Check out the most recent Financial Aid Newsletter!
Updates to the Minimum Standards of Academic Progress
Effective July 1, the new Program Integrity Rules associated with the Minimum Standards of Academic Progress required institutions to evaluate the following prior to awarding Title IV assistance:
• Students can repeat ‘unearned’ coursework as many times as necessary in order to ‘earn’ a grade for said coursework (e.g. letter ‘D’ grade or higher)
• Students can repeat ‘earned’ coursework ONCE in order to ‘earn’ a better grade for said coursework (e.g. earning a ‘D’ the first attempt and an ‘A’ the second attempt)
• Students cannot repeat ‘earned’ coursework more than ONCE
This is important when it comes to campus-based (Federal Work Study, SEOG and Federal Perkins) or Direct Loan eligibility which require 6 credit hours.
If a student’s enrollment hours for Spring, 2012 is eight (8) and the Repeat Coursework Calculation is six (6) for the semester, the student is not eligible for either campus based or Direct Loans because the leaves only 2 (two) credit hours of eligibility enrollment.
This update will be reflected in the 2012-13 University Catalog with the Minimum Standards of Academic Progress section.
Questions and/or concerns should be directed to the Financial Aid Office.
2012-13 Graduate Student eligibility for Subsidized Stafford Loans
On September 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee's fiscal year spending bill protects the maximum $5,550 Federal Pell Grant for award year 2012-13 by eliminating the in-school interest subsidy on undergraduate federal student loans for the six-month grace period and redirects those savings into the Federal Pell program.
To cut federal spending, Congress eliminated subsidized loan eligibility for Graduate students (pursuing a masters degree) effective with enrollment periods beginning on or after July 1, 2012. The elimination of Direct Subsidized Loan eligibility for Graduate students will mean a sharp increase in the number of students accruing quarterly interest at the fixed 6.8% rate.
Further, during the month of October, 2011 the federal processor generally sends out email reminders for students to submit their Renewal FAFSA (FREE Application for Federal Student Aid) for the upcoming award year (2012-13). The intended audience of the message are those students who submitted their current year FAFSA with an email address. The NEIU Financial Aid Office recommends that students complete the FAFSA prior to February 15, 2012.
