Siena Heights University
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) also requires Siena Heights University to perform a Return of
Title IV Funds calculation for any student enrolled in multiple parts of a term who ceases attendance
during the first part of the term, unless the student provides written confirmation of future attendance for
the second part of the term courses.
The Federal Return of Title IV Funds policy determines the amount of aid earned by dividing the number
of calendar days up to the withdrawal date by the total number of calendar days in the enrollment period.
The Calculation
The Return of Title IV Funds is based on the premise that students "earn" financial aid for each calendar
day that they attend classes. For example, if a student attends 32 days of a semester that is 80 calendar
days in length, the student will have "earned" 40 percent of his or her aid.
Students who complete more than 60 percent of the semester are considered to have earned 100
percent of their financial aid.
The “unearned” portion of aid is refunded to the appropriate programs in the following order:
• Unsubsidized Stafford Loan
• Subsidized Stafford Loan
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal SEOG
• TEACH Grant Funds
Calculating “Earned” Institutional Aid
Siena Heights University uses the results from the Federal Return of Title IV calculation to determine the
amount of earned institutional aid a student is eligible to receive.
o Example: If a student earned 50% of their federal aid (as determined by the federal calculation),
the institutional scholarships and grants will also be reduced to 50%.
Cost of Attendance/Student Budgets
The Financial Aid department calculates budgets for every student who applies for aid in order to determine a
student’s need. The cost of attendance includes the current rate of tuition and room and board as well as an
estimation of costs of books, transportation, and personal expenses.
When a student completes the FAFSA, the federal government determines the amount that a student has
available from their own/family’s resources to help pay for college expenses. This is called the Expected Family
Contribution (EFC).
We use the EFC to determine how much financial aid students are able to receive by using the following formula:
Cost of Attendance (COA)
- Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
= Financial Need
The total amount of need based financial aid a student receives cannot exceed their Financial Need and the total
amount of aid from all programs and resources cannot exceed the Cost of Attendance/Student Budget.
Siena Heights University administers student financial assistance in compliance with all applicable state and
federal regulations as well as those pertaining to non-discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, age,
handicap, national or ethnic origin.
Graduate Assistantships
To qualify for a graduate assistantship, the student must be fully admitted as a degree-seeking student in an SHU
Graduate College program at the time of appointment.
Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog 2016-2018
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