Financial Policies

 

 

Summer and Winter Term Programs

May be charged the Study Abroad Processing Fees and the International Health Fee. No financial aid is typically available.

Programs Not Sponsored/Approved by APU or the CCCU

Not eligible for financial aid.

For more information, contact the Center for Global Learning & Engagement.

As a part of the Program Participation Agreement for participating in Title IV financial aid programs, institutions are required to develop and comply with a loan code of conduct that prohibits conflicts of interest for financial aid personnel with respect to all student loans. Any Azusa Pacific University employee who has responsibilities with respect to student educational loans must annually be reminded to comply with this code of conduct. In accordance with 34 CFR 301.21 and HEOA 487, Azusa Pacific University will comply with the following:

1. Neither Azusa Pacific University as an institution nor any individual employee who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender which makes loans to students attending the institution.
2. No employee of Azusa Pacific University who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or any of his/her family members, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.
   • For purposes of this prohibition, the term “gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than nominal.
   • Gifts and favorable terms and benefits do not include a brochure, workshop or training using standard materials relating to a loan, default aversion, or financial literacy, such as a part of a training session, entrance and exit counseling, as long as the institution’s staff are in control of the counseling and the counseling does not promote the services of a specific lender.
3. An employee at Azusa Pacific University who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall not accept from any lender (or affiliate of any lender) any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
4. Azusa Pacific University shall not:
   • assign a lender to a first-time borrower through award packaging or any other method; or
   • refuse to certify or delay certification of any loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
5. Azusa Pacific University shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the institution providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with a specific loan volume of such loans, or a preferred lender arrangement for such loans. An “opportunity pool loan” is defined as a private education loan made by a lender to a student (or the student’s family) that involves a payment by the institution to the lender for extending credit to the student.
6. Azusa Pacific University shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.
7. An employee who has any responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such an advisory board, commission, or group.

Minimum Enrollment

Undergraduate Student Financial Services does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures.

We realize that outside circumstances may sometimes impact a student’s ability to complete the semester. After the add/drop period, when a student stops attending all of his or her classes during the semester, depending on the circumstances, it may be classified as a “withdrawal,” “leave of absence,” or “dismissal” from the university. For the purpose of charges assessed and financial aid eligibility listed below, a leave of absence and a dismissal will be handled the same as a withdrawal from the university.

Official Process: Withdrawal or Leave of Absence

Contact the Office of the Undergraduate Registrar located in the Student Services Center. Before ceasing attendance during the semester, we advise students to consider how much they might be charged, how much financial aid they might receive, and how it may impact their ability to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Withdrawing Prior to the 60 Percent Point in the Semester

If a student drops a class during the add/drop period, no tuition will be charged for that class. After add/drop, if a student withdraws from one or a few classes, but is still attending other classes, the student will be charged tuition for all of his or her classes (including the withdrawals). However, in the event a student withdraws from all of his or her classes after the add/drop period, charges and financial aid will be calculated as follows:

Charges

Tuition: Prorated per day
Fees: Not refundable
Room: Prorated weekly, based on the 15 week semester
Board: Prorated weekly, based on the 15 week semester

Financial Aid

Institutional Aid

Prorated per day (assuming the student has completed everything required, and his or her admission file and financial aid file are complete prior to the last date of attendance).

State Aid

Cal Grant Award: Prorated per day (assuming the student has completed everything required, and his or her admission file and financial aid file are complete prior to the last date of attendance). Will not be used to reimburse the federal government. If applicable, will be returned to CSAC prior to all other awards, other than Return to Title IV funds. Student understands that receipt of prorated amount will use an entire semester’s worth of Cal Grant eligibility.

Withdrawing On or After the 60 Percent Point in the Semester

Charges

The student will be charged in full.

Financial Aid

The student will receive full financial aid (assuming the student has completed everything required, and his or her admission file and financial aid file are complete prior to the last date of attendance).

The Federal Government’s “Return to Title IV” (R2T4) Policy

If a student withdraws from all courses in a traditional 15 week semester, or doesn’t complete all the sessions of a modular (sequential) course schedule, in some cases the student only earns a portion of the financial aid already received. APU is required by federal law to use a prescribed formula to calculate the unearned portion of the financial aid received and return it to the federal government’s Title IV programs.

Traditional 15-Week Semester R2T4 Policy

The percentage of Title IV financial aid earned is determined by dividing the number of days the student completed in the semester, by the total number of days in the term. If the student attended 60 percent or more of the days in the semester, the student can keep all of the aid originally received. If less than 60 percent, the government determines how much Title IV aid the student earned (the percentage multiplied by the total amount of Title IV aid received).

First Example

If there were 109 total days in the semester and the student completed 54 days, the student would earn 49.5 percent of the Title IV aid received (54/109 = 49.5%).

In our example, the student originally received the following federal awards for the semester:

Second Example

Per the government’s formula, the student earned $3,698 (49.5% x $7,471 = $3,698):

Third Example

Next, we need to determine the amount of aid that needs to be returned to the Title IV programs (total federal aid originally received minus aid earned).

The student is responsible for any owing balance this may cause on the student’s APU account.

Treatment of Unofficial Withdrawals

If a student fails to officially withdraw, and receives a combination of all “F’s,” “FN’s,” “IN’s” and “NC’s” as grades for the semester, the Department of Education considers the student to have unofficially withdrawn from classes. APU is required to investigate and determine when the student actually last attended class and then perform the required R2T4 calculation. If the date of withdrawal cannot be confirmed, the R2T4 calculation is done using a 50% completion rate. This process is usually completed well after the end of the semester, once grades are submitted.

Students Making Class Changes

Students may add and/or drop classes until the last day to change registration. This date is listed on the academic calendar.

Credit balances are any excess funds remaining on the student account after loans, scholarships, ACH, or any other payment has been applied to the account and there are no other charges for the credit to be applied toward. The credit balance will be displayed on the student account as a negative balance (example: -$250). APU is required to send any Title IV funds to the student within 14 days of disbursement. 

APU will allow credit charges of up to $10,000 or the amount of expected future charges to remain on a student’s account to pay for future charges if the charge is not from aid that is required to be sent to the student. Any credit balance amount over $10,000 or expected future charges may be refunded back to the student via the institutional refund policies and processes.

It is understood that by applying for financial aid, the student grants Undergraduate Student Financial Services the right to release the student’s grades and enrollment records to scholarship, state, federal, and loan agencies as needed.

Students who wish to receive financial aid must be in good academic standing and make satisfactory academic progress towards a degree or certificate program in addition to meeting other eligibility criteria.

Undergraduate students are evaluated at the end of each semester (fall, spring, and summer).

Definitions

Change of Major

If a student changes his or her major, it will not “reset” the current qualitative (GPA) or quantitative (pace) measures of SAP. All units attempted and/or passed will be counted when determining if a student meets the minimum requirements listed above.

Financial Aid SAP Statuses

Students who fail to maintain SAP will be placed on Financial Aid Warning and will be given one term of financial aid eligibility to correct their SAP deficiencies. If the student does not make up their deficiencies in that one term, they will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and will be ineligible for all financial aid (federal, state, and institutional). Finally, if a student appeals and is approved, they will be placed on Financial Aid Probation.

Grades

The only grades that meet satisfactory academic progress completion standards are grades for which credit is awarded; A, B, C, D, P, and CR. (Please note that some departments and/or schools require a higher minimum GPA in order for coursework to meet their program requirements.) Withdrawal and incomplete grades are not passing grades. Challenge exams and audited courses are not considered.

Regaining Eligibility

Student regains financial aid eligibility when they meet all three measures of progress for SAP. It is possible for students to be placed on a warning status multiple times in their undergraduate academic career.

Remedial Coursework

A student may take one academic year’s worth of remedial courses for financial aid. Remedial coursework for students who are admitted into an eligible program and take it within that program will be counted toward all three progress measures for SAP.

Repeated Courses

If a student repeats a failed or a previously passed class, it will replace the grade to recalculate into the new cumulative GPA. The units will still count toward the completion rate and maximum time frame. Students who passed a class and chooses to repeat for a higher grade may receive financial aid only once for that repeated class. Students may receive financial aid for a failed class that they repeat until they pass (as long as they are meeting all of the other SAP requirements).

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits that have been officially accepted to complete program requirements will count for qualitative (GPA requirement) and quantitative (pace requirement) measures of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Appeals

Students may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid if they, a spouse, a dependent child, or a parent have experienced illness that prevented class attendance for an extended period of time; they experienced a death in the immediate family (parents, siblings, spouse, or dependent children); or they have experienced some extraordinary situation that prevented them from meeting the minimum standards. Such a situation must be exceptional and nonrecurring in nature. The appeal for reinstatement must explain the cause of the academic difficulty and how the situation has been resolved.

An SAP Appeal form is available online. The student must develop an academic plan and provide documentation. The academic plan that is submitted with the appeal should be created by the student and the academic advising staff. The appeal will be reviewed by a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee.

The Office of Undergraduate Student Financial Services strives to award all applicants the maximum grant, scholarship, loan, and work study aid for which they qualify. Unfortunately, sometimes federal, state, and/or institutional guidelines may restrict the total amount or type of award a student may receive.

Aid will be stacked in the following order (unless otherwise stated):

• Federal Grants
• State Grants
• Outside Aid (depending on what the scholarship/award is designated to help cover)
• Institutional Aid, in the following order:
  • Tuition Exchange Award
  • Academic Merit Scholarship
  • Athletics
  • APU Grant
  • Faculty/Staff Award (New Students: Faculty/Staff comes before APU Grant)
  • Departmental/Participatory (New Students: Departmental/Participatory come before APU Grant)
• Direct Subsidized Student Loan
• Federal Work-Study
• Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan
• Perkins Loan
• PLUS Loan – Parent
• Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan – Add-on
• Alternative Loan

Step 1 – Cost of Attendance

Financial aid cannot stack above Cost of Attendance (COA). Exceptions: ROTC and VA Benefits

Step 2 – Cal Grant

When a student receives a Cal Grant, per state guidelines, scholarships and grants (all free money) will be reduced to the lesser of the following:

• Scholarship and Grants cannot stack above Need. (Need = COA - EFC)
• Scholarships and grants specifically required to pay tuition can stack with the Cal Grant up to tuition (Trustees’, Tuition Exchange, etc.)

Step 3 – Institutional Aid

APU scholarships and grants (including Faculty/Staff Award and Tuition Exchange) cannot stack above tuition.

Exceptions:

• Bishop Dixon Scholars (see Step 7 below)
• Honors College Scholarship
• Marvin and Leota Batt Scholarship
• Resident Advisor (RA) Scholarship
• Scholarshipped athletes: cannot stack above Grant in Aid amount; not eligible for an APU Grant.

Step 4 - APU Grants

The APU Grant may be reevaluated when new information is received. Circumstances that may decrease a student’s APU Grant:

• Changes made to the FAFSA
• Academic Merit Scholarship Added or Revised
• APU Departmental/Participatory Scholarship Added or Revised
• Faculty/Staff Award Added or Revised
• Federal or State Grants Added or Revised (Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Cal Grant, etc.)
• Other new information

Not eligible for APU Grant

• Athletic Scholarship Recipient
• ROTC Recipient
• Student who does not submit a FAFSA or complete verification
• VA Educational Benefit Recipient (GI Bill^®, Yellow Ribbon, Ch. 31- Vocational Rehab, etc.)

Step 5 – ROTC

Army ROTC

• Scholarship from ROTC covers tuition and mandatory fees.
• Also receive $9,000/year ($4,500/semester) ROTC Room and Board Scholarship from APU.
• Not eligible for any additional APU scholarships or grants.
• Not eligible for Cal Grant (full tuition is paid by ROTC)

Air Force ROTC

• Scholarship from ROTC = $18,000/year ($9,000/semester)
• Also receive $9,000/year ($4,500/semester) ROTC Room and Board Scholarship from APU.
• Not eligible for any additional APU scholarships or grants.
• May be eligible for Cal Grant (student must have enough tuition charges, after ROTC, to add full Cal Grant).

Step 6 – APU Post 9/11 Yellow Ribbon Award

APU Yellow Ribbon amount: Up to $14,000/year; not eligible for any additional APU scholarships or grants.

Step 7 – Bishop Dixon Scholarship Recipients

After federal, state, and APU grant aid applied, Bishop Dixon Scholarship will cover remaining tuition and most fees. Does not cover fines.

Each year, the federal government selects a percentage of all FAFSA applications for a process that’s called ‘verification.’ The law requires colleges to obtain information from the family that confirms the accuracy of the information that was reported on the FAFSA (e.g. tax information, household size information, etc.).

Beyond those applications selected for verification, the law requires colleges to also request further documentation when a FAFSA application and/or subsequent paperwork appears incomplete or inaccurate.

A student is not eligible to receive federal, state, and/or institutional need-based aid until all required paperwork has been submitted. We realize that these requests may sometimes seem a bit intrusive, but APU is merely following the requirements set forth in the law.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA affords students certain privacy rights regarding their education records. Those rights and key definitions are summarized here; for more-detailed information about FERPA, visit ed.gov/ferpa/.

Questions about the student records privacy policy related to either undergraduate students or graduate and professional students may be directed to the Student Services Center at (626) 815-2020 or [email protected].

Students who wish to receive federal financial aid and most institutional aid (including APU’s faculty/staff benefit) must be in good academic standing and make satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or credential program in addition to meeting other eligibility criteria.

Graduate and professional students are evaluated at the end of each term they attend. The following minimum academic standards must be met:

Qualitative Measure

All graduate and professional undergraduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade-point average (GPA) as listed below to be eligible for federal funds, state funds, and most institutional aid (including tuition discounts and the faculty/staff benefit). The GPA is cumulative for all programs in the same career, even in the case of a student changing programs (i.e., a student enrolls in the MA in English and then switches to the MA in Clinical Psychology).

• Graduate and teaching credential students: Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
• Azusa Pacific Seminary students: Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7, with the exception of students enrolled in the MA (Theological Studies) program or the Doctor of Ministry program, which are required to have a 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA.
• Professional undergraduate students: Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 to be eligible for federal, state, and most institutional financial aid funds.

In some cases, students may petition to have a class grade converted from a traditional grading scale to a Pass (P) or Fail (F). Courses successfully petitioned and adjusted in this manner are not included in the computation of a student’s GPA; as such, they are not included in the qualitative measurement of SAP, but will be included in the quantitative.

Quantitative Measure

Graduate students: must complete 50 percent of all units in which they originally enroll from the time of first attendance in any graduate program at APU. Thus, a first-term graduate student who originally enrolls in 12 units, withdraws from 3 units, and successfully completes the remaining 9 units would meet the quantitative measure requirement, since the student passed at least 50 percent of the units in which he or she originally enrolled (9/12 = 75 percent).

Teaching credential students: must complete 67 percent of all units in which they originally enroll from the time of first attendance in any graduate or teaching credential program at APU. Thus, a first-term teaching credential student who originally enrolls in 9 units, withdraws from 3 units, and successfully completes the remaining 6 units would meet the quantitative measure requirement, since the student passed at least 67 percent of the units in which he or she originally enrolled (6/9 = 67 percent).

The following grades demonstrate satisfactory course completion for graduate and teaching credential students: A, B, C, P (Pass), CR (Credit received). The following grades do not demonstrate satisfactory course completion: D, F, FN, W (Withdrawal), and I (Incomplete). Challenge exams and audited courses are not considered.

Professional students: must complete at least two-thirds (67 percent) of all units in which they originally enroll from the time of first attendance at APU and any accepted transfer units from other institutions. The following grades demonstrate satisfactory course completion for professional students: A, B, C, D, P (Pass), CR (Credit received). The following grades do not demonstrate satisfactory course completion: F, FN, W (Withdrawal), IN (Incomplete-No Paperwork), and I (Incomplete). Challenge exams and audited courses are not considered.

Time Limit for Completing a Program

Graduate and professional students are expected to complete their credential or degree within a given time frame. The time frame measurement begins at the date of initial enrollment in the program.

Time limits are as follow:

• Teaching credential only: Limited to taking 150 percent of the total units required for the program
• Professional undergraduate: Limited to taking 150 percent of the total units required for the program
• School of Business and Management: 5 years
• Department of School Counseling and School Psychology: 5 years
• MA in Clinical Psychology (MFT): 5 years
• Master of Divinity: 10 years
• All other graduate programs and credentials: 8 years

The measurement begins from the date of initial enrollment in the degree or credential program.

Transfer Credits and Remedial Coursework

Transfer credits that have been officially accepted to complete program requirements will count for qualitative (GPA requirement) and quantitative (pace requirement) measures of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

A student may take one academic year’s worth of remedial courses for financial aid. Remedial coursework for students will be counted toward all three progress measures for SAP.

New, Changed, or Added Programs

If a student changes or adds programs, it will not reset the current qualitative (GPA) or quantitative (pace) measures of SAP. Cumulative GPA and completion rate will be used for all programs in which the student enrolls at APU. For students in graduate programs, if the student changes or adds a program, the maximum time frame will be reset from the date of initial enrollment in the new degree program.

Repeated Courses

If a student repeats a failed or a previously passed class, it will replace the grade to recalculate into the new cumulative GPA. The units will still count toward the completion rate and maximum time frame. Students who pass a class (A, B, C, D) and choose to repeat it for a higher grade may receive financial aid only once for that repeated class. Students may receive financial aid for a failed class (F) that they repeat until they pass.

Failure to Meet SAP Requirements

Students who fail for the first time to maintain SAP will be placed on financial aid warning and will be given one term of financial aid eligibility to correct their SAP deficiencies. If the student does not make up the deficiencies in that one term, he/she will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and will be ineligible for all federal, state, and most institutional financial aid. In order to regain eligibility, a student must submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Form (view the SAP Appeal Instructions). If the appeal is approved, the student will be eligible for financial aid but will be placed on financial aid probation. During this time, the student will be required to meet the terms of their academic plan until they meet satisfactory academic progress.

Appeals

Students may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid if they, a spouse, or dependent children have experienced an illness that prevented class attendance for an extended period of time, they have experienced a death in the immediate family (parents, siblings, spouse, or dependent children), or they have experienced some extraordinary situation that prevented them from meeting the minimum standards. Such a situation must be exceptional and nonrecurring in nature. The appeal for reinstatement must explain the cause of the academic difficulty, how the situation has been resolved, and include supporting documentation.

Complete the SAP Appeal Form (view the SAP Appeal Instructions) and submit it within 30 days of notification of financial aid ineligibility. The student must develop an academic plan as part of the appeal process. The academic plan that is submitted with the appeal should be created by the student and the academic advising staff or academic department representative. The appeal will be reviewed by a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee.

Regaining Eligibility

Students regain financial aid eligibility when they meet all three measures of progress for SAP. It is possible for students to be placed on a warning status multiple times in their academic career.

Return of Financial Aid—Federal Government Policy

The federal government awards Title IV program assistance (financial aid) with the assumption that a student will complete the courses for which aid is received. If a student receives a federal aid disbursement but fails to begin at least half-time attendance for the term, the student is not eligible for the aid. If a student withdraws or stops attending all courses in their term or does not complete all the sessions of a modular course schedule (e.g. Fall 1 and Fall 2), in some cases the student only earns a portion of the financial aid already received. APU is required by federal regulations to use a prescribed formula to calculate the earned and unearned portion of financial aid received, and then return the unearned aid back to the federal government.

The following formula is used to determine earned and unearned aid:

Percent earned = number of calendar days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by total calendar days in the term (less any scheduled breaks that are at least 5 days long)

Percent unearned = 100% minus percent earned

If the student has attended long enough to earn 60% or more of the aid, no further calculation is needed and all the aid for the term is retained. If less than 60% was earned, the percentage of aid earned is then multiplied by the total amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed or was eligible to be disbursed for the term. The result is the amount of Title IV aid earned by the student.

Return of Federal Financial Aid Example

If there were 110 total days in the term and the student completed 24, the student would earn 21.8% of the Title IV aid received. (24/110 = 21.8)

Since the student earned less than 60% of their aid, the percentage earned must be multiplied by the total amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed or was eligible to be disbursed for the term. The student received the following Title IV aid:

 

The calculation would be 21.8% x $10,199 = $2,223.38. The amount of the total aid received that the student earned is $2,223.38.

Next, the amount of aid earned is subtracted from the total amount of aid received to determine the amount that must be returned to the Title IV programs. Continuing our example, the calculation would be $10,199 – $2,223.38 = $7,975.62.

The regulations require APU to return a portion of the unearned aid. The amount is calculated by multiplying the percentage of unearned Title IV aid (100% – 21.8% = 78.2%) by the institutional charges for the term. For example, the student had the following institutional charges for the term:

 

In this example, the calculation is $3,735 x 78.2% = $2,920.77. APU must return $2,920.77 of the student’s Title IV aid back to the programs. The school is required to repay the following sources in order, up to the total net amount disbursed from the source:

In this case, the entire $2,920.77 would be returned to the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan because the student originally received more than this amount from that source.

It is important to note the results of APU’s institutional policy and the return calculation will both affect the student’s account balance, but in no way are the policies connected or contingent upon each other.

While APU would be required to return $2,920.77 of the $7,975.62 unearned aid amount, the student would be responsible for the remainder. However, if the remaining portion was from aid originally awarded as loans, the student pays the remaining unearned aid according to the terms of the borrower promissory note of the loan. In most cases, repayment of a student loan begins 6 months after the student withdraws or ceases to be enrolled at least half time.

Modular Term Return Policy

The U.S. Department of Education has specific regulations that govern the return calculation for students enrolled in modular courses. Modular courses are defined as those that do not span the entire length of the term and are offered sequentially rather than concurrently (although it is possible for modules to overlap). At APU, Fall 1 and Fall 2 sessions, and others similar in structure, would be considered modules for financial aid purposes.

Regulations require the entire period and combination of modular courses to be considered when determining the portion of financial aid that has been earned by a student who withdraws. The student is considered withdrawn when he fails to complete the scheduled enrollment. At this point, the percentage of completion is calculated by dividing the number of completed days by the number of days the student was scheduled to attend. (Scheduled breaks of at least five days are omitted from the calculation.) The fact that a student completes at least one course is not a valid reason for not doing the calculation.

A student who withdraws from a current module but provides written confirmation of plans to return and attend a future module that begins within 45 days of the end of the current module is considered to still be enrolled.

If the student provides written confirmation but then fails to attend a future module, the student is considered withdrawn from the initial date of the original module.

If the student withdraws without a written confirmation to attend in the future but returns during the same period, the student is able to receive all funds for which the student has eligibility according to their current enrollment status.

Treatment of Unofficial Withdrawals

If a student fails to officially withdraw and receives a combination of all Fs, FNs, INs, and NCs as grades for the semester, the Department of Education considers the student to have unofficially withdrawn from classes. APU is required to investigate and determine when the student actually last attended class and then perform the required return calculation. If the date of withdrawal cannot be confirmed, the return calculation is done using a 50% completion rate. This process is usually completed after the end of the semester, once grades are submitted.

Return of Aid Withdrawal Exceptions

In some cases, a student who has withdrawn (officially or unofficially) may qualify for a Return of Aid Withdrawal Exception in the following scenarios. Adjustments to Pell Grant and other institutional aid may still be required based on actual enrollment

• A student completed all the requirements for graduation from their program before the term ended
• A student enrolls in both the 8 Week 1 and 8 week 2 modules (sessions) for a given term. They earn (a) passing grade(s) in 8 week 1 but then withdraw or fail to attend 8 week 2
• A student successfully completed coursework equal to half time for the term and withdrew or failed to attend the other courses

APU Institutional Withdrawal/Refund Policy

APU’s graduate and professional institutional withdrawal policy is independent of, and in no way contingent upon, the federal government’s policy that must always be considered when a student totally withdraws from classes. The purpose of this section is to help you understand the difference between the institutional and federal policies and the consequences withdrawing may have upon your account and financial aid.

Official Withdrawal Process

The Student Services Center (SSC) Registrar’s office is responsible for the official withdrawal process from APU graduate and professional studies. Students with financial aid will have the opportunity to talk with a Student Account Specialist regarding the effect withdrawing will have upon their current aid eligibility. The process begins by completing the entire Enrollment Activity Form, also available at APU’s Student Services Center (SSC), and securing all the necessary signatures requested.

Withdrawal Refund Calculation

Students may drop a class until the Last Day to Register or Add/Drop Classes to receive 100% tuition refund. In the event a student withdraws from a class, APU’s refund of tuition will be made as follows (exceptions noted in separate tables):

 

For students who are residing in the state of Oregon while enrolled in a program via distance education, refund of tuition will be made as follows:

 Note: Tuition deposits and application fees are not refunded under any circumstances.

Overawards

Each year, a number of financial aid recipients are distressed to learn that their aid package is being reduced due to an overaward. As required, students must inform the Office of Graduate and Professional Student Financial Services of any outside aid awards or changes in their class load. This will save the frustration and inconvenience that may result from an overaward.

A student’s budget, as determined by APU using federal calculations, could reduce the total aid package. All institutional aid is subject to coordination with federal, state, and all other aid sources. All institutional aid is subject to the policies printed in the university catalog and any other printed materials. Availability of all aid is subject to federal, state, institutional, and private funding.

As a part of the Program Participation Agreement for participating in Title IV financial aid programs, institutions are required to develop and comply with a loan code of conduct that prohibits conflicts of interest for financial aid personnel with respect to all student loans. Any Azusa Pacific University employee who has responsibilities with respect to student educational loans must annually be reminded to comply with this code of conduct. In accordance with 34 CFR 601.21 and HEOA 487, Azusa Pacific University will comply with the following:

1. Neither Azusa Pacific University as an institution nor any individual employee who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender which makes loans to students attending the institution.
2. No employee of Azusa Pacific University who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or any of their family members, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.
   • For purposes of this prohibition, the term “gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan or other item having a monetary value of more than a nominal value.
   • Gifts and favorable terms and benefits do not include: a brochure, workshop or training using standard materials relating to a loan, default aversion, or financial literacy, such as a part of a training session. Entrance and exit counseling as long as the institution’s staff are in control of the counseling and the counseling does not promote the services of a specific lender.
3. An employee at Azusa Pacific University who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall not accept from any lender or affiliate of any lender any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
4. Azusa Pacific University shall not:
   • assign a lender to a first-time borrower through award packaging or any other method; or
   • refuse to certify or delay certification of any loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
5. Azusa Pacific University shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the institution providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with:
   • a specific loan volume of such loans; or
   • a preferred lender arrangement for such loans.
   • an “opportunity pool loan” is defined as a private education loan made by a lender to a student (or the student’s family) that involves a payment by the institution to the lender for extending credit to the student.
6. Azusa Pacific University shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.
7. Any employee who has any responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such an advisory board, commission, or group.