Financial Aid & Scholarships

Beulah Heights University Financial Aid Philosophy

Financial aid is awarded to students who have displayed financial need, in accordance with federal and Beulah Heights University policies and is outlined to provide merit and need-based aid to students. Although the central responsibility for meeting college costs is on the onus of the student and/or family, Beulah Heights University’s goal is to provide assistance when the student and/or family is unable to meet the student’s educational costs. Financial aid assistance from the University is considered as supplementary to the efforts of the student and family.

A segment of our financial aid program is designed to acknowledge students for outstanding academic performance. The University aims to inspire and nurture academic excellence through a number of scholarship programs and award these programs based on academic excellence. Scholarship funding are first-come, first-served and are not guaranteed to all students who attend Beulah Heights University, and/or meet all award criteria.

Need-based financial assistance is available through grants, loans, and work-study. Need-based financial aid may be provided by the US Department of Education and private lending institutions. Need is defined as the difference between the cost of attendance minus the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The EFC is determined by a standard formula established by the US Department of Education using data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Packaging and Awarding Guidelines

• Student eligibility for financial aid awarding will be determined or confirmed prior to making annual awards based on criteria that includes financial need, citizenship, hours of enrollment, academic level, grade point average, state of residence, and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
• Students who are selected for verification of their FAFSA information will not be granted any federal, state, or need-based institutional financial aid awarding until the verification process is completed.

Expectations for Financial Aid Recipients

• It is the student’s responsibility to submit the FAFSA and submit other financial aid documents to the Financial Aid Office by the prescribed deadlines that are given. Additionally, students are required to reapply for financial aid each academic year by submitting a FAFSA by the preferred deadline.
• Students must remain eligible to receive financial aid by meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) regulations. Please refer to Beulah Heights University’s Satisfactory Progress (SAP) policy for specific details.
• Students must meet all regulations in the Beulah Heights University’s Student Code of Conduct along with all academic integrity policies.
• Students must meet all federal regulations to maintain eligibility for federal financial aid. Regulations include, but are not limited to: Drug Offense Violations, Fund Specific Requirements, and Selective Service Registration.

Students’ Right and Responsibilities

You have the right

• To know what financial aid programs are available at Beulah Heights University.
• To know how financial aid will be distributed, how decisions are made, and the basis for these decisions.
• To know how your financial aid need was determined.
• To know how Beulah Heights University determines whether you are making satisfactory progress and what happens if you are not.

You have the responsibility

• To complete all financial aid documents accurately and submit them on time to the right place.
• To provide correct information. Misreporting information on your financial aid application is a violation of law and may be considered a criminal offense.
• To read and understand all forms that you are asked to sign and to keep copies of them.
• To accept responsibility and accountability for all the arrangements that you sign.
• To perform the work that is agreed upon in accepting a Federal Work-Study award before you receive payment.
• To be aware of Beulah Heights University’s refund procedures.
• As a recipient of any student loan obtained federal or private, you must notify the lender if any of the following occur before the loan is repaid:
• Change of address
• Graduation
• Withdrawal from school or less than half-time attendance
• Name change
• Transfer to other schools

Planning to Take a Leave of Absence

Beulah Heights University defines a Leave of Absence (LOA) as a period of non-enrollment when you are not required to pay tuition or fees. There are numerous things to do to ensure the departure and re-entry are as smooth as possible in re-establishing your re-admittance back into the university and your financial aid.

• Continue to stay up to date with all communication sent from Beulah Height University’s Communications Department, Registrar, and Financial Aid Offices.
• Submit time-sensitive documents on (or before) their posted deadlines.
• Be aware that after an extended LOA, Beulah Heights University has a formal re-admittance procedure that you must complete when you return to school, along with the financial aid office which has different procedures in re-establishing your financial aid.
• Of most importance, be sure you have researched the impact that your LOA will have on our student loans. Most educational loans have a six-month grace period that begins as soon as you terminate enrollment.

Withdrawal and Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) Policy

Federal Student Aid funds are awarded under the assumption that the student will attend classes for the entire period for which the financial aid is awarded. If the student withdraws from the school or takes a LOA, before 60% of the semester has been completed, the student may no longer be eligible to receive the full amount of financial aid originally disbursed to the student for the semester. If the student never attended any class before the withdrawal, all financial aid received for that semester will be returned. Thus, the student should consult with the financial aid office regarding any institutional withdrawal.

Under the Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) policy, the financial aid office is required to calculate the amount of “unearned” Title IV aid the student received at the beginning of the semester that must be returned to the federal aid programs, based on the student’s official last day of attendance as confirmed by the registrar’s office.

Professional Judgment refers to the authority of a school’s financial aid administrator to adjust, on a case-by-case basis with adequate documentation, elements on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. When some unusual situations or circumstances impact your federal student aid eligibility, federal regulations give a financial aid administrator discretion or professional judgment on a case-by-case basis and with adequate documentation to make adjustments to the data elements on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form that impact your Student Aid Index (SAI), to gain a more accurate assessment of your family's ability to contribute to your cost of education. The Department of Education does not have the authority to override a school's professional judgment decision.

The financial aid administrator can exercise professional judgment in determining a student’s need for federal student financial aid. This determination is on a case-by-case basis. The office can make necessary adjustments to the student’s cost of attendance of the values of the data items required to calculate the expected student or parent contribution (or both) to allow for the treatment of an individual eligible applicant with special circumstances. The FAFSA Simplification Act distinguishes between different categories of professional judgment by amending section 479A of the HEA.

• Special Circumstances refer to the financial situations (loss of a job, etc.) that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the COA or the SAI calculation.
• Unusual Circumstances refer to the conditions that justify an aid administrator adjusting a student’s dependency status based on a unique situation (e.g., human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, parental abandonment, incarceration), more commonly referred to as a dependency override.

A student may have both a special circumstance and an unusual circumstance. Financial aid administrators (FAAs) may make adjustments that are appropriate to each student’s situation with appropriate documentation.

Please refer to the university's Financial Aid Policy to learn more about professional judgment. If you have additional questions or believe you may qualify under the professional judgment standards please contact pj@beulah.edu.

NEW STUDENT CHECKLIST

Complete the below first three initial steps at https://studentaid.gov/

1. The 2024-2025 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) using your 2022
   Federal Tax Return. Use Beulah Heights University School Code: 030763. This FAFSA is for the Fall 2024, Spring, and Summer 2025 semesters.
2. ENTRANCE LOAN COUNSELING - Use your FSA ID to log in. (If this is your first
   time applying for aid you will need to click Create an FSA ID) Complete the Entrance
   Counseling according to status: Undergraduate or Graduate.
3. MASTER PROMISSORY NOTE - according to status: Undergraduate or Graduate.
   This step is very important as you are granting the lender permission to release your
   funding to Beulah Heights University.
   Complete a Direct Deposit form for any potential Financial Aid Refunds and return it to the
   Student Accounts Office at studentaccounts@beulah.edu.
4. The priority deadline for the spring 2025 semester is December 30, 2024.

After you review your package dependent students may also need to secure additional funding:
Please use the link at the top of the page to complete the Direct Loan or Parent Plus Application.
This must be completed to fully determine the student’s loan eligibility amounts.
For more information about general financial aid eligibility: https://studentaid.gov/.

RELATED DOCUMENT TO DOWNLOAD

• FA New Student Checklist

FINANCIAL AID LINKS

• Direct Loans
• Federal Financial Aid, Entrance & Exit Counseling, Master Promissory Note, Plus Application: Find them here
• Financial Aid Refund Policy / Return to Title IV
• Institutional Scholarships
• Outside Scholarships
• BHU Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
• Verification for Federal Student Aid Eligibility

CONTINUING STUDENT

You must complete the financial aid process every year to have a new award letter issued for each new school year. You must complete an Intent to Enroll for Summer form by the deadline given for your financial aid award to be disbursed over three terms (fall, spring, summer) instead of two (fall and spring).

CONSUMER INFORMATION

Beulah Heights University general policy is to ensure that all is administered in accordance with the rules -regulations of federal government and institution.

• Beulah Heights University Financial Aid offers consist of Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized loan and Work- Study opportunities.
• Students requesting Financial Aid at Beulah Heights University must not be in default on a loan nor owe a balance on their account from a previous semester.
• Beulah Heights University does not discriminate regardless of race, color, creed, age; handicap, or marital status. Students may qualify if they are U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

A school must return Title IV funds to the programs from which the student received aid during the payment period or period of enrollment as applicable, in the following order, up to the net amount disbursed from each source:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
• Direct Federal Subsidized Loan
• Direct Federal Unsubsidized Loan
• Unsubsidized Direct Student loans (PARENT- PLUS LOANS)
• Scholarship
• Military GI Bill