Financial Aid Policies

Merit Scholarship Eligibility

• If the student chooses another program, the scholarship amount may be adjusted or canceled.
• The scholarship award will be rescinded if the student withdraws from the courses during the trimester.
• Scholarship award amount may be reduced or canceled if you receive other tuition specific financial assistance, such as government-sponsored education benefits, employer education benefits, VA benefits, or Pepperdine staff/faculty discount.
• The scholarship award amount is not transferable to a future term if the student decides to defer the admission.

Enrollment Policy

A student’s financial aid eligibility is determined based on enrollment status. Most federal and state funds require students to be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for financial aid. The enrollment status categories are as follows:

• Full-time status: enrollment in 6 units per term.
• Half-time status: enrollment in 3 units per term.
• Enrollment in clincial practicum and fieldwork courses constitutes half-time status.

Verification Policy

Students must accept and/or decline their financial aid awards via WaveNet in order for the funds to apply towards students’ accounts. Financial aid funds are credited to students’ accounts as they are received and after the student’s enrollment level has been confirmed. The funds will be credited directly to the students’ accounts. If there are funds in the students’ financial aid package that exceeds students’ charges, the funds will be refunded to the student.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Requirements

The Financial Aid Office is required by federal law to monitor the academic progress of federal financial aid recipients. When accepting federal and state financial aid, the student acknowledges his/her obligation to maintain SAP according to the standards established below. If a student fails to meet these standards, the student will be placed on financial aid warning or suspension.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

Academic progress is evaluated at the end of each trimester. Failure to meet any of the SAP requirements results in placement on financial aid warning status for the following trimester. Students who do not meet all the SAP standards at the end of the financial aid warning period will lose their eligibility to receive financial aid for future trimesters. To regain financial aid eligibility, students must submit a written appeal to the Financial Aid Office. If the appeal is granted, students are placed on financial aid probation and have one trimester to satisfy the probation requirements. Financial aid is terminated for students who fail to satisfy the probation requirement.

Withdrawals and Refunds

Refunds Due to Withdrawal

The student may be eligible for a full or partial refund of tuition payments if they withdraw from the course(s) during the trimester. The withdrawal date is the date the student notifies the Program Office regarding his/her withdrawal from the course or the trimester.

Return of Title IV Funds

Withdrawal from the course(s) at or prior to completion of 60% of the trimester may result in loss of eligibility to keep the full amount of the disbursed federal funds. Unearned Title IV funds are returned as stated in Federal Regulations, 34 CFR parts 668, 682 and 685, Return of Title IV Aid. The refund amount is calculated based on the Federal Return of Title IV Funds pro-rata schedule.

Federal funds will be returned in the following order:

1. Federal Direct Unsubsized Loan
2. Federal Direct Subsidized Loan (undergraduate students only)
3. Federal Direct PLUS
4. Federal Pell Grant (undergraduate students only)
5. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (undergraduate students only)
6. Other federal, state, private, or institutional aid

Students who complete more than 60% of the trimester maintain their eligibility for disbursed federal funds. After all charges and returns of Title IV funds are finalized, the credit balance, if any, will be released to the student.