Muskingum College: Graduate Studies

The amount of assistance awarded reflects the family financial situation. Financial aid awarded must be within the budget allowed for each student. The college will not reveal any information about the student’s award except as required by law. Students should treat this information confidentially.
Financial aid awards for graduate students are made by semester for an academic year period. Summer is the first semester of the academic year. The awards are not transferable nor redeemable in cash. Students must apply for renewal of their aid each year.
Students who fail to complete a semester will have their awards adjusted in accordance with the Federal Return of Title IV funds and the university refund policy for graduate students, and will be liable for any fees that remain unpaid and.or for the return of any funds disbursed to the student.
MAE and MAT Graduate students are charged $390 per credit hour for the 2011 summer semester, and $410 per credit hour for the fall and spring 2011-12 award semesters. MISST students are charge $600 per credit hour with corresponding fees. See Business Office page for details. Semesters in these graduate program academic year are summer, fall, spring. Financial assistance will be awarded by semester. It is the student's responsibility to contact the financial aid office each semester and make sure any assistance that is needed is processed.
Verification - Muskingum will verify the accuracy of information supplied on applications for need-based financial aid. In some cases verification is required by the federal government. Students must supply tax information and other documentation when requested, and appropriate adjustments to the student's aid award will be made if there are discrepancies between reported and actual information. All required information must be received within 60 days of the completion of the most recently attended semester in order to permit finalization of awards. For student loans, verfication must be completed before the end of a semester to permit time to process the loan.
Muskie Bucks - Students who have a credit on their financial account can use some of that credit to buy books at the Muskingum University bookstore through the Muskie Bucks program, where funds are transferred from the student’s account to the ID card. This process, as well as refunds of credit balances, are handled by the Business Office.
Selective Service Registration - All students who have reached their 18th birthday must demonstrate that they have registered (or are not required to register) for the Selective Service in order to be eligible for any federal or state financial assistance.
Satisfactory Academic Progress - Students are expected to meet certain standards of satisfactory academic progress in order for financial aid to be renewed. The Graduate Student SAP Policy can be accessed at link listed below.
Students Convicted of Sale or Possession of Drugs
A federal or state drug conviction can result in suspension from participation in any Title IV program (disqualify a student for Federal Student Aid funds). Convictions count only for offenses occurring during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving Title IV aid. The chart below illustrates the period of ineligibility for FSA funds, depending on whether the conviction was for sale or possession and whether the student had previous offenses.
Possession of illegal drugs
1st offense: 1 year from date of conviction
2nd offense: 2 years from date of conviction
3+ offenses: Indefinite period
Sale of illegal drugs: ( a conviction for sale of drugs includes convictions for conspiring to sell drugs)
1st offense: 2 years from date of conviction
2nd offense: Indefinite period
3+ offenses: Indefinite period

Satisfactory academic Progress (SAP)

Students are expected to meet certain standards of satisfactory academic progress in order for financial aid to be renewed. The Satisfactory Academic Policy for Graduate students can be found by this link:
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Graduate students

If a student is determined to need an academic plan as part of the SAP appeal process, the form can be accessed at this link:

SAP Academic Plan (Graduate) form

Drop and Refund

Graduate students who wish to drop a class may do so before or during the add/drop period. Those who drop classes prior to the end of the add/drop period receive a full refund for all dropped classes. Students who drop all classes prior to or during the add/drop period are considered to be not enrolled for the semester. Any financial aid for which the student may have been eligible is returned to the respective program. For students who drop some, but not all, classes prior to or during the add/drop period, the enrollment status and subsequent financial aid eligibility are effective as of the end of the add/drop period. If a student has a loan certified and disbursed for a semester based on at least half time status at the time of the certification and then the student drops a class or does not matriculate in a class, the student's eligibility for that loan is recalculated. If the student is still at least half time, then the student may keep the amount of loan the student is now eligible based on the new hours. If the student drops to below half time, the loan will be cancelled and the loan proceeds, including any amount disbursed to the student, will be returned to the lender.

Withdrawal and Refund

Graduate students who wish to withdraw from a class may do so anytime prior to the last day of class. Students who withdraw from some or all classes following the end of the add/drop period are responsible for paying all tuition and fees for the courses. Students who withdraw from all courses within a given semester are not necessarily considered by Muskingum University to be withdrawn from the program. Federal financial aid guidelines, however, consider such students to be withdrawn from the institution, and are therefore sent information on how to do an Exit Interview. The student will also be subject to the Federal Return to Title IV calculation and may end up oweing the institution money. A student who withdraws from even just one class could be subject to Return to Title IV calculation and may end up oweing the institution money.

Financial aid awards to graduate students who withdraw from all classes after the end of the add/drop period but prior to the completion of 60% of the session will have their federal financial aid adjusted in accordance with federal regulations(Return to Title IV calculation). Adjustments to financial aid will in some cases be required for students who withdraw after the end of the add/drop period from some, but not all, classes within the semester. In all cases, graduate students are responsible for paying any balance due to the University.

Muskingum's refund policy and Return to Title IV calculation can be found at this link:Refund Policy

Graduate students who wish to withdraw from a class after the add/drop period must submit a written request to the Dean of Graduate and Continuing Studies. A withdrawal form is available in that office.

Graduate students who withdraw from a course receive a grade of “W”, which is not included in the GPA computation.