Nebraska Wesleyan University’s Wesleyan Advantage financial aid program is designed to assist students who will benefit from Nebraska Wesleyan’s academic programs and to aid those who might not otherwise be able to take advantage of it.

How to Apply for Financial Aid

Students accepted to Wesleyan Advantage who wish to apply for financial assistance must complete the following steps to be awarded financial aid:

• Be accepted and enrolled in the Wesleyan Advantage program of choice through the Wesleyan Advantage Office (which includes a transcript review of all previous attended schools).
• Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), listing Nebraska Wesleyan University, Title IV School Code 002555, as a recipient.
• Complete the Financial Aid Information Form.

Types of Financial Aid Available

NWU Scholarship Opportunities
Scholarship opportunities available for Wesleyan Advantage students are listed on the Scholarship Opportunities page of this website.

Federal Pell Grants
A Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid.

The amount depends on your financial need, costs to attend school, status as a full-time or part-time student, and plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.

Federal Direct Student Loans
Direct Loans, from the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, are low-interest loans for eligible students to help cover the cost of higher education at a four-year college or university, community college, or trade, career, or technical school. Eligible students borrow directly from the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) at participating schools.

Direct Loans include the following types of loans:

• Subsidized Loans—Subsidized Loans are for students with financial need. Your school will review the results of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and determine the amount you can borrow. You are not charged interest while you’re in school at least half-time and during grace periods and deferment periods.  For Subsidized Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, you are not charged interest while you are in school at least half-time, but you will be charged interest during grace periods and deferment periods.
• Unsubsidized Loans—You are not required to demonstrate financial need to receive an Unsubsidized Loan. Like subsidized loans, your school will determine the amount you can borrow. Interest accrues (accumulates) on an unsubsidized loan from the time it’s first paid out. You can pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, or you can allow it to accrue and be capitalized (that is, added to the principal amount of your loan). 

Read the details about the amount you may qualify to borrow on the Direct Loans website. The amounts differ for dependent undergraduates and independent undergraduates.

Policies

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy
Effective July 1, 2011, the federal government requires that an undergraduate student must make Satisfactory Academic Progress or SAP to be eligible for Title IV financial aid. The three ways the University is required to monitor SAP is by students:

1. Each student must meet cumulative GPA minimums:
   
   1.60 GPA: 1-20 accumulated credits
   1.80 GPA: 21-40 accumulated credits
   1.90 GPA: 41-84 accumulated credits
   2.00 GPA: 85 and over accumulated credits
2. Students must complete their degree within 150% of the published credit hours for their undergraduate program. NWU’s Bachelor’s Degree programs require 126 credit hours to graduate. Multiply 126 x 150% = 189 maximum credit hours attempted to receive financial aid, which includes transfer hours.
3. Students must successfully complete a minimum of 67% of hours attempted each semester.

Appeal of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Determination
If the student is no longer eligible to receive federal financial aid after not meeting SAP standards due to extenuating circumstances which prohibited the student from meeting the minimum requirements (e.g., death of a relative, injury or illness, or other special circumstances), the student may submit a letter of appeal to the NWU Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for consideration of his/her loss of eligibility.

• It is highly recommended the student submit an academic plan and letter of support from an academic advisor or other NWU faculty member.
• The appeal must contain the following two items for consideration:
• A detailed explanation of why the student failed to make SAP, and
• What has changed that will allow the student to make SAP at the next evaluation.

Policy for Charging Books
Nebraska Wesleyan Pell Grant recipients with a credit balance will be eligible for assistance from NWU to purchase books using their NWU account during the first week of classes—up to the amount approved by the NWU Business Office. A federal Title IV credit balance is created when all federal financial aid funds exceed allowable charges (tuition, fees, room and board) for the session/semester.

Who is eligible to charge their books?
Nebraska Wesleyan student eligibility will be reviewed by the NWU Business Office each session per student request. To be eligible, students:

• must have received the Pell Grant,
• must have a Federal Title IV credit balance for the session, and
• must have met all requirements for an early disbursement.

If a qualifying Nebraska Wesleyan Pell Grant recipient does not want a book credit, they do not need to submit a receipt to the business office for approval.

Federal Aid Policy for Repeating Classes
Passed courses may be repeated only once for Federal Aid. The Department of Education has recently published new regulations which impact students who repeat courses. Beginning July 1, 2011, students may only receive federal financial aid for one repetition (repeat) of a previously passed course. This means that students who have already passed a course with a grade of a D or better may only repeat the class one additional time and receive financial aid for that course. No student may repeat a course a third time and receive financial aid for the course. This federal regulation applies to students who receive federal financial aid regardless if they received financial aid for the previous attempts.

• Example 1: Suzie takes Anatomy and passes the course with a D. She may choose to take the class again for a better grade. If she does that, she would qualify for federal financial aid on the second attempt. If she attempts the class again a third time, she would not be eligible for federal funds.
• Example 2: John enrolled in 15 hours with one 3 hour course being repeated. John’s federal aid will not be affected because John will still be enrolled in 12 hours excluding the repeated course; however, if John was enrolled in 12 hours initially with a 3 hour repeated course, John’s financial aid must be adjusted to reflect less than full-time status. John’s federal financial aid would be based on 9 hours instead of 12 hours.

Return of Title IV Funds Calculations (R2T4) Policy
When a financial aid recipient does not complete a payment period as scheduled, NWU is required to assess each student’s ‘earned aid’ and compare it to the student’s ‘awarded aid’ as dictated by federal regulations.

R2T4 calculations are made using the student’s payment period which is the semester. The start date of the first session in the semester and the end date is the last date of the last session they were originally enrolled. The calculation excludes any scheduled breaks of at least five (5) consecutive days, sessions and days when the student was not scheduled to attend a session during that semester.

If a student receives more financial aid than they earned based on the R2T4 calculation, aid may require NWU to return funds to the federal program required. This could create a balance for the student on their NWU account.

Dropping or Withdrawing Impact on Your Federal Aid
Withdrawing from a Nebraska Wesleyan session in a semester can be partial or complete.

• When a student does not complete all the sessions in a semester, the university is federally required to review the aid the student received and compare it to what the student earned and determine if R2T4 calculations are required (see R2T4 policy above).
• New regulations effective July 1, 2011 state that a student is considered withdrawn when he or she has not completed all the days he or she was scheduled to attend in the semester.
• Partial or complete withdrawal could result in repayment of federal funds by the student.

How to Avoid or Minimize Returning Federal Aid
The best way for Nebraska Wesleyan students to avoid losing part of all their aid is to enroll for only the classes they intend to complete. The following are some additional suggestions:

• First, check with your adviser for alternatives to dropping a class.
• As you enroll, review the class schedule to be sure you register for the correct class.
• If necessary, drop classes in future sessions, while still enrolled! This will allow NWU to adjust your payment period to fit the sessions you complete. The regulations don’t allow adjustments be made to a student’s payment period after they completely cease attendance.

Title IV Student Loan Code of Conduct
Read the Student Loan Code of Conduct to learn more about Nebraska Wesleyan University policies and student rights.