged to file all financial aid application forms by Immaculata University’s established deadline so that once reinstatement has been achieved, they can be considered for aid as quickly as possible. Students who are denied aid based on qualitative or quantitative standards will be considered for aid when they have achieved the standards.  The above standards may be achieved during a period of at least half-time enrollment for each non-aided semester completed based on the academic progress criteria above.  Students who enroll at least half-time during a period of aid ineligibility and achieve satisfactory academic progress for that semester only will be reviewed for reinstatement of their aid eligibility for the following semester.

For the purposes of financial aid eligibility each academic program has a published program length, measured years. The years are calculated based upon full-time study in the fall and spring semesters. Summer semesters do not count towards the published program lengths. Below is a chart of program lengths for all Immaculata University programs eligible for federal financial aid. Please note that exceeding 150% of the published length of program may impact Title IV financial assistance. For additional information students should contact their financial aid counselor.

Immaculata University Program Lengths Based on Full-time Study
Undergraduate Programs
Program	Program Length (Full-time Study)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing	4 Years
Bachelor of Science in Nursing, R.N. to B.S.N. program	3 Years
Bachelor of Music	4 Years
Bachelor of Music in Music Therapy	5 Years
Bachelor of Science Programs (all B.S. majors)	4 Years
Bachelor of Arts Programs (all B.A. majors)	4 Years
Associate of Arts (all A.A. majors)	2 Years
Associate of Science (all A.S. majors)	2 Years
Teacher Certification – Secondary Education	4 Years
Teacher Certification – Music	4 Years
Teacher Certification – Family Consumer Sciences	4 Years
Teacher Certification – Business/Computer/Information Technology	3.5 Years
Teacher Certification – Chemistry	3.5 Years
Teacher Certification – English	3.5 Years
Teacher Certification – Social Studies	3.5 Years
Teacher Certification – Biology	3 Years
Teacher Certification – Mathematics	3 Years
Teacher Certification – Spanish	3 Years
Graduate Programs
Program	Program Length (Full-time Study)
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership & Administration	3.5 Years
Doctor of Education in Higher Education	3.5 Years
Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology	6.5 Years
Educational Specialist in School Psychology	2.5 Years
M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling	3.5 Years
M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with School Counseling Certification (PreK-12)	4 Years
M.A. in Clinical Psychology	3 Years
M.A. in Counseling Psychology	3 Years
M.A. in Counseling Psychology with School Counseling Certification	3.5 Years
M.A. in Counseling Psychology with School Psychology Certification	3.5 Years
M.A. in Cultural & Linguistic Diversity	2 Years
M.A. in Educational Leadership	2 Years
M.A. in Music Therapy	3.5 Years
M.A. in Nutrition Education	3 Years
M.S. in Clinical Nutrition with Dietetic Internship	5 years
M.S. in Management and Leadership	2 Years
M.A. in Public Relations	2 Years
M.A. in School Psychology	2 Years
M.S.N. in Nursing	2.5 Years
Teaching Certification – Secondary: Bus/Comp/Info Tech	3.5 Years
Teaching Certification: Chemistry	3.5 Years
Teaching Certification: English	3.5
Teaching Certification: Pre-K – Grade 4	3.5 Years
Teaching Certification: Pre-K Gr 4/Pre-K-8 Special Ed	4 Years
Teaching Certification: Secondary Biology	3 Years
Teaching Certification: Secondary Music	4 Years
Teaching Certification: Secondary Social Studies	3.5 Years
Teaching Certification: Secondary Spanish	3 Years
Teaching Certification: Secondary: Family Consumer Science	4 Years
Teaching Certification: Secondary: Mathematics	3 Years
Teaching Certification: Special Education	3 Years

The Financial Aid Office is required by federal statute to determine how much financial aid was earned by students who withdraw, stop out, are dismissed, or take a leave of absence prior to completing 60% of a payment period or term. For a student who withdraws from classes after the 60% point-in-time, there are no unearned funds. However, a school must still complete a return calculation in order to determine whether the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. The calculation is based on the percentage of earned aid using the following Federal Return of Title IV Funds formula: Percentage of payment period or term completed = the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term. (Any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.) This percentage is also the percentage of earned aid. Funds are returned to the appropriate federal program based on the percentage of unearned aid using the following formula: Aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the percentage of earned aid) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the payment period or term. If a student earned less aid than was disbursed, the institution would be required to return a portion of the funds and the student would be required to return a portion of the funds. Keep in mind that when Title IV funds are returned, the student borrower may owe a debit balance to the institution. If a student earned more aid than was disbursed to him/her, the institution would owe the student a post-withdrawal disbursement, which must be paid within 120 days of the student’s withdrawal. The institution must return the amount of Title IV funds for which it is responsible no later than 45 days after the date of the determination of the date of the student’s withdrawal from classes. Returns are allocated in the following order:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Direct Loans (other than PLUS loans)
• Federal Direct Subsidized Direct Loans
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
• Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loans
• Federal Pell Grants for which a return of funds is required
• Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grants for which a return of funds is required
• Other assistance under this title for which a return of funds is required (e.g. LEAP)

Some students are required by the federal government to document financial circumstances with the Immaculata University Financial Aid Office. This process, called verification, is required by the federal government to confirm the data submitted on the FAFSA or to confirm students’ eligibility to receive financial aid. Students may be selected for verification either by the U.S. Department of Education or by the University’s Financial Aid Office. Only students selected for verification need to complete this step. If you are selected for verification, funds will not be disbursed until the process is complete. Immaculata University will request information in writing from the student upon notification from the federal government. Failure to fully submit requested information after three notifications will result in the cancellation of all federal, state, and University need-based funds. Any changes to aid eligibility as a result of the completion of the verification process will be communicated to the students in writing reflecting the changes/updates made to the FAFSA information, and changes/updates to the financial aid awards. If the student owes a repayment as a result of the changes, the financial aid award(s) will be adjusted and the student will be billed for any balance due to the University as a result. What To Do You will receive a letter from Immaculata if you are selected for verification. The letter will contain a verification form and instructions on how to submit the appropriate documents. You can also monitor outstanding requirements and your status via your SSIU online account. If you are selected for verification, download and complete the current academic year verification worksheet. Some of the additional requirements may include:

• Copies of tax transcript  www.irs.gov
• Documentation of independent student status
• Documentation of citizenship
• Verification of Social Security number — If you have changed your name, be sure to notify the Social Security Administration, or aid cannot be disbursed.
• Veterans may need to verify their status in order to receive aid.

Tips

• Do not submit any information until Immaculata requests it.
• If you are a new student, the verification letter will be mailed to your home address; if you are a current student, the letter will be mailed to your current mailing/local address on file in your SSIU online account.