My Rights and Responsibilities
Please read your rights and responsibilities regarding your financial aid to ensure you are well informed about investing in your college education and your future.
Students have the right to ask the Financial Aid Office:
- What are the types of financial assistance programs available?
- What are the deadlines for submitting applications for each of the financial aid programs?
- What is the cost of attendance?
- What are the policies on refunds to students who withdraw?
- What criteria are used to select financial aid recipients?
- How is financial need – including costs for tuition, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and personal miscellaneous – determined?
- What resources (such as family contribution or other financial aid) are considered in calculating a student’s need?
- How much of a student’s financial need, as determined by the institution, has been met?
- How and when will funds be disbursed?
- What are the various programs in the financial aid offer? If a student believes they have been treated unfairly, they may request an appeal of the offer.
- What portion of the financial aid received must be repaid, and what portion is grant aid? If the assistance is a loan, a student has the right to know the interest rate, the total amount that must be repaid, the payback procedures, the length of time they have to repay the loan, and when repayment is to begin.
- How does MSOE determine whether satisfactory academic progress (SAP) is being made, and what happens if SAP is not made?
It is the student’s responsibility to:
- Review and consider all information about a university’s program before enrolling.
- Pay special attention to the FAFSA, complete it accurately and submit it in a timely manner to the correct place.
- Provide all documentation, corrections and/or new information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or the agency to which the application was submitted.
- Notify the Financial Aid Office of any changes in enrollment status, name, address, and any aid obtained from private sources. A student must keep the office and any lender informed of withdrawal or graduation.
- Read, understand, and keep copies of all forms.
- Accept responsibility for all signed agreements.
- Know and comply with the deadlines for application or reapplication of aid. Students must reapply for aid each academic year.
- Know and comply with MSOE’s refund procedures.
- Know that any financial aid awarded should be used solely for expenses related to attendance at MSOE.
Intentional misreporting of information on application forms for federal financial aid is a violation of law and is considered a criminal offense subject to penalties under the U.S. Criminal Code.
Drug Conviction Impact on Federal Student Aid
Note: Per Dear Colleague Letter Gen-21-04, the FAFSA Simplification Act (enacted on December 2, 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), amended Sec. 484 of the Higher Education Act to remove the suspension of eligibility for Title IV aid for drug-related convictions that occurred while receiving Title IV Aid. With the early implementation of this change, MSOE is no longer required to review for drug conviction for students who are receiving Title IV Aid. This is available for consumer information purposes only.
A federal or state drug conviction can disqualify a student from federal and state financial aid. MSOE will review all information that is submitted by students on the FAFSA application that confirm they have a drug conviction. Students will be notified at the time their FAFSA application is reviewed of their ineligibility and given information on how to regain eligibility.
Convictions only count if they were for an offense that occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student financial aid. If a MSOE student is convicted of a drug offense during an academic year they will be ineligible for future federal and state financial aid based on the guidelines outlined in the Federal Student Aid Handbook.
The chart below illustrates the period of ineligibility for federal and state financial aid, depending on whether the conviction was for sale or possession and whether the student had previous offenses. (A conviction for sale of drugs includes convictions for conspiring to sell drugs.)
| Possession of Illegal Drugs | Sale of Illegal Drugs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st offense | One year from date of conviction | Two years from date of conviction |
| 2nd offense | Two years from date of conviction | Indefinite period |
| 3+ offenses | Indefinite period | Indefinite period |
A student regains eligibility the day after the period of ineligibility ends, when they successfully complete a qualified drug rehabilitation program, when they or pass two unannounced drug tests given by such a program. Further drug convictions will make them ineligible again.
Students denied eligibility for an indefinite period can regain it after successfully completing rehabilitation program, passing two unannounced drug tests from such a program, or if a conviction is reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record so that fewer than two convictions for sale or three convictions for possession remain on the record. In such cases, the nature and dates of the remaining convictions will determine when the student regains eligibility.