Financial Aid

Types of Aid

Graduate Assistantships

A limited number of full-time and part-time graduate assistantship positions are available for graduate students at Marymount University. A full-time graduate assistantship requires 20 hours of work per week in exchange for a waiver of tuition for nine (9) credits per semester. Part-time assistantships may be either a 1/3 assistantship, which requires seven hours of work each week in exchange for a waiver of three (3) credits of tuition, or a 2/3 assistantship, which requires 14 hours of work each week in exchange for a waiver of six (6) credits of tuition. Students must be enrolled for at least six (6) credits to qualify for part-time assistantship consideration. Full-time students are given preference for all assistantships. Students on "flat-rate" tuition receive a waiver equivalent to the three, six, or nine (3, 6, or 9) credits of the 1/3, 2/3, or full assistantship, respectively.

The graduate assistant program is designed to meet several purposes. Students receive financial support for their graduate studies. In addition, students receive a valuable professional experience that supplements and supports their program of study. The university also benefits, as it gains the services of talented beginning professionals.

A list of graduate assistant positions is available from the Office of the Associate Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies. Current openings, and application procedures for graduate assistantships, are listed on www.marymountjobs.com from the Office of Human Resource Services.

Grants

The Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) Program is available to Virginia residents who are full-time students pursuing their first graduate degree in the field of health professions only. Eligible programs include counseling, health care management, health education and promotion, nursing, and physical therapy. The amount of the grant varies each academic year based on state funding. Applications, which are available from the Office of Financial Aid, must be submitted annually by July 31. Late applications will be considered if funds are available. There is no requirement for repayment. This program is funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Marymount participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, part of the post-9/11 GI bill that provides grants of $2,000 per year to eligible veterans pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) matches this amount with another $2,000. Eligibility requirements are available through the VA or Marymount’s Office of Student Affairs.

Loans

The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan is for graduate students enrolled in a degree program on at least a half-time basis (six credits per semester); it enables them to borrow an annual amount. The repayment period begins six months after the student leaves school. The student is responsible for the interest while in school. The Office of Financial Aid provides information on obtaining the loan with Award Letter notification. Students must complete the financial aid application process by filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to qualify.

Application Procedure: Students seeking financial aid through the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan program should follow these steps to apply:

1. Complete a FAFSA, available at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Both new and currently enrolled graduate students must complete a FAFSA for each year they seek financial aid. The information is analyzed and a report sent to the university on the estimated contribution expected from the family or the self-supporting student. Marymount’s federal school code is 003724.
2. Financial aid applications must be submitted by March 1 for each academic year in which financial assistance is required.

Awards are offered when applications are complete and the student has been accepted for enrollment into a degree program.

Scholarships

Marymount has a number of need-based and merit scholarships funded by generous donors to the university. Students deserving consideration for such scholarships are typically identified by a school or department within the university. Such students are provided with criteria for the awarding of the scholarship as well as  information on how to apply for the award. Contact the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services for further information about scholarships.

Student Employment

The university employs a large number of full-time students and pays them from its own resources. Students apply for jobs through the Center for Career Services.

Gainful Employment Programs

New federal regulations require colleges to inform students of their prospects for "gainful employment" when receiving federal financial aid for nondegree programs. The disclosures were mandated to assist students in choosing the right program for their needs and to prevent them from taking on debt for programs with subpar professional placement rates. Prospective students will find Gainful Employment Disclosures for each certificate program on the appropriate school’s website. Title IV federal financial aid is not available for certain nondegree programs, but private and institutional aid may be available. All degree programs are exempted from the Gainful Employment Disclosure mandate.

Continuous Registration

Students approved for Continuous Registration will be reported to the National Student Clearinghouse as withdrawn. They will enter their federal student loan grace period as of that date, and if they have previously used up their student loan grace period, they will immediately enter into loan repayment.

Withdrawals

Students who withdraw from the university before the 60% point of the semester will have their federal financial aid prorated according to the federal formula. In addition, students failing to earn at least one passing grade in a semester will have their federal financial aid prorated and returned.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students are required to meet minimum standards of academic progress in order to continue to receive financial aid. The details are explained on the reverse side of the financial aid award letter and on the Office of Financial Aid web page.

Federal Financial Aid for Degree-Applicable Courses

Federal regulations mandate that federal aid cannot be awarded for classes that do not count toward a student's academic program. If students are enrolled in courses that do not count toward their degree, certificate, or other credentials, the courses cannot be used to determine enrollment status unless they are eligible remedial courses. It is the responsibility of students to work with their advisor to ensure their credits meet this requirement. In addition, these credits must match the number of credits that the award was based on or a revised award must be prepared.

Repeating Courses

Students should be aware that, for federal financial aid purposes, they may only receive federal financial aid toward one retake of a previously passed course or its equivalent. This means that once a student has passed a particular course, the Office of Financial Aid can count that student as being enrolled in that course only one more time for federal aid purposes.

Verification of Attendance

The policy below relates ONLY to federal Title IV aid — Pell Grant, SEOG, Work-Study, Direct Loans, and PLUS loans (PPLUS and GPLUS). Institutional, state, and private awards are not included.

Per federal regulations, students establish eligibility for aid only if they actually attend their classes. Students’ presence in class will be documented by the instructor through taking roll. This will be done at one of the class meetings within the first two weeks of class for a regular fall/spring semester (shorter time frames apply for mini-terms like summer).

All courses must be verified. Note that this policy also applies to online classes, study abroad, and internships — although the methods of “attendance collection” are modified.

Processing of federal aid is affected by non-attendance in the following ways:

1. For summer terms, no federal aid will be released until attendance is confirmed.
2. Following the last day to add/drop for the term, enrollment information will be evaluated based on the courses in which students are registered. These are the credit hours that will be used to determine students' final aid eligibility for the term. Please see the Academic Calendar to confirm the last day to add/drop for each term.

After the last day to add/drop, students will be withdrawn from classes that they failed to attend and “W” grades will be posted to their records. For more information, please see the Attendance section of the catalog. Students will still be responsible for tuition and fees (see Credit for Tuition and Fee Charges).