Student Financial Services

Student Accounts Office

Main Office: Campus Center CC-437
Phone: (414) 277-7130
Fax: (414) 277-4535
Email: payments@msoe.edu
Website: www.msoe.edu/admissions-aid/tuition-fees

Financial Aid Office

Main Office: Campus Center, CC-431
Phone: (414) 277-7223
Fax: (414) 277-6952
Email: finaid@msoe.edu
Website: www.msoe.edu/finaid

MSOE’s Financial Aid Office is available to assist graduate students in obtaining financial aid and exploring alternative loan products. We encourage all students to visit the Financial Aid website for more detailed information. If you have any questions or want further information, feel free to contact the Financial Aid Office at (800) 778-7223 or finaid@msoe.edu.

How to Apply for Aid

It is encouraged that all eligible students file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) so they can be considered for the maximum amount of aid available. Students will need to create an FSA ID from the U.S. Department of Education. In order to create an FSA ID, please visit studentaid.gov. You will need to use this ID to access your student aid dashboard to apply for the FAFSA and view loan history.

Eligibility

Admitted graduate students who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens, enrolled at least half-time, maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), and not in default or do not owe a repayment on any federal aid program may be eligible for non need-based federal student loans. A student must be enrolled in a minimum of three graduate credits per quarter to be eligible for student loans and deferment of student loans. Please visit MSOE’s financial aid website for more information about the types of aid offered.

Please note the non-credit workshops offered through Graduate and Professional Education are not eligible for financial aid. Further note that nondegree and nonmatriculated students are not eligible for financial aid.

Graduate Tuition and Fees (2021-2022 Academic Year)

MSOE reserves the right to revise tuition, fees and policies at any time. MSOE will exercise the normal means of communication announcing revisions.

Due Dates

Charges are due and payable by Monday of the third week of classes. Students who have settled in full all obligations to MSOE will be issued earned certificates, diplomas and transcripts, and will be permitted to register for the subsequent term. A student must have a zero balance to register for the next quarter. 

If payment is not received by Monday of the third week, a finance charge may accrue at a rate of one percent per month (12 percent A.P.R.) until paid. Students whose financial aid has not transferred to their student account as of Monday of the third week because they have not completed their financial aid paperwork, have not yet applied for financial aid or applied for financial aid late, may be charged a finance charge on the entire outstanding balance. Students that are sponsored by a company, Department of Veterans Affairs (Chapter 31 and 33), DVR or a Foreign Embassy, who have their letter of authorization on file in the Student Accounts Office by the first day of the third week, will not be charged a finance charge on those charges covered by a company or agency.  

Agency or Employer Sponsorship of Students

Under these plans, a student’s tuition (and other fees, if applicable) may be paid by an employer, outside agency, or embassy. Eligible students must submit the following: 

• Proof of eligibility from agency or employer
• Copy of agency or company policy, if applicable 
• Completed Payment Plan Agreement Form
• Completed Financial Responsibility Form 

Under agency or employer sponsorship options, the student is ultimately responsible for the term’s tuition, fees, room and board, and all other assessed charges. Payment in full is due within 45 days from the last day of the term. If the student’s agency or employer fails to pay the student is required to pay in full immediately. Finance charges of 1% a month will be assessed beginning on the 30th day of delinquency on the total unpaid balance. If payment is not made within 45 days of grades being posted, registration for current and subsequent terms may be cancelled. 

H.E.L.P. Payment Plan

MSOE’s in-house payment plan, H.E.L.P. (Helping Everyone to Learn and Pay), offers students a monthly payment plan for the total amount due for the academic year. The Student Accounts Office will determine the total amount due and the student can elect to be in a twelve-month or nine-month payment plan. Any amount not covered by H.E.L.P. will be due when billed. For further information, contact the Student Accounts Office at (414) 277-7130.

Financial Aid Disbursement

Scholarship, grant and loan funds are usually divided equally between the terms.  Students must complete all required promissory notes, entrance counseling, and verification documents and have registered for classes before financial aid can be credited to the student’s account. Students must be enrolled at least half-time to receive federal student loans.  If the student has any other grant or scholarship aid, they must be meeting the terms and conditions of the aid in order for the aid to be disbursed. All processed financial aid will transfer to your student account during the second week of the term and on a rolling basis from that time forward.

Credit Balance Refund Checks

All processed financial aid will transfer to the student account during the second week of the quarter and on a rolling basis from that time forward. A credit balance refund will be processed if the sum of financial aid posted to the student account including federal Title IV funds (see definition below) that exceeds the sum of allowable charges (see definition below). MSOE will refund any excess funds within 14 days after the disbursement is posted to the student account. Students should elect to have refunds directly deposited into a checking or savings account to receive their refunds faster. If they are not enrolled in direct deposit, a check will be mailed to the current address on file with the university. 

To prevent any outstanding balance because of non-allowable charges, students can complete the Credit Balance Authorization Form. This authorization will allow MSOE to apply the amount of financial aid including federal Title IV funds that exceed the allowable charges to cover all non-allowable charges (such as parking, bookstore charges, etc.) to the student account.

Students also have the option to hold any credit balance refund on their student account to cover future quarter expenses.  The funds will be held on your student account through the end of the academic year or earlier if the student does not plan to attend MSOE for the full academic year.  To hold your credit balance refund, please complete the Credit Balance Authorization Form.

Federal Title IV Funds and Allowable Charges Definitions

Federal regulations require MSOE to only apply financial aid funds including federal Title IV funds to certain allowable charges.   Below are two lists on what is considered Federal Title IV funds and allowable charges.

Federal Title IV funds include:

• Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

Allowable charges include only the following:

• Tuition
• Mandatory Fees (Technology and Infrastructure and Facilities Fees)
• Room and board, if contracted with the MSOE 

Book Purchase Policy

Students are able to charge their book purchases, made at the MSOE Bookstore, to their MSOE student account and will be billed for those charges on their next monthly invoice. In order to do this, students must present their MSOE student ID to the bookstore when purchasing their textbooks. Students are able to charge their books to their student account during the three weeks before the term begins through the second Tuesday of the term. Students can only charge books and supplies to their account; students cannot charge MSOE apparel or souvenirs to their account. 

Inclusive Access is a distribution system wherein students are automatically given the course materials electronically when enrolled in a course in which the faculty member has selected to use this type of digital format.  Students will be billed automatically through their student account if they do not choose to opt out online by 4pm on Friday of the first week of classes. For additional information please contact the bookstore at www.bookstore.msoe.edu, bookstore@msoe.edu or (414)277-7173.

Student Statements

All registered students receive an email notification when their bill is available to view online. For any student billing questions, please contact the Student Accounts office at (414) 277-7130 or via email at payments@msoe.edu. 

Students can always view their statement online at my.msoe.edu and are responsible for all charges. MSOE does not send paper invoices. Students can authorize third party access to view invoices online at my.msoe.edu.

Dual-degree Program Charges

Dual-degree programs offer the ability to complete both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in five years. Students in a dual-degree program should complete their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as an undergraduate student.

Full-time students (12+ credits) accepted into the Freshman-to-Master’s program in Architectural Engineering or Civil Engineering are charged full-time undergraduate tuition rates and will receive undergraduate financial aid, even though they may be taking graduate courses. If a student enrolls in more than 19 credits, they will be charged the undergraduate per-credit rate for any credits above 19.

Tuition Refund

Tuition refunds will be based on the date of official withdrawal. The official withdrawal date is the date that the completed form is received by the Registrar’s Office. Tuition refunds will be authorized only for withdrawals approved by the Registrar’s Office.

Tuition Refund Schedule for Withdrawal from MSOE

Tuition refunds will only be granted to students who officially withdraw according to the following schedule:

Withdrawal-Return of Financial Aid 

Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Federal Regulation 34 CFR 668.22 specifies how a school must determine the amount of Title IV program assistance you earn if you withdraw from school. The Title IV programs offered by the university that are covered by this law are as follows: Federal Pell Grants, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants, Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG).

Though your aid is posted to your account at the beginning of each term, you earn the funds as you complete the term. If you withdraw from all classes during your period of enrollment, you may have only earned a portion of your Title IV Aid. The amount of aid earned is determined by a specific formula, and if you received more assistance than you earned, the excess funds must be returned by the school.

The amount of aid earned is determined on a pro rata basis. For example, if you completed 30% of your period of enrollment, you earned 30% of the assistance you were scheduled to received. Once you have completed more than 60% of a period of enrollment, you will have earned all your financial aid.

Types of Withdrawals

Official Withdrawals: The official withdrawal date is determined as the date that the “Withdrawal from All Classes” form is submitted to the Registrar’s Office.

Unofficial Withdrawals: If a recipient of Title IV aid unofficially withdraws from all classes without notifying MSOE, the Financial Aid Office is required to determine the student’s last date of academically related activity to calculate whether a portion of the student’s federal financial aid must be returned to the federal government.  The Financial Aid Office will contact the student’s professor(s) to determine the last date a student completed any academically related activity. If the professor(s) is unable to provide a date, the Financial Aid Office will be required to use the midpoint of the quarter as the withdrawal date. The student will have 14 days after notification of any adjustment in aid to provide documentation that he or she completed the quarter or attended at a later date than the midpoint of the term.

Steps of Return to Title IV:

The “Return to Title IV” calculation involves several steps. Below is the pertinent information involved in the calculation:

1. The school determines the Title IV financial aid that has been disbursed to your account versus the amount of Title IV financial aid that could have been disbursed to your account. In most cases, the full amount of aid will have disbursed. In the instance that your aid has not been disbursed you may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.
2. The school determines the amount of time you attended versus the total days in the quarter. Breaks of five or more days during the quarter are removed from the total days. The calculation is represented as a percentage of aid the student has earned.
3. The school multiplies the percentage of aid earned by the total amount of disbursed aid and aid that could have disbursed. This is the amount of aid the student has earned.
4. The school takes the amount of aid the student has earned and subtracts it from the total aid disbursed for the student. This is the amount of aid the student has not earned.
5. Any funds not earned will be returned no later than 45 days from the determination of a student’s withdrawal in the in the following order:
   1. Federal Unsubsidized Direct Loan
   2. Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan
6. If a student withdraws before completing 60 percent of the quarter, a bill will be mailed to the student for any balance due to the return financial aid funds.

Post Withdrawal Disbursements:

A student who received less federal financial aid than he or she earned based on the calculation above, may be eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement. The MSOE Financial Aid Office will inform that student in writing that he or she is eligible for that disbursement prior to making any post-withdrawal disbursement. Any student who is contacted by the MSOE Financial Aid Office will have 14 days from the date of the letter to confirm that he or she would like to accept all or a portion of the funds available. Federal loans that were awarded and accepted by the student but not originated with the Department of Education are not eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement.

Return of Institutional Funds Policy

• If a recipient of MSOE scholarship or grants officially withdraws before 4:30 p.m. Friday of week four, MSOE will calculate the amount of institutional aid the student earned and return the unearned aid back to the university.
• The amount of aid earned is determined by dividing the number of days completed in the quarter by the total number of days in the quarter.

Seeking Additional Help on the Impact of Withdrawing on Financial Aid

If you need to withdraw from all of your classes, you are encouraged to speak to a financial aid counselor before doing so to determine how it may affect your financial aid. If you have any questions about your Title IV program funds, you can call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FEDAID (1-800-433-3243). TTY users may call 1-800-730-8913. Information is also available on Student Aid on the Web at: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for MSOE Financial Aid Recipients

In accordance with federal regulations, financial aid recipients are required to complete both 1.) A minimum percentage of credits attempted, (defined as the Quantitative Component of Satisfactory Academic Progress) and 2.) Maintain a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) (known as the Qualitative Component of Satisfactory Academic Progress) that would lead to the attainment of a degree.

Qualitative Component

In accordance with federal regulations, a student’s CGPA must be reviewed to ensure the student will be meeting requirements to obtain a degree.

1. Students are monitored at the end of each academic term, including summer.
2. Students who have not maintained a 3.0 CGPA at the time of review will be placed on financial aid warning for their next term of attendance.
3. While on financial aid warning, the student is still eligible for financial aid, but the student must reestablish a 3.0 CGPA by the end of the warning term.
   • If the student reestablishes a 3.0 CGPA or higher, the financial aid warning will be lifted.
   • If the student does not reestablish the 3.0 CGPA during the financial aid warning term, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension and will not qualify for financial aid for their next term of attendance. Students can appeal their suspension. Please see the appeal section below.

Quantitative Component

Students must successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative credits attempted. The percentage is calculated by dividing completed credits (passing grades and transfer credit) by attempted credits.  Attempted credits include successfully completed credits, earned F’s, incompletes, withdrawals and courses that were grade replaced.  67% completion percentage is required in to assure that students can obtain a degree in the maximum time frame allowed. Please review the maximum time frame section for more information.

1. Students are monitored at the end of each academic term, including summer.
2. Students not meeting the minimum percentage after a given academic term will be placed on financial aid warning for their next term of attendance.
3. While on financial aid warning, the student is still eligible for financial aid but the student must meet the required minimum percentage by the end of the warning term.
   1. If the student completes enough credits to meet the minimum percentage, the financial aid warning will be lifted.
   2. If the student does not complete enough credits to meet the minimum percentage during the financial aid warning term, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension and will not qualify for financial aid for their next term of attendance. Students can appeal their suspension. Please see the appeal section below.

Grading Scale

MSOE’s grading scale consists of passing and non-passing grades, in which the Financial Aid SAP policy is based.

1. Passing Grades consist of the following: A, AB, B, BC, C, S, P, LP
2. Non-Passing Grades consist of the following: F, F*, NP, U, W, NR, PIP

In the event of a significant disruption of academic activities, as declared by the Executive Vice President of Academics, a temporary, alternative pass/no pass grading scale may be employed. The use of the alternative grading scale must be authorized by the Council for Academic Planning and communicated by the Executive Vice President of Academics. When in effect, the alternative grading scale must be consistently applied university wide.

• “Pass” is defined as the equivalent of a B grade or higher, as B is defined in the standard graduate grading scale.
• “Low Pass” is defined as the equivalent of a BC or C grade, as they are defined in the standard graduate grading scale.
• “No Pass” is defined as the equivalent of an F grade, as F is defined in the standard graduate grading scale.

Students who have a grade change from a non-passing grade to a passing grade OR who have changed majors and have had courses pounded out can request a re-evaluation of their SAP standing. Students seeking this option must submit an updated unofficial transcript to the MSOE Financial Aid Office with the re-evaluation request. Please allow 1-2 weeks for processing.

Appeals

If a student is placed on financial aid suspension, they may appeal their suspension. Students are notified of their suspension status via email to their MSOE email address and via mail to their permanent address. Included in this notification is instructions on where to find the appeal form and the deadline based on the academic term. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Financial Aid Office and should be addressed to the director. All appeals must be submitted by 4:30pm of Monday of the eighth week of classes of the term for which the student is appealing their suspension. A committee reviews the appeals and the student will be notified of the decision via email to their MSOE email address.

Students may file an appeal for the following reasons: death of a relative, personal injury or illness, or other extenuating circumstances that the student can document. Students must indicate why they failed to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress and what has changed in their situation to allow the student to meet the requirements. Students are limited to two suspension appeal requests while attending MSOE.

Financial Aid Probation

Students whose appeals have been approved may be placed on financial aid probation for their next term of attendance.  While on financial aid probation, the student must reestablish a 3.00 CGPA and/or reestablish 67% completion rate of cumulative credits attempted.  If it is determined prior to the probation term that the student will not meet the requirements of the financial aid probation during the probation term, an academic plan will be developed for the student.

Academic Plan

Students whose appeals have been approved may have to complete an MSOE Financial Aid Plan Agreement if it is determined by the Financial Aid Office that they cannot reestablish a 3.00 CGPA and/or reestablish 67% completion rate of cumulative credits attempted within one quarter of study.  The academic plan will be developed on an individual basis and may include academic performance requirements, meetings with an academic advisor, meetings with a counselor and the Raider Center for Academic Success.  Failure to meet the requirements of MSOE Financial Aid Plan Agreement will result in suspension of financial aid for the next term of attendance.

Denial of Appeal

Students whose financial aid suspension appeal is denied will have a one-time opportunity to forward their appeal to the Executive Vice President of Academics for review.  Students whose appeal is denied by the Executive Vice President of Academics or decides not to forward their appeal will need to find sources of funding other than federal, state or MSOE financial aid to cover the costs of their next term of attendance.

MSOE Financial aid Office will review students’ cumulative grade point average and percent of successfully completed credits quarterly.  Once they have reached a 3.00 CGPA and/or completion rate of at least 67% of cumulative credits attempted, their financial aid will be reinstated.  Students who are unable to meet the requirements after one quarter on financial aid suspension, will have the opportunity to appeal their suspension again unless they have appealed twice previously or their financial aid suspension appeal was denied by the Executive Vice President of Academics. 

Maximum Time Frame

Students must complete their degree program within 150% of the published length of their degree program.  The following below will be considered when calculating the maximum time frame.

• Transfer credits accepted from other schools will be counted toward completion of the degree program as both hours attempted and hours completed.
• Students who repeat a course will have both the initial and subsequent course(s) count toward completion of published length of the degree program as both hours attempted and hours completed.
• Remedial courses that are required for the completion of the degree program are counted as both hours attempted and hours completed.
• Courses where a student withdraws are also included in the maximum time frame calculation as attempted credits only and will be counted toward completion of published length of the degree program.
• Courses in quarters where students are not receiving financial aid will also be calculated as part of the maximum time frame calculation for financial aid purposes.
• Students who change majors must submit a Change of Program form with MSOE’s Registrar’s Office. When submitting the form, students will have the option to have all courses that do not meet academic requirements for the new major removed. If students choose this option, courses removed will not be considered in the maximum time frame calculation and will not count towards the CGPA calculation.
• When calculating the maximum time frame for students enrolled in two degree programs, the calculation will be based on 150% of the total credits needed to complete the longest of the two programs.

Please note:

Students’ enrollment level is determined by the number of credits registered as of 4:30 PM Friday of week one of each quarter.