UA Academic Advisors
There are many resources that can help you advise your students when it comes to adding/dropping UA classes and taking classes at Pima and how that will affect their financial aid. The best resources are on the UA Financial Aid Office web page.  We work hard to keep our web page up-to-date with useful information for our students and their parents.  Much of the information can also be used by academic advisors such as you.

Podcast Series
We are most proud of our podcast series entitled, “OSFA on the Air” This is an audio file that you can listen to though your computer.  The series consist of twelve shows that cover many financial aid topics. We suggest you listen to Financial Aid Basics, Scholarships and Opening of School, which are the shows most related to your job. We also encourage you to listen to the other shows and to tell students and parents about the podcast series.  Knowing this information can ensure students receive the best financial aid package, receive more scholarships, and get financial aid in a timely manner.  http://financialaid.arizona.edu/podcasts/default.aspx

Consortium Agreements
When advising that a student take classes at Pima, make sure the class is transferrable before determining if the student is eligible for a Consortium Agreement.  Students can now determine if their eligibility for and print a Consortium Agreement in your office.  Students can go to http://financialaid.arizona.edu/forms/, click on Consortium Agreement, log into Web Auth and answer a couple questions.   If eligible, they can print a Consortium Agreement and the instructions right then. If they are not eligible, they will be told why and what else they can do.

Dropping units and satisfactory academic progress.
If you advise a student to drop a class or they fail a class, remember, it is important that the student maintains satisfactory academic progress standards. These standards can be found on http://financialaid.arizona.edu/awards/standards/ 

Generally, if the student receives financial aid based on them completing 12 units fall and 12 units spring semester but only completes 10 fall semester, the student can take 14 units spring semester to make up the incomplete units.  This is true for all students.  They do not need to contact us if they are making up these units.  Please note: summer session units do not count for satisfactory academic progress, only fall and spring units.

 NOTE: This can not be done the other way… if a student completes 14 units fall semester and only rerolls in 10 units spring semester. They will not get their financial aid since they were awarded aid based on them enrolling in 12 units. They can tell us that they will only take 10 units and will adjust their aid, but this normally means less grant money while tuition prices stay the same.

Students with UA scholarships (ex. Presidents, Wildcat or AIMS) must always enroll in at least 12 units at UA to get their scholarship funds for the semester.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal forms.
Academic Advisors, such as yourself, only need to complete the Academic Advisor Statement if the student’s GPA is below a 2.0 (3.0 if a graduate student). In the comments section, you can include any details of the conversation you had with the student.  If you placed the student on any restrictions, let us know. If you told the student, this is their last chance, let us know. We will often follow your recommendations.

Withdraws
If a student withdraws, their financial aid is affected. To learn about the federal regulations we need to follow and how a withdrawal will affect the student, go to http://financialaid.arizona.edu/policy/withdrawal/  .  Generally the student will owe money back to the federal government and it is possible that their loans will go into their grace period or even repayment. To avoid this, see if there is any way a student can stay in at least 6 units.

Advisors Link Addition
The financial aid office has recently requested that you have viewing access to our Financial Aid Status page though Advisors Link.  This page will allow you to see enrollment and financial aid information of your students (including the unit requirement they must meet for Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards).

FAQ’s
When advising students, they often have questions on how it will affect their financial aid. We have compiled all the most frequently asked questions, answered them, organized them by subject and posted them online. http://financialaid.arizona.edu/faq/default.aspx

Questions
If you have any general questions, feel free to contact us at askaid@email.arizona.edu or 621.1858.  If you have a student specific question, call us while the student is in your office. You can put them on speakerphone, or ask the student to contact us directly.