Eligibility Requirements for Financial Aid

All students should review the GSD’s policy for satisfactory progress.  In order to be eligible for and maintain financial aid, students must also:

  • Satisfy academic degree requirements
  • Attend at least half-time
  • Not be in default on a federal student loan
  • Not have withdrawn from at least 50% of credits attempted and completed requirements for graduation within 150% of the normal time allotted for students in the same program
  • Comply with all requests related to federal verification for quality controls
  • Promptly provide required aid documentation including tax returns, loan borrower’s interviews, etc. as requested
  • Maintain Satisfactory Progress (See below)

Satisfactory Progress

Students must maintain satisfactory progress to maintain their financial aid. Satisfactory progress is described by the GSD Registrar. Students who reach dismissal level, as defined by the Registrar, are considered not making satisfactory progress and may be placed on financial aid warning, or they may lose their eligibility for financial aid.

Warning Status

The warning status is only for one enrollment period, and students must improve their status (as determined by the Registrar) by the end of that period, or they will lose their aid eligibility.

Appeals and Probation

If an aid recipient/student fails to improve during their warning period or if they lose their aid eligibility all together, they may appeal (based on certain conditions) the decision with the financial aid office. The appeal must explain why the student failed to make satisfactory progress, and what has changed to allow progress to improve by the next evaluation. An appeal with the financial aid office is separate from any academic appeal. If the student appeals and the appeal is granted, an aid recipient may be placed on probation for a semester in which their progress must be improved as determined by the Registrar. An academic plan must be submitted to the Aid Office and it must be monitored. An aid recipient on probation who fails to improve may lose their eligibility altogether.

Restoring Aid Eligibility

Once a student has improved their status, as described on the GSD Grading page, financial aid eligibility will be restored.