Understanding Your Award
Award Notifications
Incoming freshmen, transfer students, and graduate students whose plans are to enroll at WSU for the first time receive award letters via the U.S. Postal Service.
Continuing/returning students receive electronic award notifications on WSU Pipeline. They do not receive award letters through the mail.
WSU Pipeline
Pipeline is the secure portal for information and resources at Wayne State University. Pipeline requires an AccessID. Upon application for admission to WSU, notification of the AccessID and a temporary password are mailed to applicants from the Office of Computing & Information Technology (C&IT). Assistance accessing Pipeline is available from C&IT.
Tuition Payment – Refer to Pipeline for tuition payment deadlines. If the balance you owe exceeds your expected financial aid disbursement, you must pay the difference with a check or credit card by the tuition payment deadline to avoid late charges.
Disbursement of Financial Aid Funds – Financial aid funds are disbursed at the beginning of each semester or within two weeks after you have:
- Responded to all requests for additional information from the Financial Aid Office
- Completed, signed, and submitted any promissory note(s) you have received.
- Enrolled at least half-time (see Enrollment Requirements).
- If you are a first time borrower, completed loan entrance counseling as outlined on Pipeline.
Financial Aid funds will be disbursed in the following manner:
- Grants, scholarships, and loans administered by the Financial Aid Office are first applied directly to your tuition account to pay charges for tuition, registration fees, and omnibus fee.
- Please complete a Title IV authorization form to ensure all other charges (course material fees, fitness center fees, and orientation fee) are paid by your financial aid funds. The form is available online at www.financialaid.wayne.edu. Failure to complete this form can result in you receiving a bill after your financial aid has disbursed to your account.
- If the financial aid funds disbursed exceed your tuition account balance and are not restricted to pay tuition charges only, they will then be forwarded to the student in the form of a check (i.e. refund check) to use for other educational expenses. These checks will be mailed to the student’s home address.
Adjustments to your financial aid award
The Office of Student Financial Aid reserves the right to modify your financial aid award(s) at any time during the academic year. Your award may be adjusted based on the situations listed below.
- Changes in enrollment.
- Receipt of additional awards such as scholarships, vouchers, or benefits.
- Changes in residency (in-state, out-of-state)
- Changes in housing status (on-campus, off-campus, living with parents)
- Changes in household or financial information upon which your awards were based.
- Information that you are in default on a previous federal student loan.
- Information that you have received more than the federal maximum on your student loans.
- Information that you are in an overpayment status with the Federal Government.
If your award is revised, you will receive an email notification informing you that changes have been made to your financial aid package. It is recommended that you check your WSU email account on a regular basis to ensure you remain informed regarding your financial aid awards.
Withdrawing from Wayne State University
Students are encouraged to meet with their professors, academic advisor's, utilize the tutorial services available, and speak with the financial aid staff before withdrawing from WSU. This is important as withdrawing (officially or unofficially) could result in you having to repay all or a portion of the financial aid awards back to WSU.
If you officially or unofficially withdraw from WSU prior to completing 60% of the semester, the aid you received will be returned in the following order:
- Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Stafford Subsidized Loan
- Federal Perkins Loan
- Federal PLUS Loan
- Federal PELL Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG)
- National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (SMART)
- Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH)
The Withdrawals and Return of Title IV policy can be found here.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
To maintain eligibility for financial aid funds, a student must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SATPROG). This involves progressing toward degree completion by maintaining minimum GPA standards, completing the degree within the maximum allowable credit hours, and completing at least 67% of the number of credit hours for which you enrolled for the academic year. Refer here for a copy of the SATPROG policy.
Deficiencies will occur if you:
- Withdraw from the University (Officially or Unofficially)
- Drop or withdraw from a class or classes.
- Fail a class.
- Receive an “Incomplete” in a class or classes.
This can negatively impact your ability to receive financial aid for the next academic year. Students are encouraged to seek assistance through the Academic Success Center and the Academic Advising Office when experiencing academic difficulties.
Special Circumstances
If your family has unusual circumstances such as loss of employment, divorce, separation, or death of a parent or spouse, that significantly reduces income; you may request a review of your eligibility. The appeal form is available online here.