Financial Aid Policies

EKU Online > Tuition & Financial Aid > Financial Aid > Financial Aid Policies

KHEAA Verification

About one third of all FAFSAs are selected for a process called “verification.” Eastern Kentucky University has partnered with Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) to complete the verification process on behalf of EKU.

How does the student begin the verification process?

Go to www.kheaa.com and click “Sign In”
Sign in to MyKHEAA with your student ID and password. (First-time MyKHEAA users must before logging in)
Click on “KHEAA Verify”
Complete the required verification forms

KHEAA Verify

P.O. Box 4902
Frankfort, KY 40602
FAX: 502-696-7230
Phone: 855-272-8771
Email: verification@kheaa.com

NOTE: EKU cannot process any financial aid until this process is complete.

FERPA

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), also referred to as the Buckley Amendment, is a federal law designed to:

Protect the privacy of student education records
Establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records
Provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate and misleading information

Student Rights:

Inspect and review their education records
Seek to amend their education records when there has been a legitimate error recorded
Provide consent to disclose selected information from their education records

Parental Rights:

When a student reaches the age of 18 or begins attending a school beyond the high school level, FERPA rights are transferred to the student
Parents may obtain directory information at the discretion of the college
Parents may obtain non-directory information with a signed consent from their child

NOTE: It is EKU policy NOT to release information to parents without written consent

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

Federal regulations mandate that all students must make satisfactory, measurable academic progress toward completion of a degree in order to receive federal assistance through Title IV federal grant, work, and loan programs.

First-time freshmen, new transfer students, new post-baccalaureate, and new graduate students are automatically considered to be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) during the first academic year enrolled at EKU. The students will be subject to SAP standards at the end of the academic year. An academic year is defined as August to May.

EKU’s SAP standards comply with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Education
These are financial aid standards and do not replace or override EKU academic policies
Academic progress will be reviewed annually at the end of the spring semester
The academic progress of students on Financial Aid Probation will be reviewed after each payment period
The academic progress of new financial aid applicants will be reviewed as EKU receives the results of your FAFSA
It is your responsibility to stay informed of the University’s SAP standards and policy

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined as:

Cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 for undergraduate or 3.0 for graduate students
At least 67% of attempted credit hours must be successfully completed (transfer hours count toward this total)
Degree must be completed within 150% of the published credit hours (transfer hours count toward this total) For example, a 120 credit-hour bachelor’s degree must be completed by the time 180 credit hours are accrued

Re-Establishing Financial Aid Eligibility

Without an Appeal

If you meet one of the following requirements, contact the Student Financial Aid Office to have your financial aid reinstated:

You were denied financial aid because you did not meet the minimum GPA standard, but have taken additional courses to bring your GPA up to the minimum
You were denied financial aid because you did not meet the 67% completion rate, but have taken additional courses to bring your pace back to 67% or better

With an Appeal

You may appeal to regain your eligibility for financial aid if you had extenuating circumstances which prevented you from making satisfactory academic progress. Extenuating circumstances are significant life experiences that impacted your emotional and/or physical health so much that you were unable to make good academic progress.

You may not base your appeal on:

Your need for financial aid
Your lack of knowledge that your financial aid was in jeopardy

Appeals must include:

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form.
A letter from the student explaining the circumstances which prevented satisfactory academic progress in the past and how/why those circumstances affected the student. An explanation from the student as to how the circumstances have been resolved so that you can make satisfactory academic progress in the future. Include the steps/resources you plan to take to improve your academic record.
Documentation to support/verify the circumstances cited in the letter. For example, illness and/or injury can be documented with hospital or insurance records; a death can be documented with an obituary or funeral card; divorce can be documented with signed letter from a lawyer or a copy of the divorce decree, etc. Letters must be signed and must contain contact information (the phone number, email address, etc.) of the person who wrote and signed the letter. Documentation cannot be from family members, significant others, roommates, etc.
If a student is appealing due to the maximum time frame (150%), the appeal must include a list of the student’s remaining degree requirements signed by the student’s advisor or an academic specialist in the student’s college of study.

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