Student Loan Policies and Procedures at NOVA

Student Loan Policies and Procedures at NOVA

Rev. 3/2024

All aid types awarded by NOVA require that a student meets the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements and the requirements for each type of aid. In order to borrow from any of the loan programs offered at NOVA, the student must be enrolled half-time. Eligibility is confirmed at the point of loan awarding and certification and again prior to disbursement. Students who do not meet eligibility criteria will have loan funds returned to the lender.

Federal Direct Loans

• NOVA participates in the Direct Loan Program. Student loans are borrowed from the federal government.
• All loans must be repaid by the borrower and should be taken with extreme caution and forethought. Failure to repay a loan will negatively affect the student for years.
• Loans initially offered in the myNOVA Student Information System (SIS) under View Financial Aid show potential eligibility. To accept an offered loan (or a reduced amount) the student must accept the amount they wish to borrow in myNOVA each year and complete a Master Promissory Note and Loan Entrance Counseling at https://studentaid.gov/ the first year.
• Until both the Master Promissory Note and Loan Entrance Counseling are completed, a student cannot use a loan to offset tuition and fees or to purchase books at the campus bookstore.
• Fall/Spring loans will have two disbursements; half in the fall term and half in the spring term if the student maintains eligibility. One-semester loans will be disbursed at the beginning of the term. Summer is a separate loan period.
• Loans for fall, spring and the following summer term combined cannot exceed annual maximums.
• Whether subsidized or unsubsidized, the minimum loan amount that NOVA will process is $200 per term (fall/spring) and $150 for summer.
• Loans and other financial aid are to be used only for costs pertaining to higher education attendance. The total amount of aid offered, including student loans, cannot exceed the cost of attendance and subsidized loans cannot exceed unmet financial need.
• In circumstances where need is reduced after a subsidized loan disbursement has been made (e.g., Cost of Attendance (COA) changes due to enrollment level below full-time status, other COA component changes, or additional educational resources are made known to NOVA, etc.), NOVA reserves the right to change subsidized loan amounts to an unsubsidized loan where possible to prevent an over-award or an immediate repayment by the student. The student always has the right to repay the amount due to eliminating the unsubsidized loan.
• Students cannot be in default on a federal student loan or they must have made satisfactory arrangements to repay a defaulted loan.
• Students cannot receive a student loan or other aid if they owe money back on a federal student grant and have not made satisfactory arrangements to repay any such overpayment.
• Students cannot borrow in excess of the loan limits under Title IV programs at any institution.
• Students cannot request/receive loans from another school for the same period or an overlapping loan period if the total borrowed exceeds annual or lifetime maximums.
• Loans are credited to student accounts at NOVA. After school costs are covered, excess amounts will be refunded to the student in accordance with NOVA’s refund policies, to be used for other educational costs.
• Loan disbursements for students not attending at least six credits or not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements will generally be returned to the lender. Aid cannot be disbursed until a student has attended at least 6 credits past the course census date.
• Prior to the term census date, Cost of Attendance (COA) budgets and loan eligibility are calculated based on anticipated full-time attendance. If COA must be reduced due to less than-full-time attendance, accepted subsidized loan amounts over the amount of the student’s need will be changed to unsubsidized loans (whether or not an unsubsidized loan was originally accepted) if the student maintains loan eligibility, need is no longer sufficient to accommodate the original subsidized amount, and COA allows the additional unsubsidized amount. If the student does not want the unsubsidized loan, the student always has the right to return the loan proceeds and cancel the loan.
• Learn more about loans

Federal Perkins Loan Program (FPL) The Federal Perkins Loan program ended on September 30, 2017. If students previously received a Perkins Loan at NOVA, they may contact University Accounting Service at 1−800−999−6227 if they have questions about their Perkins Loan or repayment.

Federal Direct Loans NOVA participates in the Direct Loan Program. These loans are borrowed from the federal government. Accepted loans are listed on the National Student Loan Database (NSLDS), where students can also monitor their loan history and outstanding loan balances.

Federal Direct Subsidized Loan To be eligible for the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, a student must show need and be enrolled at least half-time. The government subsidizes the loan by paying the interest for the student during periods of at least half-time enrollment and for a six-month grace period following the student’s graduation or withdrawal from college. First-year students are eligible for up to a maximum of $3,500; students reaching sophomore status can borrow up to $4,500.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan  The terms of the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan are slightly different than those of the Federal Subsidized Loan. A student is not required to show need for the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, and interest is the student’s responsibility from the beginning. The government does not pay interest for a student. Eligibility for the Federal Direct Subsidized Loan is considered first; if the maximum limit of $3,500 for freshmen or $4,500 for sophomores has not been met, the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan will be considered to fill the Expected Family Contribution/Student Aid Index and reach the maximum eligibility limit. Dependent students can borrow an additional $2,000 of the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan; independent students, and dependent students whose parents are denied a PLUS, can have up to $6,000 of additional unsubsidized eligibility. Unsubsidized loans cannot be awarded unless the student has unmet cost of attendance.

Federal Direct Loan Limits

Dependent Students (except when parents are denied a PLUS)