How Student Loans Work at Fuller

Eligible students are offered Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loans as part of the financial aid awarding process. Student awards will be posted on Portico.  Students will be notified by email with their awards are ready to be viewed.  The student decides whether they accept, decline or reduce the loan amounts offered to them through Portico.  If the student has decided to accept student loans, they are processed and a Certification Letter with the amounts and estimated disbursement dates is sent to them. All students borrowing for the 2009-2010 aid your will need to complete a new Direct Loan Master Promissory Note (MPN).  First time borrowers at Fuller must also complete an Entrance Counseling Session before they can receive loan funds.  Students who wish to apply for the Federal GRAD PLUS Loan should complete the GradPLUS FastApp on the forms page.

Federal Student Loan Eligibility Requirements

• You must be accepted into a degree or certificate program and have a Regular admit status. Note: Federal Student Loans will not longer be available to Doctor of Ministry Students effective September 2007. You must be a United States citizen or legal Permanent Resident. You must be enrolled at least half-time (usually 6 units). You must maintain Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• You must be in compliance with the U.S. Selective Service if you are a man.
• You must not be in default on any current or prior federal student or Perkins loan.
• You must have a complete Financial Aid Application on file in the Office of Financial Aid.
• You must demonstrate financial need for Stafford Subsidized Loans. Financial need is calculated by Student Financial Services.
• Students with exceptional circumstances may have additional eligibility requirements not listed here.

How Perkins Loans Work at Fuller

Perkins loans are reserved for students with the highest levels of financial need as determined by the Office of Financial. If you are offered a Perkins loan and decide to accept it, you will be sent a Perkins Promissory Note that must be completed and returned to the Office of Financial Aid. Disbursements from Perkins Loans are applied directly to your student account on the tenth week of the summer quarter and the sixth week of the fall, winter and spring quarters.

Federal Perkins Loan Eligibility Requirements

• You must be accepted into a degree program and have a Regular admit status.
• You must be a United States citizen or legal Permanent Resident.
• You must be enrolled at least half-time (6 units).
• You must maintain Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• You must be in compliance with the U.S. Selective Service if you are a man.
• You must not be in default on any current or prior federal student or Perkins loan.
• You must have a complete Financial Aid Application on file in the Office of Financial Aid.
• You must demonstrate financial need. Financial need is calculated by the Office of Financial Aid.
• Students with exceptional circumstances may have additional eligibility requirements not listed here.

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (FASAP) Policy
To be eligible for seminary and federal financial aid, you must meet the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (FASAP). Measurements are taken once each quarter. Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to measure your academic progress each quarter in two ways:

1. Cumulative GPA.
   All students who have attempted more than 16 units must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or better.
    
2. Class Completion Rate
   The percentage of classes you have successfully completed at Fuller Seminary is calculated. Federal regulations require the seminary to use your complete enrollment history at Fuller, including courses from prior degree programs, in the calculation. The formula used is:

Earned Units / (Attempted Units - Excluded Units) = Percentage of successfully completed units.

• Earned Units are the units granted for a course at the time of the calculation.
• Attempted Units are all units not officially dropped.
• Excluded Units include the following:
• In Process (IP) grades
• Hold (H) grades
• Withdrawal (W) grades
• All zero-unit (0) classes, such as ESL classes
• Transfer credits - only Fuller Seminary units are included in the calculation.

The chart below lists the completion rate required by school and program Student Loan Disbursements

Students who fail to meet the requirements of Satisfactory Academic Process due to circumstances beyond their control may petition to have their financial aid reinstated.  For more information regarding this process please see the  SatisfactoryAcademic Progress Petition Policy . 

Students must be enrolled and attending classes when their loan disbursements arrive.

Each loan is assigned a loan period based upon the number of consecutive quarters that the student anticipates being enrolled at half-time status or greater during the academic year as indicated on the Fuller Financial Aid Application (FAAP).  The estimated disbursement dates for each loan are listed on the Loan Certification Letter, which is mailed to the student after the loan has been processed by the Office of Financial Aid.  All loans are disbursed by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and are applied directly to the student's account at Fuller in accordance with federal regulations.  A refund, if any, is either mailed directly to the student's home by the Office of Student Accounts or electronically transferred to a student’s bank account if they have signed up for electronic refunds through Portico.  This happens after the disbursement has been applied to their account.  Eligibility for a loan disbursement will be confirmed each time a disbursement arrives.  Students must be enrolled and attending classes at half-time status each quarter at the time the disbursement arrives.  In accordance with federal regulations, the Seminary must return a disbursement three business days from receipt if the student no longer meets the eligibility requirements.