Institutional scholarships for students are applied to student accounts on the first day of courses each semester, provided full-time enrollment—12 credit hours for undergraduates, nine credit hours for graduate students—or approved part-time enrollment. Graduate student scholarship, assistantship, or fellowship funds are applied when the student's academic department processes the funding via the Office of Financial Aid or the Office of Student Accounting, depending on the type of funding.
All federal financial aid awards are paid to students on the first day of courses, provided all requirements, including all applicable promissory notes, have been satisfied and the student is enrolled in at least six hours (undergraduates) or 4.5 hours (graduates). Requirements are listed on the Financial Aid Dashboard, under the “Requirements” tab. This is accessed through the Illinois Tech Portal. The Office of Financial Aid will communicate with students via email regarding any additional information that is needed.
Regulations governing the administration of Federal Stafford and Federal PLUS loan programs require institutions of higher learning to distribute funds in at least two equal installments—one in the fall semester and the second at the midpoint of the enrollment period (normally, the spring semester).
Scholarships, grants, and loans administered by the Office of Financial Aid are first applied directly to student accounts to pay for tuition, fees, university-operated housing, and other applicable university charges. All tuition and fees are subject to revision by Illinois Tech’s Board of Trustees.
Students whose financial aid exceeds the charges on their student account will receive these funds, which are referred to as a refund, to pay other educationally related expenses in accordance with the Office of Student Accounting refund process.