The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS) is required by Federal and State regulatory agencies to ensure that Washington State University students have easy access to important information involving campus safety, equity in athletics, financial aid, graduation/retention rates and other required information. If you should have any question or concerns regarding the information listed here, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships can assist students in retrieving the most accurate and current information.
Financial Aid Recipient Rights and Responsibilities
Important Information
Student Rights
As a student receiving financial aid at Washington State University, you have the following rights:
- You may decline all or any part of your financial aid award. This must be done in writing.
- You may be able to return loan proceeds within 14 days of the date of disbursement. The remaining balance on your student account must be institutional charges to be able to return loan proceeds.
- You will be notified in writing of any changes made by the OFAS to your financial aid eligibility and/or your awards.
- You may request review of your financial aid application due to special or unusual circumstances that would change the Expected Family Contribution and/or the Cost of Attendance. All such requests should be submitted in writing to the OFAS.
- You may request a re-evaluation of any decision (except from the Satisfactory Academic Progress Committee) concerning your financial aid award.
- In protection of your rights under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the staff at the OFAS cannot release specific information about your financial aid award to anyone over the telephone. You must present picture ID when seeking information in-person about your financial aid awards at the OFAS.
- Students have the right to contact the Federal Student Financial Aid Ombudsman to resolve issues related to student loans. The Federal Ombudsman phone number is 1-877-557-2575 and their web site is: http://www.ombudsman.ed.gov.
Student Responsibilities
As a student receiving financial aid at Washington State University, you have the following responsibilities:
- Be admitted by the Office of Admissions to a course of study leading to a degree or certificate.
- Report to the OFAS, in writing, any additional resources such as Veterans Education Benefits, scholarships, tuition waivers, and funding from outside agencies, etc.
- Confirm the awarded loan amounts on the Financial Aid Award Notifications and return one copy to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships if you wish to borrow.
- Maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress page for more information.
- Immediately inform Washington State University of any address changes through the zzusis student portal.
The safety of our students is a priority at Washington State University. This section offers the campus safety report, including crime rates, as well as tips to keep our students safe while they attend.
This section contains information specific to the student's rights and protections under the Federal Education Right to Privacy Act, as implemented by Washington State University.
Office of the Registrar - Notification of Student Rights under FERPA
Washington State University takes drug abuse prevention and education seriously. These links have information about programming opportunities, services available to students who find themselves in an abuse situation, as well as the repercussions of violating state and institutional drug and alcohol policies.
- This University database can be found here.