Office of Student Aid : Students Must Know : Rights and Responsibilities

Each year, more than 63,000 Penn State students request student financial assistance to help defray the cost of education. Federal, state, and institutional resources form a partnership with your (and your family's) own commitment to meet your educational costs. As a student financial aid recipient and partner in this partnership you have a number of responsibilities and rights:

As a student financial aid recipient, it is your responsibility to:

• Complete and submit application materials to the appropriate agencies within required or recommended timeframes.
• Read all materials sent to you from the Office of Student Aid and other agencies awarding you aid. Read, understand, and keep copies of all forms you sign.
• Know and comply with the rules governing the aid you receive. These rules include but are not limited to:
  • You must not be in default on any prior educational loan.
  • You must not owe a refund on a Federal Pell Grant or a Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant due to repayment.
• Provide additional documentation, federal tax returns, W-2's, and any additional information if requested by the Office of Student Aid.
• Comply with the provisions of any promissory note and all other agreements you sign.
• Complete the registration process (i.e., respond to your tuition bill) each semester by the end of the drop/add period in order to ensure availability of all student aid funds you have been awarded.

Note: Some aid programs are limited and may be subject to cancellation if your registration process is not completed by the end of the drop/add period.

• Use student financial aid proceeds solely for direct educational costs and related living expenses.
• Know the implications that dropping a course or withdrawing from Penn State will have on your student financial aid.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress.
• All F-grades - Student financial aid recipients who complete a semester receiving all F-grades as a result of non-attendance will have their aid adjusted according to federal regulations and will be required to repay part or all of the federal/state student aid funds received.
  • Students receiving all F-grades will be required to complete the Loan Exit Interview on eLion in order to fulfill University policy and federal regulations.
  • Students who do not complete the Loan Exit Interview may have registration and transcript holds placed on their academic records.
• Report private sources of student financial aid to the Penn State Office of Student Loans and Scholarships at the address below. Please submit a copy of your outside scholarship award letter to the Office of Student Loans and Scholarships.

The Pennsylvania State University
Office of Student Loans and Scholarships
Staff Assistant, Outside Scholarships
108 Shields Building
University Park, PA 16802

• Keep your local and permanent addresses current with the Office of the University Registrar.

As a student financial aid recipient, you have the right to:

• Know the correct procedures for applying for student financial aid, your cost of attendance, and the types of aid available.
• Know how financial need is determined, what the criteria are for awarding aid, how academic progress is determined, and what you have to do to continue receiving aid.
• Know the type and amount of assistance you will receive, how much of your need has been met, and how and when you will receive your aid funds.
• View the contents of your student financial aid file, in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
• Know the conditions of any loan you accept.
• Know the terms, conditions, and pay rate for any student job you can accept.
• Appeal any decision with the Office of Student Aid in regard to your application.