In order to continue to receive financial aid and maintain eligibility, you must meet the following requirements:
Aid will be withheld from students who are in default on previous educational loans or who owe repayments on federal grants, until documentation is submitted that satisfactory repayment arrangements have been made. If UCR receives notification from the National Student Loan Data System that you are in default or owe an overpayment with an effective date prior to disbursement of your award, the Financial Aid Office is required to cancel any funds disbursed to you. The awards will be reversed on your student account, and it will be your responsibility to repay these funds immediately upon notification via your student billing statement.
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Financial aid is awarded on the premise that you will enroll for the entire quarter in which a disbursement is made. Federal regulations require UCR to calculate the amount of federal aid that you are entitled to retain if you are not enrolled for the full term. This requirement affects all students who withdraw or cease attendance in all classes on or after the first day of the term. It does not apply if you cancel registration prior to the first day of classes or if you drop some, but not all, of your courses. However, if you never attend classes for the quarter, and a financial aid disbursement is made, you will be responsible for returning all funds credited to your student account or issued to you in a financial aid refund. In addition, if you drop below full time enrollment you should check with your Financial Aid Counselor, because your continued eligibility may be affected if you do not complete sufficient units to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements.
When you withdraw, two separate calculations are performed. One involves a refund of tuition and fees, based on the published schedule of refunds in the UCR Schedule of Classes. (Students who live on campus in University Housing may also receive a refund of room and board charges based on the terms of their contract.) The second calculation is the federal return of title IV aid computation which determines whether UCR is required to return a portion of the financial aid disbursed to you to federal student aid programs.
If you withdraw on or before 60% point in the quarter, federal regulations require UCR to calculate the amount of federal financial aid that you have "earned" for the period you enrolled. The amount of federal aid earned is calculated by multiplying the total amount of aid disbursed by the percentage of the term completed as of the date of withdrawal. The difference between the amount of federal financial aid you have earned and the total amount disbursed is defined as "unearned" aid. Any unearned portion must be returned to federal financial aid programs. Federal financial aid programs include:
- Stafford Loan
- Perkins Loan
- PLUS Loan
- Pell Grant
- SEOG Grant
- ACG/SMART Grant
Cal Grant and UCR Grant are not subject to the Return of Title IV aid calculation However, if you receive a refund of fees, your Cal Grant must be reduced to the amount of the actual system-wide fees (Educational Fee plus Registration Fee) which you are charged for the quarter (initial amount assessed less refunded amount). Additionally, if you are transferring to another institution and wish to use your Cal Grant award for attendance at that school, you may request to have your award cancelled at UCR for the term.
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If you enroll for a quarter, but drop out before the end of the term and never complete the University’s official withdrawal process, you will receive failing grades in your classes. Federal regulations require the Financial Aid Office to verify whether students who received all "F" or "NC" grades for a quarter dropped out before completing the term. No federal financial aid adjustment is required for students who are in attendance past the 60% point in the term. However, for students who have unofficially withdrawn (dropped out without completing the withdrawal process), the Financial Aid Office must verify the last date of class attendance. If the last date of attendance cannot be confirmed, federal regulations require the Financial Aid Office to recalculate eligibility for financial aid based on attendance through only the midpoint of the quarter. In general, this results in the student being billed for financial aid previously disbursed.
If you are having personal, financial, health, or academic problems that are interfering with your ability to complete the quarter, we strongly urge you to contact the dean of your college to complete the official withdrawal process.
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If you are academically dismissed from the University, you will lose eligibility for all financial aid awarded for the subsequent quarter, since you did not maintain eligibility to receive federal, state, or institutional aid. You will be responsible to return all funds disbursed for the quarter to avoid being billed. This may include funds already credited to your student account to offset your fees and/or other institutional charges as well as funds issued to you as a refund via direct deposit or check. If you are employed in a Federal Work-Study position, you must stop working immediately upon dismissal.
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Any unearned aid which UCR returns to federal aid programs will be deducted from the amount of your tuition, fee and/or housing refund. In most cases, the amount of your fee refund will be less than the amount of unearned aid that UCR must return to federal programs. When this is true, the amount of federal aid reversed on your student account will result in a balance due to UCR. You are responsible for repaying this balance by the payment deadline on your billing statement.
Refunds of unearned aid will be returned to financial aid programs in the following order by UCR:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan
- Federal Perkins Loan
- Federal Direct PLUS Loan
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal ACG/SMART Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Other federal programs
Any amount that UCR must return to federal loan programs will reduce the amount you are required to repay to the Direct Loan Servicing Center after your grace period begins and you enter repayment.
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Federal regulations require that UCR monitor your progress toward completion of your degree or program as a condition of continued financial aid eligibility. All financial aid recipients must be in compliance with UCR's Financial Aid Office Policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress. If satisfactory academic progress is not being made, you will become ineligible for financial aid. The general satisfactory academic progress requirements for financial aid recipients include:
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You must be enrolled in at least 12 units in order to receive your full financial aid award during each quarter. Students who enroll for less than 12 units per quarter may qualify for a reduction in fees if approved by the associate dean of their college. For more information, contact your College Office. If you are approved for a part-time fee reduction, your financial aid may be reduced. The Financial Aid Office will verify your enrollment status at the end of the third week of classes. If you are enrolled in 6 to 11.5 units your financial aid may also be reduced. Your assistance for the quarter will generally be terminated if you enroll in less than 6 units, with the exception that some federal aid programs may be available on a limited basis. Reductions in eligibility for assistance already disbursed to you will either result in a direct billing to you or in a reduction of assistance during following quarters.
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Remedial Courses - Workload units for remedial courses in Basic Writing and Basic Algebra which are recognized by the Registrar's Office in measuring a student's enrollment status are accepted for purposes of calculating the number of units completed.
Grade Evaluation - Units for the following grades are not counted toward meeting the unit requirements.
F - Failure
I - Incomplete
NR - No Report
NC - No Credit
IP - In Progress
W - Withdrawal
Repeat Courses - Repeat of a D grade
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The requirements for undergraduate and graduate student satisfactory academic progress are monitored at the end of each academic year. The Financial Aid Office will verify your cumulative GPA and unit totals with the UCR Registrar's Office at the end of spring quarter. You will be required to make up any deficiencies before you will be allowed to receive any additional assistance, including funds that would be used to pay your fees.
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It is your responsibility to ensure that degree requirements are met within the time-frame allowed. Our office will notify you when you have completed the maximum number of quarters allowed. Federal regulations limit the number of quarters that a student may qualify to receive federal student aid funds. UCR is required to count all terms of attendance, including quarters in which you did not receive financial aid. In general, undergraduate students may qualify to receive, federal, state, and institutional awards for the equivalent of 18 full time quarters of enrollment. State and institutional aid are not available after the 16th quarter. Students who are enrolled for more than 18 quarters are ineligible for all federal, state, and institutional aid, but may qualify for alternative loans. Students who exceed the equivalent of 16 quarters of attendance will lose eligibility for UCR Grant.
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You will be sent information regarding the appeals process during the summer if you fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress. After failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, you will generally be considered for financial aid only when one of the following conditions have been met:
- Sufficient units have been completed and/or the minimum grade point average requirement have been satisfied.
- It is established through the financial aid appeals process that you encountered an extenuating circumstance (i.e. prolonged hospitalization, death in the family, etc.) that hindered your academic performance during the quarters in question.
Students who are approved for continued financial assistance through the appeals process will be placed on a quarterly contingency during which they must complete a minimum of 12 units for unit credit and earn a minimum quarterly GPA of 2.00. Aid for subsequent quarters will be terminated if you do not comply with the terms of your contingency.
For more information regarding the satisfactory academic progress appeals process, click here.
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