Financial Aid and Independent Study
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. May I use Financial
Aid to cover the tuition for my Independent Study course?
A. Yes, you may use your Financial
Aid to cover your tuition for Independent Study courses, but there are
several extra requirements.
- You must be admitted to The University of Mississippi;
- You can only enroll in the course during the enrollment period
- If you select to use this option your course enrollment period is
shorter then all other students.
- Most importantly, you might not receive your financial aid award until
you have completed the mid-course test or if there is no mid-course
test, half of the lessons, for the Independent Study course.
Q. If I sign up for
an Independent Study course and use Financial Aid to pay for the tuition,
will I still have a year to complete the class?
A. No. Your enrollment period will
be much shorter and will be based upon what semester your course is assigned
to for Financial Aid. You will be required to finish your Independent
Study course 2 weeks before the last class date of the semester.
Q. What is the procedure
for signing up for an Independent Study course if I want to use financial
aid to pay the tuition?
A. Once your academic Dean has approved
your application for the Independent Study course, bring the application
to our office on the 3rd floor of the Martindale Student Services Center.
At that time you will receive your enrollment packet and a Enrollment
Notification Form. You must take that form to the Office of Financial
Aid and meet with a Financial Aid advisor. Your course(s) will not be
considered in determining your enrollment status for financial aid purposes
until that form is delivered to the Office of Financial Aid.
Also at that time your bursar account will be charged the full tuition
amount for that course. As soon as you get your textbook, start working
on your lessons. You can submit 2 lessons each day and no more then 4
lessons in a 7-day period.
Once you take the mid-course test (or if there is no mid-course test,
half of the lessons ) request a Verification of Official Enrollment form
from the Department of Independent Study. This will need to be taken to
the Office of Financial Aid. This form places the Office of Financial
Aid on notice that you are officially enrolled in the course. At that
point they will release any holds on your funds, which will allow it to
be disbursed to you as soon as the next dispersal date occurs.
Q. How do you decide
what semester an Independent Study course is assigned to for Financial
Aid purposes?
A. It all depends on your enrollment
date. The beginning and ending dates for inclusion of correspondence work
in a semester at the University of Mississippi are:
| Registration Period |
Completion Date Before or On |
Credit Hours Included In |
| August 11 - September 8, 2008 |
November 21, 2008 |
Fall 2008 |
| January 7, 2009 – February 3, 2009 |
April 17, 2009 |
Spring 2009 |
| May 12, 2009 – June 1, 2009 |
July 10, 2009 |
Full Summer 2009 |
| August 10, 2009 – September 4, 2009 |
November 20, 2009 |
Fall 2009 |
| January 6, 2010 – February 2, 2009 |
April 16, 2010 |
Spring 2010 |
| May 18, 2010 – June 7, 2010 |
July 16, 2010 |
Full Summer 2010 |
Q. Why is there such
a limited registration period?
A. Federal regulations require that all
financial aid awarded on a TERM BASED system must be for coursework completed
within that term. We selected to allow students to register beginning
5 days before the first class day of a term, which would give students
a few additional days to purchase and receive their textbooks from the
out-of-state textbook service. The last day to register corresponds to
the last add day according for each term according to the University’s
Academic Calendar.
Q. Why is the completion
date earlier than the last class day of the semester?
A. Due to the nature of correspondence
study there is always a lag time between the day the student completes
a lesson or test and the day that the instructor is able to grade that
lesson or test. The completion date or end date of the course is approximately
two weeks before the last class day of the semester. This two week period
allows the instructor time to grade the final exam and assign a grade.
We have traditionally requested that instructors take no more then two
weeks to grade lessons or tests.
Q. Can I get an extension
of time to complete the independent study course?
A. We will allow the student one two-month
extension, but they will be assigned an Incomplete grade for the course
in the student information system. This policy was put in place in order
to give independent study students the same opportunity that students
in traditional courses have. If the student does not complete the Independent
Study course before the last day of the extension period, then a grade
{A, B, C, D, or F] will be assigned.
Q. Why do I have
to complete the mid-course test to receive my Financial Aid award?
A. Federal Financial Aid regulations
require that if a student receives financial aid for a course then he/she
must receive a grade for that course. The current policy at the University
of Mississippi is that grades are not assigned for Independent Study courses
until half the lessons have been submitted. Those two policies combined
equals a requirement that _ of all lessons must be received before you
are considered enrolled in the course for purposes of using that course
to complete you Financial Aid award.
Q. Does the shorter
enrollment period apply to all types of financial aid?
A. No. The new Financial Aid policies
would not apply to students who receive institutional aid (examples are
Faculty/Staff scholarships, Child of Faculty Scholarships, bank hours,
unless federal financial aid is involved) or military aid (such as DANTES
or VA). They are considered enrolled in the class as soon as their application
is processed and the Office of FA is notified at that point that they
are enrolled in the IS course. These students have a full calendar year
to complete the course and can request 2 three-month extensions. |
