Policies

All financial aid is subject to the continued availability of federal, state, institutional, and private funding. Budget limitations may reduce or eliminate any of the awards described without notice.

Deadlines

Priority deadlines

Priority Deadline June 30
What To Do List Items: Admissions and Financial Aid (non-loan)
Missed DeadlineFinancial aid will be cancelled prior to the first day of school

Final deadlines

Final Deadline Last day of the semester (or last day of attendance in the semester, if leaving APU)
What To Do List Items: Admissions and Financial Aid (including accepting loans at home.apu.edu and loan paperwork)
Missed Deadline Not eligible for financial aid that semester

Financial Aid Policy for International, Study Abroad, and Off-campus Programs

Group 1 Programs – Approved by APU or the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU)
Charges Standard (same as being on campus) + International Health Fee
Financial Aid Standard (same as being on campus)
Academic Year Limit Will receive aid for one semester of study abroad
Total Limit Will receive aid for two semesters of study abroad (within academic career)
Faculty/Staff Award Only 1 recipient per off-campus program1
Tuition Exchange Only 1 recipient per off-campus program1
Group 2 Programs
Charges Cost of program + APU Study Abroad Processing Fees
Financial Aid Only federal and state aid
Academic Year Limit Will receive aid for one semester of study abroad
Total Limit Will receive aid for two semesters of study abroad (within academic career)

Summer and Winter Term Programs

May be charged the Study Abroad Processing Fees and the International Health Fee. No financial aid is typically available.

Programs Not Sponsored/Approved by APU or the CCCU

Not eligible for financial aid.

For more information, contact the Center for Global Learning & Engagement.

Loan Code of Conduct

As a part of the Program Participation Agreement for participating in Title IV financial aid programs, institutions are required to develop and comply with a loan code of conduct that prohibits conflicts of interest for financial aid personnel with respect to all student loans. Any Azusa Pacific University employee who has responsibilities with respect to student educational loans must annually be reminded to comply with this code of conduct. In accordance with 34 CFR 301.21 and HEOA 487, Azusa Pacific University will comply with the following:

  1. Neither Azusa Pacific University as an institution nor any individual employee who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender which makes loans to students attending the institution.
  2. No employee of Azusa Pacific University who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or any of his/her family members, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.
    • For purposes of this prohibition, the term “gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, or other item having a monetary value of more than nominal.
    • Gifts and favorable terms and benefits do not include a brochure, workshop or training using standard materials relating to a loan, default aversion, or financial literacy, such as a part of a training session, entrance and exit counseling, as long as the institution’s staff are in control of the counseling and the counseling does not promote the services of a specific lender.
  3. An employee at Azusa Pacific University who has responsibilities with respect to education loans shall not accept from any lender (or affiliate of any lender) any fee, payment, or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
  4. Azusa Pacific University shall not:
    • assign a lender to a first-time borrower through award packaging or any other method; or
    • refuse to certify or delay certification of any loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
  5. Azusa Pacific University shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for the institution providing concessions or promises regarding providing the lender with a specific loan volume of such loans, or a preferred lender arrangement for such loans. An “opportunity pool loan” is defined as a private education loan made by a lender to a student (or the student’s family) that involves a payment by the institution to the lender for extending credit to the student.
  6. Azusa Pacific University shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing.
  7. An employee who has any responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such an advisory board, commission, or group.
Minimum Enrollment
Unit Load Scholarship Amount
12+ units 100% of scholarships and grants
9–11 units 75% of scholarships and grants
6–8 units 50% of scholarships and grants
1–5 units Not eligible for scholarships and grants1
1Exception Final semester to graduate – 25% of institutional scholarships and grants

Nondiscrimination

Undergraduate Student Financial Services does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures.

Refund Policy and Withdrawal Information

We realize that outside circumstances may sometimes impact a student’s ability to complete the semester. After the add/drop period, when a student stops attending all of his or her classes during the semester, depending on the circumstances, it may be classified as a “withdrawal,” “leave of absence,” or “dismissal” from the university. For the purpose of charges assessed and financial aid eligibility listed below, a leave of absence and a dismissal will be handled the same as a withdrawal from the university.

Official Process: Withdrawal or Leave of Absence

Contact the Office of the Undergraduate Registrar located in the Undergraduate Enrollment Services Center. Before ceasing attendance during the semester, we advise students to consider how much they might be charged, how much financial aid they might receive, and how it may impact their ability to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Withdrawing Prior to the 60 Percent Point in the Semester

If a student drops a class during the add/drop period, no tuition will be charged for that class. After add/drop, if a student withdraws from one or a few classes, but is still attending other classes, the student will be charged tuition for all of his or her classes (including the withdrawals). However, in the event a student withdraws from all of his or her classes after the add/drop period, charges and financial aid will be calculated as follows:

Charges

Tuition: Prorated per day
Fees: Not refundable
Room: Prorated weekly, based on the 15 week semester
Board: Prorated weekly, based on the 15 week semester

Financial Aid

Institutional Aid

Prorated per day (assuming the student has completed everything required, and his or her admission file and financial aid file are complete prior to the last date of attendance).

State Aid

Cal Grant Award: Prorated per day (assuming the student has completed everything required, and his or her admission file and financial aid file are complete prior to the last date of attendance). Will not be used to reimburse the federal government. If applicable, will be returned to CSAC prior to all other awards, other than Return to Title IV funds. Student understands that receipt of prorated amount will use an entire semester’s worth of Cal Grant eligibility.

Withdrawing On or After the 60 Percent Point in the Semester

Charges

The student will be charged in full.

Financial Aid

The student will receive full financial aid (assuming the student has completed everything required, and his or her admission file and financial aid file are complete prior to the last date of attendance).

The Federal Government’s “Return to Title IV” (R2T4) Policy

If a student withdraws from all courses in a traditional 15 week semester, or doesn’t complete all the sessions of a modular (sequential) course schedule, in some cases the student only earns a portion of the financial aid already received. APU is required by federal law to use a prescribed formula to calculate the unearned portion of the financial aid received and return it to the federal government’s Title IV programs.

Traditional 15-Week Semester R2T4 Policy

The percentage of Title IV financial aid earned is determined by dividing the number of days the student completed in the semester, by the total number of days in the term. If the student attended 60 percent or more of the days in the semester, the student can keep all of the aid originally received. If less than 60 percent, the government determines how much Title IV aid the student earned (the percentage multiplied by the total amount of Title IV aid received).

First Example

If there were 109 total days in the semester and the student completed 54 days, the student would earn 49.5 percent of the Title IV aid received (54/109 = 49.5%).

In our example, the student originally received the following federal awards for the semester:

Unsubsidized Direct Loan $3,484.00
Subsidized Direct Loan $2,737.00
Pell Grant $1,250.00
Total Federal Aid $7,471.00

Second Example

Per the government’s formula, the student earned $3,698 (49.5% x $7,471 = $3,698):

Unsubsidized Direct Loan $0.00
Subsidized Direct Loan $2,448.00
Pell Grant $1,250.00
Total Federal Aid Earned $3,698.00

Third Example

Next, we need to determine the amount of aid that needs to be returned to the Title IV programs (total federal aid originally received minus aid earned).

Total Federal Aid Originally Received $7,471.00
Total Federal Aid Earned -$3,698.00
Total Federal Aid to be Returned $3,773.00

The student is responsible for any owing balance this may cause on the student’s APU account.

Treatment of Unofficial Withdrawals

If a student fails to officially withdraw, and receives a combination of all “F’s,” “FN’s,” “IN’s” and “NC’s” as grades for the semester, the Department of Education considers the student to have unofficially withdrawn from classes. APU is required to investigate and determine when the student actually last attended class and then perform the required R2T4 calculation. If the date of withdrawal cannot be confirmed, the R2T4 calculation is done using a 50% completion rate. This process is usually completed well after the end of the semester, once grades are submitted.

Students Making Class Changes

Students may add and/or drop classes until the last day to change registration. This date is listed on the academic calendar.

Release of Records

It is understood that by applying for financial aid, the student grants Undergraduate Student Financial Services the right to release the student’s grades and enrollment records to scholarship, state, federal, and loan agencies as needed.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Students who wish to receive financial aid must be in good academic standing and make satisfactory academic progress towards a degree or certificate program in addition to meeting other eligibility criteria.

Undergraduate students are evaluated at the end of each semester (fall, spring, and summer).

Minimum Requirements
GPA Cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
Units Passed (Pace) Passing grade in at least 67% of units enrolled (including F, W, Incompletes, repeated courses)
Total Units Limit Can enroll in up to 179 units. Not eligible when enrolling in 180th unit (including F, W, Incompletes, repeated courses)
Evaluated End of each semester (fall, spring, summer)

Definitions

Change of Major

If a student changes his or her major, it will not “reset” the current qualitative (GPA) or quantitative (pace) measures of SAP. All units attempted and/or passed will be counted when determining if a student meets the minimum requirements listed above.

Financial Aid SAP Statuses

Students who fail to maintain SAP will be placed on Financial Aid Warning and will be given one term of financial aid eligibility to correct their SAP deficiencies. If the student does not make up their deficiencies in that one term, they will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and will be ineligible for all financial aid (federal, state, and institutional). Finally, if a student appeals and is approved, they will be placed on Financial Aid Probation.

Grades

The only grades that meet satisfactory academic progress completion standards are grades for which credit is awarded; A, B, C, D, P, and CR. (Please note that some departments and/or schools require a higher minimum GPA in order for coursework to meet their program requirements.) Withdrawal and incomplete grades are not passing grades. Challenge exams and audited courses are not considered.

Regaining Eligibility

Student regains financial aid eligibility when they meet all three measures of progress for SAP. It is possible for students to be placed on a warning status multiple times in their undergraduate academic career.

Remedial Coursework

A student may take one academic year’s worth of remedial courses for financial aid. Remedial coursework for students who are admitted into an eligible program and take it within that program will be counted toward all three progress measures for SAP.

Repeated Courses

If a student repeats a failed or a previously passed class, it will replace the grade to recalculate into the new cumulative GPA. The units will still count toward the completion rate and maximum time frame. Students who passed a class and chooses to repeat for a higher grade may receive financial aid only once for that repeated class. Students may receive financial aid for a failed class that they repeat until they pass (as long as they are meeting all of the other SAP requirements).

Transfer Credits

Transfer credits that have been officially accepted to complete program requirements will count for qualitative (GPA requirement) and quantitative (pace requirement) measures of Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Appeals

Students may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid if they, a spouse, a dependent child, or a parent have experienced illness that prevented class attendance for an extended period of time; they experienced a death in the immediate family (parents, siblings, spouse, or dependent children); or they have experienced some extraordinary situation that prevented them from meeting the minimum standards. Such a situation must be exceptional and nonrecurring in nature. The appeal for reinstatement must explain the cause of the academic difficulty and how the situation has been resolved.

An SAP Appeal form is available online. The student must develop an academic plan and provide documentation. The academic plan that is submitted with the appeal should be created by the student and the academic advising staff. The appeal will be reviewed by a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee.

Stacking Financial Aid

The Office of Undergraduate Student Financial Services strives to award all applicants the maximum grant, scholarship, loan, and work study aid for which they qualify. Unfortunately, sometimes federal, state, and/or institutional guidelines may restrict the total amount or type of award a student may receive.

Aid will be stacked in the following order (unless otherwise stated):

  • Federal Grants
  • State Grants
  • Outside Aid (depending on what the scholarship/award is designated to help cover)
  • Institutional Aid, in the following order:
    • Tuition Exchange Award
    • Academic Merit Scholarship
    • Athletics
    • APU Grant
    • Faculty/Staff Award (New Students: Faculty/Staff comes before APU Grant)
    • Departmental/Participatory (New Students: Departmental/Participatory come before APU Grant)
  • Direct Subsidized Student Loan
  • Federal Work Study
  • Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan
  • Perkins Loan
  • PLUS Loan – Parent
  • Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan – Add-on
  • Alternative Loan

Step 1 – Cost of Attendance

Financial aid cannot stack above Cost of Attendance (COA). Exceptions: ROTC and VA Benefits

Step 2 – Cal Grant

When a student receives a Cal Grant, per state guidelines, scholarships and grants (all free money) will be reduced to the lesser of the following:

  • Scholarship and Grants cannot stack above Need. (Need = COA - EFC)
  • Scholarships and grants specifically required to pay tuition can stack with the Cal Grant up to tuition (Trustees’, Tuition Exchange, etc.)

Step 3 – Institutional Aid

APU scholarships and grants (including Faculty/Staff Award and Tuition Exchange) cannot stack above tuition.

Exceptions:

  • Bishop Dixon Scholars (see Step 7 below)
  • Honors College Scholarship
  • Marvin and Leota Batt Scholarship
  • Resident Advisor (RA) Scholarship
  • Scholarshipped athletes: cannot stack above Grant in Aid amount; not eligible for an APU Grant.

Step 4 - APU Grants

The APU Grant may be reevaluated when new information is received. Circumstances that may decrease a student’s APU Grant:

  • Changes made to the FAFSA
  • Academic Merit Scholarship Added or Revised
  • APU Departmental/Participatory Scholarship Added or Revised
  • Faculty/Staff Award Added or Revised
  • Federal or State Grants Added or Revised (Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Cal Grant, etc.)
  • Other new information

Not eligible for APU Grant

  • Athletic Scholarship Recipient
  • ROTC Recipient
  • Student who does not submit a FAFSA or complete verification
  • VA Educational Benefit Recipient (GI Bill®, Yellow Ribbon, Ch. 31- Vocational Rehab, etc.)

Step 5 – ROTC

Army ROTC

  • Scholarship from ROTC covers tuition and mandatory fees.
  • Also receive $9,000/year ($4,500/semester) ROTC Room and Board Scholarship from APU.
  • Not eligible for any additional APU scholarships or grants.
  • Not eligible for Cal Grant (full tuition is paid by ROTC)

Air Force ROTC

  • Scholarship from ROTC = $18,000/year ($9,000/semester)
  • Also receive $9,000/year ($4,500/semester) ROTC Room and Board Scholarship from APU.
  • Not eligible for any additional APU scholarships or grants.
  • May be eligible for Cal Grant (student must have enough tuition charges, after ROTC, to add full Cal Grant).

Step 6 – APU Post 9/11 Yellow Ribbon Award

APU Yellow Ribbon amount: Up to $14,000/year; not eligible for any additional APU scholarships or grants.

Step 7 – Bishop Dixon Scholarship Recipients

After federal, state, and APU grant aid applied, Bishop Dixon Scholarship will cover remaining tuition and most fees. Does not cover fines.

Verification

Each year, the federal government selects a percentage of all FAFSA applications for a process that’s called ‘verification.’ The law requires colleges to obtain information from the family that confirms the accuracy of the information that was reported on the FAFSA (e.g. tax information, household size information, etc.).

Beyond those applications selected for verification, the law requires colleges to also request further documentation when a FAFSA application and/or subsequent paperwork appears incomplete or inaccurate.

A student is not eligible to receive federal, state, and/or institutional need-based aid until all required paperwork has been submitted. We realize that these requests may sometimes seem a bit intrusive, but APU is merely following the requirements set forth in the law.

Footnotes

  1. Restriction Does Not Apply to L.A. Term or South Africa Semester

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