Undergraduate Catalog - Fairmont State University

expenses and financial aid
Financial Aid
Financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and
employment is available to students who need assistance
in meeting their higher education expenses. All funds are
administered by Financial Aid and Scholarships in compliance
with institutional, state, and federal guidelines.
NEED-BASED AID
1. Fairmont State’s primary purpose in awarding financial aid is
to assist those students who could not attend without such aid.
2. It is the position of the institution that parents have the first
obligation to provide for the education of their children. The
second obligation falls upon the students (and their spouses
where applicable) to contribute to their own education from
personal earnings and assets, including appropriate borrowing
against future earnings.
3. Within its available resources, Fairmont State attempts to
meet the financial needs of its students. The total financial aid
awarded to a student shall not exceed the institutional budget or
the student’s need, as appropriate.
DEFINITION OF AN ACADEMIC YEAR
For Pell Grant, Direct Loan processing, and other Title IV aid,
the academic year at Fairmont State begins with the fall, continues
with the spring, and concludes with the summer term.
PROCEDURES FOR OBTAINING FINANCIAL
AID
1. Students must complete and submit an application for
admission to the Fairmont State Office of Admissions (new
students only).
2. For full consideration of aid based on need, students must
complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) to the federal processing center by March 1. The
FAFSA must be submitted annually.
3. For consideration of eligibility for academic scholarships,
students must apply for admission to Fairmont State prior to
February 1 and submit a scholarship application by February 1.
4. Students interested in aid for summer must complete a
separate application, which is made available in March.
SCHOLARSHIP AID
It is the intent of Fairmont State, as an institution of higher
learning, to foster the highest degree of scholarship among its
students. Fairmont State actively recruits students who have
excellent academic records and recognizes and rewards those
who continue to excel.
The objective of the scholarship program is to promote
the recruitment and retention of a diverse student body with
special talents. To accomplish this objective, a variety of merit
scholarships have been developed with special criteria (ex.:
Falcon Scholarships, program-specific scholarships, international
student scholarships, athletic scholarships, etc.)
Fairmont State is ultimately responsible for final approval
of scholarship programs and related policies and procedures.
Further, various offices or committees are responsible for
segments of the scholarship programs. The Fairmont State
Foundation, Inc., through the auspices of the Fairmont State
Foundation’s Scholarship Committee, collaborates with the Office
of Admissions and Financial Aid and Scholarships to explore
new areas of scholarship development and expansion, and assist
those interested in establishing new merit-based scholarships
or enhancing currently established scholarship programs for
Fairmont State students. New scholarship programs are reviewed
for consistency with institutional recruitment and retention goals
and the scholarship philosophy statement, and must be reviewed
and endorsed by the Faculty Senate Financial Aid Committee
and approved by the President.
Fairmont State’s Financial Aid and Scholarships also
administers scholarship aid delivery for a wide range of externally
funded and managed merit- and need-based scholarships
received by Fairmont State students.
SOURCES OF FINANCIAL AID
All sources of financial aid offered by Fairmont State is available
on the homepage at http://fairmontstate.edu/admissions/
undergraduate/financialaid/default.asp
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS FOR
FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID
To receive funds administered by the Financial Aid Office at
Fairmont State, students must be making measurable academic
progress toward completion of an eligible degree or certification.
Federal regulations require evaluation of both quantitative and
qualitative academic progress.
Effective fall 2007, the following guidelines will apply:
a) Required Cumulative Grade Point Average:
00-29 total credit hours...............................1.5
30-59 total credit hours.............................1.75
60-above total credit hours.........................2.0
b) If the student’s cumulative GPA falls below the minimum
standard at the end of a grading period, the student is placed
on warning during which aid continues. At the conclusion
of the warning semester, the student’s cumulative GPA must
meet the appropriate minimum. If it does not, the student will
no longer receive financial assistance.
c) All students enrolling at Fairmont State for the first time
(including transfers) will be considered to be meeting
academic progress in the first year of enrollment. However,
in order to continue receiving financial aid, recipients must
meet all requirements at the end of the first academic year at
Fairmont State or student will receive a “warning semester.”
d) In addition to maintaining the overall GPA, a student must
be making reasonable academic progress towards a degree
or certificate. A student must pass at least 67% of all hours
attempted each semester at Fairmont State (this calculation
will be rounded to the closest whole number). This applies to
the graduate programs as well. A student who does not pass
67% of all hours attempted in a year will continue to receive
financial aid during a “warning semester” but MUST pass
100% of all hours attempted in that semester of enrollment
(summer enrollment is considered in this assessment).
e) Students must complete their program of study within 1.5x of
22 Expenses and Financial Aid Fairmont State University