Financial Aid Policies

Students who receive grants, scholarships, loans and federal work-study awards must satisfy minimum academic requirements in order to continue to qualify for these awards. These requirements vary depending on the type of award. Below are the various policies for each specific group. If you have multiple awards, you need to review each policy to ensure you are meeting all requirements.

Federal Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Federal financial aid includes Federal Stafford and PLUS Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) and Federal Work Study (FWS). Students receiving any of these awards must meet the standards each term as described in the Federal Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy.

RMU Institutional Aid

Academic based institutional aid is awarded at the time of admission to RMU and will not be re-evaluated for future academic years due to increased academic performance or changes to annual tuition charges. The award will be renewed for a maximum of 4 years (eight semesters) as long as the student is enrolled full time per term and is maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress. Institutional scholarship funds are not applicable during the summer semester, unless enrolled in an eligible program. Certain other types of institutional aid will be re-evaluated each year and adjustments made due to changes in family income and/or housing status. Please note that institutionally funded aid cannot exceed your direct costs. Students enrolled in a fully online program do not qualify for institutional aid. If a student has institutional funds and switches to an online program, the award will be removed. For students who are enrolled in our 4+1 accelerated bachelor to master's degree program, click here for additional information concerning your institutional aid.

Pennsylvania State Grant Academic Progress Policy

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency requires that both full-time and part-time grant recipients make academic progress at the conclusion of each academic year (summer). If a student does not meet the academic progress requirements, he or she will be ineligible for a PA state grant for their next term(s) of enrollment.

For each full-time PA state grant received, a student must complete 12 credits. If a student maintains full-time enrollment for the academic year, the requirement would be 24 credits with a minimum grade of "D" and no repeats of courses with a grade of "D" or better.

For each part-time PA state grant received, a student must complete 6 credits. If a student maintains part-time enrollment for the academic year, the requirement would be 12 credits with a minimum grade of "D" and no repeats of courses with a grade of "D" or better.

If a student received a full-time PA state grant for 1 semester and a part-time PA state grant for another, the requirement would be 18 credits with a minimum grade of "D" and no repeats of courses with a grade of "D" or better.
Students who lose their PA state grants due to lack of academic progress can regain their eligibility only by achieving the number of credits that they are deficient for progress during the next term(s) in which they are enrolled. Progress is re-evaluated each semester. Please note that CLEP tests do not count towards a deficiency.

For more information about the PA State Grant Program, please click here.

Withdrawal Policy

A tuition adjustment policy has been established for those students who process a withdrawal from the University. Adjustments are for tuition charges only; deposits and fees are not adjusted or refunded. All financial aid recipients receiving Title IV federal financial aid will be subject to the Title IV Refund Calculation. Click here to view the policy.

Student Athletes

Student athletes have additional academic requirements and should also review the requirements listed in the Student Athlete Handbook.

Drug Law Violations

Federal regulations provide that a student who has been convicted of possession or sale of illegal drugs loses Title IV eligibility for a period of time specified by law. The period of ineligibility depends on whether the conviction was for possession or sale of (including conspiring to sell) illegal drugs. Title IV aid includes federal grants, loans and work-study.

Preferred Lender Arrangements and Lists

Robert Morris University does not participate in any preferred lender arrangements or preferred lender lists for private loans. Students have the right and ability to use the lender of their choice for their private loan.

Overawards and Overpayments

An overaward occurs when a student receives more aid than what they were entitled to receive under Federal, state and/or institutional policy. This can occur for a variety of reasons. If an overaward occurs, aid will be adjusted accordingly. The student will receive an email to their RMU email address indicating that there has been a change made to their financial aid eligibility. RMU will collect the overpayment from the student via our standard billing and collection method. In certain situations, it may be necessary to report the overpayment to the National Student Loan Data System until it has been resolved

Extenuating Circumstance

RMU understands that sometimes a student or family may face an extenuating circumstance that can impact financial need. In these scenarios, the US Department of Education allows us to potentially exercise professional judgment through a Request for Special Consideration or a Dependency Override.

Please click here for more information on Request for Special Consideration and Dependency Override.