Texas A&M University's Financial Aid - Division of Enrollment and Academic Services

Federal financial aid regulations require us to confirm whether or not a student began attendance in at least one course in order to establish eligibility for federal student loans.  Further, a student must begin attendance in all courses if receiving Federal TEACH Grant funds. Based on the information we receive, adjustments to financial aid awards may be necessary and will likely result in a balance due to the University.

Instructors will confirm which students began attendance or became academically engaged in their courses through the Howdy portal. Instructors may reference any of the following to confirm that the student began academic engagement:

• Attendance in a class (in-person or synchronous online) where there is an opportunity for direct interaction between the instructor and students
• Submitting an academic assignment
• Taking an exam
• Participating in an interactive tutorial, webinar, or other interactive computer-assisted instruction
• Participating in a study group, online discussion, or group project that is assigned by the institution
• Interacting with an instructor about academic matters

Please note that the following DO NOT constitute attendance for financial aid purposes:

• Logging into an online class without active participation (including accessing prerecorded lectures that do not allow for direct interaction between the instructor and students)
• Living in university housing
• Utilizing university meal plans
• Meeting with an academic advisor or participating in group advising
• Attending a voluntary or informal study group not assigned by the university

If the instructor confirms beginning attendance in the class there will be no adjustment to financial aid awards. If we do not receive confirmation of beginning attendance in the course(s), we are required to adjust financial aid (TEACH) based on the remaining hours enrolled.  If we do not receive confirmation of beginning attendance for ANY enrolled course, we are required to cancel ALL federal financial aid (TEACH, Direct Loans).

In addition to potentially affecting current semester financial aid, drops and withdrawals are considered unsuccessfully completed coursework when determining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) and will impact completion rate. If you drop below the necessary completion rate you may lose eligibility for financial aid in future terms. For more information on SAP, please review the SAP information below.

SAP Components

There are three components to SAP. Failure to comply with any component may result in a loss of aid eligibility. The three components are as follows:

Minimum Grade Point Average (GPA)

• Graduate Students: 3.0

Completion Rate (Deficit Hours)
While students are expected to enroll full-time to be eligible for financial aid, each student must successfully complete at least a minimum percentage of all credit hours attempted. This percentage includes all institutional and transfer credit hours, regardless of whether or not financial aid was received. Grades of W, D, F, I, U, Q, X, NG, and grade exclusions are not considered to be adequate grades for completion.

• Graduate Students: 67%

Maximum Hours (Excessive Hours)
Students are expected to complete their degree pursuits within a maximum timeframe, including transfer hours earned as well as institutional attempted hours. Students may not receive financial assistance beyond the following:

• Graduate Students: 150% of degree program requirements

Credit hours are cumulative; thus, students working towards obtaining more than one degree in the same category (e.g., double major) may reach this maximum timeframe before completing their course of study and may need to appeal eligibility.

SAP Warnings

After one semester of not meeting the SAP standards, students will be issued a warning and will be permitted to receive financial aid for the next semester. However, after the one semester of warning, students who fail to meet any one or a combination of the SAP components will be ineligible for financial assistance.

Students may appeal ineligibility by providing information on extenuating circumstances, indicating what has changed to allow successful academic progress. If an appeal is granted, students may be placed on financial aid probation and asked to follow an academic plan that will lead to meeting minimum SAP requirements in the near future. If students do not meet the terms of probation, eligibility for financial aid will cease and all remaining aid will be cancelled. Subsequent appeals of the same nature are not permitted. Once a student falls from his/her academic plan and loses eligibility, the only way to regain eligibility for financial aid is to meet the SAP requirements.

SAP Notifications

Students who fail to meet minimum SAP standards are not eligible to receive financial aid. Students will be notified of the reason(s) for the loss of eligibility through an email sent to their TAMU email address as well as via the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal.

Students may appeal their ineligibility by providing information on extenuating circumstances, indicating what has changed to allow successful academic progress. However, the submission of an appeal is only a request and does not guarantee that scholarship or financial aid eligibility will be reinstated. The appeal must be submitted online through the Howdy Portal. Click the My Finances tab and enter the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal. Students should provide evidence of the extenuating circumstances that occurred. For more information, please review the "Appeals" section. Please note that the financial aid appeal process is different from college/department academic appeal processes. Scholarships may require a separate appeal process.

Students who graduate from Texas A&M University but do not meet Scholarships & Financial Aid SAP minimums will be denied aid eligibility for additional coursework taken at the same degree level (i.e. teacher certification or post-baccalaureate work), but may visit with a Scholarships & Financial Aid advisor to determine continuing eligibility. Academic progress for students beginning a new degree level (i.e. undergraduate to graduate or undergraduate to professional) will be evaluated based on coursework/performance at the new level.

Changes to recorded grades that take place after SAP evaluation has occurred will   be included in the next official SAP evaluation at the end of the subsequent semester. If a grading error is corrected after the SAP evaluation was completed, students may contact our office by phone, email, or in person to request a recalculation of SAP status using the corrected grade.  Recalculations will not be done when an Incomplete (I) grade is updated once missing work is completed.

All financial aid offers are based on full-time enrollment. However, most of the financial aid programs we offer require students to be registered at least half-time. Federal Aid may only be paid for eligible courses that count towards the program of study.  State and Institutional Aid are not subject to the same regulatory restrictions.  The cost of attendance for students will be reduced for courses that are not counting to the program of study; which can result in a lower amount of federal, state and institutional aid a student could receive.

Students enrolled less than full time in courses that count towards their degree should contact our department to determine the effect on scholarship and financial aid eligibility. See Program of Study FAQ for more details. The Award Proration page includes information regarding funds and proration rules.   

Example:
Federal Direct Loans for graduate students require 5 hours of enrollment. If a student is enrolled in 9 hours and only 3 hours of the 9 are required for their degree, and listed on their degree plan, they cannot receive a Federal Direct Loan.

Note: Veterinary Medicine students enrolled in graduate coursework during the summer will follow the Graduate enrollment requirements.

For Federal, State and Institutional Aid (including scholarships), the following will apply:

Scroll Table Left and Right

Semester	Fall	Spring	Summer
Graduate	Full-time: 9 Three-quarter: 7 Half-time: 5	Full-time: 9 Three-quarter: 7 Half-time: 5	Full-time: 6 Three-quarter: 5 Half-time: 3

Federal regulations require colleges to consider all educational financial assistance to be calculated in determining student eligibility. If it is determined an over award has occurred and needs to be resolved, it may result in funds being returned to an aid program and the student owing the University money. 
Financial assistance includes:

• Grants
• Loans
• Scholarships
• Waivers, fellowships & assistantships
• Work Study
• Specific Veteran educational benefits
• Programs used to cover postsecondary educational expenses

An over award will be caused when a student receives more aid than their:

• Financial Need
• Enrollment eligibility
• Cost of attendance

Scholarships & Financial Aid is required to correct all over awards at the time they occur.  If a student receives additional resources after all aid has disbursed, then aid will be adjusted as needed to retain eligibility for each aid program.  If the adjustment results in the student owing a balance of $ 500 or more, Scholarships & Financial Aid (along with Student Business Services) will place a hold on the student’s account.  The hold will prevent course registration and transcript release.  Once payment is made, the hold will automatically expire.

How does this affect my financial aid?

Scholarships & Financial Aid initially awards all students assuming full-time enrollment. Students’ records are then reviewed each semester to determine if they are enrolled less than full-time. Adjustments are then made to the financial aid awards of students enrolled less than full-time. This review and adjustment occurs each semester, prior to the financial aid disbursement date and then again at census date (12th class day for fall and spring, 4th class day for summer).

Award Proration

Beginning with the 2021-2022 award year, having a drug conviction while receiving federal (Title IV) financial aid will no longer impact a student’s federal financial aid eligibility.

According to federal regulations, students convicted for a drug offense that occurred during a period of enrollment while they were receiving Title IV Federal Financial Aid, may lose eligibility for Federal Aid.

Federal Aid includes:

• Federal Work Study
• Federal Direct Loan
• Federal Graduate Plus Loan
• TEACH Grant

If a student answers ‘Yes’ to the question on the FAFSA, regarding conviction for possession or sale of illegal drugs a worksheet will be sent to the student by the federal processing center in order to determine if the conviction affects eligibility for aid. Should the financial aid office be notified that a student has been convicted of sale or possession of illegal drugs, the financial assistance will be suspended immediately. If a conviction was reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record it does not count. Convictions occurring during periods of non-enrollment do not count. In addition, any conviction received as a juvenile does not count, unless they were tried as an adult.

The period of ineligibility is dependent upon the type of conviction (sale or possession) and if there were previous offenses. The information below demonstrates the periods of ineligibility:

Possession of Illegal Drugs

1^st offense- 1 year from date of conviction
2^nd offense- 2 years from date of conviction
3+ offenses- Indefinite Period

Sale of Illegal Drugs

1^st offense- 2 years from date of conviction
2^nd offense- Indefinite period

If the student was convicted of both selling and possessing illegal drugs, they will be ineligible for the longer period.

Regaining Eligibility

The student may regain eligibility:

• The day after the period of ineligibility ends,
• When they successfully complete a qualified drug rehabilitation program, or
• If the student passes two unannounced drug tests given by a qualified rehabilitation program they may regain eligibility.

Students denied eligibility for an indefinite period can regain it after:

• Successfully completing a rehabilitation program as described below,
• Passing two unannounced drug tests from such a program, or
• If a conviction is reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record so that fewer than two convictions for sale or three convictions for possession remain on the record. In such cases, the nature and dates of the remaining convictions will determine when the student regains eligibility.

Qualified Drug Rehabilitation Program

A qualified drug rehabilitation program must include at least two unannounced drug tests and must satisfy at least one of the following requirements:

• Be qualified to receive funds directly or indirectly from a federal, state, or local government
• Be qualified to receive payment directly or indirectly from a federally or state-licensed insurance company
• Be administered or recognized by a federal, state, or local government agency or court
• Be administered or recognized by a federal or state-licensed hospital, health clinic, or medical doctor.

Additional drug convictions will make the student ineligible for federal aid again. It is the student’s responsibility to certify to the school that they have successfully completed the rehabilitation program.

The federal government mandates that students who withdraw from all classes may only keep the financial aid they have “earned” up to the time of withdrawal. Title IV funds that were disbursed in excess of the earned amount must be returned by the University and/or the student to the federal government. This situation could result in the student owing aid funds to the University, government or both.

To determine the amount of aid the student has earned up to the time of withdrawal, Scholarships & Financial Aid will divide the number of calendar days the student attended classes by the total number of calendar days in the semester (less any scheduled breaks of 5 days or more). The resulting percentage is then multiplied by the total federal funds that were disbursed (either to the student’s university account or to the student directly by check or direct deposit) for the semester. This calculation determines the amount of aid earned by the student which he or she may keep (e.g., if the student attended 25% of the term, the student will have earned 25% of the aid disbursed). The unearned amount – total aid disbursed less the earned amount – must be returned to the federal government by the University or the student. Scholarships & Financial Aid will notify and provide instructions to students who are required to return funds to the government.

Allocating Returned Title IV (Federal) Aid

Funds that are returned to the federal government are used to reduce the outstanding balances in individual federal programs. Any state or institutional aid received may also be subject to reduction or cancellation, based on the same withdrawal date used to calculate the return of federal funds.

Financial aid returned (by the University and/or you or your parents) must be allocated in the following order:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans
2. Federal Direct Graduate PLUS (Student) Loans
3. TEACH Grant

If your circumstances require that you withdraw from all classes, you are strongly encouraged to contact Scholarships & Financial Aid and your academic advisor before doing so. At that time, the consequences of withdrawing from all classes can be explained and clearly illustrated. Scholarships & Financial Aid’s financial aid counselors can provide refund examples and further explain this policy to you.

You should also be aware that as a recipient of financial assistance, you must comply with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy, outlined above. By withdrawing, you may not be eligible for financial assistance from Texas A&M University in the future, because you did not complete a specified number of credit hours for which aid was disbursed.

You can only get federal financial aid for one repeated course you have passed before. For example:

View the text version of Graduate Repeated Coursework​

Remember: 

• You can only get federal financial aid for courses that count towards your degree. 
• Each course you attempt counts toward your Satisfactory Academic Progress calculation. Both the repeated course grade and the original grade are included in your GPA calculation for financial aid purposes.

Aid Eligibility Appeals

Recognizing that there may be extenuating circumstances that have prevented you from meeting the minimum satisfactory academic progress standards required for financial aid eligibility, federal regulations provide you the opportunity to appeal the loss of your eligibility.

If an appeal is granted, you will be placed on financial aid probation and asked to follow an academic plan that will lead to meeting minimum SAP requirements in the future. If you do not meet the terms of probation, eligibility for financial aid will cease and all remaining aid will be cancelled. Subsequent appeals of the same nature are not permitted. Once you fail to meet the terms of your academic plan and lose eligibility, the only way to regain eligibility for financial aid is to meet the SAP minimum requirements.

Maximum Hours and Completion Rate Appeals

To facilitate this appeal opportunity for exceeding Maximum Hours or not meeting Completion Rates, please follow the steps below: 

1. Visit howdy.tamu.edu and access the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal channel on the My Finances tab to review the qualifications and file the appeal form.
2. Print the Academic Advisor Appeal Questionnaire form and meet with your Academic Advisor to have this completed.
3. Once Steps 1-2 are complete, schedule an appointment with a financial aid advisor by contacting Scholarships and Financial Aid at (979) 845-3236. At this appointment you will submit the Academic Advisor Appeal Questionnaire and discuss options for your academic success and financial aid.

Note: Completion of the steps listed above does not guarantee your appeal will be granted.

Grade Appeals

To facilitate this appeal opportunity for not meeting the Minimum Grade Point Average, please follow the steps below: 

1. Visit howdy.tamu.edu and access the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal channel on the My Finances tab to review the qualifications and file the appeal form.
2. Complete the Path to Financial Success through the Scholarships & Financial Aid Portal.
3. Print the Academic Advisor Appeal Questionnaire form and meet with your Academic Advisor to have this completed.
4. Once Steps 1-3 are complete, schedule an appointment with a financial aid advisor by contacting Scholarships and Financial Aid at (979) 845-3236. At this appointment you will submit the Academic Advisor Appeal Questionnaire and discuss options for your academic success and financial aid.

Note: Completion of the steps listed above does not guarantee your appeal will be granted.