Important Announcements
IRS Data Retrieval and FAFSA
Post 5/1/2012
The Department of Education recently announced that due to a high volume of activity at the IRS for a short period of time April 16 – July 15, 2012: if you have attempted to use the IRS data retrieval tool or you have been unsuccessful in obtaining a tax transcript directly from the IRS, you may submit a signed copy of your federal tax return to the office as acceptable documentation for verification of tax information. This temporary exception will ensure timely processing of financial aid.
State of Illinois budget issues that may impact
MAP (Monetary Award Program) grants
Post: 3/23/2012
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is suspending the announcement of 2012-13 MAP grants for all students whose initial 2012-13 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was, or will be, received by the Central Processing System (CPS) on or after March 20, 2012.
Recent Changes to the Student Aid Programs
Posted: 3/23/2012
As a result of recent legislative changes, you should be aware of a number of new requirements for the federal student aid programs. Most of these changes are effective with the 2012-13 school year (July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013).
Here's an overview of the changes that could impact your financial aid for the upcoming academic year and in the future.
Obtain a Tax Transcript from the IRS
Beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year, copies of tax returns are no longer an acceptable form of income documentation. Please do not submit copies of your 2011 federal tax returns unless specifically asked to do so. Documentation of items found on a tax return will need to be completed either by using the ‘Link to IRS’ feature found on the FAFSA website (preferred method) or requesting a tax return transcript from the IRS. There are three ways to request your tax return transcript: online, by phone, or by mail/fax. Please make sure you request a Tax Return Transcript. Do not request a Tax Account Transcript or Record of Account because they cannot be used for financial aid verification purposes.
Expected Family Contribution
The lower a student's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), the higher the student's federal student aid eligibility. A change has been made to the income amount that is used to determine if a student qualifies for an automatic EFC of zero.
When you complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you receive an Expected Family Contribution, which is a number used to determine your federal student aid eligibility. For the 2012-13 school year, you will automatically qualify for an Expected Family Contribution of zero if your family income does not exceed $23,000. This is a reduction from the previous maximum income of $32,000.
Federal Pell Grant Program — Duration of Eligibility
Once you have received a Pell Grant for 12 semesters, or the equivalent, you will no longer be eligible for additional Pell Grants.
You are eligible to receive a Pell Grant for up to 12 semesters or the equivalent. If you have exceeded the 12-semester maximum, you will lose eligibility for additional Pell Grants beginning in 2012-13 school year. Equivalency is calculated by adding together the percentage of your Pell eligibility that you received each year to determine whether the total amount exceeds 600%.
For example, if your maximum Pell Grant award amount for the 2010-2011 school year was $5,550, but you only receive $2,775 because you were only enrolled for one semester, you would have used 50% of your maximum award for that year. If in the following school year, you were enrolled only three-quarter time, you would have used 75% of your maximum award for that year. Together, you would have received 125% out of the total 600% lifetime limit.
Direct Student Loan Changes
Posted: 3/23/2012
Direct Subsidized loans will not be eligible for an interest subsidy during the six-month grace period.
Subsidized loans are loans for which the borrower is not responsible for the interest while the student is enrolled in college on at least a half-time basis, when the loan is in the six-month grace period after the student is no longer enrolled at least half time, or if the loan is in a deferment status. This provision eliminates the interest subsidy provided during the six-month grace period for subsidized loans for which the first disbursement is made on or after July 1, 2012, and before July 1, 2014. If you receive a subsidized loan during this time frame, you will be responsible for the interest that accrues while your loan is in the grace period. You do not have to make payments during the grace period (unless you choose to) but the interest will be added (capitalized) to the principal amount of your loan when the grace period ends. This provision does not eliminate the interest subsidy while the borrower is in school or during eligible periods of deferment.
All subsidized loans made to undergraduate students will have a fixed interest rate of 6.8%.
Subsidized loans for which the first disbursement is on or after July 1, 2012, will have a 6.8% fixed interest rate. Note: In the President's FY2013 budget request, the Administration has proposed maintaining the interest rate on subsidized loans at the current rate of 3.4% for the 2012-2013 school year.
Graduate and professional students are no longer eligible to receive subsidized loans.
Effective for loans made for payment periods that begin on or after July 1, 2012, graduate and professional students are no longer eligible to receive subsidized loans. However, if you are a graduate or professional student, you may still qualify for up to $20,500 in Unsubsidized loans each year.
The U.S. Department of Education can no longer offer borrowers repayment incentives.
Effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, the Department of Education is prohibited from offering any repayment incentives to Direct Loan borrowers, except interest rate reductions to borrowers who agree to have payments automatically electronically debited from their bank account).
If you have any questions about how these changes could impact you, please contact the financial aid administrator at your school or call 1-800-4-FED-AID.
Welcome to the new academic year at Roosevelt University!
Posted: 8/29/2012
The Office of Financial Aid is excited to see all of our new and continuing students here and ready for the fall 2011 semester. There are a few important items the Office of Financial Aid staff wants to bring to your attention:
- Attending class(s) that you are enrolled in is not just a good idea…it is required. Students who do not attend class(s), particularly during the first few weeks of each semester, risk having their enrollment and financial aid canceled. Don’t let this happen to you…attend all of your classes!
- Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is an important policy that regulates your ability to continue to receive financial aid. In a nutshell, requiring you to progressively earn credits towards your degree while maintaining a minimal grade point average along the way. The NEW Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy is available online at www.roosevelt.edu/financialaid/policies/SAP. Please make sure you read the policy thoroughly so you do not risk losing future financial aid.
- RU FATV is here! Have questions about financial aid and don’t want to wait until the office is open? Don’t! RU FATV is an online host of dozens of short videos that addresses the most commonly asked questions about financial aid. Please visit the Financial Aid website at http://ru.financialaidtv.com and experience the 24 hour a day service created just for you.
For more Roosevelt financial aid information, visit www.roosevelt.edu/financialaid.
