While it\u2019s great that the federal government, the state of Tennessee, private donors and others are willing to help you finance your education, it is very important that you understand that there are a variety of conditions attached to the aid you receive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the single most important item for you to know is this: in most cases, you are awarded grants, loans, scholarships and other forms of financial assistance for the purpose of completing classes taken toward earning a degree<\/a>. This means that most forms of financial assistance you receive from the federal government (for example, Federal Pell Grants, Federal undergraduate \/ graduate student loans), from the State of Tennessee (for example, the TELS scholarship program) or from private or university benefactors carry substantial penalties if you enroll in courses but don\u2019t finish those courses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Financial aid is awarded to students so that they may complete courses, not so that they may attempt courses. This is an important and significant distinction. Should you enroll in courses but fail to successfully complete the course, you could become personally financially responsible for the costs of your\u00a0tuition<\/a>\u00a0and fees, plus be required to pay back the loans, grants or scholarships that you received. You should never withdraw from any course or stop attending any course without first consulting with the MT One Stop and your academic advisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that these rules can seem complicated, so the following highlights are intended to help you understand the basic requirements of accepting financial aid. Please be sure to review the\u00a0MTSU Financial Aid Terms and Conditions\u00a0which you must agree to on\u00a0PipelineMT<\/a>\u00a0as a precondition to accepting any financial aid offer. <\/strong><\/em>You will also want to make yourself familiar with the terms and conditions of any loan, grant or scholarship that you choose to accept. Hotlinks are also provided in the descriptions that follow to help you connect to the full policies that are applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students who drop classes on or before the census date (the 14th<\/sup> calendar day of fall \/ spring semesters) may have their aid adjusted. In addition, faculty at MTSU are requested to report academic engagement by a published date (i.e., the census date). Though MTSU faculty are not required to take official attendance throughout the semester, faculty can report academic engagement throughout the semester by taking attendance or by a documented academic activity. If a student is reported as \u2018Stopped Attending\u2019 or \u2018Never attended\u2019 in all enrolled courses within a semester, the student is considered to be \u201cunofficially\u201d<\/strong> withdrawn from the university. Withdrawals may have serious impact on the student\u2019s financial aid status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Federal regulations require that we establish and apply reasonable standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for the purpose of awarding financial assistance under the Title IV programs authorized by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended (34 CFR 668.34). MTSU complies with this requirement by monitoring each student\u2019s \u201coverall combined\u201d cumulative grade point average (GPA), \u201coverall combined\u201d pass-rate (percentage of credit hours passed divided by credit hours attempted), and \u201coverall\u201d maximum time frame for completion of the student\u2019s program of study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This policy is applicable to Federal Title IV Programs, State Programs inclusive of the Tennessee Student Assistance Award, the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship, and various MTSU Scholarship Programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\nOfficial and Unofficial Withdrawals<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n