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Consortium Students
Financial assistance may be available to students enrolling in courses at multiple colleges/universities (dual enrollment). The institution from which a student will receive his/her degree is considered the ‘home school’ and will award financial aid. Classes taken at another institution, the “visiting school,” may be counted toward total financial aid hours.
Western Kentucky University students wishing to enroll in classes offered through another college/university should submit a Consortium Request. Students seeking their degree with another college/university who wish to take classes at Western should contact their home school for instructions on their consortium policy. *Correspondence or independent learning (learn as you go) classes cannot be considered as consoritum hours.
Western students seeking to do a consortium through another university/college are required to be enrolled in at least 3 credit hours at Western. A student not concurrently enrolled may apply for a Waiver of Enrollment. Students may apply for only one waiver per academic year, unless they are an education major and can document they cannot finish their block requirements within one semester. Students seeking a Waiver of Enrollment must be
- admitted to Western Kentucky University as a degree-seeking student.
- have prior WKU coursework and be in good academic standing
A Waiver of Enrollment will be considered for students
- who have returned home for the summer and wish to take summer classes
- who have moved away from Western due to job or military and need to complete classes for their degree.
- who are not allowed to enroll in certain Western classes until they complete a required block of classes as prerequisites for Western enrollment.
A Waiver of Enrollment normally will not be provided to students lacking prior WKU course work. Students currently on probation at Western will be required to take at least one WKU course to aid monitoring of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
After receipt of completed Consortium Agreement and Waiver, if applicable, financial aid will be awarded based on the total hours enrolled at both WKU and the visiting school. Financial aid cannot be awarded for the hours from a visiting school until the office of Student Financial Assistance has received the completed Consortium Agreement from the visiting school.
The Cost of Attendance at Western will be adjusted to reflect the actual tuition costs of the visiting school and Western. An over-award status may result from the budget adjustment and financial aid will be adjusted. Students should review their TopNet account for potential adjustments.
Eligibility of consortium awards will apply to Title IV programs and state awards. Scholarships may require approval from the individual donors. KEES awards require that the visiting school be a Kentucky school.
Consortium students who are grant aid eligible must be enrolled at the visiting school no later than the last day of the 100% drop/add enrollment period at WKU. Students can check the WKU bulletin for the applicable semester to determine the 100% drop/add date. Federal and State grant eligibility is based on hours enrolled at the end of the 100% drop/add period. Adjustments in hours made after that period do not result in adjustments to financial aid.
Disbursement of financial aid for consortium students will not occur prior to the normal disbursement cycle for WKU. WKU tuition and other charges will be paid first from financial aid before a refund is released. It is the responsibility of the consortium student to pay the tuition bill at the visiting institution. Students should contact the visiting school about tuition bills due prior to the disbursement of aid at WKU.
Consortium students who withdraw or drop below the original hours for which financial aid was awarded may fall below WKU’s standard academic progress requirements and, therefore, may be placed on probation for the next period of application. Consortium students who are already on probation and withdraw or drop below original awarded hours may be denied aid for the next period of application.
Near the end of each semester the office of Student Financial Assistance will send an email to consortium students reminding them to submit a copy of their final grades to the Office of Student Financial Assistance.
At the end of each semester a consortium student must submit a copy of their final grades to Student Financial Assistance at WKU. The grades submitted do not have to be official transcripts and may be submitted by mail, fax or to the email account fa.consortium@wku.edu . This procedure is strictly for SAP monitoring by the Office of Student Financial Assistance. An official transcript must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar before visiting schools grades will be posted to the student’s WKU transcript record.
Until a copy of final grades has been received future financial aid will be held.
Timely receipt of funds is contingent upon timely submission of required/requested documentation by Student Financial Assistance.
A new consortium request must be submitted for each semester a students wishes to participate in dual enrollment.
Web Addresses and Phone Numbers
Free Application for Federal Financial Aid: www.fafsa.ed.gov
Student Financial Assistance, WKU, web address: www.wku.edu/finaid
Student Financial Assistance, WKU, fax number: 270-745-6586
