Applying for Financial Aid

¹ Unless you have prior academic work from an institution in which not all credits will transfer (such as from one or more of the four technical institutes in South Dakota), all prior attempted academic work (whether or not related to your current degree pursuits at South Dakota Mines) must become part of your academic record at South Dakota Mines and will be figured into the 150% limit.  Students who already have one or more degrees and are pursuing another degree at South Dakota Mines must be able to complete the degree within the stated limits (again, whether or not prior attempted academic work is related to your current degree pursuits at South Dakota Mines) or if that is not possible will receive Federal Student Aid only until such time as they reach the stated limit.  Students who go over the stated limits after the end of the fall semester will be allowed to receive Federal Student Aid for the spring semester as well.  Limited opportunities to appeal the 150% maximum attempted credit hour requirement on a case-by-case basis do exist; students are advised to speak with the Financial Aid Director/Associate Director regarding an appeal.

² The number of credit hours needed to complete a PhD at South Dakota Mines may or may not be reduced due to credit hours from an MS degree used to meet PhD requirements.  As a result, progress through a PhD program for a recipient of Federal Student Aid must be monitored more closely.

4. Transfer Students

All prior academic work that a student transfers into South Dakota Mines will be included in the evaluation to determine if a student meets Federal Student Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements. 

5. Academic Amnesty and Federal Student Aid

All prior academic work that is covered by an approved Academic Amnesty appeal is still included in any evaluation to determine if a student meets Federal Student Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.  Academic Amnesty has an impact on a student's academic record for academic purposes only,

6. Appealing a Financial Aid Suspension

Students who have been determined to be ineligible for Federal Student Aid may complete a Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Form to explain circumstances that were beyond their control (for example the student's serious illness or injury that occurred during the time in which eligibility was lost or the death of an immediate family member which resulted in the student being gone from school for an extended period of time, i.e. two or more weeks) that adversely affected their ability to be academically successful at South Dakota Mines. Students are advised to carefully read the procedures for submitting an appeal listed on the appeal form and submit the requested documentation with their appeal. The academic plan, which must contain what you plan to do differently to be academically successful and the campus resources you are going to take advantage of to make that happen, along with the courses you need to enroll in for the next 12 months that are reasonable and attainable given your past academic performance in order to complete or work toward completing your degree at South Dakota Mines, is required to be reviewed and signed off on by your advisor. If your advisor is not available, you must make the effort to contact your department and arrange to meet with someone else. The academic plan is expected to be developed as a joint effort between the student and the advisor. Failure to abide by the academic plan that is submitted to the Appeal Committee will be grounds for denial of Federal Student Aid for subsequent semesters. Each appeal will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis; therefore, each appeal is evaluated on its own merits or lack thereof. As a result, no appeal is guaranteed to be approved.

To ensure a timely review, appeals should be submitted prior to the start date of the semester for which a student is appealing for Federal Student Aid reinstatement. Appeals received after the semester start date will be reviewed as soon as possible; however, if your appeal is approved we cannot assure you that your financial aid would be available for either the fall or spring fee payment deadline. As a result, students must make other arrangements to pay their account (such as paying their account in full or signing up for the payment plan) via SDePay in Self-Service Banner prior to the start of the semester pending the outcome of their appeal.  In either case, you are encouraged to submit your appeal as soon as possible.

The Appeal Form and all supporting documentation can be dropped off at our office or sent to us by any means listed at the bottom of the Appeal Form (mail, fax, or e-mail).  Based upon the circumstances of an approved appeal, the Appeal Committee reserves the right to place conditions which the student must meet to be considered for financial aid on a probationary basis for subsequent terms. Unless the appeal approval covers what is to be the student's last semester of attendance, the approval letter will indicate the conditions the student must meet to remain eligible for aid for any subsequent semester.  If the student's appeal is approved and they continue to meet probation requirements for subsequent terms, but does not fully reinstate their eligibility, the expected graduation date the student reports on the appeal form will be considered their final semester of eligibility for Federal Student Aid. If the student chooses not to appeal or their appeal is denied, the student must fully meet the SAP requirements before they will be considered for Federal Student Aid again.

7.  Students on Financial Aid Probation while on Cooperative Education Assignment (coop):

Students who are on coop at any time that they are on Financial Aid Probation are expected to have their final coop grade posted before eligibility for Federal Student Aid will be determined for their next semester of attendance.  For example, students on a spring/summer coop are expected to have their final grades posted at least a week, preferably two, prior to the start of the fall semester.  Also, students on a summer/fall coop are expected to have their final grades posted at least one week, preferably two, prior to the start of the spring semester.  Students unable to meet these deadlines must make other arrangements for paying their account until their aid eligibility can be determined.  This may include, but is not limited to, signing up for the payment plan at least a month prior to the start of the appropriate semester or applying for a private alternative loan.

8.  Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility:

Students who have lost their Federal Aid eligibility, but have subsequently met the qualitative and/or quantitative standards as stated above, will have their aid eligibility reinstated. However, regardless of when a student meets the standards, Federal Student Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress is evaluated at the end of the spring term only; reinstatement will be considered effective with the next academic year.