Financial Aid
The Financial Aid Office at Southern Illinois University assists students by awarding financial aid to help pay for post-secondary education.
Types of Financial Aid
Financial aid is awarded as grants, scholarships, loans and student employment from various federal, state, institutional and private sources. Financial aid is available to students both with and without financial needs. A financial aid application should be submitted to determine eligibility for the various financial aid programs.
A. Corporate Sponsorships
Many companies are willing to sponsor an employee who chooses to enroll in our online master degree program. We encourage our students to contact their human resources department to find out more regarding their company’s tuition reimbursement options.
B. Scholarships
Federal and state scholarships are available through Army and Air Force ROTC detachments. Currently, there are no university-level scholarships for online MBA students; in addition, students in the online MBA program are unfortunately not eligible for university tuition waiver scholarships.
Many private grants and scholarships can be found for post-baccalaureate education. Students should check as many sources as possible, including local clubs, civic organizations, businesses, employers, church groups, public libraries, alumni organizations and financial institutions. There are several web sites that provide scholarship search services free of charge. In addition, public libraries are an excellent source of information on private scholarships.
C. Loans
Loans are available from the Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loan and the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan programs. These federal loans are processed by the SIU Financial Aid Office for the U.S. Department of Education, who contracts with a servicer to do loan approval and collections. The Federal Direct Graduate Plus Loan is awarded to graduate and professional students with good credit history. The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is awarded as a non-need-based loan. Loan fees, interest rates and repayment provisions vary. SIU also processes Alternative Loans for students for whom traditional loan programs do not meet the full need.
Refunds And Return Of Funds
Students who do not attend classes are not entitled to any financial aid, loans or refunds of a credit balance. Students who cease attendance during the semester are only entitled to financial aid applicable until the documented last date of attendance. Students who reduce enrollment to less than half-time will have all or part of their financial aid removed. For more specific information about refunds and return of funds, contact the Financial Aid Office.
Electronic Connection
Additional financial aid information is available from the Financial Aid Office web site. This web site provides valuable links to information regarding financial aid estimators, electronic financial aid applications, free scholarship search services, student loans and other financial aid concerns. A student can obtain specific information about his/her own financial aid on Saluki-Net. If students have questions and want to discuss their financial aid further, the Financial Aid Office can be contacted via e-mail (fao@siu.edu) or by using the address and phone information in the sidebar.