Issue Summary
- Unless a student is registered for credit, the aid distributed in summer counts toward the fall semester aid calculation. Once we move into compliance, the summer aid will have negative repercussions for fall aid and students, particularly low-income students, who may not be able to pay their fall tuition or will face increased debt. The aid for summer would count toward the following fall/spring Cost of Attendance for financial aid purposes.
- Often, units look to payroll as an alternative way to compensate students for summer research. Unfortunately, unless a student is working in an employee function, they are not eligible for payroll. See the Tax Management Office Guidelines #8 for more information.
- Students enroll in one credit associated with program-related instructional activities and pay the cost in order to be eligible for the summer scholarship.*
- Students enroll in one credit and the unit offering the scholarship opportunity provides additional scholarship funds to partially or fully cover the tuition.*
- For research opportunities that extend beyond the summer term, the scholarship could be distributed during a term the student is already enrolled (e.g. fall or spring).
- Smaller units, and those that do not serve international students, may find it a viable option to pay the participating students by setting them up as vendors, rather than using the scholarship model.
If you have any questions, please contact Nate Peterson, Director of Student Finance, (pete2787@umn.edu).
