Financial Aid Renewal

Students must meet minimum requirements to renew aid from one academic year to the next. The information below will help you determine the minimum requirements to renew the aid you receive. 

Federal Aid

If you submitted a FAFSA the previous year, the federal government will send you an email to remind you to complete the FAFSA Renewal Application online. Complete the form as soon after Oct. 1 as possible for the next academic year. If you do not receive an email you should complete the FAFSA by logging in with your FSA user ID and password at www.StudentAid.gov.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

To continue receiving federal student aid, you must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree or certificate program. Federal student aid programs include: as Pell Grants, SEOG, TEACH Grants, subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loans, Parent and Graduate PLUS loans among others. Some federal programs have additional requirements for renewal.

Undergraduate students are ineligible for federal aid once they have attempted 186 hours (193 for the Bachelor of Music) or 12 semesters. Graduate students are ineligible after attempting 48 credit hours (or 1.5 times the minimum credits required for the degree program) or six semesters.

The first time a student fails to meet federal SAP requirements, they are put on a financial aid warning status for the next period in which they enroll. During this warning period, students continue to receive federal aid. Upon review of your academic achievements at the end of this next period of enrollment, students who meet federal SAP requirements may continue to receive federal student aid; students who fail SAP review again at this time lose their federal student aid eligibility until they can meet the SAP requirements. See section on Appeals.

You will be notified if you fall below the standards for aid programs. You have the right to appeal for full or partial restoration of financial aid that has been terminated due to unsatisfactory academic progress

TEACH Grant

Students must complete the FAFSA each year, maintain a 3.25 or higher cumulative GPA at the end of each semester in which the TEACH Grant funds are received (students who qualify for the grant by scoring in the 75th percentile on a college admissions test are exempt from this GPA requirement, documentation required) and complete TEACH Grant counseling each academic year. There is an aggregate limit of $16,000 for undergraduate and $8,000 for graduate recipients.

Florida Aid

To continue receiving aid from the state of Florida, students must remain residents of the state and meet or exceed the minimum requirements for satisfactory academic progress as described above. In addition, state aid programs have their own specific requirements for renewal. Need-based Florida aid programs require an error-free FAFSA. Coursework completed during the summer sessions following an academic year may not be used to meet renewal requirements for Florida aid programs.

Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) — formerly known as Florida Residents' Access Grant (FRAG)

Requires a 2.0 or higher GPA at the end of the spring term and completion of 24 credit hours in summer, fall and spring terms combined or 12 credits per semester received.

Florida Student Assistance Grant (FSAG)

Requires a 2.0 or higher GPA at the end of the spring term and completion of 24 credit hours in summer, fall and spring terms combined or 12 credits per semester received. A student's EFC (result of the FAFSA) must be less than $6,080 to qualify for this grant.

Bright Futures Scholarships

Students enrolled full-time must earn at least 24 credit hours during the fall, spring and summer terms. A student enrolled full-time (12 or more semester hours) for only one term must earn at least 12 semester hours for that term. If a student is enrolled part-time for any part of the academic year, the student must earn a prorated number of credit hours (half-time = 6 credit hours, three-quarter time = 9 credit hours). A student must reimburse the post-secondary institution for the cost of course(s) dropped or withdrawn after the initial add/drop period. Non-refunded credit hours will affect the student's renewal eligibility.

• Academic Scholarship: 3.0 cumulative GPA at the end of the spring term
• Medallion Scholarships: 2.75 cumulative GPA at the end of the spring term

Benaquisto Scholarship Program (formerly known as the Florida Incentive Scholarship Program)

Eligibility for renewal is determined at the end of the second semester, third quarter or the equivalent of each academic year.

• An application is not required to renew the award.
• A student must earn credit for hours enrolled each term.
• A student must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

A student who does not earn the required credit hours or maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA will be ineligible to continue in the program.

Florida Work Experience Program (FWEP)

Students enrolled full-time must earn at least 24 credit hours during the summer, fall and spring terms. A minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA at the end of the spring term is also required. Students must demonstrate financial need each year (result of the FAFSA) for renewal. 

UT Scholarships and Grants

UT offers scholarships, grants and loans to first-time bachelor’s degree-seeking students based on academic achievement, talent and financial need at the time of admission. Cumulative academic achievements are reviewed at the end of each spring semester for aid renewal in the coming academic year. To renew UT aid, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress as described for federal aid programs (above) and enroll full-time, in an undergraduate program of study, in addition to the requirements listed below. When all eligibility requirements are met, students can expect to receive the same scholarship(s) and grant(s) they were awarded at the time of admission while they remain continuously enrolled at UT in an undergraduate program of study.

Institutional aid is awarded based upon the information available at the time of admission. Students must complete the FAFSA and demonstrate financial need each year to receive need-based aid. Students who fail to meet GPA renewal requirements for institutional aid at the end of the spring semester may enroll in a UT summer session to increase their cumulative GPA. Notify your financial aid counselor at the end of the summer sessions to request a second review.

Scholarships are awarded at the time of admission. Students can expect to receive the same scholarship and award amount in each subsequent fall and spring semester for a maximum of nine semesters or until normal degree completion would occur (whichever comes first) when they meet all renewal requirements. 

Students must meet the minimum requirements of federeal SAP (described above) to renew UT merit scholarships: 

• UT Achievement Award
• UT Dean's Merit Scholarship
• UT International Baccalaureate Scholarship
• UT International Freshman Merit Scholarship
• UT International Transfer Merit Scholarship
• UT Minaret Merit Scholarship
• UT Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Scholarship
• UT Presidential Merit Scholarship 
• UT Spartan Merit Scholarship
• UT Transfer Merit Scholarship

UT's Departmental Scholarships require a minimum GPA and continued major in the specified area of study: 

• UT Art Departmental Scholarship 2.8 and major in a program of study offered by the Art Department
• UT English and Writing Departmental Scholarship 2.8 and major in a program of study offered by the English and Writing Department
• UT Film, Animation and New Media Departmental Scholarship 2.8 and major in a program of study offered by the Film, Animation and New Media Department
• UT Life Science Scholarship 2.8 and major in a program of study offered by either the Biology or the Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics Departments
• UT Music Departmental Scholarship 2.8 and major in a program of study offered by the Music Department
• UT Musical Theatre, Theatre and Dance Departmental Scholarship 2.8 and major in a program of study offered by the Theatre and Dance Department
• UT Nursing (see Nursing Department)

Endowed and annual scholarships are made available through the generocity of friends of The University of Tampa. Refer to the Specialized Scholarships section under UT Scholarships and Grants for more information. These scholarships are renewed on a funds-available basis, in addition to other requirements outlined.

Donors set the initial eligibility and renewal requirements for these scholarships as follows: 

• UT Alumni Association Specialty Tag Fund 3.0
• UT Alumni Endowed Scholarship 3.0
• UT Gregory Foundation Endowed Scholarship 3.0
• UT Liberian Student Scholarship 3.0
• UT Tampa Bay Chapter Alumni Endowed Scholarship 3.0

The following leadership programs offer scholarships to students who are actively participating in these programs and maintain minimum cumulative GPA's, as specified below: 

• UT Bonner Leader's Scholarship 3.0
• UT President's Leadership Fellows Scholarship 3.0

UT scholarships not listed above require students maintain satisfactory academic progress as described for federal aid programs (above) and enroll full-time.

Appeals

If there are extenuating circumstances, exceptions to these academic requirements can be made. Examples of extenuating circumstances are:

• Illness
• Accident
• Death of a family member
• Or any similar occurrence

If your failure to meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements can be explained in this way, contact your assigned financial aid counselor. An SAP Appeal Questionnaire will be made available to you on Workday. You will be required to explain your particular situation and provide supporting documentation, such as a doctor's statement, medical bills or a newspaper obituary. Your appeal must also address what has changed that will make you able to meet SAP requirements at the end of the next semester, and what steps you will take in the upcoming semester to re-establish your financial aid eligibility.

Your appeal must be received prior to the start of the next semester. You will be notified of the result of your appeal by email. Approved appeals may result in financial aid probation, during which time you may continue to receive aid while working toward meeting the renewal requirements for the aid you receive. At the end of the probationary period (or academic year, whichever comes first), your cumulative academic achievements will be reviewed again, at which time you will be notified of your aid eligibility. It must be mathematically possible for the student to meet SAP requirements at the end of the next period of enrollment for an appeal to be approved and probation granted for federal student aid programs. 

For more information refer to The University of Tampa catalog.