News

Debt Management for 2023 Graduating Students

Individual counseling sessions can be scheduled by emailing vsfa@uthscsa.edu to schedule an appointment after you complete your federal exit session at studentaid.gov.

Student Loan Debt Management Checklist – this resource outlines steps you can take as you prepare to manage your loans after graduation.

Other Resources:

The document below provides information about the income-driven repayment plans that are available to most federal student loan borrowers.

Differences Between the Income Driven Plans

Income Driven Repayment Plans: Questions and Answers

Acknowledgment

UT Health San Antonio signed and returned to the U. S. Department of Education, the Certification & Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 314(a)(1), (a)(4) of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA).

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund III (HEERF III), which is authorized by the American Rescue Plan (ARP), Public Law 117-2, was signed into law on March 11, 2021.  This law provides $39.6 billion in support to institutions of higher education to serve students and ensure learning continues during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HEERF III funds are in addition to funds authorized by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), Public Law 116-260 and the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Law 116-136. Emergency funds available to institutions and their students under all emergency funds total $76.2 billion.

Allocation

UT Health San Antonio has received an allocation of $2,024,065 for direct-to-student grants for students who are facing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eligibility

Students are eligible to apply for a one-time grant of $1,000 if they are enrolled at UT Health San Antonio and have exceptional need as a result of the pandemic.   An estimated 3,400 students are enrolled and potentially eligible to receive a grant if they have been impacted by the pandemic.  Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis using the date the application was submitted.  The application process will close when the applications received by the Office of Veteran Services and Financial Aid reaches the threshold of funds to be distributed.

Application Process – Closed

To submit an application you must log in to “My UT Health” by first signing into the Global Protect VPN using your UTHSCSA credentials.  You may need to clear your computer history (cache) if you use the same browser that you use to connect to your “livemail” account or you can try a different browser.  The IMS Service team can assist you with access issues and can be reached at IMS-ServiceDesk@uthscsa.edu or 210 567-7777 if you have difficulty logging in.

Once you are logged in please click on the application link to begin.  You will receive an online confirmation indicating you have completed the application successfully.

Due to the expected volume of responses please allow at least two weeks for your application to be reviewed.  An email will be sent to your student (livemail) account to inform you of either the approved or denied status of your application.

Staff in either the Veteran Services and Financial Aid office or the Bursar’s office will  not be able to provide updates on the status of  your application until after the email has been sent to you.   Please keep in mind that HEERF III grants are not part of your financial aid awards so click here for instructions on how to view on your student tuition and fee account after your grant has been posted.

Delivery

Option 1 – Full Refund to Student

Students who select this option will receive the funds, via direct deposit or paper check depending upon the student’s preferences as recorded in My Student Center.

Option 2 – Apply Towards Account Balance

Students who select this option will have the credit applied their tuition and fee account.  Any funds remaining will be refunded to the student in the same manner as shown in Option 1 above as credit balances cannot be held for future semester tuition and fee charges.

Other Considerations

Amounts received are not taxable to the student and will not be reported on the students 1098T according to guidance published by the IRS.

COVID19 and Federal Student Loans

The student loan repayment pause may be ending in June 2023, with loan repayments resuming 60 days after that time.  Please visit their site for information about preparing for repayments to resume.

Are you meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards

To maintain eligibility for financial aid, a student must make academic progress towards their degree.  Once the requirements have been met for the student’s degree, that student will lose eligibility for further funds, even if they choose to stay in school for additional semesters and not graduate.

Our office will measure your academic progress annually, after the spring semester grades have been posted, as mandated in Federal Regulation HEA 484(c). Failure to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (for all terms enrolled, not just those terms that aid was received) may result in loss of financial aid eligibility.  For additional information on this topic please go here.

Phone Password

Veteran Services and Financial Aid recently implemented a phone password requirement to help protect student’s privacy.  Before specific account information can be disclosed over the phone, students will need to send an email, from their LiveMail account, to a VSFA staff member providing a phone password. Passwords can be a phrase, word, security question, or numbers.

1098T Information

If you paid qualified tuition and fees, or received scholarships and grants, in the previous calendar year, please visit this site for instructions on how to obtain your form.   Medical and Dental students that graduated in 2022 actually paid/received their tuition/scholarships in the fall of 2021 and will not receive a form for the 2022 calendar year.  For additional questions please contact the Bursar’s office at bursar4students@uthscsa.edu or review the instructions Student Access to 1098Ts.

For information from the IRS about why the 1098-T is important to Student and Parents, please click here.

How do you know if you are selected for Verification?

Your Student Aid Report comments, from your FAFSA, will indicate if you have been selected for Verification. Also, once you grant our office authorization to communicate with you via email, we will send you an electronic notice. To grant our office “Authorization to Communicate” electronically with you, please log on to My Student Center and access your Financial Aid tile and follow the on-screen instructions.  If we do not receive your authorization for electronic communication we will use regular US Postal mail to notify you of required actions/documents/award notices which will require additional processing time.

UT Health San Antonio reports any fraudulent activity uncovered during the verification process to the Office of Inspector General, Dallas Division, as required by regulation.

Eligibility for Financial Aid

To maintain eligibility for financial aid, a student must make academic progress towards their degree.  Once the requirements have been met for the student’s degree, that student will lose eligibility for further funds, even if they choose to stay in school for additional semesters and not graduate.

Our office will measure your academic progress annually after the spring semester grades have been posted or after every payment period if a is enrolled in programs lasting one year or less as mandated in Federal Regulation HEA 484(c). Failure to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (for all terms enrolled, not just those terms that aid was received) may result in loss of financial aid eligibility.

Standards

All three of the following Satisfactory Academic Progress standards must be met:

1) Qualitative Component – Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)

Undergraduate students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Texas Grant and Be On Time recipients must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. Graduate students must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA while medical and dental students should maintain a GPA of at least 2.0.  Physician Assistant Students must maintain a 2.75 GPA.

2) Quantitative Component – Minimum Completion Rate for Attempted Credit Hours

A student must earn credit for at least 75% of all semester credit hours attempted (total earned hours divided by total attempted hours). Transferred hours that count toward an undergraduate bachelor degree at UT Health San Antonio are included in the completion rate calculation.  Medical and Dental students must successfully advance each year to the next level of instruction. A student who is not progressing toward graduation will not receive financial aid regardless of his/her GPA.

3)  Quantitative Component – Degree Completion within 150% of the published length of the program

Undergraduate and graduate students must earn their degree within 150% of the number of hours that are required to earn the degree as published in the university catalog.  A student becomes ineligible for federal or state financial aid at the point at which it becomes mathematically impossible for them to complete their program within 150% of the published length.

• A student pursuing a double major or degree must earn his/her first bachelor’s or graduate degree within the 150 percent maximum time frame standard.
• Transfer credit hours posted to the official transcript record and all courses removed through the Academic Fresh Start process will be counted as attempted credit hours, whether or not they are applicable to the student’s current degree.
• Medical and Dental students must complete their program within 6 years of their start date.

Repeated Course Work

Code of Federal Regulations

The regulatory definition for full-time enrollment status (for undergraduates) has been revised to allow a term-based student to retake (one time only per previously passed course), any previously passed course. For this purpose, passed means any grade higher than an “F,” regardless of any school or program policy requiring a higher qualitative grade or measure to have been considered to have passed the course. This retaken class may be counted towards a student’s enrollment status and the student may be awarded Title IV aid for the enrollment status based on inclusion of the class.

Financial Aid Suspension/Requirements to Regain Eligibility

A student who fails to maintain the quantitative and/or qualitative standards will lose his/her eligibility for student financial aid and will be placed on financial aid suspension. This suspension will continue until you complete at least 6 hours in your major with a 2.5 semester GPA or better for undergraduates and a 3.5 semester GPA for graduates (if more hours are taken, all credit hours must be completed with a passing grade) over a long semester. Once these conditions are met, you need to notify our office in writing to have your eligibility reviewed.

Professional students, Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Dental Surgery, returning from Leave of Absence or Withdrawal will be required to to follow the SAP Appeal Process as outlined below.

Aid cannot be processed for dismissed students.

Students have the right to appeal the suspension as outlined below.  If appeal is approved a SAP agreement will be entered into to regain eligibility.

SAP Appeal Process

Students may appeal the denial of State and/or Federal Title IV student financial aid due to not meeting SAP requirements. Successful appeals must show that special circumstances (i.e. illness, family emergency) contributed to not meeting SAP requirements and include:

• A detailed explanation of their special circumstances.
• Any and all supporting documents associated with the appeal (i.e., medical documentation, death notice of family member, etc.).
• A letter from their academic department delineating the student’s academic standing and confirming that the student can meet the minimum SAP requirements upon graduation.

To submit an Appeal: print and complete the SAP Appeal Checklist , collect the items indicated, and submit them to one our Financial Aid Officers .  Appeals are submitted to VSFA and will be reviewed by an appeals committee.  Students will be notified by email of the outcome when the review is complete. If approved, financial aid eligibility will be reinstated for the academic period specified by the reviewer but typically no more than one academic unit of time as defined by the grading cycle.  Failure to meet the agreed upon goals will result in termination of eligibility until you have successfully regained eligibility by meeting SAP standards.

The number of times you may file an appeal is limited to three over your academic career. If you are unable to appeal your suspension for one of the 3 reasons allowed by Federal Regulations, your aid will remain suspended until you complete the requirements to regain eligibility. If your appeal is denied you will be notified by email and any aid already awarded will be cancelled.

If your appeal is approved you will be notified through your email of any additional outstanding document requirement.  Federal regulations allow the Financial Aid Office to require students to fulfill specific terms and conditions, such as taking a reduced course load or enrolling in specific courses. You will be required to agree and sign a Financial Aid Probation form before your aid can be processed any further.

 ANY STUDENT WHO WITHDRAWS DURING THE FIRST 60% OF THE SEMESTER

WILL OWE GRANT AND/OR LOAN FUNDS TO THE GOVERNMENT. THERE IS NO

EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE AND YOU CANNOT APPEAL THIS DECISION TO

UT HEALTH SAN ANTONIO.