Financial Aid

Application Procedures

Students applying for financial aid must complete the following steps:

  1. Process a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) -  This form can be completed at www.fafsa.ed.gov .
  2. Follow up with the UMHB Financial Aid Office - if requested to complete additional documents.

Aid Programs by Category

Student Loans

  1. Federal Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan- The borrower is responsible for interest that accrues during deferment periods (including in-school) and during the six-month grace period. Graduate students may borrow $20,500 per academic year (fall, spring, summer).
  2. Alternative Loans- A list of private lenders can be found at www.elmselect.com . Each lender maintains their individual website with current interest rates and other pertinent information. Be sure to stay informed of interest rates and repayment responsibilities.

Institutional Programs

Students may qualify for one of the following scholarships dependent upon their program of study:

  1. Graduate Scholarship- Graduate Scholarships are available for $50 per hour to student’s enrolled in general UMHB graduate programs.
  2. Ed.D . Fellowship- Students enrolled in the Doctor of Education automatically qualify for this scholarship. The Ed. D. Fellowship scholarship pays $100 per hour.
  3. DPT Scholarship- Students enrolled in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program automatically qualify for this scholarship. The DPT Scholarship pays $200 per hour.
  4. Nurse Practitioner Scholarship- Students enrolled in the Nurse Practitioner Program automatically qualify for this scholarship. The Nurse Practitioner Scholarship pays $100 per hour.
  5. Graduate Assistantships- Graduate assistantships at the master’s and doctoral levels are available in a number of graduate programs. Assistantships must relate to the student’s academic objective and be supervised by a member of the Graduate Faculty. UMHB offers a variety of Graduate Assistantship opportunities, which may include a full tuition scholarship, a partial tuition scholarship, part-time employment or a combination of scholarship and employment. Duties may include research assistant, office duties, lab supervision, student advising, student academic assistance, and/or practical supervision.  Graduate assistantships are available through academic departments and colleges.

Leaving School

All students who are on financial aid must inform the Financial Aid Office prior to graduation or withdrawing from school.  Exit counseling is a federal requirement and must be completed upon exiting the university.  Failure to do so will result in a hold being placed on the student’s diploma and/or transcripts.

Refund/Repayment Policy

A financial aid recipient withdrawing from the university and receiving a refund from the UMHB Cashier’s Office in accordance with the policy listed under the Financial Information section in this catalog may be required to repay institutional aid to UMHB with the refund. The percentage of institutional aid repaid to UMHB will be based upon the percentage of refund received by the student. (i.e. Students receiving 80% tuition refund will repay 80% of the institutional aid.)

State and federal financial aid will be returned in accordance with governmental regulations upon a student’s withdrawal. State financial aid will be returned to the state in a declining percentage through the first four weeks of a semester.

Title IV Funds (Federal financial aid) must be returned through 60% of the semester. (i.e. A student withdrawing at the midpoint of a semester must return 50% of Title IV funds received.)

The return of Title IV funds by UMHB due to the withdrawal of student before completing 60% of a semester will result in an amount being owed to UMHB by the student. UMHB will make an adjusted refund to students withdrawing during their first semester of attendance to compensate for the mandated return of Title IV funds by refunding the lesser of the amount due UMHB or the amount of Title IV funds returned less funds disbursed to student.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

The Higher Education Act mandates that institutions of higher education monitor the academic progress of students who receive federal financial aid. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has established the following minimum standards to be eligible for and continue to receive federal financial aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be reviewed at the end of each payment period (fall, spring, and summer semesters) and will be based on the student achieving both a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 and earning a minimum of 70% of credit hours attempted.

Pace

Satisfactory academic progress is determined by dividing the cumulative number of credit hours successfully completed by the cumulative number of credit hours attempted (including transfer credit hours that have been accepted). The percentage must be greater than or equal to 70% in order to meet SAP. The maximum timeframe for program completion is 150% of the published program length.

Warning Period

In the first payment period (semester) after SAP has not been met, students are notified that they are not meeting SAP. The notification will include SAP requirements, steps necessary to meet SAP in the upcoming payment period (semester) and the consequences for failing to meet SAP at the end of the warning period.

During the warning period, students may continue to receive financial aid. At the completion of the warning period, students who do not meet SAP are ineligible for financial aid.

The Financial Aid Office will notify students at the end of the warning payment period (semester) if they failed to meet SAP. The notification will include information concerning the loss of financial aid for the upcoming payment period (semester) due to failure to meet CGPA and/or 70% completion rate, and the appeal process.

Probation Period

If a student is placed on Suspension, he/she has the option of appealing the suspension through the SAP appeal process. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on Probation for the next semester. The student must meet SAP at the conclusion of the Probationary period.

Suspension

If a student was previously under a Warning or Probation SAP status and fails to meet SAP eligibility requirements the student will be placed on Suspension and is no longer eligible for financial aid. A student who is placed on Suspension may appeal this decision through the appeal process.

Appeal process

Step One: Students who choose to follow the appeal process must:

  • Submit appeal to the Financial Aid Office
  • Student must state why he or she failed to meet SAP requirements
  • Student must state what has changed so that he or she will meet SAP at the next review (semester)

Step Two: The Financial Aid Office will:

  • Review the appeal
  • Send results of appeal to the student
  • Approved appeals include
    • Approval and terms of reinstatement of financial aid eligibility
    • Possibility of meeting SAP in next payment period (semester)
    • Possibility of an academic plan over an extended period of time
    • Consequences for not meeting terms of approval
    • Approved appeals will result in financial aid being awarded for the payment period
  • Denied appeals include
    • Reasons for denial
    • What the student must do to meet SAP
    • Denied appeals will not be awarded financial aid until SAP is met

Step Three: Students must continue to meet terms, as established, until SAP is met in order to continue receiving financial aid on a probationary basis. Once SAP is met, student is no longer considered to be on probation. Failure to maintain SAP thereafter will result in receiving an additional warning for the upcoming payment period (semester).

Transfer Credits

Accepted credit hours will be included in the SAP calculation for the next payment period (semester).

  • All accepted credits will be at least 3.0 GPA
  • Transfer credits accepted by The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor are included in the credit completion rate and maximum time frame calculations, but not the GPA.

Incomplete Grades

Incomplete credit hours will be considered as attempted credit hours when evaluating the pace component of SAP and cumulative grade point average.

Repeating Classes

  • Passed, may retake one time to improve GPA, included in the SAP review
  • Passed previously, but not with the required departmental GPA will be included when evaluating SAP.
  • Failed, may retake as necessary, included in the SAP review

Withdrawing From the University

Prior to the census date – No impact on SAP as no credit hours have been attempted, however student may incur expenses for the semester and have a reduction in their financial aid.

After census date – Credit hours attempted are included in the SAP review.