Financial Aid Procedures

Awarding Financial Aid

  1. PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE

    The Grambling State University Financial Aid Office uses careful projections to enable the Financial Aid Office staff to offer and equitable aid packages to students.

  2. STATEMENT OF POLICY
  3. Institutional Packaging Procedures

Packaging of Title IV aid is done electronically via the BANNER system.  Students are eligible to be packaged when all pending requirements are met and satisfied.   The packaging process begins with the awarding of Pell Grants based on the Department of Education Pell schedules. After Pell Grants, campus based funds which include the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal College Work Study (FCWKS) are awarded based on need, interest and fund availability.  Stafford Loans and Parent Plus loans are awarded automatically based on the remaining cost of attendance (COA) of the student institutional need-based aid. Institutional funds are initiated by submission of a scholarship request form from the corresponding department and awarded manually based criteria such as need, academic status, enrollment status and athletic participation. State funds are awarded manually based on need and academic criteria designated by the state. 

  1.  Campus Based Awards
  2. Federal Pell Grant

The eligibility for a Federal Pell Grant is determined by the Federal Department of Education. The Department documents the students eligibility by the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) number reported on the Student Aid Report (SAR). The Pell Grant is adjusted according to the student's enrollment status (full-time, three-quarter time, half-time or less than half-time). Grants, such as the Pell Grant, do not have to be repaid.
If the student does not use his/her entire grant to pay tuition and books, the balance will be forwarded no later than 14 days after a balance occurs on his/her account. A student's Pell award will be recalculated only when there is a change in enrollment status up to the end of the 100% refund period. IHCC utilizes one Pell calculation/census date per term. Change in student enrollment levels that occur following the census date (for a student enrolled as of the calculation date) will not have an effect on the student’s Pell grant. An exception to this policy would be noted when a student does not begin attendance in a scheduled course.

  1. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)

To be eligible for an FSEOG award a student must:

  • Not have earned a bachelor’s degree
  • Awarded a Federal Pell Grant with an expected family contribution (EFC) of 0.  Exceptions to the EFC criteria include assisting with balances caused by FAO error or exhausting funds for the aid year.

 

  • Federal College Work Study

The Federal Work Study Program provides students with an opportunity to earn money to assist with costs related to school attendance. To be considered for eligibility, a student must have a valid ISIR on file with an indication of interest in participating in the Work Study program.  Work Study is awarded based on need and fund availability during the electronic packaging process.
Work Study job openings and authorization forms are located in the Career Services department.  The student then arranges a conference with the supervisor to apply/ interview for open positions. Student workers are assigned supervisors and perform tasks which fit the job descriptions for each job. Students begin working after the census date for the Fall and Spring terms and on the first day of classes during the 1st Summer Session.  No student will receive less than minimum wage. Work Study paychecks are available on the 12th and 19th of each month. 

  1. Community Service

 

Grambling State University expends at least 7% of FWS allocation to compensate students employed in community service learning positions.  The following departments included are:

  1.  Intramural Center
  2. Alma J. Brown Elementary School
  3. Grambling Magnet School
  4. Educational Leadership Resource Center

 

  • Federal Direct Student and Parent Plus Loans

The Federal Direct Loan process is outlined below:

  1. Stafford Loans and Parent Plus loans are awarded automatically when the packaging process is ran in Banner.
  2. First time borrowers must complete the Master Promissory Note (MPN), and Entrance Counseling electronically through the https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/ website upon acceptance of Stafford Loans. 
  3. Parent Plus borrowers have the option to decline the pending Parent Plus loan or apply for the Parent Plus loan at https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/ .  If Parent Plus loan application is approved, parent is contacted before loan is accepted by Financial Aid office.  If parent is denied, student is contacted to explain additional unsubsidized loan eligibility.
  4. The Financial Aid Office verifies student eligibility and amounts prior to disbursement of Direct Loan funds.  After verification, loan funds are applied to the student accounts and emailed disbursement notifications are sent to students.  Students who are borrowing for the first time through the Direct Stafford loan program must wait 30 days after the beginning of their loan period prior to receiving a loan disbursement

 

  • Institutional Aid

Grambling State University awards Institutional Aid to students based on need, academic status, enrollment status, and athletic ability.  Institutional Aid consists of university, department and athletic scholarships that are requested on the behalf of students who meet the criteria and awarded by the Financial Aid Office.  Institutional Aid is awarded manually from departmental scholarship request forms.

  • State Aid

Louisiana offers need based and merit based grants to students who are residents.  The Louisiana GO Grant and the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) are state based grants available to students who are graduates of a high school in Louisiana and/or state residents.  State aid is awarded manually based on eligibility report (TOPS) and fund availability (GO Grant). 

  1.  GO Grant Criteria
  • Louisiana High School graduate
  • Nontraditional student who is resident of Louisiana
  • Pell Grant recipient
  •  TOPS
  • Louisiana High School Graduate
  • Minimum of 2.5 GPA and 20 ACT score
  • Completed TOPS CORE curriculum
  • Eligibility determined by the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid Office.

 

  • Cost of Attendance Budgets

Grambling State University Cost of Attendance (COA) budgets are constructed for students who are residents and nonresidents that live on campus, off campus or with parents.  Listed below are the direct and estimated college costs that make up COA budgets. Grambling State University uses a combination of Louisiana Association of Financial Aid Administrators (LASFAA) budget committee recommendations, mandated institutional increases in housing and regional costs. 

  1. Direct College Costs
  • Tuition and Fees 
    Tuition and Fees are estimated by the Director of Financial Aid in February for early awarding.
  • Books and Supplies 
    Allowances are based on projections and previous year’s estimated cost.
  • Room and Board
    Three categories of Room and Board expenses: living on campus, living with parents, and living off-campus for residents and nonresidents is based on annual 3% increase of housing and meals on campus and a survey of regional rental prices.
  •  Estimated College Costs
  • Transportation
    Allowances are based on the projections and previous year’s estimated costs.
  • Personal Expenses
    Allowances are based on the projections and previous year’s estimated costs. 
  • Overawards

An overaward occurs when a student's financial aid and outside resources surpasses the cost of attendance for the award period by more than an allowable tolerance. The Financial Aid Administrator should attempt to reduce or eliminate the overaward without reducing a student's aid package.   

  1. Common Overaward/ Overpayment causes
  • Change in the enrollment status
  • Change in cost of attendance - the student changes budget categories.
  • Additional resources added after financial aid has been packaged
  • Financial Aid Administrator Error
  • Eliminating an Overaward
  • Use allowable expenses to increase budget
  • Adjust undisbursed funds
  • Revision of Financial Aid Awards

After a student’s award has been packaged, there may be circumstances that warrant a change in the original award notification.   The Financial Aid Officer can make an adjustment to the award, and send a revised award letter. This revised award supersedes the original award notice.

  1. Financial Aid Administrator Revisions

The Financial Aid Officer will automatically revise a student's aid package when the circumstance listed below occurs:

  • Conflicting information in the file.
  • Changes resulting from verification.
  • Change in availability of funds.
  • Financial Aid Office error.

The Terms and Conditions tab under the Financial Aid section of BANNERWeb indicates the right of the Financial Aid Office to make changes to any award.  Students are sent a letter and notified via email after as soon as possible or the student is called in to initial the change adjustment is made. 

  • Revisions Initiated by Request from Student

Students may decline any portion of their award. Lack of acceptance does not count as a revision. If a student wants to add an award, the request will be referred to Financial Aid Officer. 

  • Summer Aid

Undergraduate and Graduate summer school serves as a trailers to the aid year (Fall, Spring and Summer). Limited institutional aid is available based on departmental funding allocations.  State funds (GO Grant and TOPS) are not available during the summer sessions.  If a student has eligibility for a Pell Grant, Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans and has not used the entire allocation during the academic year, the remainder may be used during the summer sessions. Parents can also apply for Federal Parent Plus loans for the summer terms. 

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