Eligibility

All students who have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or California Dream Act Application (CADAA) must meet the criteria stated in this policy in order to remain eligible for University, State and Federal Aid Financial aid. 

Eligibility is based on satisfactory academic progress (SAP) standards established by the University, pursuant to federal law, to ensure that all financial aid recipients progress towards degree completion. 

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships assesses qualitative and quantitative standards for all undergraduate and graduate students after the end spring quarter each academic year, and quarterly for students who are on financial aid probation.

Undergraduate Students

Qualitative Standard – Grade Point Average (GPA)

• Undergraduates must maintain a minimum cumulative 2.0 grade point average (GPA).

• Graduate students must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average (GPA). 

• Please note that while passing grades (P) and (S) are treated as completed units, they do not count in the GPA calculation.

Pace (Quantitative) Standard – Unit Completion

All students must complete a minimum of 67% of all cumulative coursework attempted.  

• Pace is determined by taking the cumulative completed units and dividing them by cumulative attempted units. 

• The first repeat of a course will apply toward the completed unit count, subsequent repeats will not. This does not apply to courses that are repeatable for credit (i.e. independent study courses. This repeat policy is specific to financial aid and may differ from your College. 

• Attempted units also include courses graded as Incomplete, Failed, Not Passed, or Withdrawn. 

• Transferred units count towards both attempted and completed units, provided that they have been accepted by the university for credit.

Maximum Time Frame of Eligibility for Financial Aid

Timeline

• SAP is assessed at the end of spring quarter each year for all students.

• Students who meet the SAP policy will be set as satisfactory for summer (if attending) and for the following academic year.

• Students who do not meet the SAP requirements will be set as unsatisfactory for summer (if attending) and for the next academic year.

Unsatisfactory Status and Regaining Eligibility

Appeal Process

We prefer that all SAP Appeals be requested and submitted electronically through https://ucsb.studentforms.com. If you need to submit a paper SAP appeal, please reach out to our office directly for assistance.

Appeals must include a detailed statement that includes the following information: 

• Circumstances that caused you to not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress

• What has changed that will enable you to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress at the next evaluation

• The steps you will take to ensure you continue to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress in the future

  • Third-party documentation is recommended for appeals but not required.

Students will typically be notified of the outcome of their appeal within 5-7 business days but may be longer during peak seasons. Appeals will not be accepted after the last day of instruction for the quarter that they are appealing for.

Academic Plans

Those who are required to submit a SAP Academic Plan include:

• Students who are not mathematically able to meet SAP within one term

• Students who have not consistently met SAP requirements 

If you are required to submit a SAP Academic Plan, it will be used to review your academic progress on a quarterly basis until you meet the overall SAP requirements or graduate, whichever is first. It is important that you create an achievable SAP Academic Plan, and that you utilize campus resources that are available to help you earn the quarterly units and GPA stated in your plan.

Appeal Decisions

 

Pell Grant, Cal Grant, and Middle Class Scholarship are initially awarded based upon the assumption of full time enrollment, and will be reduced if a student drops below full time status by taking less than 12 units. UCSB Scholarship recipients must be enrolled at least half-time (6 units) to remain eligible for their full UCSB Scholarship amount awarded. Our office sends quarterly email reminders to all aid recipients reminding them of this policy.

On the 15th day of classes each quarter, an enrollment snapshot is taken by the Registrar's office. This is referred to as the “census” date. Shortly thereafter, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships receives the census enrollment data from the Registrar and reviews students’ captured units. Any reductions of financial aid based on census date units will show as a “bill-back” on a student’s BARC account for the amount of aid reduced. If a student’s Pell Grant, Cal Grant, and/or Middle Class Scholarship is reduced or canceled based on census units, it cannot be increased or reinstated if the student adds more units at a later date. Census reductions can only be reversed in the rare instance of administrative error, which must be corroborated by a letter directly from UCSB personnel acknowledging the error and providing supporting documentation.

Financial aid may also be reduced if a student receives a reduced fee program, such as a Part Time Fee Credit as a result of a deficit load. All grant recipients who are considering dropping below full time should first consult with our office prior to requesting a deficit load with their college and reduced fee program (Part Time Fee Credit) with the Office of the Registrar. Financial aid students who receive a Pell Grant, Cal Grant, UCSB Scholarship, Regents Scholarship, and/or Middle Class Scholarship may have these grants reduced further if they receive a Part Time Fee Credit (PTFC). This is because the fee reduction (PTFC) must be input into their award letter as “need-based financial assistance.” To account for this, other need-based grant funding must be reduced. When there is already a census reduction due to the deficit load, the financial aid reduction for census might already exceed the amount of the fee refund, in which case no further reductions to aid would be necessary. 

Students who are on an approved deficit load for only one quarter can choose whether or not to apply for a fee reduction (PTFC). However, students who are approved for a permanent deficit load automatically receive the fee reduction (PTFC) and do not have the opportunity to decline it. Students must remain in 10 units or fewer for the fee reduction (PTFC) to be approved and applied.

Financial aid is awarded based on an assessment of a family’s demonstrated financial need and accounts for the total cost of attendance and the family’s ability to cover that cost. UCSB Scholarship is made available by the University of California and is awarded to California resident undergraduate applicants who are considered to be On-Time and determined to have sufficient financial need. This policy is designed to award students as fairly as possible with limited funding and guided by the goal of maintaining the affordability of the University.

HOW NEED IS DETERMINED

The federal need-analysis methodology assesses a portion of discretionary income and assets. Total income includes taxed income and untaxed income. Discretionary income is the portion of total income that remains after deducting allowances for income taxes paid and basic living expenses. Discretionary assets are assets that are considered available to help pay for college costs, such as investments and businesses. Certain types of assets are considered nondiscretionary such as the family home and retirement plans.

This assessment yields a measurement of a family’s ability to pay: the Student Aid Index (SAI). When the SAI is lower than the estimated cost of attendance, the student is eligible for more need-based aid, such as grants, scholarships, and work-study. Students who are not eligible for need-based aid will still be eligible for other types of aid, including loans and some scholarships. Almost every student will have some form of loan in their Financial Aid Award Letter.

HOW UCSB SCHOLARSHIP IS AWARDED

UCSB’s funding policy is based on the principle that the student and his or her family have the primary responsibility for paying costs associated with attending the university, to the extent of their capacity to do so. Federal, state, and university grants and scholarships provide financial aid when the family is unable to pay, not when the family is unwilling to pay. Student financial aid is not intended to subsidize lifestyle choices and is generally based on need. The University of California system adheres to a common financial policy called the Education Finance Model (EFM). This policy states that the cost of attendance will be met through a combination of the following:

• manageable contributions from the student in the form of work and/or loan (known as "self help");

• manageable parent contributions from family resources based on the family’s financial strength (SAI); and

• grant & scholarship support from a combination of federal, state, university, and private sources. 

The university will work to keep student loan levels manageable relative to loan repayment obligations after graduation. The university will also work to provide adequate employment opportunities for students to fulfill their work expectations. Emphasis will be placed on providing jobs that have higher pay and that are related to students’ academic and career interests.

The right balance between working and borrowing is different for every student. For some students, working 20 hours per week is manageable. Others may choose to borrow more and work less. Remember, students who spend less than the total cost of attendance reported on their financial aid offer also reduce the amount they will need to earn or borrow.

The University of California Regents have determined that nonresident undergraduates are ineligible for UC need-based financial aid and are not typically awarded institutional scholarships or grant funding. It is important to note that the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will help nonresident students receive all federal financial aid, such as Pell Grant and/or federal student loans, for which they qualify.

ON-TIME STATUS

Students who file a FAFSA or DREAM Act application after the California March 2 priority filing deadline and/or submit requested information after deadlines specified by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will receive less UCSB Scholarship than they otherwise would have been eligible for. Students who have failed to meet a deadline will be awarded on a first come, first served basis, subject to the availability of funding. There is no appeal process. If you believe that there was an administrative error or some other circumstance beyond your control that is affecting your On-Time Status, please contact our office. Please note that the following are generally not considered extenuating circumstances or situations beyond a student’s control that would warrant On-Time treatment:

• Lack of knowledge of published financial aid deadlines and application procedures

• Limited means of communication and/or access to computers, email, or the internet

• Events that occurred after or not communicated to our office prior to deadlines

• Failure to complete the application based on tax filing status if estimated information is available

• Choosing to delay tax filing (tax extensions) and therefore being unable to meet financial aid deadlines

• A parent’s refusal to provide information on the FAFSA or DREAM Act Application or to our office

• Insufficient financial aid as a result of missing priority filing deadlines 

Per 34 CFR § 668.51, the Department of Education requires that students selected by CPS (Central Processing System) undergo verification of their FAFSA data if they will or have received subsidized financial assistance. There are certain instances in which verification is not required (see below); however, none of the exemptions excuses the school from the requirement to resolve conflicting information.

• Death of a student
• Not an aid recipient
• Applicant is only eligible to receive unsubsidized financial assistance. Please note that a student cannot avoid verification by accepting only unsubsidized aid.
• Applicant verified by another school
• Post enrollment- the applicant was selected for verification after ceasing to be enrolled at the institution.

The Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships (OFAS) must verify any information that may be considered incorrect or conflicting on any application. Students with applications that contain any information of the sort are considered to be selected for verification by the institution, even though it may be verifying varied data compared to Selected applications.

OFAS may, at its discretion, require a student to verify any FAFSA information and to provide any reasonable documentation in accordance with consistently applied school policies. Regardless of whether OFAS or FPS selected the application, all other verification requirements, such as deadlines and allowable tolerances and interim disbursement rules, apply equally to all students who are being verified.

Students selected for verification by FPS (FAFSA) or CSAC (Dream Application) are initially notified by our office around April/May. Students will receive an email notification to their University Email (U-mail) account directing them to log in to “My Aid Status” Documents Tab, which will contain a link to our online electronic document submission tool. Of utmost importance is that these documents must be submitted as soon as possible but before any published deadlines. Failure to submit completed documents by published deadlines may result in limited or loss of aid eligibility. In some circumstances, applications may be selected by FPS or CSAC for verification during or later on in the academic year, at which time OFAS will reach out to the student, explaining the process and deadlines for resolution. See the section “Selected for verification later in the year” for additional information. 

If, during the process of evaluating these documents, it is determined that more information is needed, the student will be notified directly via email and/or phone call by the OFAS.

Any updates, corrections, or changes required to an applicant’s data will be made by OFAS staff. Students will be awarded based on the new, or adjusted, SAI (Student Aid Index). This financial aid eligibility will be presented to the student in the form of an award letter, which contains the final SAI figure and also lists Title IV aid amounts and eligibility. A student receives an email notification to their U-Mail account once their award letter has been determined and posted on My Aid Status.

When does verification take place? 
The verification process takes place after students complete their financial aid application and prior to being officially awarded aid. Typically, this process is initiated in April and continues throughout the academic year.   

How will I know if I am selected for verification? 
The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships informs students via email if they are selected for verification. Students will be directed to log in to “My Aid Status” Documents Tab, which will contain a link to our online electronic document submission tool. Students should review all required documents and pay special attention to deadlines. Failure to submit required documents by the deadline can result in loss of UCSB Scholarship eligibility.   

What happens next? 
Once all required documents are received, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will then compare submitted documents and information to the student’s financial aid application and make revisions as needed. Students will be notified if additional information is required or if documents are submitted incomplete.   

What if my file is selected for verification later on in the year? 
Sometimes, changes that a student or administrator makes on an application may trigger the FPS to select a file for the verification process, even after a student has been awarded and had aid disbursed. This is referred to as a new verification selection, and our office will notify a student of the required documents via phone call and email. Students will be given 30 days to complete submission of the required documents. Failure to submit required documents by the deadline will result in a complete retraction of any Pell Grant, Cal Grant, SEOG Grant, and any UCSB Scholarship, even if these have already been disbursed. For this reason, it’s important that students submit these documents to our office as soon as possible.     

Referral of Fraud Cases 
OFAS policy regarding referral of student or parent to the Office of Inspector General: All fraud cases and student referrals to OIG are reported by OFAS Director, or other designated staff member, via phone to either the regional office at Long Beach, CA 562-980-4141, or via National Hotline 1-800-mis-used. Written correspondence may be sent to:  

Inspector General’s Hotline 
Office of Inspector General 
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW 
Washington, DC 20202-1500