Applying for Financial Aid
Scholarship and Financial Assistance
Book Vouchers
Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Failure to Meet SAP
Pace of completion
Maximum Financial Aid Eligibility

Applying for Financial Aid

Those students who are qualified to receive financial aid based on demonstrated financial need must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All applicants for Central Methodist University scholarships and grant funds should have their Free Application for Federal Student Aid filed by February 1 if they are to have priority in the awarding of funds. Financial Assistance awards are made as soon as the applicant has been accepted for admission, and the results of the FAFSA have been received by the Office of Financial Assistance.

Students may complete the FAFSA at www.studentaid.gov. Students must designate Central Methodist University as a recipient of the need analysis report from the application. Our Title IV school code is 002453. The FAFSA application can be submitted after October 1. Each student must make application annually for renewal of all state and federal financial assistance by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Central Methodist University reserves the right to modify financial awards initially or at renewal if the student receives additional aid, if there is a significant change in the parent's or student's income or assets, if there is incorrect information on the FAFSA application, if the student does not meet the prescribed requirements for a specific scholarship, or if there is a change in student status involving either enrollment or housing. A professional judgment determination will be made within 30 days after the submission of the required paperwork.

Students engaged in a study abroad program are eligible to receive Title IV Federal Student aid if the program is approved for credit by the University. The study abroad program does not have to be a required part of the student's degree program.

Scholarships

CGES students are eligible for the rodeo team scholarship and the Gulstad scholarship. For more information on the rodeo scholarship, please contact Amanda Phipps at aphipps@centralmethodist.edu. More information on the Gulstad Scholarship can be found in the following link.

https://centralmethodist.edu/admissions/financial-aid/scholarships.html#cges

Financial Assistance

The Office of Financial Assistance endeavors to assist deserving students and their families by making it financially possible to attend Central Methodist University. State and federal student assistance programs are used to assist students financially in attending CMU. The primary criterion for determining the amount of financial assistance a student is eligible to receive is financial need. It is the responsibility of the student and his or her family to fund the educational cost of attending college.

To receive state need-based grants, a student must be enrolled full time in an undergraduate degree program. To receive the Federal Stafford Loan, a student must be enrolled at least half time. Subsidized Federal Stafford loans are not available to graduate students and are limited to 150% of a student's published degree program length. The number of hours enrolled as an undergraduate student in pursuit of their first Bachelor's degree and financial need determine the amount, if any, of the Federal Pell Grant. Federal Pell Grant awards are limited to twelve semesters (600% of eligibility). Students enrolled in the College of Graduate and Extended Studies are not eligible for any institutional aid, academic or participatory.

Students will not receive any financial assistance if they owe refunds on grants or are in default on a loan previously issued by Central Methodist University or another college, or are not maintaining satisfactory progress in the course of study they are pursuing according to the standards and practices of the University. Please refer to the section below on Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress to Maintain Financial Assistance Eligibility.

All funding is awarded in accordance with state and federal policies, and those policies set forth by the Enrollment Management Committee. Central Methodist University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual preference, national origin, age, or federally defined disability in its recruitment and admission of students. Concerns regarding financial aid should be filed first with the Director of Financial Assistance. Appeals may be made to the Vice-President of Finance and Administration.

Book Vouchers

The CMU CGES Business Office will provide a list to eCampus prior to the start of classes for all students eligible for a book voucher, which can be used to purchase needed textbooks and supplies through the CMU Virtual Bookstore. To be eligible students must meet the following criteria: fully admitted degree-seeking student (all official transcripts received), registered for class(es), have all financial aid steps (including verification) completed, have a Title IV credit balance available, and complete a  Book Voucher Request Form through myCMU (under "Billing and Payments" section) no later than 10 days before the start date of a term. Vouchers are available for use through the CMU Virtual Bookstore.  The book voucher is an advance of financial aid and the book charge is placed on the student's tuition account. If the student’s financial aid does not fully cover the tuition/book charges, the student will be billed for the remainder of the balance and is fully responsible for these charges. Even if eligible, students are not required to use the book voucher or purchase books through eCampus. The availability of a book voucher is dependent upon when the criteria are met.

Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to Maintain Financial Aid Eligibility- Undergraduate

• (effective July 1, 2021)

  All students who receive CMU, federal, or state financial aid must make satisfactory academic progress toward degree completion. There are two components used to measure academic progress: Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) and Pace of Completion. Minimum criterion for both components must be met to achieve satisfactory academic progress. Academic progress is reviewed at the end of each semester.

  Outlined below are the minimum requirements to meet satisfactory academic progress:

  • Cumulative GPA: Cumulative GPAs are calculated according to procedures outlined in CMU's General Academic Regulations.

  Undergraduate
  Credit Hours Attempted	Minimum Cumulative GPA
  1 to 29	1.80
  30 to 59	1.90
  60 to 89	2.00
  90 and beyond	2.00
  Graduate/Professional Level
  Credit Hours Attempted	Minimum Cumulative GPA
  1 and beyond	3.00

   

Failure to Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress

A student who fails to meet the minimum acceptable standards will receive a financial aid warning for a period of one semester via email. The student will be considered to be on Financial Aid Warning. All minimum requirements of satisfactory academic progress must be met by the end of the warning period to maintain financial aid eligibility. During a financial aid warning, a student is still able to receive financial aid. If the student improves his or her academic progress to at least the minimum standards, the warning will expire.

Students who have received a financial aid warning, and fail to meet minimum satisfactory academic progress during the warning period will have all federal, state, and institutional aid terminated, including student loans and work study. The student is considered to be on Financial Aid Suspension. Students will receive notification of financial aid suspension via email and first class mail at their permanent residence.

A student suspended from financial aid eligibility may appeal the decision and petition for financial aid reinstatement. Appeals must be made in writing to the Office of Financial Assistance for review by the Enrollment Management Committee. Appeals should document the circumstances that caused failure of academic progress, as well as a plan to improve progress to meet the minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress by the next review period. Any student who appeals and is approved will be considered on Financial Aid Probation. Students on financial aid probation will remain eligible for financial aid. Granted appeals may have additional stipulations outlined by the Enrollment Management Committee.

Students suspended from receiving financial aid can also re-establish eligibility by bringing their academic progress back into compliance with the minimum requirements of satisfactory academic progress.

Pace of Completion

Students must complete at least 67 percent of all coursework attempted. Students who receive financial aid from CMU are required to submit official transcripts from all previous institutions. Any hours that are transferred to CMU will be included in the number of credit hours attempted and earned. Incompletes and withdrawals are included in coursework attempted. Audited and remedial coursework is not included. Repeated coursework is included.

Maximum Financial Aid Eligibility

Students must complete a degree program within a time frame of no longer than 150 percent of the published length of the degree program to receive Federal financial aid. All attempted, withdrawn, or transferred credits that apply to a student's degree program count toward the maximum time limit. For example, a student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training must complete 120 credit hours to meet the degree program requirements. The student may attempt up to 186 credit hours, after which time the student will be no longer be eligible for Federal financial aid.

Notice will be provided to students that have reached 100 percent of the published length of their degree program. Notice will be provided via email each time academic progress is reviewed until the student reaches 150 percent, at which time the student will no longer be eligible for Federal financial aid.

financial aid.

Correspondence Course Financial Assistance:

If a student is enrolled in a non-correspondence study program, but correspondence coursework is combined with regular coursework, the correspondence courses must meet the following criteria to be included in the student’s enrollment status:

• The courses must apply toward the student’s degree or certificate or must be remedial work to help the student in his or her course of study.
• The courses must be completed during the period required for the student’s regular coursework, e.g., a term.
• The amount of correspondence work counted can’t be more than the number of credit-hours of regular coursework in which the student is enrolled (although a student taking at least a half-time load of correspondence courses must receive aid as at least a half-time student, regardless of the credit-hours of regular coursework).

 

Enrollment Status for Enrollment in Correspondence and Regular Coursework

 

Regular Work	Correspondence Work	Adjusted Total Coursework	Enrollment Status
3	3	6	Half-time
3	6	6	Half-time
3	9	6	Half-time
6	3	9	Three-quarter time
6	6	12	Full-time
2	6	6	Half-time

 

This chart assumes that the school defines full-time enrollment as 12 credit-hours per term, and half-time enrollment as six credit-hours per term. As you can see in the second and third examples, the number of correspondence hours counted in the total course load was adjusted so that the correspondence hours never exceeded the regular hours taken. Note that in the last example, the student is eligible for payment based on half-time enrollment in correspondence courses, because not all of the correspondence work can be counted toward enrollment status.