Additional Assistance Options

Employer Reimbursement

Any “employer reimbursement” or “tuition assistance” is included as part of the student’s estimated financial assistance (EFA) for the purpose of determining need.

Employer reimbursement or tuition assistance is included based on the student’s response on the NCU Financial Aid Application. NCU assumes that an answer of “yes” without an explanation of terms means full tuition remission. Employer reimbursement or tuition assistance is used to cover tuition and fees only, unless otherwise noted by the student.

GI Bill® and Other VA Education Benefits

Northcentral University (NCU) does not determine student eligibility for education benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including GI Bill® benefits. Students may review benefit eligibility requirements at the official GI Bill® website, www.benefits.va.gov/gibill, and complete an application at www.VA.gov. For questions regarding VA education benefits, students should call the VA Education Call Center at 1-888-442-4551 or contact a NCU School Certifying Official (SCO) at veteransbenefits@ncu.edu.

Students are required to submit a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) or similar document, confirming benefit entitlement, to the SCO before enrollment will be certified to VA. Acceptable documentation includes Certificates of Eligibility (COE), Post 9/11 GI Bill® Enrollment Status pages from www.eBenefits.va.gov, statements of benefits from www.VA.gov, Web Automated Verification of Enrollment (WAVE) pages, and Authorization Forms (VA form 28-1905) for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment benefit.

Once a student’s benefit documentation is on file, NCU will submit enrollment certifications to VA on a course-by-course basis, after the drop period of each course passes. Students receive confirmation emails every time enrollment certifications are submitted to VA.

NCU permits students utilizing Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (chapter 31) or Post 9/11 GI Bill® (chapter 33) education benefits to attend and participate in a course while the university awaits payment from VA, for at least 90 days after the date NCU certifies the course charges to VA. NCU does not impose any penalty, including the assessment of late fees, the denial of access to courses or school resources, or the requirement to borrow additional funds, on these students due to the delayed payment from VA under chapter 31 or 33 benefits. Students utilizing the chapter 31 and 33 education benefits will still be responsible for any portion of their tuition and fee charges that are not coverable by VA under their specific benefit.

NCU will inquire about all previous education and training for students electing to use VA education benefits and request transcripts from these students for all prior institutions, as required by VA. This includes transcripts for military training, traditional college coursework, and vocational training. Unofficial transcripts are sufficient for the purpose of an initial evaluation. Transcripts for education and training from prior institutions will be evaluated and credit will be granted, as appropriate, per NCU’s Transfer of Credit Policy.

As part of our commitment to our military students, NCU complies with the Principles of Excellence. The Principles of Excellence are voluntary federal guidelines for institutions of higher learning, which ensure military service members, veterans, and their families are treated fairly and are well informed when making decisions concerning their post-secondary education.

“GI Bill®” is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at https://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Note: School of Law programs are not eligible for VA benefits. For more information about the JD program please click here. 

Yellow Ribbon Program

The Yellow Ribbon Program is a provision of the Post 9/11 GI Bill® benefit. It is designed to help students pay for their out-of-pocket tuition and fee costs after exhausting the annual private school funding limit of the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, during the VA academic year (August 01 - July 31). The annual limit for the Post 9/11 GI Bill® is subject to change each year and is listed at www.benefits.va.gov/gibill/post911_gibill.asp. 

As a Yellow Ribbon Program participating school, NCU will contribute up to $2,000 for tuition and fees after an eligible student exhausts the annual funding limit. VA will then match the amount of the school’s contribution and issues payment directly to NCU.

The following individuals are eligible for Yellow Ribbon Program benefit:

• Veterans and their spouses, through transfer of entitlement, eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill® at the100% benefit level (based on service requirements).
• Dependent children, through transfer of entitlement, eligible for the Post 9/11 GI Bill® at the100% benefit level, regardless of the sponsor’s active duty status.

Active duty service members and their spouses are not eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program. When a student exhausts their entitlement to the Post 9/11 GI Bill®, they are also no longer eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

For questions regarding the Yellow Ribbon Program at NCU, students should contact the NCU School Certifying Official at veteransbenefits@ncu.edu.

Military Tuition Assistance

As an active duty, National Guard, or Reserve Uniformed service member, students may be eligible for military Tuition Assistance (TA) to help pay tuition. TA benefits may even cover the entire cost of NCU education with the special tuition rates NCU offers in conjunction with TA.

TA funds are awarded to students on a course by course basis under the assumption that the student will attend the University for the period for which the assistance is awarded.  TA funds are earned proportionally during an enrollment period, with unearned funds returned directly to the military service based upon when a student stops attending. The University will return any unearned TA funds on a prorated basis through at least the 60 percent point of the course for which the funds were provided.  The chart below shows the University’s TA proration schedule.

*The course is 60% complete during this week.

Tribal Funding

NCU participates in Title IV federal financial aid programs and in completing Tribal Funding Need Analysis Forms, follows the guidelines stated in Estimated Cost of Attendance (COA). As an online university, NCU uses tuition costs only as its estimated cost of attendance calculation. Grants, scholarships, NCU partnership discounts, or any other forms of tuition reduction will affect the estimated cost of attendance calculation.

Private Education Loan Information

A private education loan is a non-Federal Student Aid (FSA) loan that is made to a borrower expressly for postsecondary education expenses, regardless of whether the loan is provided through the educational institution that the student attends or directly to the borrower from the private educational lender. In either case, borrowers should know that they may qualify for FSA loans or other assistance from FSA programs, and that the terms and conditions of a FSA loan may be more favorable than the provisions of private education loans. Accordingly, NCU encourages students needing financial aid to pay for their education to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine their eligibility for FSA. NCU may certify a student’s private education loan in situations where a student may not be immediately eligible for a FSA loan.

NCU does not participate in a preferred lender arrangement with private education loan lenders, but those lenders that will make loans available to NCU students or parents can be viewed on the FASTChoice website at https://choice.fastproducts.org/FastChoice/home/3813300/1. NCU does not endorse these lenders. Borrowers can choose to use any private education loan lender that will make loans to the borrower for attendance at NCU, but many private education loan lenders require a credit check. This means that lenders look at borrowers’ financial history to determine if they can approve a loan, and if so, what terms they will offer the borrower.

Scholarships

From time to time, the University offers grants or scholarships to provide students with extra financial support.

When a Grant or Scholarship opportunity becomes available, details regarding awards, deadlines, and submission requirements will be posted in the Commons on NCUone.

More information can be found by contacting Student Financial Services or visiting the grants and scholarships page of NCU.edu.