TUITION AND FEES REFUND POLICY

A student enrolled at Sam Houston State University may receive financial refund of tuition and fees as outlined in the following schedules. Refunds and credits from one department will be applied to any other outstanding balances in other departments. Any remaining refund will be distributed per the student’s Bearkat OneCard preferences. The University may refund tuition and fees paid by a sponsor, donor or scholarship to the source rather than directly to the student who has withdrawn if the funds were made available to the University. Refund policies were established by Senate Bill No. 604 of the 65th Legislature and adopted by the Board of Regents, The Texas State University System, in August of 1977 and by the applicable federal regulations dealing with first semester financial aid students.

Dropping Courses

A student who submits a request to drop one or more courses in any given semester or summer session, but remains enrolled in at least one course, may be eligible for refunds. The refund schedule for dropping courses follows.

Fall and Spring Semesters Refund Schedule

First 12 class days	100%
After 12th class day	none

Summer Sessions

First 4 class days	100%
After 4th class day	none

NOTE: Class days are university class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

Resignations/Withdrawals

A student who officially withdraws from all of his/her courses at Sam Houston State University in a given semester or summer session may be eligible for a refund of tuition and the specified fees, based upon the courses in which the student is enrolled on the official date of withdrawal. Refunds are made in accordance with the following schedules.

State Statutory Refund Schedule of Tuition and Fees

Fall and Spring Semesters Refund Schedule

Before the 1st class day	100% (Less $15 Matriculation Fee)
1st class day through 5th class day	80%
6th class day through 10th class day	70%
11th class day through 15th class day	50%
16th class day through 20th class day	25%
Thereafter	No refund

Summer Session Refund Schedule

Before the 1st class day	100% (Less $15 Matriculation Fee)
1st class day through 3rd class day	80%
4th class day through 6th class day	50%
Thereafter	No refund

NOTE: Class days are University class days, not the number of days an individual class meets. Class days are to be counted from the first class meeting of on-campus daytime courses as indicated in the Academic Calendar.

Students who receive Title IV aid and resign on or before completing 60% of the semester will be required to repay the percentage of unearned financial aid according to the federal “Return to Title IV Aid” formula derived from the 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The percentage of aid to be repaid to Student Financial Aid programs is equal to the number of calendar days remaining in the semester divided by the number of calendar days in the semester.

Refunds are to be returned to lenders or program accounts in the following statutorily specified order provided the student has received funds from the account:

1. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan
2. Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan
3. Federal Perkins Loans
4. Federal PLUS Loans
5. Other federal, state, private or institutional sources of aid
6. The student

The previous schedule assumes the student has paid his/her fees in full. A different schedule applies to the installment payment plan participants — the primary difference in the schedule being the requirement for the University to compute the refund based on the assumption that the full amount of tuition and fees has been collected. Therefore, it is possible, and probable, that a student in the installment plan could owe more in tuition and fees than already collected by the University. These extra amounts, if any, would be due and payable before the student would be allowed to resign from the University.

STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

The Office of Financial Aid at Sam Houston State University is available to assist students in achieving their educational goals even when their personal or family finances are limited. While the student and his/her immediate family are primarily responsible for financing an education, the University recognizes its role in making a maximum effort to acquire additional funds for qualified students through a variety of aid programs.

Detailed information on all assistance programs, eligibility requirements, student budgets, priority dates, and the method of aid processing is available online at http://www. shsu.edu/~sfa_www/. Additionally, a student may request the information by inquiring in person at the Estill Bldg., Room 201, or by writing to the Office of Student Financial Aid, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville TX 77341-2328, or by phoning (936) 294-1724.

Specified financial aid programs which the University Financial Aid Office administers are as follows:

Grants

Texas Public Educational Grant (TPEG)
Texas Public Education Leverage Educational Assistance Partnership
Grant (LEAP)

Employment

Federal College Work Study Program
Texas College Work Study Program

Loans

Short-term Loans (STL)
Emergency Tuition and Fees Loan (ETFL)
Federal Perkins Loan
Federal Stafford Student Loan Programs
College Access Loan (CAL) - Only for Texas residents and students paying
state tuition.

Scholarships

SHSU scholarship recipients are not selected by the Financial Aid Office (FAO). However, all scholarship awards, SHSU and/or outside donor awards, must be coordinated by the FAO, in order to assure compliance with State and Federal Regulations.

Various academic departments offer scholarships to students majoring in that particular discipline. Any student interested in a specific departmental scholarship may request further information from the chair of that department or refer to “Scholarship Information” online at https://www.shsu.edu/~sfa_www for specific details about scholarship criteria and deadlines available through SHSU.

VETERANS ASSISTANCE OFFICE

The Veteran Assistance Staff in the Registrar’s Office can assist in the processing of claims for the Montgomery G I Bill (MGIB), Chapter 30 – Veteran Status, Chapter 31– Vocational Rehabilitation and Chapter 1606 – Reservist. Students who were Texas residents at the time of their entry into active duty, and who have exhausted their MGIB educational benefits, should inquire about their eligibility for benefits under the Texas Hazlewood Act.

GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS

Graduate programs offer a limited number of graduate assistantships. Full-time assistantships require a 20-hour per week workload. Students earning an assistantship receive a monthly stipend and other benefits, which may include qualifying for in-state tuition. For additional information about the availability of assistantships, please contact the appropriate graduate program coordinator. See Employment of Graduate Assistants, Academic Policy Statement 890303 at https://www.shsu.edu/~vaf_www/aps/890303.html.

ACADEMIC COMMON MARKET

Fifteen Southern states including Texas participate in the Academic Common Market, an interstate agreement for sharing uncommon academic programs. Residents of these states who are accepted for admission into selected out-of-state programs can enroll on an in-state tuition basis. There are two requirements:

1. Acceptance in a program to which your state has made arrangements to send its students;

2. Proof that the student is a legal resident of that state. Additional information may be obtained at the Academic Common Market website at http://www.cep.unt.edu/ACM.html or from the Office of the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Box 2087, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX 77341-2087; (936) 294-1006.Fall and Spring Semesters.