Financial Aid
HUC-JIR will provide adequate financial assistance to eligible students. This goal is to be accomplished through the coordination of governmental, community, and HUC-JIR resources within the framework of federal and College-Institute regulations and policies.
The College-Institute maintains a significant program of financial aid for students who can demonstrate need and merit. As a general rule, students are expected to utilize all available personal resources before turning to HUC-JIR for assistance. Our institution remains committed to the principle that all admitted, qualified students will be able to matriculate regardless of their ability to pay tuition and fees, where institutional financial resources make this possible.
Financial aid is distributed on the basis of need or merit; all full-time or half-time students are welcome to apply. HUC-JIR’s total financial aid program is available to students who can demonstrate need and merit. All students are welcome to apply.
International students with F-1 or J-1 visas are ineligible for any US federal or state financial aid programs. As stated on the I-20 student visa form from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), international students are expected to provide for their educational and living expenses from personal and family resources. International students may apply for HUC-JIR need-based or merit-based scholarships by completing the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE® (PROFILE). Students may receive a scholarship covering up to 100 percent of tuition.
Leave of Absence
Students who request and are approved for a leave of absence from HUC-JIR will be granted up to 180 days leave for financial aid purposes. After that amount of time, if a student fails to re-enroll at HUC-JIR, they will be automatically withdrawn from the program and loans that are currently on a deferment status will be updated to withdrawn. Students returning from a leave of absence who have not made-up work from the previous semester will not be permitted to take out more Stafford Loans until they have completed the previous semester’s workload or have completed an additional semester with a course load of at least half time. For students on a leave of absence, the COA will be adjusted to reflect the student’s COA minus the months or days the student is on leave.
Year-In-Israel Students
Students eligible for financial aid may receive a scholarship to cover up to full tuition and fees for the Year-In-Israel Program. Students required to attend the Summer Ulpan will receive an additional ulpan tuition scholarship.
Stateside Students
Institutional need-based and merit-based HUC-JIR scholarships do not need to be repaid. They are provided directly to the student from HUC-JIR’s own financial resources, often supported by generous alumni and donors who establish named scholarships. To be eligible for an HUC-JIR tuition scholarship applicants must apply through the Admissions Office when applying for admission.
Discretionary Scholarship Fund Policy
Students who have extraordinary financial need may apply for additional HUC-JIR scholarship funds through the Financial Aid Office. To apply for additional aid, students must submit a letter to the Director of Financial Aid addressed to the “Scholarship Committee”, outlining reasons for requesting extra scholarship funds. Additionally, students will need to submit documentation (i.e., tax return) to support their appeal. Each student’s case will be reviewed by a scholarship committee and those confirmed as having significant need may be awarded more scholarship money if funds are available.
Outside Scholarship Policy
Students receiving full-tuition scholarships from external sources that process their awards through HUC-JIR may not be eligible to receive additional need-based HUC-JIR scholarship aid, depending on the amount of the outside award and the level of need.
Half-Time/Full-Time Equivalency for Federal Aid
Graduate students may be eligible for a half-time or full-time equivalency, based upon the determination of their academic department, even if they are not enrolled for actual credits. Hebrew Union College defines full-time coursework as a minimum of nine credits and half-time coursework as a minimum of four and a half credits.
The following types of coursework may not carry any credit: capstone or thesis course and/or fieldwork, internship, clinical practice, practicum course, and/or participation in supervised research (capstone, thesis, or research assistant), Candidacy, or Dissertation. In those cases, full-time equivalency students are expected to spend at least 113 hours per term working at these activities; half-time equivalency students are expected to work a minimum of 75 hours per term in a combination of coursework and/or the appropriate activities.
Return of Federal Title IV Funds
How a withdrawal affects financial aid Federal regulations require Title IV financial aid funds to be awarded under the assumption that a student will attend the institution for the entire period in which federal assistance was awarded. When a student withdraws from all courses for any reason, including medical withdrawals, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that was originally scheduled for the student to receive. The return of funds is based upon the premise that students earn their financial aid in proportion to the amount of time in which they are enrolled. A pro-rated schedule is used to determine the amount of federal student aid funds the student will have earned at the time of the withdrawal. When more than 60% of the semester/pay period is completed, a student is considered to have earned all of their financial aid and will not be required to return any funds. Federal law requires schools to calculate how much federal financial aid a student has earned if that student completely withdraws or stops attending before completing the semester/pay period. Unearned aid must be returned to the federal government using a process administered by the Director of Financial Aid.
The Financial Aid Office will conduct a return of funds calculation for students who withdraw (officially or unofficially) from the College-Institute during the academic year. An exit interview will be sent electronically to the student to be filled out and returned. If there is no response a PDF of the full exit interview and instructions will be emailed to the student.
Overaward
The awarding of financial aid in excess of demonstrated need constitutes an overaward. At the time of awarding, a student’s financial aid “package” must be equal to or less than the student’s need. Student loan funds will be reduced for the second semester if an overaward is noticed before the second-semester disbursement. If the overaward happens after the second or last disbursement, funds must be collected from the student. A financial aid officer has the right to exercise professional judgement if there is a valid reason for lowering an EFC and eliminating the overaward.
Master Promissory Note
A Master Promissory Note (MPN) has to be current and signed by the student with Direct Loans (information on the “How to Apply” part of the financial aid website.) An MPN is serial and can thus be used every year during the student’s residency at the College. By signing an MPN, a student is promising to repay all student loans made under this note. Students may revoke their MPN at any time, however, loans previously disbursed remain an obligation they must repay. An MPN expires ten years after the note is signed. If a disbursement is not made within one year of signing, the promissory note is automatically revoked. Students requesting Grad Plus Loans must complete a Grad Plus Application for each new Grad Plus loan request.
Disbursing Loan Refunds in Students’ Accounts
All loans and grants are disbursed by the HUC-JIR Business Office. If a student has not submitted all required documentation, a “hold” will be placed on the student’s financial aid disbursements. Deposits made into a student’s checking account will not be disbursed if a student’s HUC-JIR financial aid records have been encumbered for any reason.
Notification of disbursements is sent from the Business Office notifying the student of what kind of loan, amount, and date of deposit into a student’s College-Institute accounts, and their personal bank accounts. This notification will inform the students that they have the right to cancel or reduce their disbursement amounts, and the period in which they should alert the school if they choose to do so.
Federal Student Loans are disbursed twice each year for two semester programs and three times a year for students enrolled in fall-spring-summer programs. For late applications student loans will be disbursed on a rolling basis.
If a student owes tuition, fees, or has other financial obligations to the College-Institute, the amount due to the school will be deducted from the Federal loan refund disbursement.
Refunds and Repayment
All tuition and fees are refunded on a pro rata basis, using the number of remaining months divided by either the 9-month or 12-month term. Please see the current Tuition and Fees Policy on the Student Billing web page for further information.
Financial Aid File Maintenance
To ensure that all required documents have been received and to aid internal and external audits, all files will be maintained as follows:
Documents Required in Each Financial Aid File:
- Student Aid Report – analysis generated from the FAFSA award letter
- Miscellaneous communications from students
All files are stored electronically.
Maintenance of Records
The Financial Aid Office will maintain a record for each student receiving financial aid. All financial aid files will be maintained for three years after submission of the student’s last financial aid application. Records involved in any claim or expenditure questioned by federal audit will be retained until that question is resolved. After the three-year retention period has elapsed and all open issues resolved, the financial aid materials will be destroyed.
Confidentiality
As specified by law in the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), all information in a student’s financial aid file is confidential and may not be released or discussed with anyone except as provided by law.
Adequate records of request must be maintained for information disclosure.
To disclose financial aid information, written consent from the student is required and must:
- specify records to be released;
- state the purpose of the disclosure;
- identify the party(ies) to whom disclosure may be made; and
- be signed and dated by the student.
Information must be disclosed without prior written consent of the student to:
- students who request information from their own records;
- authorized representatives of federal- and state-supported programs for the purpose of audit and evaluation; and
- the College’s duly appointed auditors, for the sake of audit and evaluation.
Information may be disclosed without written consent of the student to:
- personnel within the institution determined to have legitimate educational interest;
- officials of other institutions in which the student seeks to enroll;
- organizations determining financial decisions concerning eligibility, amount, condition, and enforcement of terms of said aid;
- organizations conducting studies to develop, validate, and administer predictive tests, to administer student aid programs, or to improve instruction;
- accrediting organizations carrying out their accrediting functions;
- parents or legal guardians of a student who have established that student’s status as a dependent according to Internal Revenue Code of 1986, Section 152; or
- persons in compliance with a judicial order or a lawfully issued subpoena, provided that the institution first makes a reasonable attempt to notify the student.
The Administration of Financial Aid Programs
Responsibility for the administration of financial aid programs is a joint effort of the Financial Aid Director, the Registrar, the Business Office, and the Deans, who act in an advisory capacity. The Board of Governors of the College-Institute reviews and ultimately sets HUC-JIR financial aid policies.
A more detailed version of financial aid policies and procedures is available at huc.edu/admissions/financial-aid-scholarships/policies-procedures.