Northeastern State University is about to open its doors to thousands of students from all over the world for intellectual enlightenment.
A large percentage of NSU students qualify for financial aid, and the NSU Student Financial Services is working to ensure that students know about all available scholarships and opportunities.
This past week, NSU has been hosting “Welcome Week.” On Aug. 18, the event featured a panel titled “Money Matters,” wherein financial services representatives, and the bursar’s office, visited with students and explained the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
“With HEERF, which is part of the CARES Act, they are encouraging us to do some outreach for Professional Judgement,” said Teri Cochran, director of Student Financial Services.
Professional Judgement allows NSU’s financial office to make adjustments based on changes in income. Many students have faced hardships throughout the pandemic, having lost jobs or experienced a decrease in household income. Eligible students can apply for a Professional Judgement to adjust their student eligibility.
“If their income has significantly changed – if their 2019 [income] is more than 2020 – they can turn in their 2020 tax return and request that we use that one instead of 2019,” said Barbara Townsend, a counselor at Student Financial Services.
Students are encouraged to bring in documentation of their change in income. If households have experienced financial loss in 2021, tax returns will not be available, but the office can project their earnings for the rest of the year.
For those who are not sure whether they qualify, the Student Financial Services Office recommends visiting them.
“It is worth looking at, if they had a change of income or increased medical bills due to the pandemic to see if there’s something there to assist with Title IV Financial Aid,” said Cochran.
Students must be aware that to qualify for financial aid, they must fill out a FASFA application before the Oct. 1 deadline.
“We take the results of the FASFA and we determine what your offers are for financial aid, and when the money comes in, we help the bursar’s’ office apply that money to student’s accounts,” said Townsend.
FASFA forms need to be filled out every year for students to be considered for financial aid.
“It’s not like a one-time thing that’s good for four years,” said Townsend.
If students want to be able to connect their parents to the Financial Aid office, a form needs to be filled out.
NSU students pay tuition based on how many credit hours they take. Their financial aid is based on how many classes they need, not how many they are enrolled in. Each student will meet with a counselor to create a degree plan, which maps the courses they require for graduation. If a student wants to take a class for fun that does not appear on his or her degree plan, that student is responsible for the course.
“The courses they are enrolled in need to show up on their degree plan. If they don’t show up on their degree plan, they don’t get counted for financial aid purposes. So, if they are enrolled for 12 hours, that is full-time, but if one of those classes doesn’t show up on their degree plan, we’re only going to count that they are enrolled in nine hours, and they’re only going to get funded for nine hours. So that’s a new thing,” said Townsend.
To maintain their eligibility for financial aid, students must pass 67 percent of their classes they attempt. Freshmen must maintain a 1.7 GPA, and sophomores, juniors, and seniors must maintain a minimum of a 2.0 GPA, though some majors require a 2.5 or higher.
Townsend also warned students to be careful when withdrawing from classes.
“Students who withdraw from classes may have to pay for the them. It is important to talk with Financial Aid before doing so and doing it early in the semester to avoid those charges,” she said.
