Though UNA remains one of the best buys for a quality education, most students find they need some type of financial assistance to help them afford the cost of a college education. Once the financial assistance is in place, standards must be met to keep it in place. Every effort has been made to provide an easy-to-understand overview below, however, the staff in Student Financial Services has the ultimate authority to answer any questions you may have about your financial assistance.

Academic and Leadership Scholarships

If you received an academic or leadership scholarship, you must achieve a particular GPA (3.25 for academic and 3.0 for vanguard and leadership) and complete a minimum of 27 hours of coursework your freshman year in order to maintain your scholarship for your sophomore year. The staff of Student Financial Services checks each semester to determine if the requirements have been met. If not, a letter will be sent to you indicating that the scholarship has been non-renewed.

Your only option to maintain the scholarship if requirements have not been met at the end of the spring semester of your freshman year will be to attend summer school (must be at UNA) with you or your parents assuming the responsibility for tuition costs. If you are deficient in hours, then you must take the hours necessary to reach the 27-hour requirement. If you are deficient in GPA, you must achieve the GPA necessary to bring your cumulative GPA to either the 3.25 for an academic scholarship or 3.0 for a vanguard or leadership scholarship. Should these requirements be met during the summer term(s), it will be your responsibility to notify Student Financial Services in order for the scholarship to be reinstated.

Federal Grant and Loan Programs

If you have received federal student aid in the form of a loan or grant, you must show academic progress toward your degree goal to retain your financial assistance. After you have attempted 32 credit hours at UNA, your progress will be checked once each academic year when your financial aid application is added to the university's database. You must meet the following criteria:

1. Students must maintain a minimum GPA according to their academic class level:  Freshman 1.60, Sophomore 1.85, Junior 1.95, Senior 2.0.
2. You must pass 67% of all credit hours attempted at UNA. All hours attempted at UNA, including any hours you may have dropped and terms from which you may have withdrawn, are included in this calculation.
3. You are allowed a maximum of 172 hours to complete undergraduate degree requirements.

If you have specific questions, please see a staff member in Student Financial Services, Room 318, Commons Building, or call 765-4278.