Financial Aid Application Process Policy

Financial aid is awarded on an annual basis. Students who wish to apply for federal financial aid must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. The application can be found at www.fafsa.gov.

Reporting All Resources Policy

All students must report scholarships to UAB Financial Aid on the Resource Information Form. Your loans may require reduction if the total of all funding sources exceeds your cost of attendance.

Updating Information Policy

Students must notify the Office of Student Financial Aid if changes occur in:

• The amount of external scholarships, employee tuition benefits, UAB assistantships/fellowships, tuition waivers, etc., that you will receive.
• Enrollment status.
• Anticipated graduation date.

Disbursement/Payment Policy

Financial aid awards are disbursed in equal amounts each semester and applied directly to the student's account. If the award is more than the account balance, a disbursement will be generated and issued to the student in the form of direct deposit or check. If the award is less than the account balance, the student will be billed for the remaining amount due on the account.

Institutional Refund Policy

Generally, students will not be charged tuition and fees for classes officially dropped prior to the published drop deadline each term. All tuition and fee payments may be refunded for the credit hours and fees associated with each class dropped before or during this period. The deadline for dropping classes without incurring charges is published each term in the UAB Academic calendar.

Any credit balance resulting from a change in course load during the first drop/ add period will be distributed in accordance with the Order of Return of Title IV Funds Policy.

Federal Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Title IV recipients who withdraw completely on or before 60% in time has elapsed during the period of enrollment for which the student has been charged, will be required to return a portion of Title IV funds. The return amount will be calculated using the number of days the student attended in the given term and the total number of days in the given term.

Order of Return of Title IV Funds Policy

All returns will be distributed to the student financial assistance programs in the order below with the following exceptions. Title IV funds required to be returned by the student will not be distributed to a Federal Direct Loan Program and no returns shall be distributed to the Federal Work Study Program.

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
• Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Direct Grad PLUS
• Federal Direct PLUS
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
• National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Federal TEACH Grant
• Other Title IV Programs

If a credit balance exists after all adjustments and distributions have been made, a student may request a refund check by completing the appropriate form in Student Accounting Services.

Return of Overpayment Policy

Title IV financial aid recipients who withdraw from all classes, or who are administratively withdrawn from all classes will be required to return a portion of the financial aid they received. Calculations are done to determine the percent of financial aid earned and unearned for the given term.

Title IV financial aid recipients who receive an overpayment resulting from changes in enrollment, cost of attendance, general eligibility, and additional financial aid award(s) will be required to return funds in the amount necessary to eliminate the overpayment.

The student will be notified if a return of Title IV funds is due. Failure to return Title IV funds will result in the loss of eligibility for financial aid.

Tuition Refund Appeal

Students are responsible for knowing and adhering to the published dates/deadlines on the Academic Calendar regarding course withdrawal, and only under very extenuating circumstances will an appeal for tuition refund be accepted and reviewed.  Submitting a Tuition Refund Appeal Form does not guarantee tuition reimbursement, and if a refund is warranted, the amount returned will be predicated upon the percentage of the semester the student participated.