FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974)
Under FERPA educational privacy and access rights accrue to the student when she/he turns 18 OR enrolls in a post-secondary institution. The University of the Arts is a post-secondary institution.
Persons who have applied to but who have not attended the University as an enrolled student are not covered under FERPA. Under institutional policy, applicants are extended the same privacy and access rights to their financial aid information as students.
Applicants, students, and parents should be aware of the following institutional financial aid privacy policies. The financial aid staff is permitted to discuss or otherwise disclose a student's financial aid information to the following parties:
1. the student.
2. the student's parent(s) whose information appears on the FAFSA.
3. other University officials having a legitimate educational reason to know the student's financial aid information (e.g. staff in the billing office so that they can manage the student's account).
4. external agencies and organizations such as guarantors, lenders, state grant agencies, and auditors that have a legitimate reason to know the student's financial aid information (i.e. staff at such agencies authorized to process loans and grants for the student).
5. external federal agencies granted such rights under FERPA e.g. DOE, INS, CSPCA, et cetera).
Under FERPA , institutions are required to disclose a student's information (sometimes without notification to the student) in response to commands from the courts typically subpoenas) and demands from specific federal agencies. The Financial Aid staff will comply with all lawfully issued demands for information from the entities identified in the FERPA regulations and will (or will not) notify the student as required.
Students and parents should be aware that their signatures on the FAFSA and other financial aid documents (e.g. loan applications) authorize the release of their information to certain federal and state agencies. Please read the FAFSA and other financial aid documents for more information.
Depending upon the scope of the information requested by the student or other authorized parties, the Financial Aid Office may require time to present the records requested. When the information requested cannot be produced immediately the Financial Aid Office may require such time as is permitted under FERPA regulations to retrieve and present the records requested.
The Financial Aid staff is not permitted to discuss or otherwise disclose a student's Financial Aid information to others including but not limited to:
1. the student's parent(s) or stepparent(s) whose information does not appear on the FAFSA (the non-filing parent) without written permission from the student and the filing parent.
2. the student's parent(s) or stepparent(s) whose information does appear on the FAFSA when the parents have separated or divorced and the other parent has been identified as the custodial parent, without written permission from the student and the custodial parent.
3. high school guidance counselors and teachers.
4. the student's spouse.
5. interested relatives, neighbors, and friends.
The Financial Aid Staff is not permitted to discuss or otherwise disclose academic information (which includes but is not limited to scholarship eligibility, financial aid eligibility, grades, grade-point average, academic standing, or probationary status) to anyone (except the federal and state agencies responsible for processing the student's financial aid or having authority under FERPA to access such information) other than the student (whether or not the student is dependent, whether or not the parent pays the invoice) without the student's written authorization.
Disclosure Authorization
When extraordinary circumstances exist that prevent the student from accessing and understanding Financial Aid information the Financial Aid staff will discuss normally confidential information with the individual(s) the student designates on the disclosure authorization form. Students may request a disclosure authorization form from the Financial Aid Office. Students must complete and sign the disclosure authorization form in the Financial Aid Office in the presence of a Financial Aid staff member. Students can rescind the disclosure authorization at any time. Due to the highly sensitive nature of financial aid and academic information, facsimiles, photocopies or mailed disclosure authorization forms will not be accepted.
Ethical Principles
The University of the Arts fully supports and adheres to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Statement of Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct for Instructional Financial aid Professionals.
The receipt of financial aid is a privilege, which creates both rights and responsibilities.
Students have the right to know the method used to determine their need; the right to have access to information and records used in determining need; and the right to be awarded aid as equitably as funds permit.
Students applying for financial aid are responsible for accurately portraying financial resources and circumstances and notifying the Financial Aid Office of any changes in status; for applying in a timely manner; and for maintaining satisfactory academic progress and good standing.
Students who fail to maintain adequate progress will be placed on probation. Failure to correct academic deficiency will result in the loss of financial aid until the required credits and grade-point average have been earned.
Students, parents, or others who knowingly provide false information on any financial aid form (financial aid forms include but are not limited to the FAFSA, verification forms, Work Study time cards and loan applications) will be denied financial aid and will be refused for all subsequent years without the possibility of appeal. Additionally, students so identified will be billed for all aid disbursed and may face prosecution by the Department of Education, which may result in fine, imprisonment, or both.
While the Financial Aid Office staff is available to assist students through the application process, it is the student's responsibility to see to the correctness and completeness of his or her application. If a student receives notification that his/her FAFSA or loan application is incomplete, the student must determine what is necessary to complete the application(s) and submit the required information. An application for financial aid will have no effect on the decision concerning admission. The admission decision is made without access to financial aid data.
Presidential Scholarship • Promising Artist Award • Director's Talent Scholarship • Artist Grant
Terms and Conditions
The scholarship or grant you have been awarded will be renewed under the following terms and conditions:
1. You must enroll as a full-time undergraduate at The University of the Arts. Full-time is defined as completing between 12 and 18 credits each semester. If you complete fewer than 12 credits each semester, your scholarship/grant may be revoked. The award will not be granted for more than 8 semesters. You must maintain satisfactory academic progress in accordance with University regulations.
2. Your scholarship/grant may be revoked should you withdraw from or take a leave of absence from The University of the Arts. The University reserves the right to terminate this scholarship/grant if your enrollment is not continuous from the date of your original entry.
3. Should you be subject to disciplinary action, academic probation or dismissal while enrolled at The University of the Arts, your scholarship/grant may be revoked.
4. The University of the Arts reserves the right to reduce this scholarship/grant to eliminate any cash refund to you should your scholarship/grant, when combined with other financial aid, outside scholarships, or benefits, exceed tuition or the cost of attendance.
5. The Merit Award is a tuition scholarship, which cannot be combined with other University sponsored grants, scholarships, or benefits (which include, but are not limited to, tuition remission, tuition exchange, or tuition discounts) to be used toward dormitory fees or other non-tuition expenses.
6. PHEAA grant recipients are subject to PHEAA's gift aid test and may not receive grants and scholarships exceeding tuition, fees, and an allowance for books and supplies.
7. Should you decline this scholarship/grant, the offer becomes void and is canceled. If your scholarship/grant is canceled, you may reapply, but you will then be considered on a funds-available basis and may not be awarded the same amount.
8. The scholarship/grant cannot be combined with tuition remission, the alumni discount or the sibling discount. The sibling of a scholarship/grant recipient will, however, qualify for the sibling discount.
9. Scholarship/grant recipients are required to maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA (both semester and cumulative). We reserve the right to revoke the scholarship/grant in full or in part should the recipients' GPA fall below 2.0.