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FINANCIAL AID
All athletic teams are provided with a specific number of one-year renewable grants-in-aid (scholarships) in accordance with budgetary restrictions and NCAA regulations. These grants are awarded by the University Office of Financial Aid upon the recommendation of the Head Coach and the approval of the Director of Athletics. Grants-in-aid are not reimbursement for services performed, but rather are provided to help student-athletes with their educational expenses. An athletic grant-in-aid is restricted to covering only educational expenses, such as tuition, fees, room, board and course-related books.
Your athletic grant-in-aid covers only the current academic year, or a portion thereof, and may or may not include summer term classes. Your Head Coach, in conjunction with the Director of Academic Services, and ultimately the Director of Athletics, decides who is to be awarded aid for summer school and the amount to be given. Once an athletic grant-in-aid is awarded, Wake Forest University is committed to fulfilling its financial responsibilities for the awarded term.
However, athletics aid may be reduced
or cancelled during the term of the award
if:
- You become ineligible for intercollegiate competition (e.g., enrolled in less than twelve semester hours [unless it is your last semester], academically ineligible by WFU and/or NCAA standards, etc.).
- If subsequent financial aid should be awarded to you that exceeds NCAA maximums, it may become necessary to reduce your aid by an amount commensurate with NCAA guidelines.
- You give false information on your application, letter of intent or financial aid agreement.
- You engage in misconduct that brings disciplinary action from this institution.
- You voluntarily withdraw from the sport at any time for personal reasons.
- You have any involvement in gambling or illicit drugs that may result in my suspension from the team.
- You obtain employment during the academic year (except for the vacation periods listed in the university's official calendar) without prior permission from the Office of Compliance.
Athletics Aid MUST BE REDUCED OR CANCELED if:
- You sign a professional sports contract for your respective sport before you have exhausted eligibility.
- You accept money for playing in an athletics contest.
- You agree orally or in writing to be represented by an agent or accept any benefit from an agent before you have exhausted eligibility.
- You receive other countable aid that causes you to exceed your individual financial aid limit.
You will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid on or before July 1st of each year concerning the status of your renewal. If your aid is reduced or discontinued, you may appeal the decision through the University Scholarship Committee. The appeal process must be completed by the date stated in the renewal letter from the Office of Financial Aid.
Any gradation/cancellation of the original grant may be made only upon the recommendation of the Director of Athletics to the University Scholarship Committee under guidelines specified by NCAA legislation.
INSTITUTIONAL FINANCIAL AID
All financial assistance received by a student-athlete must be reported annually and be in compliance with NCAA and Atlantic Coast Conference rules and regulations. Therefore, if you are on an athletic scholarship, it is important that you check with the Office of Compliance and your Head Coach before accepting additional aid. Your combined aid cannot exceed a full scholarship. However, you may be eligible to receive additional assistance from Pell Grant funds without affecting your athletic scholarship. For more information on Pell Grants, contact the Office of Financial Aid.
If additional funds are needed, personnel at the Office of Financial Aid will help you investigate the possibility of long term student loans or federal grants, as well as assist you with the application process related to qualifying for these funds. You and your parents must complete and submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) before you may be considered for additional assistance.
OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING
If you are a scholarship student-athlete, you should receive the permission
of your Head Coach to live off campus. The
room allowance you receive must be in compliance
with NCAA financial aid rules and regulations.
A semester's allowance, equivalent to the weighted
average of the cost of all dormitory rooms, may be obtained at the
beginning of each semester from the Financial and Accounting Services
Office in Reynolda Hall. If further information is needed about locating
off-campus housing, please contact the Office of Residence Life and
Housing, in the Benson Center at (336) 758-5663.
OFF-CAMPUS FOOD SERVICE
NCAA regulations allow a student-athlete's athletic scholarship to include board (meals). If you desire to eat off-campus, you will receive an allowance approved by your head coach not to exceed the average amounts of all meal plans for on-campus dining. At the beginning of each semester during the academic year, this allowance may be obtained from the Financial and Accounting Services Office in Reynolda Hall.
UNIVERSITY CHARGES NOT PAID BY THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Questions always arise concerning the types of University expenses that are covered when a student-athlete is on full scholarship. Tuition, required books, and room and board are covered. The expenses listed below are not covered by your scholarship.
If you incur any of the following charges, you must pay them. You will not be allowed to register if you have any outstanding expenses of this nature.
- Long distance phone calls made from your residence hall or any location;
- Cost of treatment for non-athletically related injuries;
- Library fines;
- Fines for damage to University property, including the Residence Halls;
- Key deposits or replacement of lost Residence Hall Key;
- "Consumable charges" which can be anything from lab fees for breakage to non-required field trips, art supplies, and photography supplies;
- Replacement fee for lost identification card;
- School supplies, pens, notebooks, paper, calculators, etc. (see NCAA Special Assistance Fund);
- Class fees/supplies for elective courses (i.e., horseback riding/scuba diving);
- Vehicle Registration fee;
- Parking fines;
- Typing costs;
- Xeroxing costs;
- Student Health Insurance (required by Wake Forest University);
- Charges for lost athletic-issued equipment; and Post Office Box rental if living off campus.
GRADUATION AND POST-ELIGIBILITY AID
The undergraduate degree program is designed to be completed within a four-year period. You should plan to complete your degree work within that time frame. For some student-athletes, athletic eligibility will extend beyond four years. The Department of Athletics expects those student-athletes to complete their degree requirements by the expiration date of their athletic eligibility. If for some reason you are unable to complete your degree requirements within the allotted timeframe, you should consult with your Head Coach concerning post-eligibility financial aid.
NCAA SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FUND
The Special Assistance Fund was established by the NCAA member institutions in 1991 to "meet the student-athlete's needs of an emergency or essential nature for which financial assistance is not otherwise available." Responsibility for oversight and administration of the fund, including interpretations, rests solely with the conferences. If you believe that you are eligible to receive assistance from this fund, you should contact the Office of Compliance in the Department of Athletics.
Who is eligible to apply for funds:
- Pell-eligible student-athletes, including student-athletes who have exhausted their athletics eligibility or no longer are able to participate because of medical reasons.
- Student-athletes who are receiving countable
athletically related financial aid and who
can demonstrate a need determined by the WFU
Office of Financial Aid through a FAFSA;
- Foreign student-athletes on full scholarship
who have been approved by the Official Foreign
Student-Athlete Advisory Entity in the Department
of International Studies.
Permissible uses of the fund:
- Cost of clothing and other essential expenses (not entertainment) up to $500 for Pell-eligible student-athletes and full scholarship student-athletes who demonstrate financial need.
- Cost of expendable academic course supplies (e.g., notebook, pens and film) and rental of nonexpendable supplies (e.g., computer equipment and cameras) that are required for all students enrolled in the course.
- Medical and dental costs not covered by another insurance program (e.g., premiums for optional medical insurance, hearing aids, vision therapy and off-campus psychological counseling).
- Costs associated with student-athlete or family emergencies.
STUDENT-ATHLETE EMPLOYMENT
During Academic Year
A student-athlete may be employed on or off-campus during the academic
year if there is prior approval from the head coach and if the required
paperwork from the Athletics Compliance Office is completed by the
employer and approved by the head coach.
Guidelines:
- IT IS NOT PERMISSIBLE FOR ANY WAKE FOREST STUDENT-ATHLETE TO WORK PRIOR TO BEING APPROVED BY THE OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE. FAILURE TO COMPLETE THE APPROPRIATE PAPERWORK MAY RESULT IN FORFEITURE OF ELIGIBILITY.
During Official Vacation Periods and Summer
A student-athlete may work during any official vacation period or
during the summer. In addition, no paperwork must be completed.
Definition of Legitimate Earnings
The following are guidelines for legitimate earnings during the academic year, official vacation periods and summer:
- The student-athlete may not receive any remuneration for the value or utility that the student-athlete may have for the employer because of the publicity, reputation, fame or personal following he or she has obtained because of athletics ability;
- The student-athlete is to be compensated only for work actually performed; and
- The student-athlete is to be compensated at a rate commensurate with the going rate in that locality for similar services.
IMPERMISSIBLE EXTRA BENEFITS
You may not receive any award or expense allowance that is not authorized by the NCAA. If you accept illegal benefits or awards, you will very likely lose your eligibility, your scholarship and your right to compete in intercollegiate athletics. The problem is that most student-athletes think of illegal benefits in terms of accepting gifts or money. While certainly that is one form of an illegal extra benefit, you also cannot:
- Receive any material benefits that are not available to the general student body;
- Receive more than the allotted number of complimentary game admissions;
- Sell complimentary game admissions at any price;
- Endanger your amateur status by accepting benefits and items noted in the Athletic Eligibility Requirements section of this Handbook;
- Accept improper awards for your athletic performance (e.g., cash, country club memberships, etc.) or have the maximum value or number of awards exceed NCAA limitations (see the Recognition section of this Handbook for additional information regarding allowable awards and other expenses that are permitted for recognition of your athletic talent);
- Receive professional sport tickets through the Department or a booster, unless the tickets are provided for team entertainment purposes when your team travels to an away competition;
- Be reimbursed for transportation to away events except in accordance with NCAA guidelines which permit the institution to transport you from home or the campus to the event site and from the event site to the campus (see the Recognition section of this Handbook for additional information regarding allowable expenses to bowls and championships); or
- Use University telephones, telephone credit cards for free, fax machines and copiers.
You
may not accept special discounts on purchases or services or even
accept special payment arrangements on any purchases that may be
offered to you because you are a student-athlete. You must not accept
preferential treatment of any kind that is not provided to all students.
Be very careful of "free" or "special" benefits that someone wishes to give you. If you are in doubt about such "special favors," check
with the Office of Compliance or your Head
Coach. Again, accepting illegal benefits is a
serious violation of NCAA rules. Regardless of the circumstances
or motives, you will be held accountable for any such violations. REMEMBER: If there is any doubt about the legality of any benefit, it is much better to check with the Office of Compliance or your Head Coach than to put your eligibility in jeopardy.
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