Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any special circumstances that you feel were not considered when you filled out your FAFSA, please contact our office to see if you are eligible to process an appeal.

Possible special circumstances include:

• Loss of income or benefits
• Death of parent or spouse
• Divorce or separation of parents (or student from spouse)         
• Excessive medical or dental out of pocket expenses
• Change in assets (other than cash or savings)
• Secondary or elementary tuition
• One-time income

The Hope Scholarship is a tax credit for eligible first- or second-year undergraduates or their parents; it is for certain educational expenses paid on or after January 1, 1998.  The Lifetime Learning Credit is for eligible students who are beyond their second year of college, or their parents; it is for certain educational expenses paid on or after July 1, 1998.

To take advantage of the tax credits, taxpayers must submit IRS form 8863, Education Credits (Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits), with their federal tax returns to the IRS. The University will supply students with Form 1098-T, which lists all dollar information relating to the provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act. Form 1098-T also shows the student's demographic information (name, Social Security number, etc.) that the University provides to the IRS. (The University does not supply dollar amount information to the IRS.) For more information about the tax credits and these forms, visit the following Web sites:

• IRS information on the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, including information about the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit
• IRS publication Tax Benefits for Higher Education 
• U.S. Department of Education
• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
• IRS toll-free telephone number: 1-800-829-1040

Federal regulations, effective July 1, 2001, no longer allow parents to automatically be included in the number in college on the FAFSA.  The Office of Student Financial Assistance will reduce the number of family members in college if you include a parent in this number in the initial FAFSA submission; only the student and the student's siblings may be included.  A reduction in the number of family members in college may significantly reduce your financial aid eligibility.

If you wish to have a parent counted as attending college, you must request a Professional Judgment for review.

As a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., President Bush authorized, on September 14, 2001, the call-up of members of the National Guard and the Ready Reserves to active duty. Regular active duty members of the Armed Forces may also be reassigned to other duty stations. It is likely that there will be students and Title IV (federal) loan borrowers who will be ordered to military duty as part of the military mobilization. The Department of Education has established the following guidelines regarding the treatment of military personnel who are activated or reassigned for a period of more than 30 days. The Secretary of Education will treat borrowers who are ordered to active duty and who have loans held by the Department of Education (Perkins, Health Professions and Nursing Student Loans) in accordance with this guidance. The following is taken from the September 2001 Department of Education's Letter GEN-01-13 from Deputy Secretary William D. Hansen. 

Loan Issues

Borrowers Whose Title IV (Federal) Loans are in an In-School, In-School Deferment, or Grace Period status:

If a borrower's loans are in an in-school status, an in-school deferment status, or in a grace period status when the borrower is ordered to active duty or reassigned, the loans must remain in that status during the period of the borrower's active duty service or reassignment, plus the time necessary for the borrower to resume enrollment in the next regular enrollment period that is reasonably available to the borrower, if the borrower wishes to go back to school. However, this maintenance of loan status may not exceed a total of three years including the period of time necessary for the borrower to resume enrollment. Additionally, if the loan was in a grace period status at the time the borrower was ordered to active duty, the period of time during which the borrower was serving on active duty is excluded and the borrower would receive the full grace period in the future.

Borrowers Whose Title IV (Federal) Loans are in Repayment (Other than in an In-School Deferment status):

For borrowers whose loans are in repayment (other than those in an in-school deferment status), a forbearance must be granted for the expected period of the borrower's active duty service, beginning on the first day of active duty, not to exceed one year (Forbearance is an arrangement to postpone or reduce a borrower's monthly payment amount for a limited and specified period. Interest is charged during a forbearance period, regardless of the loan type.) The forbearance must be granted based upon the request of the borrower, the borrower's family or another reliable source. The request need not be in writing and the forbearance can be granted without supporting documentation and without a written forbearance agreement. The reasons for granting the forbearance must be documented in the borrower's loan records. Forbearance beyond the initial period will require supporting documentation and a written agreement with the borrower, unless the Department of Education provides guidance extending the one-year limitation. During the initial forbearance process, lenders are encouraged to examine the borrower's eligibility for a military or other deferment.

Borrowers Whose Loans are in a Default status:

If a borrower is in default on a loan, schools must, upon being notified that the borrower has been called to active duty, cease all collection activities for the expected period of the borrower's military service, through September 14, 2002, unless the Department of Education provides guidance extending this period. Collection activities must resume no later than 30 days after the end of the borrower's military service or September 14, 2002, whichever is earlier. Borrowers with defaulted loans held by the Department will be treated the same way.

No. You are required to complete a FAFSA and submit all other requested documents each academic year.

It is likely that you will receive similar financial aid packages (awards) throughout your degree program, IF the following remain true:

• A scholarship or award received is not limited to only one year;
• Your family's financial situation remains similar - dramatic changes in income, marital status, or a change in the number of family members in college will affect Expected Family Contribution and, therefore, the amount of financial aid eligibility;
• The federal, state, and institutional funding of financial aid programs remains similar;
• You submit the appropriate application materials by the required deadlines;
• You continue to meet the enrollment level and Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements. The Office of Student Financial Assistance monitors enrollment levels (the number of credit hours you take) during each term. If you drop courses and fall below the minimum credit hour requirements, you may be required to repay all or part of the aid you received; and
• You report accurate information (income, assets, etc.) on your financial aid application(s).

All athletes receiving scholarships from sources outside Pittsburg State University must abide by the following guidelines to ensure eligibility for athletic participation.

For ALL athletes (whether or not applying for federal financial aid), all scholarship donors must provide written notification to the Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) of the amount to be given to the recipient for both the Fall and Spring semesters, as well as certification of the criteria for awarding the scholarship. If the scholarship is renewable (for future academic terms), that should also be stated within the notification letter.

If your donor does not provide a notification letter with the scholarship funds, you may provide a blank criteria form for your scholarship donor(s). Donors may mail or fax the signed, completed form to the OSFA. Contact information is listed on the form.

The scholarship funds should be payable to both the University and the student-athlete, or to the University, and may be included with the notification letter and/or criteria documentation. However, if the scholarship is made payable to only the student and mailed directly to the student, the student must bring the check to the OSFA, along with the criteria documentation; then the student may sign the check and allow Financial Assistance personnel to deposit the funds directly to the student's University account.

When a student-athlete receives a renewal scholarship, the criteria provided during the first year of receipt will suffice and further documentation will not be necessary unless the criteria for the initial scholarship have been revised.

Outside scholarships will not be applied to the student-athlete's University account until all criteria information is received by the University as outlined above. If scholarship funds are sent directly to the University without adequate documentation regarding criteria for awarding the scholarship, these funds will be held until said documentation is received at the OSFA.

If you have questions or require clarification of these guidelines, please contact Jamie Rink at the Office of Student Financial Assistance, 620-235-4236; or submit an email to jrink@pittstate.ed.

If your FAFSA is selected for verification, the Office of Student Financial Assistance will notify you by email that more information is needed to complete your file. You are required to submit certain documents in order to verify the information provided on the FAFSA no later than two weeks prior to the end of the semester(s) of attendance at PSU. However, aid cannot be awarded until all documents are submitted and the verification process completed.

Students selected for Verification will be required to submit various documents, depending on the student's individual file. 

Once all required documents have been submitted, the information on the documents is compared to the FAFSA application we received from the Department of Education. If errors are found on your financial aid application, corrections will be made electronically. You will receive a revised Student Aid Report (SAR) from the Department of Education showing the corrections made to your application. Further, the Office of Student Financial Assistance will award financial aid based on the corrected FASFA information.

There are several possibilities:

• Some students are selected by the U.S. Department of Education through a series of edits. Nationally, at least 30% of all FAFSAs are selected.
• Some students are selected by Pittsburg State University if the FAFSA appears to have incomplete or inconsistent information, or if the data indicates a high probability for error. Verification is likely for students who provided estimated tax information, negative income, or very low income on the FAFSA.
• Other possibilities exist, but the purpose of Verification is to prevent Student Financial Assistance from disbursing inaccurate amounts of financial aid to students. 

• Use the Date Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA when available for both you and your parents (when required).
• Make sure that all of the requested documents include your name and PSU Student ID# at the top of each page, are fully legible, and are signed by you and your parent/spouse (when required).
• Turn in all requested documents at the same time if possible.
• Be patient. Realize that a large number of students are selected for Verification, and it takes time for our office to process everything.
• Periodically check the status of your file.

Grants, scholarships, and loans administered by the Office of Student Financial Assistance are first applied directly to your University account to pay charges for tuition, fees, book voucher (optional), University housing, and any other University charges.

If your total aid package exceeds the amount of charges for the above-stated items, remaining funds will either be direct deposited to the bank account that you submitted through GUS, or if you opt out of ACH, a check will be mailed to your permanent address. 

Yes. Any money received as a result of work (Work-Study employment, temporary employment on- or off-campus, etc.) is considered taxable income. You will be asked to file a withholding (W-4) form, and you will receive a statement of income and taxes withheld (W-2) form each calendar year.

The Federal Work-Study program is awarded based on financial need. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for work-study. To enable your work-study amount, you must find a job on campus. You will be paid from the total amount of work-study awarded; you will not receive it in one lump sum. You will be paid by stipend or hourly, usually minimum wage, and receive a paycheck bi-weekly. You cannot work more than 20 hours per week when school is in session, and no more than 40 hours per week when school is not in session. The actual number of hours worked depends on the department in which you are employed. Contact Student Employment for available positions. 

Maintain the minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)

Cumulative Semesters Attempted- Undergraduate Students

By End Of The Second Semester       1.8

By End Of The Fourth Semester        2.0

Graduate students must maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA

Maintain a minimum cumulative Financial Aid Completion Rate

All students receiving Title IV Federal Aid must complete a minimum of 67% of all credit hours attempted. All hours attempted are included in the completion rate, regardless of whether they were taken at PSU or if federal aid was received.

Complete program within the Maximum Timeframe

Students must complete their degree within 150% of the published length of the program. There is no limit to the number of times a student can change his/her degree, major or minor; however, all attempted hours will count toward the maximum timeframe calculation.

Complete at least one class while receiving aid

Students must complete and pass one class in a semester for which Title IV Federal Aid is received.