New Student Orientation Booklet

Academic (Continued) FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). We highly encourage all students to complete an Authorization Form each academic year if they have others helping them with questions about their account. Without written permission from the student, we are unable to disclose any information, including balances due. www.kutztown.edu/FERPA BOOKSTORE ACCOUNTS Students who are expecting a refund from their aid package overpaying their account may be able to use some of that refund for books and required materials in the KU Campus Store. Students may apply to do this only if their MyKU account is in good standing and showing an anticipated credit balance. Apply online on the Financial Aid website starting two weeks before the semester and through Add/Drop. VERIFICATION Many students are selected for verification of their federal aid (FAFSA). This means that the Financial Aid Office would be asking for tax transcripts, W-2’s, and a form to be completed. Do not delay when you see these items in your To Do box on MyKU. Once turned in, the process to review and verify the aid may take up to 2 weeks before the aid can show as pending aid and reduce the balance due. Respond with urgency. TASKS MyKU contains information to help students. Once they log in, they will see courses, costs, and more. A special tile called Tasks shows holds (positive and negative), To Do items (such as tax items for aid) and messages (system generated commu- nications sent to the student in various formats). Financial Aid FINANCIAL AID SERVICES - 209 STRATTON ADMINISTRATION CENTER The staff of Financial Aid Services invites you to contact them for all of your financial aid needs: call (610) 683-4077, email financialaid@kutztown.edu, or visit the website at www.kutztown.edu/financialaid for assistance. The staff is there to guide you through the financial aid process and the requirements which affect your eligibility. HOW DO I APPLY FOR FINANCIAL AID? • File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online at www.fafsa.gov. • Both the student and parent each need a FSA ID and password. These will allow students and parents to electronically sign as needed on the FAFSA and master promissory notes (MPNs). KU’s priority filing deadline is January 31 of each year. File a FAFSA for every year you plan to be enrolled. Even if you missed the January 31 deadline, you can still file, although you may not be considered for every type of aid. Some types of aid, such as the Pennsylvania State Grant, have a strict filing deadline of May 1. We encourage you to file the PHEAA state grant by April 23. • All first-time student Stafford loan borrowers need to go to https://studentloans.gov to complete entrance counseling and sign a master promissory note. The student will use their FSA ID to electronically sign the master promissory note. Students who need to raise their GPA to qualify for financial aid will need to take classes at Kutztown University, because transfer credits do not affect KU GPAs. Taking classes at another institution will increase a student’s completion average, but may not be enough to regain financial aid eligibility. Financial aid progress is measured after every period of enrollment (fall, winter, spring and summer). If a student drops below the minimum requirements following a term of good financial aid standing, they are permitted to have a financial aid warning term, in which they will still receive federal Title IV financial aid. If they do not regain satisfactory financial aid progress by the end of the warning term, they will lose all federal Title IV aid until they have met the following financial aid progress requirements: 14