Northwestern Health Sciences University is a private, non‐profit institution that derives its financial resources from alumni gifts, private foundation grants, clinic fees, student tuition and the benevolence of the University’s alumni and friends. All tuition and fees are due and payable by the last day of the first month of the term. If tuition has not been paid or arrangements for payment have not been made with the Accounting Office by this date, a financial hold will be placed on the student’s account, a late fee may be assessed and registration for that trimester may be canceled. All university tuition and fees are listed in US dollars and must be paid in US dollars. Payments received for students from International Lenders will be accepted in international funds and the foreign exchange rate on the date of deposit will be applied to the student’s account. Tuition and fees are subject to change at any time. Generally, costs will be adjusted once a year to be in effect for fall, winter and summer terms of the entire academic year. New tuition and fee rates are announced in the summer prior to the beginning of the upcoming academic year. To find out current tuition and fees for all programs at NWHSU, go to https://www.nwhealth.edu or contact Student Billing at (952) 491‐9375.
Institutional Refund Policy
REVISION/EFFECTIVE DATES
July 25, 2018 / September 5, 2018
PURPOSE
To comply with the relevant legislation under which the University is bound and to ensure the University delivers a transparent, effective and efficient tuition and fee refund process.
SCOPE
The scope of this policy applies to all students in all programs.
POLICY
Students are responsible for all tuition and fees incurred by registration in a course. Failing to attend a course does not constitute a withdrawal from the course. During the Add/Drop Period at the beginning of each trimester, students are allowed to add and/or drop courses without any financial consequences.
If a student officially withdraws from a class or the university after this period, the following schedule reflects the amount of tuition and fees that will be refunded. The amount of the refund is determined by the official date of the withdrawal. The date of official withdrawal is the date the Registrar receives written notification from the student of their intent to withdrawal or upon receipt of the Official Withdrawal or Add/drop form.
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Tuition and Fee Refund Chart - Full Term Courses
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If the date of official drop/withdrawal is within:
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Tuition and Lab Fees Refund
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Institutional Fees* Refund
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Week 1 of the term (Add/Drop Period)
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100%
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100%**
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Week 2 of the term (Add/Drop Period)
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100%
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100%**
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Week 3 of the term
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50%
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0%
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Week 4 of the term
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25%
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0%
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No refund of tuition and fee will be given after the 4th week of classes.
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Tuition and Fee Refund Chart - Accelerated and/or Less than Full Term Courses***
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If the date of official drop/withdrawal is within
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Tuition and Lab Fees Refund
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Institutional Fees* Refund
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Week 1 of the term
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100%
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100%**
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Week 2 of the term
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50%
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0%
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* Institutional fees include: University fee, Needle Stick insurance fee, SACA, AAM
**Refund only applies to students who withdraw from the university (see table below).
***Courses that meet for only one day must be dropped prior to the start of the class for a full refund.
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Financial aid recipients who withdraw from Northwestern Health Sciences University should be aware that they may need to return part or all of the funds they were awarded (see Financial Aid Refund Policies). Before officially withdrawing from classes, we recommend that you contact the Financial Aid Office. Students are also encouraged to view and be aware of the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. Students must complete at least 67% of all attempted credits in order to remain eligible for financial aid. Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress is evaluated at the end of each trimester.
PROCEDURE
Student completes steps below to withdraw from a course. A student who wishes to withdraw from all courses in a term must follow the steps below to officially withdraw from the university.
To drop a course or courses
- Complete the online add/drop request form using the following link to drop a course or courses: Add/Drop Request Form. Please note the course number and title are needed to complete the form.
- The Registrar’s Office will process the add/drop request form upon receipt.
To officially withdraw from the university
Please note: Requesting a withdrawal from the University may impact your student account, financial aid, and academic standing. To ensure that you are making an informed decision about this action, it is strongly advised that you meet with the appropriate office. At a minimum, meeting with an Academic Advisor is highly recommended. Financial Aid recipients should also plan to meet with a representative from the financial aid office.
- Contact the Registrar’s Office to request an Official Withdrawal/Term Off form.
- The Registrar’s Office will process the withdrawal upon receipt of the completed form.
Financial Aid Refund Policies
Return of Title IV Refund Policy
If the student withdraws from Northwestern Health Sciences University during a trimester, a calculation of "earned" versus "unearned" federal aid must be determined. This federal policy assumes the student earned aid based on how much time has elapsed in the term. If the student received federal financial aid, that aid may be reduced as a result of the withdrawal.
There are three steps that Northwestern Health Sciences University must complete to comply with the federal policy:
- Determine the official or unofficial withdrawal date.
- Determine the amount of earned federal aid.
- Return unearned federal funds to the appropriate program(s).
The student must withdraw officially by contacting the Registrar's Office. The withdrawal date is the date the student began the withdrawal process. If the student failed to withdraw officially, the withdrawal date will become the midpoint of the term, unless the University can document a later date. In certain circumstances, if an earlier date of last academic activity is determined, this date may be used n the calculation of "earned" federal aid.
If the student withdrew or last attended before completing 60 percent of the term, s/he "earned" federal funds in direct proportion to the length of time s/he was enrolled. The percentage of earned aid is determined by dividing the total number of calendar days in the term enrolled by the total number of calendar days in the term. If the student completed 60 percent of the term, s/he earned all of their federal financial aid for the term.
The responsibility to repay unearned aid is shared by the institution and the student. The institution's share is the lesser of unearned aid or unearned institutional charges. The institution's share must be repaid to the federal aid programs in the following order, before the student's share is considered:
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Direct PLUS Loan (parent or graduate)
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Other Title IV Aid
If a student is required to repay a portion of the loan through the student's share calculation, the student is not expected to return those funds immediately, but rather begin repayment according to the terms and conditions of the promissory note. If a portion of the unearned Federal Loan funds must be returned by the school, the student is responsible for repaying the money back to Northwestern Health Sciences University. If this causes undue hardship, a satisfactory payment arrangement can be made with the Accounting Office.
Return of MN State Financial Aid Program Policy
Recipients of MN State Financial Aid program funds may also have their awards recalculated upon withdrawal. MN State Financial Aid Program funds may need to be returned based on the result of the MN State Programs Refund Calculation.
Financial Aid and Satisfactory Academic Progress
he Higher Education Amendments that govern Title IV Financial Assistance Programs state that “a student shall be entitled to receive federal student assistance benefits only if that student is maintaining progress in the course of study he/she is pursuing, according to the standards and practices of the institution.” Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Policy of Satisfactory Academic Progress requires a student to meet both qualitative (grade requirement) and quantitative (work completed) standards. Supportive services are available at Northwestern Health Sciences University to help ensure academic success. Information about these services is available in the Registrar's Office. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be monitored at the end of each grading period to establish the student’s eligibility to continue receiving financial aid.
Students may continue to receive financial aid by meeting all of the following criteria which have been established as the minimum standards for making SAP at Northwestern Health Sciences University. This policy replaces all previous SAP policies.
- Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average Requirement: A student must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) to retain financial aid eligibility. A minimum CGPA must be earned in the following colleges:
College of Chiropractic 2.0
College of Health and Wellness 2.0
College of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine 2.0
- Minimum Cumulative Pace Requirement: A student must successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted hours by the end of each trimester. The completed percentage is determined by dividing credits earned by the number of credits attempted. Note: While grades of W have no impact in the academic GPA calculations, these grades are included as attempted credits, as required by Federal regulations.
- Maximum Time Frame Requirement: The maximum number of credit hours allowable to complete a degree is 150% of the credit hours normally required to complete the degree program.
Financial Aid Warning Status
A student who fails the SAP evaluation at Northwestern Health Sciences University may be placed on Financial Aid Warning status. Financial Aid Warning lasts for one trimester and does not require action (such as an appeal) by the student. This option is permitted at Northwestern Health Sciences University since SAP is reviewed at every payment period/trimester.
- A student on Financial Aid Warning is notified of the status at the beginning of the trimester.
- There is no limit to the number of Financial Aid Warnings a student can receive during his or her enrollment and it is possible that a student could receive more than one Financial Aid Warning period, but not in consecutive trimesters.
- For example, if a student is not making SAP after the fall trimester, the student may be placed on Financial Aid Warning. The student could make SAP during the summer and then fail to make SAP during the subsequent fall. The student could again be placed on Financial Aid Warning after the subsequent fall. The student could not have successive trimesters in Financial Aid Warning status.
Financial Aid Probation Status
- After a Financial Aid Warning, a student who continues to fail SAP must successfully appeal to be placed on Financial Aid Probation and be permitted to receive financial aid. Financial Aid Probation status is not granted automatically at Northwestern Health Sciences University. At the end of one trimester on Financial Aid Probation, the student must make SAP or must be meeting the requirements of the academic plan set in the appeal for probation.
- Generally speaking, a student granted Financial Aid Probation status should be given two academic requirements during the probation trimester, in addition to fulfilling the academic plan:
- Complete all coursework with passing grades (e.g., no W or F grades)
- Achieve a trimester GPA of 2.0 or higher.
- After a trimester on Financial Aid Probation, a student that is still not making SAP cannot be automatically placed on another trimester of Financial Aid Probation. The student would have to successfully appeal to be eligible for financial aid.
- Appeals submitted for students who continue to fail SAP after a probation period must contain information about why the student failed to make SAP at the end of the Financial Aid Probation period, including what had changed that caused the student to not make SAP during the probationary period and why the student will be able to meet SAP on the terms of the academic plan.
If the Academic Program determines, based on the appeal, that the student will require more than one payment period to meet SAP, it may recommend the student remain on probation and develop an academic plan for the student. The Financial Aid Office is required to review his/her progress at the end of probation period, to determine if the student is meeting the requirements of the academic plan. If the student is meeting the requirements of the academic plan, the student is eligible to receive Title IV aid as long as the student continues to meet those requirements and is reviewed according to the requirements specified in the plan.
SAP Appeal
When a student becomes ineligible for financial aid due to failure to meet SAP standards, an opportunity is given to appeal for further financial aid consideration. A student may file a SAP Appeal with the Financial Aid Office on the basis of:
- Death of a relative
- Injury or illness of the student
- Other special circumstances (such as difficult transition to NWHSU, family issues, legal troubles, work or budget problems, etc.)
Completed SAP appeals will be reviewed within 15 business days. The student will be notified by campus email if the appeal is accepted or denied. If the email is returned undeliverable, a letter will be mailed to the student’s current residing address as listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Additional SAP Information
Dual Degree Programs/Changed Majors
Students who are enrolled in a dual degree program or who have changed majors* may file a SAP appeal to request an extension of the maximum time frame provision of the SAP policy. Such requests will be evaluated on an individual basis.
Second Degrees
Students seeking second degrees are monitored like any other students under this policy. Students who exceed the maximum time frame allowed by their respective program may file a SAP appeal to request an extension. Appeals will be evaluated on an individual basis.
Transfer/Audit Credits
Transfer and consortium credits accepted by the university will be included when calculating a student’s credit completion ratio and maximum time frame, but not the student’s GPA. This includes credits earned from non-Northwestern Health Sciences University programs. Audit credits are not considered either attempted or earned. Credit hours earned at a foreign institution are included in the SAP evaluation if the university accepts the credit hours.
Repeated Coursework
Repeated courses will count toward enrollment status, attempted hours and maximum time frame.
Summer Sessions Courses
All hours attempted and completed in the summer sessions are treated as any other trimester credit hours in determining SAP.