To help an individual reach his or her educational goals, the University of Central Missouri offers a variety of federal, state, and institutional grant, loan, and employment assistance, much of which is awarded on the basis of a student’s calculated financial need.
The Office of Student Financial Services annually processes over $97 million in assistance to 88 percent of the students who attend the university. Each student’s family and economic situation is recognized as unique, and every financial aid application is examined on an individual basis. The number of applications for financial aid, however, almost always exceeds the total amount of assistance available. Therefore, it is very important for each applicant to:
- Apply by February 1st each year to be considered for state aid.
- Apply by April 1st each year to be considered for Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant and Federal Work Study.
- Comply with all financial aid instructions, policies, and requests for follow-up information and documents
- Contact the Office of Student Financial Services with any questions:
In person: Ward Edwards 1100
Telephone: 660-543-8266
Fax: 660-543-8080
Web site: ucmo.edu/sfs
Federal and state financial assistance may be used to help pay direct educational expenses, such as tuition/fees, books/supplies, and housing/meal plan charges, as well as variable living costs such as off-campus housing, food, transportation, child care, and other personal costs related to attending UCM. In accordance with federal and state regulations, the responsibility for meeting these costs lies with the student and his or her family. Any other assistance received must be included and could impact a student’s eligibility for federal aid. However, financial aid from one or more of the following programs can be awarded to supplement the family’s financial contribution.
Types of Financial Aid
Grants (such as the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and Access Missouri Grant) are types of assistance that normally do not have to be repaid.
Loans (such as the Federal Stafford Loan and Federal PLUS (parent) Loan) are types of low-interest loans that must be repaid, but not until after the student graduates, withdraws, or drops to less than half-time enrollment status.
Employment (such as Federal Work-Study) assistance enables a student to earn a portion of his or her educational resources through part-time work on-campus or off-campus. Information about available Federal Work-Study positions, as well as university-funded student employee positions, is available from the UCM Office of Career Services (WDE 1200, 660-543-4985).
How to Apply
To apply for the above types of federal and state financial aid, a student must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. A student files the FAFSA online at fafsa.gov. There is no charge to apply.
After submitting the FAFSA, a financial aid applicant may be required to provide supporting documents or clarifying information to the UCM Office of Student Financial Services. If required to do so, the applicant will be contacted by UCM and should respond promptly.
Financial Need
A student’s calculated need for federal and state financial assistance is determined by the federal processor from the FAFSA data (and supporting documents) provided by the student. Once this calculation has been completed, financial aid is awarded to help meet the individual’s level of need. The student is then notified by email of his/her award package, which is accessible in the MyCentral portal. The notification process begins in December for UCM’s earliest FAFSA applicants and continues throughout the year.
Scholarships
Over $6.8 million in merit-based scholarship aid is awarded annually to students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, special talents, or potential in a specific field of study. UCM also offers scholarships to non-Missouri residents.
Generally, to be considered for an undergraduate scholarship, a student must:
- Be admitted to UCM as degree-seeking.
- Meet minimum qualifying criteria.
- Not be on academic probation.
- Be enrolled as a full-time undergraduate student (12 or more credit hours)*. A Red & Black or Transfer scholarship recipient may enroll for less than 12 hours and be considered to receive a proportional amount of an award under the following conditions:
- Be enrolled in a UCM-approved internship or be student teaching, or
- Be a last-semester senior completing a bachelor’s degree program.
- Institutional funds that require the completion of 12 credit hours per term will be removed for that term if a student does not earn a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester, with the exceptions noted above. Also, if a student withdraws from a class which causes them to drop below 12 credit hours, the entire scholarship for that term will be forfeit. The scholarship remains in place for subsequent terms as long as the student maintains the minimum requirements for Full Time status and GPA. Institutional scholarships have requirements in order to receive them, and if the requirements are not met (through a withdrawal, for example), then the scholarship will be removed.
*Students must earn a minimum of 12 undergraduate hours per semester at UCM. For example, if a student drops from 12 hours to 9, then that student did not fulfill the minimum requirement for institutional scholarships, and loses any applicable scholarship for that term.
TRANSFER SCHOLARSHIPS
Students who transfer to UCM with 23 credit hours or less are considered new freshmen for scholarships (i.e., Red & Black, A+. Dual Credit, etc.), if otherwise eligible. For any students transferring with 24+ credit hours, they are considered Transfer students (i.e., President’s Distinguished, President’s, Deans’ PTK, etc.) in determining their scholarship eligibility.
If a student is the recipient of multiple scholarships, from the University of Central Missouri or other outside entities, the combined total may not exceed the cost of education at UCM. Some UCM Scholarships may also be adjusted or canceled if the student receives more gift aid than his/her Cost of Attendance, or if the recipient fraudulently misrepresents any information on a UCM document or engages in serious misconduct which warrants substantial disciplinary penalty.
For information about scholarships associated with specific majors, students should contact the academic school offering the program of study. For general undergraduate merit scholarship information, visit ucmo.edu/scholarships or the UCM Office of Student Financial Services (1100 Ward Edwards Building, 660-543-8266).
In addition to scholarships from the academic schools, privately funded scholarships are extremely important in helping students achieve their academic goals and inspiring them to become leaders in their community, state, and nation. Generous donors have advanced the university’s academic excellence by establishing nearly 600 scholarships to help students at all levels: from high school graduates beginning college to undergraduate students working on bachelor’s degrees and graduate students pursuing advanced study.
For information about scholarships available through the UCM Foundation, visit ucmo.edu/foundation/scholarships. The application deadline for most UCM Foundation scholarships is February 1. Students may apply for UCM Foundation scholarships at https://ucmo.academicworks.com/.
Other Assistance
Many scholarships from a wide variety of sources are awarded each year to undergraduate students. Information and applications are available at ucmo.edu/scholarships. Financial aid recipients should be aware, however, that receiving non-UCM or UCM financial aid or educational benefits can result in an adjustment to the federal aid that may have already been awarded and/or disbursed.
Midwest Student Exchange Program
The Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) is an interstate initiative established by the Midwestern Higher Education Commission to increase the educational opportunities for students in its member states. The University of Central Missouri is an active participant. MSEP permits legal residents of Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin to enroll at UCM at a reduced rate of tuition. The number of MSEP recipients is limited, however, and is based on factors such as date of admission to UCM, ACT/SAT score, etc. Complete information about MSEP eligibility is available from the Office of Student Financial Services (Ward Edwards 1100, 660-543-8266) and can also be found at ucmo.edu/sfs/scholarships under the Transfer students heading or at msep.mhec.org.
Non-Resident Fee Credit
If a non-resident student pays income tax in Missouri, or is in the legal custody of a parent who pays income tax in Missouri, a credit can be made against the non-resident student fees normally charged to the student. For information about this credit contact the UCM Office of Undergraduate Admissions (Ward Edwards 1400, 660-543-4290).
The UCM Bound Out of State Scholarship allows admitted students whose permanent residence is one of the eight states bordering Missouri to pay in-state tuition and fees for all classes on the main campus in Warrensburg. Missouri’s eight eligible border states are: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Federal regulations require that every student who wishes to continue receiving financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of his or her degree or certification program. Satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes is defined as successfully completing at least two-thirds of the credit hours attempted during a school year and is checked each May after all spring semester grades have been posted. Undergraduate students must maintain at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average to remain eligible for federal assistance, which will be specifically reviewed after four semesters.
Undergraduate and Post-Bac students must complete their degrees within the following parameters:
- Undergraduate 180 hours
- Post Bac. students should be aware that certain state financial assistance programs may require a recipient to maintain more stringent standards of satisfactory academic progress.
Deadlines to file a SAP appeal are normally the last day of 100% Add/Drop for a given semester. Students can appeal later into the semester if they have an extenuating circumstance approved by the Financial Aid Office. If they appeal after this deadline, or if the appeal is not approved, they cannot receive aid for that semester. They can appeal for aid in the next semester, but an approval (if granted) cannot be retroactive to the prior semester.
Short-Term Loans
The University of Central Missouri realizes that many students are dependent upon federal financial assistance to satisfy the costs of attending UCM. However, it is important to have some personal money on hand when beginning classes each semester to help pay incidental costs during the first week or two of classes. If an emergency arises, a student can apply for short-term loan funds, against their anticipated refund, at the Office of Student Financial Services (1100 Ward Edwards Building). This assistance must usually be repaid within 60 days and is only available to students who have excess financial aid above their cost. A service charge of $10 is levied to borrow from the UCM Short-Term Loan Fund, but no interest is charged.
Veteran Services
The University of Central Missouri office of Military and Veteran Services is a liaison between students requiring veteran services and the Veterans Administration offices in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Support is also provided to students enrolled at UCM who are in the Military Reserve/National Guard (Chapter 1606), on active duty or no longer in the military but eligible for VA educational benefits (Chapter 30), Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation students (Chapter 31), dependents of military personnel (Chapter 35), and personnel who contributed to the Veterans Educational Assistance Program (Chapter 32).
UCM is in compliance with the requirements of PL 113-146 the Veteran Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, Section 702. UCM will waive all non resident rates to uniformed service veterans and their qualified dependents covered under Section 702.
For recipients of Chapter 31 and Chapter 33 of the G.I. Bill® , the University will not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to classes, libraries or other institutional facilities, or the requirement that a Chapter 31 or Chapter 33 recipient borrow additional funds to cover the individual’s inability to meet his or her financial obligations to the institution due to the delayed disbursement of tuition or mandatory fees payment by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. See Section 103 of the Veterans Benefits and Transition Act of 2018 for the chapter.
However, to qualify for this provision, such students may be required to:
- Produce the VA’s Certificate of Eligibility (COE) by the second week of class;
- Provide a written request to be certified by submitting the Certification Request Form.
For information or assistance completing the proper documentation to ensure VA educational benefits are received in a timely manner, contact Military and Veteran Services:
Office Location: Union 117
Telephone: 660-543-8990, Fax: 660-543-8044
GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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