Financial Aid
Financial aid is available to most Harding graduate and professional students in the form of federal and private loans, graduate assistantships, veterans programs, and vocational rehabilitation programs.
These funds are administered wholly or in part by the Office of Financial Aid Services. Requests for information and assistance should be directed to Harding University, Box 12282, Searcy, AR 72149-2282; telephone 501-279-4081 or 1-800-477-3243 (toll free); or e-mail finaidgrad@harding.edu.
Requirements: Application for aid should be made as follows:
- Apply or be admitted to Harding University. Application forms are available from each graduate school office.
- Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
In most cases, to qualify for federal aid, graduate students must be enrolled for at least 5 hours per term. Students seeking only teacher licensure or certification must be enrolled in at least 6 hours per term.
Financial aid awards are based on current federal and institutional rules. Students have the right to accept or decline any aid offered.
Return of Title IV Funds (Federal Aid): Students who receive Title IV federal loans or other federal aid and withdraw, drop out or are dismissed are subject to a calculation to determine the amount of federal aid that was “earned” and “unearned” for the semester. The earned aid is calculated by comparing the number of days completed against the total days in the semester (including weekends). For example, if a student completed 29 days of a regular 116-day semester, the student will be determined to have earned 25% of total aid eligibility. Once the student has completed at least 60% of the semester, all aid is considered earned.
If total federal aid disbursements are less than the amount earned by the student, the student will be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. Borrowers eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement will be notified of their eligibility within 45 days after beginning the withdrawal process and must respond to the aid offer within 14 days.
If total federal aid disbursements are greater than the amount earned by the student, the student will owe a balance to the University and/or the federal government. Unearned funds must be returned within 30 days in the following order:
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
Graduate PLUS Loan
TEACH Grant
Please refer to the Registration: Policies and Procedures section of this catalog for detailed withdrawal procedures. Students that stop attending classes without withdrawing, as well as students that receive all failing grades, will be considered unofficially withdrawn. The withdrawal date for all unofficial withdrawals will be determined by the academic dean according to the last academic activity completed.
Financial Aid Warning and Suspension: Students who receive Title IV financial aid must make satisfactory progress toward a degree by maintaining a minimum 3.0 grade point average or as stipulated by the academic program. In addition, students must successfully complete at least 2/3 of all hours attempted each semester, and all students must complete all coursework within 150% of the published length of the program (even if the student changes majors, enrolls in remedial coursework, or did not receive federal aid for the entire period of enrollment). Students may repeat enrollment in any courses (either to pass a previously failed course or to simply earn a better grade) so long as all coursework is completed within the 150% maximum timeframe permitted. All hours of enrollment after the free drop/add period are considered attempted hours. Earned hours include all courses for which the student has not withdrawn.
Enrollment progress and grade point average monitoring occurs at the end of each fall and spring semester only.
Failure to maintain the required grade point average or successfully complete degree work as specified will result in financial aid probation status. Probation is removed at the end of the semester in which the student has satisfied the grade point average and enrollment criteria. Failure to remove financial aid probation status the following semester results in financial aid suspension.
Students on financial aid suspension are not eligible to receive Title IV financial aid. Financial aid suspension status caused by circumstances outside of the student’s control may be appealed in writing to the academic dean of the graduate school. Appeals must be received at least 60 days prior to the term for which the student is appealing. Contact finaidgrad@harding.edu for additional information. Students approved by appeal will automatically be placed back in financial aid probation status for the first semester of renewed aid eligibility.
Ethics: Beyond academic requirements, in accepting financial aid the student incurs an ethical responsibility to observe the University Code of Conduct and fulfill his or her contractual financial obligations.
Scholarships
Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program: Provides grants of up to $4,000 per academic year to students who intend to teach in a subject shortage area in a school that receives Title I funding. Please see www.teachgrant.ed.gov for conditions and eligibility guidelines.
Individual graduate programs may have scholarship opportunities available. Please check with the academic dean for details. To continue to receive awarded scholarships, students must meet the academic standards of that scholarship and abide by the University’s code of conduct.
Graduate Assistantships: Assistantships may be available to full-time graduate students enrolled in specific programs. Contact the Graduate Studies Office at gradprograms@harding.edu or The Office of Graduate Programs, Box 10773, Harding University, Searcy, AR 72149 for further information, or visit www.harding.edu/gradprogram.
Total scholarship may not exceed total tuition. Students should contact Financial Aid Services for information regarding scholarship status if they are considering dropping hours.
Loans
The Office of Financial Aid Services is the primary source of information about loans. Contact the office at Harding University, Box 12282, Searcy, AR 72149-2282. The telephone number is (501) 279-4257 x4081 or 1-800-477-3243 x4081 (toll free). E-mail finaidgrad@harding.edu.
Federal Direct Student Loan: The Federal Direct student loan program makes loans available to graduate students. Loans are electronically processed by the Financial Aid Services Office.
Through this program the student may borrow at an interest rate of 6.8 percent. Repayment begins six months after the student ceases taking a half-time load of study. The government pays the interest while the student is in school if he or she qualifies for a subsidized loan based on need. Students who do not qualify on the basis of need are given unsubsidized loans which accrue interest while in school.
Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan: Graduate and professional degree students are eligible to borrow under the PLUS loan program up to the cost of attendance less other financial assistance. Applicants must be credit-worthy or apply with a credit-worthy endorser. The interest rate is approximately 8.5%. Applicants are required to have applied for their annual loan maximum eligibility under the Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct loan program before applying for a Graduate/Professional PLUS Loan. Contact the Office of Financial Aid Services for additional information and application instructions.
Veterans Programs
Veterans must be certified for eligibility by their local VA offices and must contact the appropriate representative in the Office of Financial Aid Services. Veterans of the post-Vietnam period must have made contributions into the educational program (Montgomery and New GI Bill) in order to receive benefits. An educational program is also available to certain members of the Reserves and National Guard. Widows and children of eligible veterans should contact the Office of Veterans Affairs to apply for assistance through educational benefits.
Disabled veterans entering under Public Law 16 should apply to their state Veterans Administration headquarters for counseling and approval, and then contact the Office of Financial Aid Services.
In compliance with the Veterans Administration’s minimum standards of progress, if students receive VA assistance, are placed on academic probation, and do not remove this probation within one semester, they will be suspended from receiving VA education benefits for the following semester.
Vocational Rehabilitation
If students are permanently disabled, they may receive free vocational counseling and financial assistance toward the cost of their college education, provided their vocational objective is approved by a rehabilitation counselor. Students should apply directly to the vocational rehabilitation counseling service of their state Department of Education and at the same time notify the Office of Financial Aid Services at Harding so that assistance may be given if necessary. |
