Financial Aid Fun, a 2009 UF Advising Workshop Presentation Summary

by Robin Rossie

For those of you who were unable to attend the “Financial Aid Fun” presentation at this year’s advising workshop – and for those who attended and would like a refresher – Ron Anderson was gracious enough to share his PowerPoint presentation. Thanks, Ron!

True, Student Financial Affairs is responsible for making sense of the “money piece” of attending UF, but with the Fall 2009 drop deadline and Spring 2010 advance registration coming up in November, advisors need to be aware of Bright Futures policies and renewal standards. Test your knowledge with a pop quiz!

Question 1: Students must meet credit hour and GPA renewal requirements at the end of Fall 2009. True or False?

Answer: False. Renewal standards, which include 24 credit hours for 2-term full-time students (or a prorated number of credit hours for 1-term and below-full-time students) and a 3.0 cumulative GPA for Academic Scholars or a 2.75 cumulative GPA for Medallion and Gold Seal Scholars, must be met by the end of Spring 2010.

Question 2: Students who fall short on credit hour or GPA requirements will lose their scholarship permanently. True or False?

Answer: False. Students will lose their scholarship for the upcoming year, but can regain eligibility in the future. In that “probationary” year without the scholarship, they must meet the credit hour and GPA standards as if they were on scholarship. Academic scholars whose GPA is below 3.0 but at least a 2.75 won’t lose their scholarship, but will be eligible for the Medallion scholarship (reinstatement to Academic one time only if the GPA is back up to 3.0). Also, students can petition for reinstatement of their scholarship due to medical emergencies.

Question 3: A full-time student registers for and completes 12 credits in Fall 2009, but earns a grade of D in one course. He registers for and completes 12 credits in Spring 2010, including the course he earned a D in the Fall. The “earn 24 credits” renewal standard has been met. True or False?

Answer: True. Repeat credit is considered earned credit for Bright Futures. Had the student earned an E instead of a D, the renewal standard would not have been met because no credits were earned. If you find a student under-enrolled in Spring after drop/add, you might recommend adding a course through Continuing Education, if appropriate.

Question 4: A full-time student registers for and completes 12 credits in Fall 2009. She registers for 12 credits in Spring 2010, but drops 3 credits after drop/add. She must pay back the amount of tuition covered by Bright Futures for that class, and to add insult to injury, she has not met renewal standards. True or False?

Answer: True, she must pay back the tuition amount, but False, she actually HAS met renewal requirements. She’s considered a full-time student in fall (12 credit minimum completion) and ¾-time student in Spring (9 credit minimum completion) because she was “funded” for that amount when all accounts were settled.

BONUS QUESTION: Using the same situation above--The student has Bright Futures and Florida Prepaid Tuition. Can she tap in to Florida Prepaid Tuition to pay back Bright Futures for the dropped class?

Answer: Now, that would be a sweet situation, but NO. Florida Prepaid is not a slush fund for educational expenses. Baby girl will have to pony up the funds!