Financial Aid & Scholarships

Articles (39)

Ability to Benefit from Financial Aid

Federal regulations require that students have an ‘Ability-To-Benefit’ from post-secondary education before they can receive federal financial aid, which typically refers to earning a high school diploma or equivalent, being enrolled in a degree seeking program, and not concurrently enrolled in elementary or secondary school.

All F's/Any F's Policy

Students earn their Title IV aid by attending school. If a student withdraws from school, the student and KU may be required to repay some or all of the Title IV aid received for the term. If a Title IV aid recipient receives F’s in all of their courses, KU must determine whether or not the student “earned” those F’s or simply ceased attendance, and thereby unofficially withdrew.FAS works with IT EdTech and instructors to determine students’ Last Date of Attendance used in the return of Title IV

AmeriCorps and Financial Aid

Provide information on AmeriCorps’ financial aid opportunities.

Canceling Aid for Non-payment of Enrollment Deposit

Provide information on the cancellation of aid due to non-payment of enrollment deposit.

Childcare Grants and Budget Adjustments

The Childcare Grant and Budget Adjustment process is available to assist students with children in daycare ages five and under and not yet in kindergarten. Funding is provided through the Student Senate Educational Opportunity Fund. The Assistant Director maintains information on requesting funds through Student Senate, and each Spring a grant proposal is provided to Student Senate outlining FAS funding requests for the coming year. Funding for the Childcare Grant Program will be finalized and a

Clearing Department of Education Matches on the FAFSA

When students file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Central Processing System (CPS) compares data on the FAFSA with databases from other government agencies (Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration, Veterans Administration, and National Student Loan Data System) to confirm that information reported on the FAFSA is correct. When a student’s FAFSA data conflicts with any of these databases, the school is notified that the student has a “C Code” (als

Consortium Agreements and Financial Aid Policy

A consortium agreement is a written contract that enables students to pursue coursework at two institutions simultaneously. Under such an agreement, a student may receive financial aid based on total hours of enrollment at both institutions. Schools are not required to enter into consortium agreements.If a degree-seeking KU student has a valid and approved academic reason for requesting a consortium agreement, KU will serve as the ‘home’ school. Non-degree seeking students may request that KU se

Cost of Attendance

The U.S. Department of Education directs the University to determine costs associated with attending KU to determine the amount of financial aid for which a student may be eligible. The cost of attendance for a student estimates a student’s educational expenses for a period of academic enrollment.

Dependency Overrides

The Higher Education Act of 1992 allows financial aid administrators to make professional judgment (PJ) decisions for special or unusual family or student circumstances. These circumstances of PJ decisions must be documented. Circumstances requiring professional judgment decisions must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Dependency Overrides (DO) fall under the category of professional judgment. While Financial Aid Administrators (FAAs) are given considerable latitude in exercising PJ, there ha

Documentation of Attendance Policy for Direct Loan

The amount of Direct Loans that a student is eligible to receive is based on the number of credits in which they enroll and attend. If a student withdraws from all courses, the student and KU may be required to repay some or all of the Direct Loans received for the term. The Documentation of Attendance process (DA) is used to determine if a student attended a class. Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) works with faculty and IT EdTech to confirm whether or not a student began attendance to deter

Documentation of Attendance Policy for Pell Grant Recipients

The amount of Pell Grant that a student is eligible to receive is based on the number of credits in which they enroll and attend. If a student withdraws from or fails a course, the student and KU may be required to repay some or all of the Pell Grant received for the term. The Documentation of Attendance (DA) process is used to determine if a student attended a class. Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) works with faculty and IT EdTech to confirm whether or not a student began attendance to det

Employee Dependent Tuition Assistance Scholarship

This policy outlines the eligibility criteria for the Employee Dependent Tuition Assistance Scholarship.

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Audit and Program Review Process

FSA Guidelines state that “a school that participates in any FSA program, including a participating foreign school, generally must have an independent auditor conduct an annual audit of the school’s compliance with the laws and regulations that are applicable to the FSA programs in which the school participates (a compliance audit), and an audit of the school’s financial statements (a financial statement audit).” (FSA Handbook Chapter 12)For the compliance audit segment of this requirement, publ

Federal Work Study (FWS) Program

Federal Work-Study (FWS) is a federally subsidized program designed to promote part-time employment of financially eligible students to help avoid excessive debt while in school. If FWS is a part of a student’s financial aid awards, the student may apply for on-campus jobs. Eligibility for and receiving an FWS award does not guarantee campus employment. Working at an hourly rate, a student is allowed to earn the total work-study amount granted to the student. While all employers must pay at leas

Financial Aid Code of Conduct

To set forth the University’s commitment to administer financial aid free from conflicts of interest and in compliance with applicable laws.

Institutional Student Need Analysis Worksheet (ISNAW)

Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) is responsible for determining the financial aid award package for which a student is eligible, based on the information provided on the FAFSA, application date, and funds available.  An EFC will not calculate for non-eligible non-citizens, so the FAFSA cannot be used.  Therefore, another mechanism is needed to determine these students’ financial need for need-based scholarships and grants at KU.  This mechanism is the Institutional Student Need Analysis Work

Kansas Teacher Service Scholarship

This merit-based service obligation scholarship program provides financial assistance to both students pursuing bachelor’s degree programs and currently licensed teachers pursuing endorsement in hard-to-fill disciplines or master’s degrees in hard-to-fill disciplines or either group planning to teach in an underserved geographic area.

KU Endowment Association Loan Program

The KU Endowment Association provides a low-interest loan for eligible KU students.

KU Pell Advantage

The KU Pell Advantage was developed to enhance access and contribute to the diversity of the incoming, resident freshmen class.  It covers resident tuition and fees through a combination of federal, state and institutional aid.Beginning with the Fall 2022 freshmen class, KU will no longer be offering the KU Pell Advantage to incoming freshmen.

Late Fees Protection for International Students

International student scholarships require additional processing time due to the required Tax Treaty Analysis. In some cases, students may not have sufficient time to complete the paperwork prior to the bill due date or the analysis may be delayed due to peak processing times in Student Accounts and Receivables or Financial Aid and Scholarships. When one of these cases is identified, Student Accounts and Receivables and FAS will ensure that the impacted students are protected from late fees. Bil

Midwest Student Exchange Program

This policy outlines the eligibility requirements for the Midwest Student Exchange, the length of the scholarship, renewal criteria and any exceptions to the scholarships.

Military Service Scholarship

To award resident, undergraduate students who have served in any overseas military operations after 9/11/2011 for which they received hostile pay. This scholarship will be available to students who meet specified criteria and will be for the payment of tuition and fees at the institution that they are attending. Eligible institutions include area vocational schools, area vocational-technical schools, community college, the municipal university, state educational institutions, and technical colle

Non-renewal or Reduction of Student Athlete Grant-in-Aid

Student-athlete grant-in-aid (GIA) may be reduced or not renewed. The office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) and other offices at KU comply with the following procedure in such cases. FAS complies with NCAA Bylaws Article 15 regarding student-athlete aid eligibility.

Outside Scholarships: Selecting Recipients on Donor's Behalf

Typically, the Financial Aid and Scholarships office (FAS) does not select scholarship recipients for outside agencies. However, there are instances in which the University is asked to select a recipient, and in some cases, that responsibility falls to FAS. This selection process includes reviewing donor criteria. Whenever possible, FAS will ask an academic department to select a recipient (primary resource). When the department does not select, or the criteria do not specify a major, FAS will s

Pepsi Scholarship

This policy outlines the eligibility, the requirements for the Pepsi Scholarship including the length of the scholarship, renewal criteria and any exceptions to the scholarships.

Return of Title IV Funds for Federal Aid Recipients

Determining the amount of financial aid that must be returned to the Federal Student Aid programs when a student withdraws.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Graduate & Law Students

To explain the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and the associated appeal process for Graduate and Law students.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Pharmacy Students

To explain the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and the associated appeal process for Pharmacy students.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Undergraduate Students

To explain the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and the associated appeal process for undergraduate students.

Scholarship Awarding Criteria

The Financial Aid & Scholarships office will coordinate and award scholarships to incoming freshmen and transfer undergraduate students. Information below provides detailed steps regarding scholarship awarding and awarding process. 

Scholarship Need Analysis

To provide consistent procedures for awarding need-based scholarships.

Scholarship Renewal Criteria and Review Process

Provide details relating to the academic renewal criteria of renewable FAS scholarships and partial tuition waivers. 

Scholarship/ Partial Tuition Waiver and Change in Non-resident Tuition Assessment

If an undergraduate student has received a partial tuition waiver scholarship or non-resident scholarship from the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships, another academic department, or is granted in-state tuition rates, the FAS scholarship will be adjusted to the appropriate resident-based scholarship.

School of Pharmacy Students and Awarding Title VII Funds

Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL) and Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS) are Title VII Federal Aid Programs.  Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) must follow policies established by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to administer these programs.  The FAS office sets the priority date and Expected Family Contribution (EFC) criteria.

Special Circumstances Re-evaluation

Special Circumstances Re-evaluation refers to the process of reviewing a student’s financial aid application when the student and/or the student’s parents or spouse experience a change in income or expenses that was not reflected on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). When applying for financial aid, income and asset information is used to determine how much can be contributed toward educational expenses. Re-evaluation is appropriate when changes in income or expenses are signi

State of Kansas Scholarship Program

To award resident, undergraduate students who have been designated as Kansas State Scholars during their senior year of high school.

Summer Aid Awarding

The University of Kansas Financial Aid and Scholarships office (FAS) manually awards financial aid to students who apply for summer aid.  The summer term is a trailer to the previous academic year.  Students may be eligible for aid from grant and loan programs if they did not use their full eligibility during the previous academic year. 

TRIO Supportive Educational Services and TRIO STEM (TRIO SES & STEM) Grant Assistance and the TRIO Grant

Financial Aid and Scholarships (FAS) assists the TRIO SES & STEM office with reporting and awarding TRIO grant aid to SES and STEM students as part of serving students in special populations. The TRIO grant has been designed to financially assist TRIO SES & STEM participants who are Pell recipients. The intention of the grant is to reduce the amount of indebtedness of participants with limited income.​

Verification

Verification is a process, mandated by the U.S. Department of Education, to ensure information provided on a student’s FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is accurate. Each year, the U.S. Department of Education selects applicants for verification. The verification process requires the Financial Aid & Scholarships office to confirm the data supplied by the student and/or parent(s). If a student’s FAFSA is selected for verification, KU will send an email notification to the stude