Expenses	Commuter	Resident	Out-of-State
Tuition/Fees	$4,236	$4,236	$7,860
Living Expenses	$5,642	$12,898	$12,898
Books	$540	$540	$540

Direct Aid

Because we do not receive a limited allocation each year for the Direct aid programs, we can offer aid to as many students as are eligible.  These programs include:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Direct Student Loan
• Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Student (PLUS)

Eligible Non-Citizen

The U.S. Department of Education matches the citizenship information that you enter on your FAFSA with national records to determine if you are in one of the following eligible categories:.

1. U.S. Citizen or national.
2. Permanent Resident of the U.S. with one of the following forms of documentation:

• An Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551, Form I-151)

3. Other types of eligible noncitizens having an I-94 containing one of the following:

If the U.S. Department of Education does not confirm that you are a U.S. citizen or National or an eligible non-citizen, we must verify your status before offering you any student financial aid.   We will ask you to provide documentation of your current status.   For example, if you are a Permanent Resident, you will provide a photocopy of your Form I-551 or Form I-151.   (The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) permits photocopying of documents for the purpose of applying for student financial aid.)  

 

In addition, if you are not a U.S. Citizen or Naturalized U.S. Citizen, we must confirm your eligible status with BCIS before offering you student financial aid.   This will delay the processing of your application for financial aid for up to 30 days.

 

If you have only a Notice of Approval to Apply for permanent residents (1-171 or 1-464), you are not eligible for federal student aid.

If you are in the United States on an F1 or F2 student visa only, or on a J1 or J2 exchange visitor visa only, you cannot get federal or university need-based student aid.  Also persons with G series visas (pertaining to international organizations) are not eligible for student financial aid.  

Enrollment Levels

Enrollment Levels for Undergraduate Students

Level	# of Units
Less than half time	<6 units per term
Half time	6 to 8 units per term<
Three quarter time	9 to 11 units per term
Full time	12 or more units per term

Enrollment Levels for Graduate Students

Level	<# of Units
Less than half time	<6 graduate level units per term
Half time	6 to 8 graduate level units per term
Full time	9 or more graduate level units per term

Minimum Enrollment Levels for Major Programs

Program	Minimum Enrollment Level
Federal Direct Loan Program	Half-time
Maryland State Senatorial Scholarship	Half-time
Maryland State Educational Assistance Grants	Full-time
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant	Less than half-time permitted
Federal Perkins Loan	Less than half-time permitted
Federal Work-Study	Less than half-time permitted
Federal Pell Grant (for a student with an EFC of 3300 or less)	Less than half- time permitted

Expected Family Contribution

The U.S. Department of Education calculates your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from the information you and your parents (or, if you are an independent student, you and your spouse) provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Renewal Application.  That agency applies the same Federal Methodology formula to the application data of all students nationwide, regardless of where they attend school. 

Federal Direct Loan Programs

The U.S. Department of Education is the lender for these Federal Title IV programs:

• Subsidized Federal Direct Student Loan
• Unsubsidized Federal Direct Student Loan
• Federal Direct Parent's Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
• Federal Direct Consolidation Loans.

Federal Family Education Loans Programs (FFRLP)

The FFEL programs allow banks or other private lending institutions make Federal Title IV loans.

Towson University does not participate in the FFEL Program. A Financial Aid Notification lists the name of each program included in your offer and the amount(s) of your offer for each term

Financial Need

The difference between the Cost of Attendance (COA) and a student's Effective Family Contribution (EFC).

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the application used by students nationwide.  You can get a FAFSA from a high school guidance office, from any college financial aid office, or from a public library.  You can also apply for aid online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

The FAFSA collects information including:

• The number of people in your household and the number who will be in enrolled in a college degree program for a half-time course load.
• Your and your parents income and asset information, if you are a dependent student.
• Your and your spouse's income and asset information, if you are an independent student.
• Your plans to enroll as a full-time or part-time student.
• Whether you plan to commute to school from your parent's home, or live in on or off campus housing.

General Eligibility Requirements

The most basic eligibility requirements for receiving aid include the following:

• Degree candidacy or formal admission as a regular student (with a high school diploma or GED) making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate
• U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizen status
• Having a valid Social Security number
• Certification that the applicant is not in default on a student loan and does not owe a repayment of a Federal Title IV grant and has not borrowed more than the statutory limits for the loan programs
• Registration for Selective Service, if required

Independent Student Status

Federal Title IV student financial aid legislation allows you to apply for aid as an independent student if you meet least one of the following conditions:

• You were born on or before 12/31/82
• You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces
• You are an orphan or were a ward of the court until the age of 18
• You were married at the time of application for aid
• You have children who receive more than half of their support from you; or you have other dependents who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2007
• you will enroll as a graduate student.

If you do not meet one of the conditions above, you will apply for student financial aid as a dependent student, using both your and your parent's income information.

The U.S. Department of Education has given schools the authority to override the definition of independent student status on a case-by-case basis.  The Financial Aid Office Appeals Committee reviews the written appeals and supporting documentation of students who request consideration.  The committee offers overrides only to students whose personal circumstances are found to be extraordinary.

An Independent Student Status Special Condition application form detailing how to reapply for financial aid based on one of the conditions listed above is available on request from the Financial Aid Office or as one of our printable forms. Documentation is required.

The Financial Aid Notification Guide

The Financial Aid Notification Guide is an information and instruction booklet sent with an aid offer.

Over-Award

Generally, any amount of federal financial aid that exceeds the financial need, or the total cost of education.

Priority Deadline

The priority deadline of March 1 is the date by which your Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) must be processed by the U.S. Department of Education and given a valid EFC from the U.S. Department of Education.  We offer aid first to all students whose applications meet the March 1 priority deadline date.

Promissory Note

A binding legal document that you sign promising to repay a loan.  It includes information on grace period, deferment and cancellation provisions; as well as your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.

Federal Refund Policy

When a student completely withdraws from Towson University while receiving financial aid, the Financial Aid Office must determine what portion of the student's term aid (not including Federal Work-Study funds) will revert to the financial aid programs. The Financial Aid Office uses a statutory federal refund formula required by the U.S. Department of Education. 

The refund formula requires the Financial Aid Office to determine what portion of aid disbursed for the term have been "earned" and what portion must be considered "unearned."

Calculation of Title IV assistance earned:

The university must first determine the percentage of assistance earned by the student. Up through the 60 percent point in time, the percentage of assistance earned is equal to the percentage of the term completed as of the day the student withdraws. If the withdrawal occurs after the 60 percent point, the percentage of aid earned is 100 percent. 

Calculation of Title IV assistance not earned:

The amount of aid not earned by the student is calculated by determining the complement of the percentage of assistance the student earned. That percentage is then applied to the total amount of grant and loan assistance that was disbursed for the term. 

Differences between amounts earned and amounts received:

If the student has received more grant or loan assistance than the amount earned, the unearned funds must be returned to the financial aid programs by the university or the student, or both. 

Responsibility of the school:

Towson University must return to the financial aid programs the lesser of the following:

• The unearned amount of aid; or
• The institutional* charges incurred for the term, multiplied by the unearned percentage of scholarship, grant, and loan assistance.

Responsibility of the student:

The student returns unearned financial aid minus the amount the university returns. The U.S. Department of Education does not allow discretion on the part of the university for non-institutional costs. In most cases, when a student receives financial aid in an amount greater than the amount of institutional charges, and completely withdraws from the university, he or she will have to return some of those funds.

Special rule:

When a student (or parent in the case of PLUS loans) is required to return a portion or all of loan proceeds, the calculated amount will be repaid according to the loan's terms. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes that the neediest students have up-front expenses and limited resources to meet these expenses. Therefore, a student who must return grant funds himself or herself (rather than the school), is given an additional consideration: the student's grant repayment is reduced by half.

* University charges are limited to tuition, fees, and room and board (if paid to the university).

Renewal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (RENEWAL FAFSA)

If you completed a FAFSA for the current academic year, you can complete a Renewal FAFSA online unless you:

• Never completed your current FAFSA.
• Indicated on your application that you would graduate by the end of the current academic year
• Sent your current  application to the Federal Processor after September of the current academic year

You may find that Renewal FAFSA is faster and easier for you to complete.  It contains preprinted information that you reported for the current academic year. Enter new or updated information in the next year column if your previous answer has changed or was incorrect.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Financial aid recipients must make satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of a degree while maintaining good standing as defined in the university catalogs.

The policy measures two  areas:

• Number of units completed in relation to the number of units attempted at Towson.
• Timeframe to completion of degree.

SAP Requirements

Undergraduate and graduate students must successfully complete 67 percent of attempted units each academic year at Towson:

Undergraduate Students Must Earn	Graduate Students Must Earn
67% of units attempted at Towson University	67% of units attempted at Towson University
Timeframe: Must complete degree within 180 attempted units (includes TU units plus transfer units accepted toward degree)	Timeframe: Must complete degree within seven years.

Additional Information:  

• Developmental courses do not count as attempted and/or earned and cannot exceed 24 units without permission from the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.
• All units on your schedule on the first day of class each term count, unless you drop the course of completely withdraw from the university during the 100 percent refund period for that term.
• Only courses completed with an earned letter grade or passed under Pass/Fail provision count toward units completed.  Coursework earning the following grades will not count towards units completed: AU (Audit), W (Withdraw), I (Incomplete), U (Unsatisfactory), F or FX (Failure).
• Excluding from the SAP calculation units attempted for one medical withdrawal term requires approval from the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.
• Students who have aid canceled because of failure to comply with the SAP criteria may appeal to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee.  Students must appeal in written form, and include a statement outlining the causes of poor academic performance and a formal plan for regaining compliance with the policy.

Student Aid Report (SAR)

The SAR is the documentation that you receive from the U.S. Department of Education after your Free Application for Student Financial Aid (FAFSA) is processed.  Your SAR shows the information you included on your FAFSA.  Look over the information to make sure it is correct.  If you need to make corrections, follow the instructions.

Your SAR shows your the Effective Family Contribution (EFC) and also contains messages from the U.S. Department of Education about your application.