Types of Financial Aid
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid Recipients
Scholarships ||
Scholarships Requiring a Separate Application Process
Veterans Benefits
UNCA Catalog: Courses of Instruction
UNCA Catalog: Table of Contents
The University of North Carolina at Asheville has a broad program of financial aid for students who qualify on the basis of need and academic potential. Financial aid may consist of a scholarship, a grant, a North Carolina grant-in-aid, a loan, campus employment or a combination of these. Assistance provided by the university is designed to supplement the resources of students and their parents and should not be relied upon to defray all expenses.
Applicants for financial aid must file the electronic Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov, indicating UNCA as the college choice with federal school code 002907.
Financial aid applications should be submitted between Jan. 1 and March 1 for the academic year, which begins in late August. Students applying for financial aid after March 1 will be given consideration for all types of financial aid on a fund-available basis. Awards are made only after students have met all admission requirements.
The types of financial aid offered by the university are outlined below. Further information is available from the Director of Financial Aid.
Incentive Scholarship and Grant Program for Native Americans. The North Carolina General Assembly has provided funds for a number of grants to needy resident North Carolina Indian students in constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina. Eligibility for a grant under the Incentive Scholarship and Grant Program for Native Americans (ISGPNA) is limited to a person qualifying as follows:
Minority Presence Grant Program, General Program. The University of North Carolina will continue to fund the Minority Presence Grant Program, General Program, Part I and Part II. The University of North Carolina will allocate this money to historically white and historically black institutions to aid them in recruiting financially needy North Carolina students who would be minority presence students at the respective institutions by enabling the institutions to offer relatively more aid for minority presence students in the form of grants rather than loans. General Program Part I includes funds for minority presence grants for students attending the North Carolina Central University School of Law. General Program Part II consists of grant funds for Native Americans, Hispanics and Asians.
The University of North Carolina at Asheville Grants-in-Aid and the UNC Escheats Grants. These grants enable students who qualify for financial assistance to begin or continue their education at the university. Eligible candidates must be residents of North Carolina and must be full-time students for the academic year for which they request aid. Grants-in-aid are awarded primarily on the basis of need. Recipients must have a satisfactory academic record.
University of North Carolina at Asheville Foundation. The Foundation assists the Board of Trustees in developing general support for the university and raises funds for those areas of the UNCA program for which state appropriations are not available or are available only in limited amounts. Most of the money raised by the Foundation is used for student financial aid.
North Carolina Student Incentive Grant. This provides grants to North Carolina residents who demonstrate financial need and are enrolled full time at the university. This program is administered for the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority by the College Foundation Inc.
University of North Carolina Need-Based Grant. This provides grants to North Carolina residents who are enrolled at the university at least half time. The program is administered for the North Carolina Education Assistance Authority by the College Foundation Inc.
Federal Pell Grant Program. The largest federal grant program, this provides education grants up to $4,000 per year which do not have to be repaid.
Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant. Funded by the federal government, this grant assistance for students with exceptional financial need does not have to be repaid.
Federal Perkins Loan Program. This long-term, low-interest loan (5 percent) is funded by the federal government for qualified students who demonstrate need. Funds must be repaid.
Federal Work-Study Program. The program provides on- and off-campus jobs for students who need financial assistance and meet the qualifications set forth by the federal government.
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. This includes:
William D. Ford Federal Direct Stafford Loan is a variable, long-term, low-interest loan designed to provide students with additional funds for college. Funds must be repaid.
William D. Ford Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan for middle-income borrowers is a variable, long-term, low-interest loan designed to provide students who do not qualify for financial aid, or who need more money, with additional funds for college. Funds must be repaid.
Loan maximums for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Stafford and Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans:
| Undergraduate Students | ||
| First year | $2,625 | |
| Second year | $3,500 | |
| Completed two years | $5,500 | |
| Graduate students | $8,500 | |
William D. Ford Federal Direct Parent Loan Program. Parents of full-time or part-time dependent undergraduate or graduate students may borrow amounts that equal cost minus financial aid.
Emergency Student Loan Funds. These are made available by individuals or groups interested in providing interest-free loans to needy students. The Leonard S. Levitch Student Loan Fund is available for emergency situations and is repayable prior to the beginning of the next semester. Maximum loan amount is $250.
Need is assessed once the institution receives the outcome from the FAFSA. The information provides the institution with an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and that figure is subtracted from the cost of attendance (COA). If the EFC is less than the COA, the student is said to have a financial need and could receive grants, work and loans. If the COA is greater than the EFC, the student is said to have no financial need and could receive unsubsidized loans.
Those eligible for financial aid are:
Undergraduates seeking their first bachelor's degree whose total attempted credit hours (including transfer hours) or time enrolled are under 130 hours; students seeking a second undergraduate degree whose attempted credit hours are under 195 hours; and students seeking teacher licensure, for courses required to complete the licensure program.
Those not eligible for financial aid are:
Visiting students; certificate of major students; students who are auditing classes; and non-degree students with classifications as follows: SPU (special undergraduate), SBP (special post baccalaureate), SPG (special graduate) and GSP (special graduate student).
Federal financial aid programs are authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965. The law states that students must be "maintaining satisfactory progress in the courses of study they are pursuing, according to the standards and practices of the institution at which the student is in attendance." The programs authorized under the Higher Education Act are: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and Parent Loan. This policy also applies to all aid awarded through the university's Financial Aid Office. It is necessary to provide consistency and equity to all students receiving assistance. Any student applying for assistance must have met the progress standards for previous enrollment at UNCA, whether or not they received financial aid for that enrollment.
The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy includes qualitative measures (grade-point average) and quantitative measures, which refers to the number of credit hours earned. They are as follows:
Students at UNCA must meet the following standards:
Credit hours Grade-Point Average 029 credits 1.3 3044 1.5 4559 1.66 6074 1.75 7589 1.84 90104 1.90 105119 1.94 120+ 2.00
Full-time undergraduate students are considered to be making satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes if they:
Students making satisfactory academic progress in their first semester are eligible for aid in the subsequent term or academic year. Audited courses are not included in the GPA calculation because no credit is earned. Courses with grades of F, I, U, and W do not meet minimum standards. Repeated courses do not count because credit hours cannot be awarded for the same course twice.
NOTE: Students who receive a 0.00 grade-point average for any academic termall Fs and/or Wsare in violation of maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress. Their financial aid is withdrawn immediately until credit hours and grade-point average are made up.
The university looks at earned academic credit hours in relation to attempted credit hours, using the maximum time frame for financial aid eligibility. Financial aid officers review credit hours at the end of each semester, making the final determination at the end of Spring semester. "Attempted hours" includes withdrawals and dropped courses, remedial courses (if applicable toward a degree), repeated courses, courses with incompletes or failing grades. "Attempted hours" do not include non-credit or audited courses.
Full-time students should complete a minimum 1215 credits per semester to graduate on time. However, UNC Asheville grants "eligibility by exception," which means that the total hours earned for the semester or year must equal at least 75 percent of the hours attempted for the academic year or semester. Students may request to appeal this decision, and adjustments may be made after review by the UNCA Student Aid and Scholarship Committee. Students who do not meet "eligibility by exception" may be referred to private-source lenders.
The normal time frame for graduation is five years. All studentsundergraduates seeking their first bachelor's degree as well as graduate studentsmust complete all degree requirements within five academic years from the date of first enrollment. For graduate students this time period includes the thesis and the grade requirement of a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Transfer students must graduate within the normal time frame based on their classification when admitted (sophomore, junior or senior, based on maximum credits accepted by UNC Asheville).
Non-Credit courses are not counted toward satisfactory progress. Incomplete courses cannot be counted until the required work is completed and a grade is posted in the Registrar's Office by the academic department. Repeat courses that do not provide additional earned hours (for example, increasing a grade from a D to a B) cannot be counted. Courses taken at another school will be counted by UNCA when they are accepted in the Registrar's Office.
Hours earned in summer school will be used to determine whether or not a student has made satisfactory academic progress. Therefore, a student who has not made satisfactory progress at the end of an academic year may earn hours during the following summer semester without financial aid to regain satisfactory academic progress. Federal, state or institutional financial aid is not awarded during this period until the student has regained satisfactory academic progress.
It is possible to regain satisfactory academic progress in one of two ways:
Students may appeal a decision to terminate financial assistance to the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal must be forwarded in writing to the director within two weeks after the notice of termination is sent to the student. The right to appeal is forfeited if the Financial Aid Office is not notified in writing within the specified two-week period. Forfeited appeals cannot be reviewed.
Unusual circumstances during one semester which cause the cumulative hours to drop below the required number may be considered. Requests for such consideration must be submitted in writing accompanied by documentation of student's illness, illness or death of a member of a student's immediate family, or similar circumstances.
At the end of each Spring semester, all students who are applying for aid for the next school year and who do not meet the requirements for satisfactory progress will be notified by letter mailed to their permanent address from the Financial Aid Office. The standards of progress outlined for financial aid recipients are not applicable for purposes of continued enrollment at UNCA, since such determination will be made by the university in accordance with institutional policy.
All full-time financial aid recipients are expected to enroll in 12 or more credit hours each semester; three-quarter-time students, 911 credit hours each semester; half-time students, 68 hours each semester. Courses with grades of A, B, C, D and S will qualify in meeting the minimum standards of progress. Courses with grades of F, I, U, W, X/Y and IP will not qualify in meeting minimum standards.
Through the generosity of past and present donors, UNCA offers a variety of scholarships ranging from approximately $500 to $2,500 per year to entering freshmen who demonstrate high academic and/or artistic achievements. Though some scholarships carry donor-specific restrictions, many of these scholarships are unrestricted and are available to students who meet the academic or academic/need criteria. Most scholarships are renewable as long as the recipient maintains the specified minimum grade-point average (GPA) and satisfactory academic progress towards his/her degree. To simplify the application process for students, UNCA has placed all of these scholarships under two umbrellasthe University Laurels and Need-Based Merit Scholarships. Students should follow the application procedures listed for consideration for the various awards.
The University Laurels Scholarship Committee will make merit awards to students with outstanding academic achievements and promise. Entering freshmen should be in the top 10 percent of their high school class and have SAT scores of 1250 or higher. The most competitive students will have a profile similar to the example below:
High School Rank Upper 10 percent Minimum grade point average 3.8 on a 4-point scale Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I) or 1250 and higher American College Test (ACT) 28 composite or higher
Entering freshmen who wish to be considered for Laurels Scholarships should follow the instructions provided on the admissions application. An essay, list of co-curricular activities, and participation in the Laurels Interview Day are requirements for consideration. Refer to current Admissions and Financial Aid publications for the University Laurels Program application deadline.
Unless otherwise stated, all students should apply through the UNCA Office of Financial Aid for need-based merit scholarship consideration. Students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and be admitted to the university by March 1 for consideration. The Scholarship Committee considers demonstrated student need, academic achievements and donor criteria in making awards.
North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program. The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program is for outstanding North Carolina high school students who have the desire and talent to become teachers. Each $26,000 fellowship covers the majority of the costs of tuition, fees, room, board, books and off-campus study opportunities. In exchange, they must teach for four years in North Carolina after graduation. UNC Asheville is one of 14 colleges and universities in the state offering the program. More information may be obtained from the Office of Admissions. Application deadline is late October.
Western North Carolina Leadership Scholarship Program. The Leadership Scholarship Program is for students from the 24 western counties of North Carolina and offers scholarships in the amount of $1,000 per year, renewable for four years. To be eligible, applicants must demonstrate a solid academic record, but more importantly they must show a keen interest in and talent for leadership and service in their communities and schools. More information may be obtained from the Office of Admissions. Application deadline is late November.
For information and forms, write or call:
Office of Admissions
University of North Carolina at Asheville
117 Lipinsky Hall, CPO #2210
One University Heights
Asheville, NC 28804-8510
828/251-6841 or 800/531-9842
Most veterans who served on active duty for more than 180 days, any part of which occurred after
Jan. 31, 1955, are generally eligible for financial support. In order to determine eligibility for educational benefits, veterans should call their local Veterans Administration office. Children of deceased or totally disabled veterans who are 1826 years of age may be eligible for financial aid if death or disability of the parent was a result of service in the armed forces. Local Veterans Administration offices can supply complete details.
Students eligible for educational benefits from the Veterans Administration must file a statement of educational plans with the Registrar's Office each academic year. Veterans Administration regulations limit payment for only those courses that will count toward the declared major. Veterans must submit monthly attendance reports to the Registrar to qualify for monthly payments. Failure to comply will result in termination of benefits. Other restrictions also apply. More information and application materials may be obtained from the veterans representative in the Registrar's Office.
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