Eligibility

To continue receiving financial aid, you must maintain eligibility. You are expected to know and follow the policies that you agree to when you applied for and accepted financial aid.

If you no longer meet eligibility requirements you could lose your financial aid, which comes with the requirement to pay back unearned financial aid or the cancellation of future aid. 

Verification

Verification is the process PSU uses to confirm that the data you reported on your FAFSA form is accurate. If you’re selected for verification, we will request additional documentation that supports the information you reported. We will review your financial and household information to confirm the accuracy of your FAFSA. If corrections to your FAFSA are needed, we will correct your application on your behalf and you will be sent an updated Student Aid Report (SAR)/FAFSA Submission Summary.

You can see if your FAFSA has been selected for verification on your Student Aid Report (SAR) (2023-2024 FAFSAs)/FAFSA Submission Summary (2024-2025 FAFSAs). PSU will also notify you via your @pdx.edu email. This communication will include a request for additional documents such as income tax data from the IRS or family size information (or other types of documentation).

The final deadline to submit verification documentation for a given academic year is 120 days after the last day of your enrollment for that academic year, or September 1, whichever is earlier. Submission of documentation after this date may affect your eligibility for retroactive financial aid or any financial aid amounts already disbursed to your account. Once your FAFSA has been processed, you can correct it or update it.

How to Submit Verification Documentation

1. Go to your Financial Aid Dashboard.

2. Under Financial Aid Application, select Review Outstanding Documents.

3. Send these documents to the Office of Financial Aid.

Withdrawal

Withdrawing from PSU can impact your student financial aid for both the term you withdraw and future terms. We encourage you to contact the Office of Financial Aid if you plan to withdraw.

Financial aid is earned for each day that you participate (attend class or post in an online course discussion). You may be expected to repay the unearned portion of your financial aid if you withdraw from school. You are also required to complete exit counseling if you have borrowed federal loans or received a TEACH grant. There are two types of withdrawals:

• Official Withdrawal: Withdrawing from all federal aid-eligible courses for the term in myPSU or through the Office of the Registrar. Audited courses are not eligible for federal aid.
• Unofficial Withdrawal: If you stop attending your classes and receive grades for the term that do not indicate participation (X/M/F/NP grades). You will be considered withdrawn as of your last date of attendance or participation in your classes or the midpoint of the term as determined by PSU.

Your aid eligibility will be reviewed within 45 days after the Office of Financial Aid becomes aware of your withdrawal. In the case of an unofficial withdrawal, aid eligibility will be reviewed within 45 days after grades are posted for the term.

If you withdraw (officially or unofficially) and have not completed more than 60% of the term, you have not earned all of your federal financial aid and per federal law, a Return of Title IV Funds calculation must be performed. The Title IV programs that are covered by this law are Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, TEACH Grants, Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), and Federal Perkins Loans.

PSU is required to return the lesser of the unearned portion of federal aid, or of the total institutional charges (tuition and fees, housing charges, etc.) billed to you for the term. The unearned portion of the aid is returned based on federal guidelines. For example, if you complete 20% of your term, then the remaining 80% of the federal financial aid that was disbursed on your behalf would be returned. Funds are returned in the following order:

1. Direct Unsubsidized Loans
2. Subsidized Direct Loans
3. Direct PLUS loans
4. Federal Pell Grant
5. FSEOG
6. TEACH Grant
7. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant

If the return of the funds creates a balance due on your PSU student account, you will be responsible for paying that balance.

Other Impacts of Withdrawal

• Your non-federal aid may also be affected by your withdrawal. If you drop in the first week of the term or petition and receive a 100% tuition refund, your Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG) may be reversed for the term. If you do not receive an OOG award in fall term, your winter and spring OOG may also be canceled.
• The Federal Work Study program requires students to be enrolled at least half-time (6+ credits). If you have a Federal Work Study position, you may not be eligible to continue working that term if you withdraw.
• Your enrollment status will be updated with your loan servicer. You may enter your loan grace period or loan repayment if you have already exhausted your grace period.
• Withdrawing impacts your Satisfactory Academic Progress and could make you ineligible to receive aid in future terms.
• PSU will process your tuition refund based on the date you drop the class. Any credit balance caused by a tuition refund can be used to pay back financial aid.  

Withdrawing could change your academic standing with the Office of the Registrar or with your department.  Review the withdrawal checklist before withdrawing from all courses.

Appeals

If you are no longer eligible for financial aid, you can appeal by documenting circumstances outside of your control. A financial aid appeal is used to regain conditional financial aid eligibility for a future term. You may not appeal financial aid eligibility for a previous term that has ended or, for unearned financial aid that was billed back to you through your student account because of a withdrawal.

Select the appropriate appeal below and completed, sign and submit your appeal to the Office of Student Financial Aid. Allow up to two weeks for your appeal to be reviewed. If you have previously submitted an appeal, your subsequent appeal may take longer. Appeal decisions (approved, denied, more information needed) are posted to your confidential messages center in your PSU student account.