Federal Financial Aid
Student Eligibility and the
Application Process
TASFAA New Aid Officers Workshop
May 16, 2011
Presented by:
Karen Krause
University of Texas at Arlington
General Student Eligibility
Requirements
US citizen or eligible non-citizen
 Attend an institution that participates in
federal financial aid programs
 Have obtained a high school diploma or
it’s equivalent
 Be working toward a degree or certificate

General Student Eligibility
Requirements
Enroll as a regular student in an eligible
program
 Enroll at least half time (6 credit hours for
undergraduate students)*


* Federal Pell Grants may be awarded for less than ½
time enrollment based on eligibility

Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress
standards
General Student Eligibility
Requirements
Not owe a refund on a federal grant or be
in default on a federal educational loan
 Registered with Selective Service if
required

Other Program Eligibility
Requirements
Federal TEACH Grants have specific
requirements concerning grade point
average and future plans for teaching that
must be considered
 State grant, work and loan programs have
additional criteria

Citizenship Requirements
U.S. citizen or national
 U.S. permanent resident
 Citizens of the Freely Associated States:
the Federated States of Micronesia and
the Republics of Palau and the Marshall
Islands
 Other eligible non-citizens

Citizenship Requirements
Citizenship match first with Social Security
Administration (SSA)
 Name, Date of Birth and SSN matched
 Common confirmation documents

Copy of birth certificate
 Copy of U.S. passport (current or expired)
 Certificate of Naturalization

Citizenship Requirements

Permanent residents and eligible noncitizens
First match with Social Security Administration
(SSA)
 Second match with the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS)
 DHS match takes precedence over SSA
match

Citizenship Requirements

Data elements used in permanent resident
and eligible non-citizen match
Social Security number
 Name
 Date of birth
 Alien registration number (A-number)

Citizenship Requirements

Automated Secondary Confirmation
If match doesn’t confirm, DHS automatically
tries to otherwise determine eligibility
 CPS waits 3 days before processing ISIR


Paper Secondary Confirmation

If automated secondary confirmation doesn’t
occur, student may provide unexpired
documents to be mailed to USCIS in DHS
Social Security Number

SSA match validates that SSN is valid and
matches the name and date of birth on the
FAFSA application as presented
Academic Qualifications
High school diploma
 Recognized equivalent such as a GED
certificate
 Recognized home schooling at the
secondary level
 Approved Ability to Benefit test
 Self certification on the FAFSA is
acceptable documentation

Database Matches
Selective Service System to verify
registration
 National Student Loan Data System for
loan default and grant overpayment
 Department of Veteran’s Affairs
 Social Security Administration
 Department of Homeland Security

Database Matches

2010-2011 new automated Department of
Defense match for students whose parent
or guardian died as result of military
service in Iraq or Afghanistan after
September 11, 2001
FAFSA Comments
Comment codes may be informational examples: indicating potential Pell and
TEACH eligibility
 “C” flags and other comment codes must
be resolved

Missing signatures
 Loan default or grant overpayments
 Citizenship status
 Bankruptcy

FAFSA Comments
Applications selected for verification –
school must request and obtain verification
documents prior to awarding
 Aggregate loan limits met

Federal Loan Default
Confirmed through National Student Loan
Data System (NSLDS)
 No federal aid can be awarded to students
with a loan default until it is resolved
 Default resolution

Repayment in full
 Satisfactory Repayment Arrangements
 Loan consolidation

Grant Overpayment
Confirmed through NSLDS
 Student must resolve overpayment prior to
receiving additional Title IV funds

Selective Service
Required for males ages 18 – 25 including
U.S. citizens, permanent residents, other
eligible non-citizens
 Common exemptions

Currently serving in the armed forces on
active duty
 Not 18 at the time they complete the FAFSA
 Males born before 1960
 Females

Selective Service
Males who failed to register must request
a Status Information Letter from SSS
 Based on the letter and other supporting
documents, FAA must decide if the
student knowingly and willfully failed to
register
 FAA’s decision is final and cannot be
appealed to the U.S. DOE

Satisfactory Academic Progress
School must define and publish the
established SAP policy
 Policy must include a qualitative measure
(example: grade point average)
 Policy must include a quantitative measure
(completion rate, maximum time frame)

Application Methods
FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) – both new
applications and renewal applications
 EDE Express
 Paper FAFSA – less than 1% of the total
applications processed for 2010-2011
(based on DOE information in July, 2010)

FAFSA Signature
U.S. Department of Education PIN
http://www.pin.ed.gov
 Serves as electronic signature on the
FAFSA as well as the MPN
 Allows students to check the status of the
FAFSA and make corrections
 Allows students to access the NSLDS and
Direct Loan Servicing web sites

FAFSA Signatures
PIN required for both student and parent
(if dependent)
 PIN remains active for up to 10 years
 PIN represents the signature of a specific
individual – not a particular role

Output Documents




Student Aid Report – sent to student
electronically if an e-mail address is provided
Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) –
sent to the institution(s) that the student has
authorized
Output documents are sent within a few days
Will not be sent to a school unless authorized by
the student
FAFSA
Results of the FAFSA will indicate if the
student has been selected for verification
 FAFSA will calculate the Expected Family
Contribution that will be used to calculate
a student’s financial aid eligibility

Financial Aid Resources
Information for Financial Aid Professionals
(IFAP) – www.ifap.ed.gov – this site also
includes the Student Aid Handbook
 National Association of Student Financial
Aid Administrators – www.nasfaa.org
 Texas Guaranteed Student Loan
Corporation – www.tgslc.org

Financial Aid Resources
Texas Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators – www.tasfaa.org
 Southwest Association of Student
Financial Aid Administrators –
www.swasfaa.org
 Colleagues and mentors in the profession

Questions?
Contact Information
Karen Krause
Executive Director, Office of Financial Aid,
Scholarships and Veteran’s Affairs
University of Texas at Arlington
kkrause@uta.edu