Awarding Process

Financial aid applications are processed centrally by federal Central Processing Services (CPS). The processor does not award or deny funds. They assist in calculating financial need. Awards are based on the following:

Step 1: Completing Verification

If a student's financial aid application is selected for review by the Financial Aid Office Quality Assurance Program, the Financial Aid Office must receive all supporting documentation from applicant and parents (or spouse if married). This involves cross-checking information from all documentation (including the application) related to earned income, untaxed income, expenses, assets, liabilities and household size. This process is called "verification" [PDF].

Step 2: Establishing Cost of Attendance

A Standard Nine-Month Student Cost of Attendance (budget) which includes basic costs of tuition fees, books and supplies, room and board, transportation and personal expenses is established for financial aid students.

Step 3: Calculating Family Contribution

The Financial Aid Office verifies parent and student contribution as calculated by the Federal need analysis formula. This family contribution is the amount which the family may reasonably be expected to contribute toward meeting the student's college expenses. Details about how the family contribution is calculated are located under the "Eligibility" section. The formula process is called "need analysis". The theory of need analysis is based on the following assumptions:

• Students have primary responsibility to pay for their education
• Parents, to the extent that they are able, have responsibility to pay for their children's education.
• Parents will contribute, as they are able, funds for their children's education.
• Families should be evaluated in a consistent and equitable manner while recognizing that special circumstances can alter a family's ability to contribute.

All students (dependent and independent) are expected to contribute toward their education. Your expected contribution is determined by adding together all resources which include:

• Earnings from employment;
• All other assistance such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Social Security and Veterans' Benefits;
• A percentage of assets such as savings and investments.

Step 4: Determining Financial Need

From the need analysis, we are able to determine the relative financial strength or ability of the financial aid student and/or their parent to pay for postsecondary educational expenses. Financial need is determined by subtracting the amount of the expected contribution from the standard budget. The remainder equals financial aid eligibility or "financial need".

What It Costs - Expected Contribution = Financial Need