Consumer Information

The mission of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at Angelo State University is to identify, counsel, and provide financial assistance to those students who, without funding, would be unable to pursue their educational goals at the university.

The ASU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships is available to assist students who need help meeting the cost of attending the university. Although the primary responsibility for financing an education rests with the student and the student’s immediate family, ASU recognizes that many students will require additional help to finance their educational goals. ASU offers need-based and non-need-based financial assistance to students.

Angelo State University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action, co-educational institution that does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, disability or national/ethnic origin. Race and gender designations on financial aid applications are used to complete required federal and state reports.

For more information about the academic programs, accreditation and other aspects of Angelo State University, download an Undergraduate or Graduate University Catalog.

To be eligible for federal student aid, an applicant must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non citizen.
• Have a valid Social Security Number (unless you are from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic of Palau).
• Be registered with the Selective Service if you are a male age 18–25.
• Have a high school diploma or a General Education Development (GED) certificate or pass an exam approved by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Be accepted or enrolled as a degree-seeking student at a school that participates in federal student aid programs.
• Be in good academic standing and maintain a satisfactory level of academic progress.
• Not have a drug conviction for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid (such as grants, loans, or work-study).

Also you must:

• Not owe a refund on a federal grant or be in default on a federal student loan
• Demonstrate financial need (except for unsubsidized Federal Direct Loans)

An applicant who is a permanent resident or other eligible non-citizen must provide documentation of that status to receive federal student financial aid funds.

Primary confirmation: This documentation may be provided automatically through the results of a match with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records. If your status has been confirmed, no other documentation is required, and eligibility for federal aid has been established.

Secondary confirmation: If the primary confirmation is not received, you must submit one of the following documents to our office in order to establish eligibility:

• a valid U.S. passport
• Certificate of Citizenship
• a Certificate of Naturalization
• a Form FS-240
• a completed Form G-641
• an Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form 1-151, I-551, or 1-551C)
• an Arrival-Departure Record (Form 1-94)
• a Family Unity Status Form (1-797s)

Within 15 working days, the information will be mailed to the DHS for secondary confirmation. DHS must respond within 15 working days. If DHS does not respond, our office will document that DHS exceeded the time allotted, and we will determine eligibility on the basis of the secondary confirmation and in accordance with federal regulations.

Deadlines: You will meet eligibility requirements for federal aid as long as you submit the documentation and the secondary confirmation is determined by the last day of class for which you are requesting financial aid.

To be eligible for state student aid, an applicant must:

• Be a Texas resident.
• Be registered with the Selective Service if you are a male age 18–25 unless exempt under federal laws.
• Be accepted or enrolled as a certificate- or degree-seeking student in an eligible program.
• Be in good academic standing and maintain a satisfactory level of academic progress or meet the satisfactory level of academic progress requirements for the state program awarded.
• Have not been convicted of a felony or crime involving a controlled substance.

Some programs require you to demonstrate financial need as determined by the FAFSA.

To be eligible for institutional aid, an applicant must:

• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student working toward a degree or certificate in an eligible program.
• Be in good academic standing and maintain a satisfactory level of academic progress as required by the program.
• Demonstrate financial need as determined by the FAFSA, if required by a specific program.

It is the student’s right to know:

• What financial assistance is available.
• The priority dates for submitting applications.
• The cost of attending the university.
• The elements of determining financial need and how much need has been met.
• The university’s refund and repayment policy.
• The university’s satisfactory level of academic progress.
• The terms of student loans.
• How to request additional clarification or reconsideration of any aspect of the aid application or package.

It is the student’s responsibility to:

• Review all information about the university.
• Complete all required application forms accurately.
• Submit all requested information in a timely manner.
• Read and understand forms that require a signature.
• Know all priority dates.
• Know and comply with the refund and repayment policies.
• Maintain a satisfactory level of academic progress.
• Notify lender of any status changes.

Special aid to students who have certain physical or emotional disabilities is offered through the Texas Workforce Commission. To be eligible for services, the student must have a physical or mental disability that constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment.

In addition, there must be a reasonable expectation that the vocational rehabilitation services will benefit the person in terms of employment. Clients are entitled to vocational counseling and guidance, job development, placement and follow-up.

In cases where economic need can be demonstrated, college students with disabilities may be eligible for compensation of tuition and required fees, books and supplies, physical restoration and supportive devices. Severely disabled students may also be eligible to receive financial help with housing and food costs, mobility assistance, note-takers, tutors and attendant care.

More information about financial aid can be found in “The Guide to Federal Student Aid,” a publication of the U.S. Department of Education, or “College For All Texans,” a publication of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. These documents are available upon request through the ASU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships offers personal counseling to students and parents about aid opportunities, application requirements, program guidelines and student eligibility. Students and parents may call us at 1-800-933-6299 or 325-942-2246 or visit our office 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday for additional assistance. No appointment is necessary.

Applying for Financial Aid
The FAFSA application period begins Oct. 1 of each year for the following award year (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31). As soon as possible after Oct. 1, a student or prospective student should apply.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Renewal FAFSA should be submitted electronically. All other required forms should be completed and submitted directly to the ASU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

By filing the FAFSA electronically, the software immediately identifies potential errors and allows for timely corrections. Plus, once transmitted, the information goes right into the U.S. Department of Education’s Central Processing System (CPS). The CPS will process the application in one to five days, provided the applicant (and parents, if applicable) has provided electronic signatures after completing a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The applicant should review Part I of the Student Aid Report (SAR) for any additional steps required by the processor.

Applications for assistance cannot be fully considered until the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships receives all the required application forms. The student also needs to apply for admission to ASU and be accepted as a regular degree-seeking student.

Applicants must re-apply for financial aid each year. The application process must be completed by the last class day of the application period to be considered for aid for that period of enrollment. Students cannot receive financial aid for periods of non-enrollment.

To receive full consideration for financial assistance and to determine eligibility, a candidate must submit all required application forms to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships by these priority dates.

Applications may be considered after these priority dates to the extent that funds are available.

Determining Financial Need
Financial need is the difference between the cost of attending the university and the resources available to the student to help meet that cost. Thus, financial need is:

Cost of Attendance (COA)
Minus
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
Minus
Other Available Resources
Equals
Financial Need

The EFC is determined by filing the FAFSA and is a combination of the student’s contribution and the parents’ contribution (for dependent students). Other available resources can include outside agency scholarships, other educational benefits, waiver and exemption programs, etc. All applicants are required to inform the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships of any additional assistance to be received from outside sources during the application period.

Once documented need is established, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will consider programs for which the applicant is eligible. It is impractical for the aid applicant to expect the total calculated need to be met with gift aid (grants and scholarships). To meet as much of the documented need as possible, the applicant will be considered for self-help programs (loans or employment).

Every effort will be made to meet the applicant’s documented need through a combination of aid programs. The amount awarded will be based on financial need, the limitations imposed by the various financial aid programs and the availability of funding. The total award may be less than the documented need because of fund limitations, an unusually large student budget, the applicant’s eligibility and/or prescribed program allowances.

Aid applications will be electronically processed and awards made as long as funds are available. Once a financial aid package has been awarded, an award notification letter will be sent to the applicant with instructions concerning the online review of awards offered.

If, after the aid package has been awarded, it is determined that an additional resource is available to the student to help meet the cost of attendance, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will be required to recalculate the applicant’s eligibility to include the additional resource. If the additional resource causes an over-award situation, the student’s aid package will be adjusted to compensate for the over award. Adjustments may include canceling or decreasing previously awarded aid. A revised award notification letter will be sent to the applicant indicating any revisions made to the aid package.

The cost of attending ASU varies with enrollment status, housing situations and personal lifestyles. Standard student expense budgets are prepared each year to determine a student’s financial need. Budgets are constructed for students living with relatives and students living on or off campus. Each standard expense budget includes cost components defined by law for tuition and fees, housing and food, books and supplies, transportation, miscellaneous personal expenses and loan fees. Increases may be allowed for dependent care costs and disability expenses in documented individual student circumstances.

Budgets are constructed to estimate expenses for periods of enrollment for the fall and spring semesters as well as the summer terms.

For actual budgets please see the Cost of Attendance page.

Financial aid awards will be credited to the student’s account. If the amount of financial aid applied creates an over-payment, remaining refunds will be issued by the Student Accounts Office. Refunds are disbursed via the ASU OneCard according to the refund preference selected by the student. Awards are generally disbursed in an amount equal to one-half of the total award each semester. Work-study earnings will be paid as earned on a monthly basis and student earnings will also be disbursed via the ASU OneCard according to the student’s selected preference.

It is ASU’s policy to recalculate a student’s Pell Grant award only when a change in enrollment status occurs before the census date of a long term. The policy requires the institution to recalculate the Pell Grant award for any student whose enrollment status changed up to that date. It precludes the school from making any adjustments for changes to enrollment status that occurred after that date.

A student who receives financial aid and withdraws from the university may be required to repay all or part of the aid awarded. An Application for Withdrawal from the University must be initiated in the Registrar’s Office by the last day for withdrawals as posted on the university calendar. A student is not officially withdrawn until that form has been completed, the approvals of each of the appropriate university offices have been received and the form has been returned for approval to the Registrar’s Office.

As part of this withdrawal process, students are required to secure approval from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. As required by federal regulations, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will determine if the student must repay all or part of the aid awarded. Calculation of repayment is made at the time of withdrawal by determining the amount of aid the student was awarded, the amount of awarded aid the student earned and, ultimately, the amount of awarded aid the student did not earn that must be returned to the aid program(s).

The following steps are used to calculate the amount that must be returned to the aid programs(s):

• Determination of the withdrawal date.
• Determination of the amount of aid the student earned. This is done by calculating the percentage of the period of enrollment that has been completed (or 100 percent once the student completes 60 percent of the enrollment period) multiplied by the aid that was disbursed and/or could have been disbursed as of the date of withdrawal.
• Determination of the amount of aid the student did not earn. This is done by subtracting the ‘earned amount’ from the aid disbursed as of the date of withdrawal.
• Determination of the amount of aid the university must return. This is the amount that is equal to the total institutional charges for the payment period multiplied by the percentage of the aid that was unearned.
• Determination of the amount of aid the student must return. This is the amount that is equal to the aid received by the student for non-institutional expenses multiplied by the percentage of the aid that was unearned.

Special rules that apply to the return of the unearned aid include:

• The university must return the amount of unearned aid that is equal to the total institutional charges for the payment period multiplied by the percentage of the aid that was unearned.
• To satisfy the amount the university must return to the aid programs, a combination of these resources may be used: aid not yet disbursed to the student, the student’s refund as determined by the official refund schedule as posted in the University Catalog and an additional amount to be repaid by the student.
• The student must return the balance of the unearned aid minus the amount the university returned.
• The student’s share of loans to be returned may be repaid in accordance with the terms of the loan.
• The student’s share of the grants to be returned is divided in half.
• Excess funds will be returned in the following order: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan Program; Subsidized Federal Direct Loan Program; Federal PLUS Program; Federal Pell Grant Program; Federal SEOG Program; other Title IV Aid; other state aid; and miscellaneous aid.

The policy to return funds due to withdrawal may be modified at any time without prior notice to comply with state and federal guidelines.

Due to federal regulations, institutions are required to complete a refund calculation for financial aid recipients who fail to earn a passing grade in every one of their classes for the semester/term. These students are considered by the federal government to have “unofficially withdrawn” from the university.

The refund calculation determines how much of the federal financial aid a student received for the semester was actually earned and how much must be repaid by the student to the appropriate financial aid program(s). The amount is based on the student’s last documented date of attendance.

If a student receives federal financial aid for any given semester/term and fails to make a passing grade in all classes for the semester/term, this calculation will be performed to determine the amount owed back to the federal program(s).

Angelo State University maintains a reasonable and well-publicized set of policies and procedures for addressing complaints. These policies and procedures are consistently followed and fairly administered when resolving student complaints. Complaints to Angelo State’s regional accreditor and State authority may be handled as outlined on the Accreditation and Authorizations page.