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Award Notification

Once you've applied for aid, you will receive a financial aid award offer.

Financial Aid Offer

The financial aid office will use the information from your SAR and the COA to determine your eligibility for federal student aid, aid from the State of Florida (for Florida Residents), and institutional aid. The Financial Aid Office will send you a financial aid offer explaining the aid that is awarded. Applicants will receive an initial financial aid offer in the mail. Current UTampa students and all notifications of revised financial aid awards are sent via email with instructions to view your award offer in Workday (via MyUTampa for current UTampa students and the Financial Aid Portal for applicants). 

Students and applicants can create a PDF of their Award Letter and College Financing Plan at any time by logging into Workday (via MyUTampa for current UT students and the Financial Aid Portal for applicants). 

The College Financing Plan is a standardized form that is designed to simplify the information that prospective students receive about costs and financial aid so that they can easily compare institutions and make informed decisions about where to attend school.  

Calculate your Net Price

Use the information from your financial aid offer to calculate your Net Price; the amount your family will pay out of pocket to attend UTampa for one academic year. Do this by taking UTampa’s Cost of Attendance minus the number of grants and scholarships in your financial aid offer.

Cost of Attendance – Grants and Scholarships = Net Price

UTampa has a Net Price Calculator to help students considering applying estimate their scholarships and grant eligibility and out-of-pocket costs. 

Your family should have a conversation about whether the Net Price is affordable. Remember that a bachelor’s degree normally takes 4-years to complete; you’ll owe approximately the same amount every year. Note: the costs of tuition, fees, room and board typically increase from year-to-year.

Your financial aid offer may include loans. Loans may be used to help with the costs not covered by scholarships and grants.

Next Steps

Verification

The U.S. Department of Education selects approximately 30 percent of all FAFSA applications for verification annually. This process is used to confirm that the data reported on your FAFSA is accurate. 

Regulatory changes effective in the 2016-2017 academic year allow the U.S. Department of Education to require schools to verify additional items on the FAFSA. In some cases, this may happen even after verification has been completed and could result in changes to your financial aid eligibility. If this becomes necessary, we will request additional information from you.

The University of Tampa has contracted with the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) for verification services and to assist students in resolving certain SAR comments noted above. If your FAFSA has been selected for verification or contains one or more of the SAR comments mentioned above, KHEAA will contact you regarding the steps you must take to complete verification or resolve the SAR comment(s).

You will create an account using the KHEAA Verify secure portal. From there, you (and the parents of dependent students) will be able to electronically upload the required documents and e-sign forms. 

Contact KHEAA directly: 

Respond to KHEAA's request for information as soon as possible to avoid delays in processing your aid. If selected, federal student aid (and aid from any need-based program) cannot be disbursed until verification and/or SAR Comments requiring resolution are complete. KHEAA will notify UTampa's Financial Aid Office once verification is complete (or SAR comments are resolved) and will make any necessary changes to your aid at that time. In most cases, we will notify you of changes to your aid via email to your UTampa email account. Changes to your aid are visible immediately on Workday from the "Finances" tab.

Accept or Decline Offered Aid

Some aid may be awarded to you in an offered status, like work-study and federal student loans. You may choose to accept or decline these offers from the Finances app in  Workday (applicants will have the ability to accept or decline aid offers closer to the time you register for classes). 

If you do nothing, the awards will stay in an offered status and will not be used to reduce the balance due on your tuition bill.

Learn more about loans.

Florida Residency Review 

Students who are Florida Residents must complete the Residency Review process with the financial aid office before receiving any aid from the State of Florida. 

The financial aid office will send the Residency Review process to applicants with a home address in Florida on their admissions application. Applicants and current UT students who were not extended the Residency Review process and would like to be evaluated for Florida Residency should contact their  financial aid counselor.  

Learn more about Florida Residency requirements. 

Action Items

Applicants and students may be assigned Action Items via their Workday inbox (via MyUTampa for current UTampa students and the Financial Aid Portal for applicants).

Action Items are assigned when additional steps or documentation is required to process your aid. Follow the instructions in any Action Items assigned to you. 

Note: students who do not wish to accept their federal direct loans do not need to complete the Action Items for Direct Loan Master Promissory Note or Loan Entrance Counseling. Following the steps to decline the offered loans will automatically cancel these Action Items.  

Appeals 

Special Circumstances

If your family’s financial circumstances change after you apply for aid, contact your  UTampa Financial Aid counselor. Special circumstances can potentially include:

  • Loss of income
  • Reduced income
  • Unusually high medical expenses
  • Separation or divorce
  • Elementary/secondary tuition expenses
  • Loss of benefit (child support, etc.)
  • Federally declared natural disaster

The U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid Disaster website provides information on how your financial aid eligibility may change if you reside or attend school in an area affected by a federally declared natural disaster. 

Unusual Circumstances

Unusual circumstances refer to the conditions that justify an aid administrator making an adjustment to a student’s dependency status based on a unique situation (like human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, parental abandonment, or incarceration). If your circumstances can be described in this way, speak with your financial aid counselor. Additionaldocumentation may be required before changes can be made to your FAFSA. Students should not attempt to make the changes necessary to support unusual circumstances to their FAFSA; these changes must be made by a financial aid professional.

Appeals for Additional Aid

If none of these circumstances apply to you, you may still wish to appeal to request reconsideration for additional aid. Students applying for admission may submit an appeal online by clicking the link available from the landing page of the financial aid portal at FinancialAid.UT.edu.

Current UTampa students may submit an appeal from the UTampa Forms app in Workday, and select the option under Financial Aid > Financial Aid Appeals in OnBase.

Students who submit an appeal will receive a confirmation email shortly after submission. Students are notified of appeals decisions via email to their Spartans email address. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals

UTampa’s official Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy is maintained in the current University Catalog. Students who received a notification that they have failed to meet the minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress and have extenuating circumstances (such as an accident or illness) that prevented them from being able to meet the minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress may submit an appeal. Documentation to support your extenuating circumstances is required.

A successful appeal will result in one semester of Financial Aid Probation. It must be mathematically possible for the student to meet the minimum requirements of SAP at the end of the probationary period in order for the appeal to be approved. If it is not mathematically possible to meet SAP at the end of the Probationary period, an Academic Plan may be considered.

Students who wish to submit an appeal for failure to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress should speak to their financial aid counselor. The financial aid counselor will make the request available to you via your Workday inbox.

Outside (Private) Scholarships or Educational Benefits

Notify UTampa of scholarships or funding received from other sources. Some adjustments to your aid package may be necessary to comply with federal, state and institutional regulations. See the paragraph on Overawards, below.  

Overawards

Your total financial aid award may not exceed your cost of attendance as determined by the Financial Aid Office. UTampa grants and scholarships, unless otherwise noted, may be applied toward tuition and fees only. If you are receiving aid from privately funded programs, the aid you have already been awarded may be reduced or changed. It is your responsibility to notify the University of any aid from privately funded programs. The Financial Aid Office will notify you if changes to your aid are necessary.

Disbursement of Aid

Financial aid funds are generally awarded for the entire academic year; half of the funds are credited to each semester. Aid is first disbursed approximately 21 days after the first day of the academic period.

If selected, federal student aid (and aid from any need-based program) cannot be disbursed until verification and/or SAR Comments requiring resolution are complete. Loan entrance counseling and a master promissory note are required before federal loan funds can be disbursed.

Institutional aid may be used only during the fall and spring semesters. Institutional aid is not available during summer terms or special intersessions. Please refer to the Billing and Payment information page for information on the Bursar's Office refund policy.

Federal Student Aid Rights and Responsibilities

As a recipient of federal student aid, you have certain rights and responsibilities. 

You have the right to:

  • Know what financial assistance is available to you, including all federal, state and institutional financial aid programs
  • Know the deadlines for submitting applications for applicable financial aid programs and the process required
  • Know how your financial need is determined, including how the cost of attendance budgets are developed
  • Know what resources are considered in the calculation of your financial need and how much of your need as determined by The University of Tampa has been met
  • An explanation of the types of aid contained in your financial aid award as well as how to retain eligibility for those funds (if applicable)
  • Request a review of your current financial situation if you meet certain criteria based on changes since filing the current aid year FAFSA application
  • Know what portion of your aid package is grant or gift aid, and what portion must be repaid. In addition, you have the right to know interest rates, the total amount to be repaid, procedures for repayment, when repayment begins, and how long you have to repay the loan. 
  • Know the criteria for continued financial aid eligibility, including guidelines for the determination of Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by the U.S. Department of Education
  • Know the method and frequency of financial aid disbursements

You have the responsibility to:

  • Be aware of your ability to pay any institutional charges based on your available financial aid and personal resources
  • Review and understand the terms and conditions of your financial aid award
  • Complete all requirements accurately, in a timely manner and by the appropriate deadlines
  • Inform the Financial Aid Office if you intend to enroll less than full-time for any given academic period so that your aid can be properly adjusted and disbursed
  • Inform the Financial Aid Office of any outside scholarships, assistantships, or additional resources that you receive
  • Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completely and accurately. If selected for verification, you will provide all requested documents in a timely manner, and ensure all submitted materials are complete and accurate. Falsification of information on application forms for federal financial assistance is considered a criminal offense, and you may be subject to penalties under the U.S. Criminal Code. 
  • Read and understand all forms that you are asked to submit or sign, realizing that you are legally responsible for all agreements that you sign
  • Know and comply with all policies and procedures of The University of Tampa 
  • Manage your financial aid experience

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