Financial Aid Disbursement as a “Standard Term School”
The University of Iowa is considered a standard term school for financial aid purposes.
What does this mean?
According to the Department of Education, the University of Iowa is considered a standard term school, which means financial aid is disbursed at the start of the semester and all students progress to the next disbursement period at the same rate. If courses overlap the University Calendar, then a school becomes either a non-standard or a non-term school for financial aid purposes according to the Department of Education.
The University is not set up to administer the disbursement of financial aid on an individual basis. Programming has been added in MAUI to validate off-cycle course dates and prevent submission of non-standard off-cycle dates, with information provided to colleges and departments to ensure that course overlap is no longer occurring.
Federal Compliance and Course Dates
to ensure that course overlap is no longer occurring.
Federal Compliance and Course Dates
Generally speaking, section offerings must comply with the dates listed on or within the respective academic session. These dates can be identified using the MAUI Academic Calendar within the grey session banner unless an alternate collegiate context calendar exists. The Department of Education’s federal compliance issues relate to section dates that fall outside of the University calendar dates, i.e., starting before or ending after the session dates. Therefore, colleges and departments must ensure their session offerings meet this federal compliance policy. It is essential that the University continue to be able to offer financial aid to students and function as a standard term school.
Course Date Validation - Beginning with spring 2024 Session
Beginning with the spring 2024 session, any course sections with dates that do not fall within published academic session dates and have not been assigned a course category will be denied submission through workflow.
Please visit the Off-Cycle Sections page on the MAUI Help Site for information and step by step instructions for creation and submission of off-cycle sections.
Impact of Non-Compliance
If the University is not compliant, we risk a federal audit, findings which may result in fines, and the possibility of no longer being able to disburse federal financial aid. Consequently, courses with dates that do not fall within university begin and end dates for the session will be denied submission through workflow, even if the course may have been approved in the past. Instructors will need to adjust the dates to fit within the semester.
We understand that it may not be easy to change course dates; however, the University does not have a choice in this matter. The consequences of noncompliance are too great. It is essential that the University continue to be able to offer financial aid to students and function as a standard term school. It may be possible to work with the Office of Financial Aid, Office of the Registrar, and Office of the Provost to investigate alternative solutions in course configuration that reduces student impact and maintains compliance with Federal regulations.
Use of Alternate Collegiate Context Calendar
It is understood professional colleges may not follow the traditional University of Iowa Academic Calendar start and end session dates. Thus, consult the appropriate override dates on the College Context menu in MAUI Academic Calendar and compare to course offering dates to assess date compliance.
Guidelines Regarding Use of Alternate Collegiate Context Calendar
- If the program is made up of student cohorts, no overlap between the groupings can occur.
- No overlap of the college’s program/degree’s required courses can exist.
- All sessions must have their own start and end dates with no session date overlap.
Need Help?
Questions regarding Department of Education financial aid compliance can be directed to Brenda Buzynski (Assistant Provost and Director, Student Financial Aid) at brenda-buzynski@uiowa.edu, or Kelly Carrell (Senior Associate Director, Compliance and Fiscal Management) at kelly-carrell@uiowa.edu.
Questions regarding off-cycle course dates and submission of off-cycle sections through workflow can be directed to Registrar Offerings Compliance.