Financial Aid - Undergraduate

Overview

Overview

The following information is intended to be an overview of the financial aid process and programs at South Dakota Mines. Information is also available at www.sdsmt.edu/FinAid.

Students at South Dakota Mines benefit from various forms of financial assistance from both within and outside the university. South Dakota Mines administers a comprehensive financial aid program to enable capable, qualified, and needy students to finance their college education with both needbased aid (grants, subsidized loans, and work-study) and non-need-based aid (scholarships, outside agency assistance, unsubsidized loans, private alternative loans, and Parent PLUS loans).

South Dakota Mines participates in the Federal Student Aid Programs. Priority in the awarding of the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work-Study (FWS) is given to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need-based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students should submit the FAFSA as soon as possible on or after October 1. Due to limited FSEOG and FWS funding, not all students with financial need will be offered assistance from these programs. Students who are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan, Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan and/or the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan are awarded based on established student eligibility criteria. The Financial Aid Office generally begins the Federal Student Aid offer process for new incoming freshman by January each year.

General eligibility requirements for awarding Federal Student Aid
1. Must have applied and been fully admitted to South Dakota Mines as a degree-seeking student.
2. Complete a new FAFSA each year to determine eligibility for Federal Student Aid Programs.
3. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
4. Not be in default on a federal student loan or owe a federal student grant overpayment.
5. Follow the steps for reviewing your aid offer and for finalizing the aid awarded to you.
6. Be enrolled as a full-time student to receive the full amount of aid offered; and notify the Financial Aid Office if the planned and/or actual enrollment changes at any time. Federal Student Aid may only be disbursed for courses needed to complete a student’s degree requirements.
7. Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress toward the completion of a South Dakota Mines degree. Students who meet or exceed the standards will maintain continued eligibility until the completion of their degree or until maximum loan and Pell Grant limits have been reached, whichever comes first.
Financial aid programs
South Dakota Mines is a full participant in the Federal Student Aid Programs. Specific information about each program is available at www.sdsmt.edu/FinAid/. The student’s South Dakota Mines aid offer on Self-Service Banner identifies the aid the student is being offered and provides information for finalizing the processing of the offer.
1. Federal grants are gift aid based on financial need.
  1. The Federal Pell Grant is awarded to students who have not yet completed their first bachelor’s degree and is based on a federal formula used to analyze the information provided on the FAFSA.
  2. Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) is awarded to Pell Grant-eligible students with exceptional financial need based on the availability of funds.
2. Federal loans provide an opportunity for students or parents to borrow money for educationally-related expenses. Like any loan, they must be repaid according to the terms of the promissory note. First time loan borrowers are required to complete a Master Promissory Note and loan entrance counseling.
  1. Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans are offered by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). For Subsidized Loans, the Federal Government pays accrued interest on behalf of the student during periods of at least half-time enrollment or other eligible deferment periods. For Unsubsidized Loans, the student is responsible for paying interest during all periods, with interest accrual beginning at disbursement. For both Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, payment on the principal balance is required to begin six months after the student graduates or is no longer enrolled at least half-time. Interest information is available at studentaid.gov.
  2. Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan is available to graduate students who have exhausted their eligibility for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan program.
  3. Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan is borrowed by the parent of a dependent undergraduate student.
3. Work opportunities for part-time employment
  1. Federal Work-Study offers are based on financial need as determined by the results of the FAFSA and the awarding policy of South Dakota Mines. Employment opportunities are available both on and off campus with off campus positions focused on community service. Eligible students will be sent an email notification with further information. A link for the Federal Work-Study Job Descriptions can be found at https://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/cgi-bin/global/fa_view_wss.cgi
  2. Other employment opportunities may be available for students who are not eligible for Federal Work-Study. More information can be found at https://www.sdsmt.edu/student-life/support-and-services/career-services/index.html
4. Scholarships from South Dakota Mines
  In order to be considered for incoming freshman scholarships at South Dakota Mines, prospective students must apply and be accepted for admission by January 1.
  1. Freshman Scholarships
    South Dakota Mines strives to offer scholarships to as many academically talented incoming freshmen as possible with renewable support for three additional years of undergraduate enrollment. For scholarship renewal, the recipient must maintain full-time status, complete at least 24 South Dakota Mines credit hours per academic year and maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.
  2. Annual Scholarships
    For current students, one-year scholarships based on academic performance at South Dakota Mines and donor-specific scholarship criteria may be awarded, depending on available funds. Scholarship recipients must maintain full-time enrollment (must enroll in a minimum of 12 South Dakota Mines credit hours) for each semester of the award and maintain the CGPA as required by the scholarship. If the scholarship is major specific, the recipient must maintain enrollment in the appropriate coursework needed for that major
  3. Graduate Student Support
    Graduate students should contact the Graduate Education Office or their academic department at South Dakota Mines regarding available fellowships.
Disbursement of Aid
Financial aid will be disbursed approximately 10 days prior to the start of each term. You may contact the Financial Aid Office to request a deferment if your financial aid will be delayed.
Multi-Institution Students
At times it may be necessary to take classes at one of the other SDBOR universities in order to complete the student’s degree requirements. No arrangements need to be made in order to include those classes in the student’s enrollment status for financial aid purposes at South Dakota Mines. Please note the South Dakota Mines credit hour requirement in Section 2.4.1 listed above. Students who may need to enroll in classes at a non-SDBOR institution and use South Dakota Mines’ financial aid should contact the Financial Aid Office regarding a potential consortium agreement.
Summer Financial Aid
Federal Pell Grant eligibility for the summer term will be determined by the Financial Aid Office. Students who are interested in receiving federal loans for the summer term must submit a South Dakota Mines Summer Aid Application to the Financial Aid Office and complete the FAFSA for the upcoming school year. Loan offers will be based on a summer, fall, and spring academic year, unless otherwise indicated on the application. As a result, receiving federal loans for the summer will directly impact the amount of aid available for the fall and spring semesters. Per SDBOR policy 2:29, the number of credit hours taken during the summer term in order to maintain a particular enrollment status (full, 3/4, half, or less than half-time) is the same as the fall and spring semesters. Students must carry at least a half-time course load of 6 credits for undergraduate and 4.5 credits for graduate students to be eligible for federal summer loans. Specific exceptions are available to graduate students enrolled in 2 research or dissertation credit hours.
Withdrawal and Refunds
Due to circumstances that may or may not be within a student’s control, it may become necessary to withdraw from all classes prior to the end of a semester of attendance. Students must initiate the withdrawal process with the Office of the Registrar. Refer to the Withdrawal from the University section of this catalog. Students who withdraw may be entitled to a refund of tuition, fees, and other institutional charges calculated through 60 percent of the enrollment period, based on the percentage of the semester remaining after the withdrawal date. The Financial Aid Office will calculate the unearned portion(s) of financial aid funds that a withdrawn student has received for the semester and return these unearned funds to the appropriate source.

Students who receive federal financial aid are considered to be unofficially withdrawn if they fail to begin attendance or cease attendance prior to the end of the semester. The Financial Aid Office will calculate the unearned portion of an unofficially withdrawn student’s federal aid funds. The unearned funds will be returned to the appropriate source and the university will bill the student for the outstanding charges resulting from this action.

Withdrawing from the university may impact a student’s financial aid eligibility based on the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. Students are encouraged to review the policy below.

Satisfactory Academic Progress
In order to receive Federal Student Aid, the U.S. Department of Education requires that students maintain satisfactory academic progress. The U.S. Department of Education also requires the University to establish and implement a policy to measure if a student is making satisfactory academic progress towards the completion of their degree program. Federal Student Aid includes Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS, and Grad PLUS Loans. Other federal, state, and private agencies may require students to maintain satisfactory academic progress for their aid programs as well. An evaluation for Federal Student Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for all students will be completed once per year at the end of the spring semester to ensure compliance with the requirements specified below. The academic record of those who have not received Federal Student Aid in the past may impact future eligibility. Failure to meet the following standards will result in suspension of eligibility for all types of Federal Student Aid.

Minimum cumulative grade point average (Qualitative measure)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: Federal regulations require a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher for undergraduate students. The cumulative GPA is calculated based on all South Dakota Mines and transfer undergraduate credit hours, excluding remedial and audited credit hours.

GRADUATE STUDENTS: Graduate students must maintain at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA to remain eligible for Federal Student Aid.
Pace of progression for cumulative credits attempted and completed (Quantitative Measures)

In order to maintain satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degree, all students must successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted credit hours. Attempted credit hours include all credit hours that appear on a student’s academic transcript, including withdrawals, incompletes, all instances of repeated courses, remedial coursework, transfer credits and credits attempted when not receiving Federal Student Aid. Credit hours that may have been part of a successful academic amnesty appeal are included in the evaluation. Audited coursework is not included. Successfully completed credit hours include grades of A, B, C, D and S. A grade of EX for undergraduate students is also considered successful completion. All other grades are not considered successful completion. Graduate students may receive a grade of NP (Normal Progress) which will not be changed to their final grade until program completion. Transcripts for graduate students with NP grades are evaluated manually and their system-calculated SAP status may be updated as appropriate. For Satisfactory Academic Progress purposes, all completed credit hours, even if subsequently repeated, are evaluated in the pace of progression calculation. Transcripts for students with previously completed and subsequently repeated credits are evaluated manually and their system-calculated SAP status may be updated as appropriate.

Maximum credits to complete a degree program (Maximum attempted credit hours)

The U.S. Department of Education has established a limit on the number of credit hours a student can attempt and remain eligible for Federal Student Aid. This limit is 150% of the credit hours needed to complete the degree for which the student is pursuing. The maximum attempted credit hours at South Dakota Mines are as follows:

Degree Program	Maximum Credit Hours Attempted
Associate’s	90 based on 60 credit hour degree program
Bachelor’s	180 based on 120 credit hour degree program (non-engineering)
Bachelor’s	195 based on 130 credit hour degree program (engineering)
Master’s	49, 48 or 45 based on 33, 32 or 30 credit hour degree program respectively
PhD	108 or 120 based on 72 or 80 credit hour degree program

Appealing a Financial Aid Suspension

Students who have been determined to be ineligible for Federal Student Aid may submit a Financial Aid Suspension Appeal to explain circumstances beyond their control that adversely affected their ability to be academically successful at South Dakota Mines. Examples of extenuating circumstances include the student’s serious illness or injury, death of a family member which resulted in the student being gone from school for an extended period of time, or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. An academic plan must be included and contain the student’s strategies to be academically successful and meet the requirements in the future. Additionally, the student must meet with their academic advisor and obtain approval for the courses the student will enroll in for the next 12 months that are reasonable and attainable in order to progress toward degree completion. If the academic advisor is not available, the student should arrange to meet with another faculty member from the department. Failure to abide by the academic plan that is submitted to the Financial Aid Appeal Committee will be grounds for denial of Federal Student Aid for subsequent semesters. Each appeal will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis; therefore, no appeal is guaranteed to be approved. To ensure a timely review, appeals should be submitted prior to the start date of the semester for which a student is appealing for Federal Student Aid reinstatement. Appeals received after the semester start date will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Financial Aid Suspension Appeal and all supporting documentation must be submitted online. If a student appeal is approved, the Financial Aid Appeal Committee will place conditions which the student must meet to in order to be considered for financial aid on a probationary basis for current and subsequent terms. Students receiving financial aid on a probationary basis will be evaluated at the end of each term.

Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility

Students who have lost Federal Student Aid eligibility but have subsequently met the qualitative and/or quantitative standards as stated above, will have their aid eligibility reinstated at the next evaluation period. Reinstatement will be effective with the next academic year.

Additional Information
Requests for additional information should be directed to the Financial Aid Office, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 501 E Saint Joseph St., Rapid City, SD 57701-3995, or call (605) 394-2274 or via e-mail at FinancialAid@sdsmt.edu. Please include your student ID number when contacting the Financial Aid Office.