Student Rights
Students applying for financial aid have the right to:
- Have all personal and family financial information treated with dignity, sensitivity, and confidentiality.
- Know and understand all rules, regulations, and policies pertaining to financial aid.
- Accept or decline any aid offered. Students are not obligated to borrow, and have the right to reduce or decline any offer of student loans.
- Request reconsideration of an award if circumstances change.
- Make an appointment to meet with a member of the financial aid team.
- Know what financial aid programs are available at the University, including all federal, state, and institutional aid programs.
- Know the deadlines for submitting applications, forms, and required documentation—and the consequences of not meeting a deadline.
- Have complete information regarding fees, payment, and the University’s refund policy.
- Know generally how financial aid is distributed and the basis for such decisions.
- Know how their financial aid was determined, including educational costs and eligibility criteria.
- Know what factors (such as parental and student contributions) are considered in the calculation of financial need.
- Request an explanation of the various resources in their financial aid package.
- Know what portion of their financial aid must be repaid, and what portion is gift aid.
- Know who the lender/servicer is for any loan, what the University’s relationship is to that particular lender/servicer, the total cost of borrowing, the interest rate, the total amount that must be repaid, the length of time for repayment, when repayment begins, and all other terms and conditions of the loan.
- Choose any lender for your student loans and expect that Arcadia University will process the loan with your requested lender.
- Understand how the University measures satisfactory academic progress and the consequences of not making progress.
Student Responsibilities
Students receiving financial aid must assume responsibility for maintaining their aid from semester to semester. Students are expected to:
- Review and consider all information about the University’s programs and net cost before enrolling.
- Know and comply with the rules governing all financial aid you receive.
- Complete the FAFSA each year as soon as possible following the October 1 start-up of the application cycle. To maximize your financial aid, your FAFSA must be received no later than April 1 preceding the respective academic year.
- Report all information accurately and completely, to the best of your knowledge. Intentional misreporting of information is a criminal offense and subject to penalties under law.
- Provide all supporting documents in a timely manner, including verification items, additional information requests, corrections, loan promissory notes and associated counseling, and/or new information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or authorized external provider.
- Advise the Financial Aid Office if you change your housing status and/or change your enrollment status.
- Report any grant/scholarship, tuition benefit, loan, or other aid received from any source or provider that does not appear on your financial aid award at Arcadia University.
- Read, understand, and retain a copy of all pertinent financial aid documents.
- Accept responsibility for all signed agreements.
- Monitor your account and meet your financial obligations to the University.
- Perform the work that is agreed upon in accepting a federal work study award.
- Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
- Notify the Financial Aid Office if family financial circumstances change.
- Know and comply with the University’s refund policy.
- Notify the University and student loan provider(s) of any changes in contact information.
- Comply with federal IRS taxation and income reporting requirements.
Aid Requirements
Renewal of all awards is subject to academic progress checks.
| Requires FAFSA | Requires Full-Time Enrollment | Requires at Least Half-Time Enrollment | Requires at Least Less-Than-Half-time Enrollment | Available During Summer | Requires Federal Verification | ||
| Arcadia Merit Scholarships | x | ||||||
| Arcadia Grants | x | x | |||||
| Federal Pell Grant | x | x | x | x | |||
| Federal Direct Loan | x | x | x | x | |||
| Federal Direct Parent Plus Loan | x | x | x | ||||
| PA State Grant | x | x | x | ||||
| Distance Grant | x | x | |||||
| Sibling Grant | x | x | |||||
Code of Conduct
Our Commitment to Offering Student Choice
Arcadia’s Enrollment Management staff is committed to offering students choices when it comes to the student loan selection process. While Arcadia works in cooperation with four or more lenders, students are free to select the lender of their choice, but are advised to research loan terms (interest rate, rebate incentives, fees, deferment and repayment terms, etc.) when making said selection. The Arcadia Lender Selection Committee chooses four or more lenders annually on the basis of:
- Service, including timely processing and disbursement of loans;
- Competitiveness of products within the marketplace at the time of selection;
- Diversity of products offered.
As such, the selection of these lenders is based solely on the best interests of the students/parents who attend the institution, and Arcadia University receives no monetary remuneration for working in cooperation with these lenders.
In keeping with The Student Loan Sunshine Act, staff members in the Office of Enrollment Management abide by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) Statement of Ethical Practices. As such, no staff member:
- Accepts any gift worth more than $10 from a representative of a student loan company/lender. Gifts include meals, travel, lodging, and entertainment.
- Accepts any remuneration or expense reimbursement for serving as a member of a lender’s advisory board. Staff may, however, participate on advisory boards that are unrelated in any way to higher education loans.
- Will enter into supplemental employment with lenders that create any potential “conflict of interest” with their duties as an Enrollment Management staff member and student financial aid counselor.
- Will enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with a lender, or hold stock options with a lender.
Arcadia requires all Enrollment Management Office staff members to complete a conflict of interest statement as well. Staff who knowingly fail to follow the guidelines of this document, or any of the guidelines listed above, will be subject to normal disciplinary guidelines.
Federal Verification
A requirement of the U.S. Department of Education, verification is the process of confirming information submitted on the FAFSA. Students are responsible for submitting requested information to complete the verification process no later than 45 days before the last day of the student’s enrollment. Federal student aid (including Federal Pell Grant, Direct Loans, and Direct Parent Loans) is considered estimated and will not be credited to the student’s account until verification is complete.
Items to be verified include
- Adjusted Gross Income
- U.S. income tax paid
- Number of family members in the household
- Number of family members enrolled in post-secondary schools at least half-time
- Untaxed income
- Any other conflicting information
Students are notified in writing by the Financial Aid Office of the documents needed to complete verification. Those generally required to complete the process include:
- IRS Data Transfer of tax information or signed copy of student’s federal income tax return from the prior, prior year (two years ago)
- IRS Data Transfer of tax information or signed copy of parents’ federal income tax return from prior, prior year (two years ago for dependent students)
- If applicable, a signed copy of spouse’s income tax return for prior, prior year (two years ago for married independent students)
- W2s
- Statement of Non-Filing from the IRS
- Verification Document
Upon receipt of the verification documents, Arcadia will compare the information on the submitted documents with that on the FAFSA. If discrepancies are revealed, Arcadia will make the corrections, which could result in a change in aid eligibility. Arcadia will notify the student in writing of any changes in eligibility due to verification within one week of completing the verification process.
Arcadia will cease processing federal student aid for students who fail to submit the required verification documents before the deadline.
If a student is selected for verification after federal student aid funds have already been disbursed, Arcadia will withhold all future disbursements of federal student aid until verification is complete. If verification results in the student’s ineligibility for aid that has been previously disbursed, the student is responsible for repaying aid that he/she is not eligible for. Arcadia will notify the student in writing requesting full payment of the overpayment of aid he/she is not eligible for. Any student in an overpayment status who fails to repay the overpayment or make satisfactory repayment arrangements will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education and/or to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) and remain ineligible for further federal student aid until the overpayment is resolved.
Special Circumstances and Professional Judgment
We recognize that changes may be experienced in the financial situation of a household. While the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) determines financial aid eligibility based on data from two years prior, the Professional Judgment process exists to re-evaluate a student’s aid based on certain significant changes.
What is considered a significant change?
This will vary from family to family, but generally speaking, could include:
- Loss or change of employment
- Child Support change
- Death of custodial parent or spouse
- One-time taxable income (IRA distribution, pension distribution, etc.)
Our office may also consider other special circumstances that are not addressed in the other sections above if the appropriate documentation is available.
If you meet one of the significant changes outlined above, or you are not sure if your circumstances warrant a change, please email our office at finaid@arcadia.edu
Unusual Circumstances
The 2023-24 FAFSA has 13 questions that determine dependency, based on Congressional law. If a student cannot answer “yes” to any of these questions, the student is considered dependent for financial aid purposes, and parental information is required on the FAFSA. Within professional judgment, potential adjustments to dependency can be considered based on a student’s unique situation. Students are encouraged to reach out to our office to discuss any special circumstances related to their dependency status.
