Financial Aid Services
Financial Aid and Student Employment
The Financial Aid Department of Enrollment Services at Montana Technological University administers federal, state, and institutional aid programs designed to help eligible students pay for their educational expenses. Amounts of awards vary and depend upon the student’s financial need as well as the amount of funds available for distribution.
To apply for financial aid, students must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year. The FAFSA can be filed electronically at www.fafsa.gov.
To be eligible for financial aid, an individual must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and have applied for admission to the University as a degree-seeking student. Priority consideration is given to students who file the FAFSA within two months of the application being available. (e.g., December 1, 2022 for the academic year beginning with summer 2023.)
Students applying for financial assistance are considered for all aid programs for which they are eligible. Assistance is offered in the form of grants, scholarships, tuition waivers, student loans, and work opportunities. Parents of dependent students can also apply for Federal Direct PLUS Loans.
Publications describing the different programs, eligibility criteria, satisfactory progress for financial aid, and application procedures are available via the internet at https://www.mtech.edu/financial-aid/index.html, or in Enrollment Services, 1300 W Park ST, Student Success Center, room 3.126, Butte, MT 59701. The telephone number is (406) 496-4223. The office is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM or as otherwise posted. The office is fully accessible.
Both undergraduate and graduate students may apply for aid. Assistance to graduate students from the FAFSA is limited to loans and, in some cases, work opportunities. Information on graduate fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships should be obtained from the Graduate School.
Student expenses will vary according to differences in course of student, residency status, housing arrangements, transportation costs, and other factors, the table of estimated expenses maybe used to determine the projected cost of education for a school year (two semesters).
Please remember that policies and procedures governing financial assistance at Montana Tech are subject to change at any time, without prior notification or publication, due to changes in university, state and/or federal guidelines and regulations.
Student Responsibilities
Upon acceptance and receipt of financial assistance of any kind, it becomes the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office in writing of changes in financial and/or enrollment status. A change in enrollment and/ or financial status may result in revision of financial aid offers. Changes include:
- Change in the number of enrolled credits;
- Change in name, address, or telephone number;
- Change in financial status, including scholarships, grants, housing changes or other benefits received; and
- Withdrawal from the University. Students who withdraw from Montana Technological University during a semester may be responsible for repayment of all or a portion of any financial aid received for the semester. Return of federal fund procedures are federally regulated. Contact Financial Aid at financialaid@mtech.edu or (406) 496-4223 for additional information.
Student complaints can be submitted to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. More information about the complaint process can be found on the Notification of Montana Postsecondary Educational Institution Complaint Process website (https://mus.edu/MUS-Statement-of-Complaint-Process.html). Written complaints may be mailed to: 2500 Broadway, PO Box 203201, Helena, MT 59620-3201.
Montana Technological University Scholarships
The University offers scholarships to incoming students and continuing students. Students who are awarded renewable scholarships are automatically renewed if they continue to meet the eligibility requirements. Therefore, they are not required to submit a scholarship application in subsequent years but are encouraged to do so.
New, incoming students who have applied for admission to Montana Tech by March 1 are considered for scholarships based on their admissions application, high school GPA, and, optionally, their ACT/SAT Score. Additionally, students can complete the Scholarship Questionnaire on their PURL and can submit additional documents on their PURL for special invitation scholarship opportunities such as the Presidential Scholarship.
Transfer students are considered on an individual basis using their previous college GPA, major, and other criteria to determine eligibility.
Continuing students will complete the General Application that is available on the Financial Aid website. New applications will be accepted after the first of the year with a deadline of March 1st to apply. Students will be notified in April of their scholarship offers for the following academic year.
The Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) rate is offered to new incoming students and transfer students from participating states and is given based on admission status.
The Advantage Rate is offered to students who pursue a degree in a low enrollment program and is given based on admission status.
Distribution of Aid
Financial Aid is awarded by the Enrollment Services-Financial Aid Office and distributed through Business Services, usually by crediting aid to the student’s account. Aid is disbursed beginning the week before classes to students who have accepted their aid, submitted all required documents weeks in advance of the date and have finalized their registration in OrediggerWeb. Loans may be cancelled under certain conditions if the student and/or parent no longer needs the loan or needs a reduction to the amount borrowed. Students who are offered work study must obtain employment and complete additional paperwork at the Enrollment Services-Financial Aid Office. Students who work are paid bi-weekly based on the timecard submitted by the students and the supervisors.
Additional Requirements for Loans
In order to meet federal requirements, students who receive a federal student loan must complete an entrance interview requirement and sign a loan agreement/master promissory note (MPN) before a loan will be disbursed. Instructions for completing entrance counseling, exit counseling, and MPN can be found at https://www.mtech.edu/financial-aid/index.html.
Other Requirements and Guidelines for Retaining Financial Aid
Financial aid for full-time is based on maintaining a minimum of twelve (12) credits for undergraduates and nine (9) credits for graduate students.
Student enrolled for less than full-time may receive financial aid. Most grants will be pro-rated based on credit load. Loans are not pro-rated but require a minim of six (6) credits and cannot exceed the Cost of Attendance.
Students enrolling for fewer than six (6) credits are not considered for financial aid with two exceptions:
- Undergraduates who are seeking their first degree may be eligible for a reduced Federal Pell Grant, and
- Tuition waivers may be available to those who qualify.
Students can only receive aid for credits that are required for their degree/certificate program. If a student chooses to repeat a course for which they previously received a passing grade that course can only be counted toward their aid enrollment status one more time.
Satisfactory Financial Aid Progress
Any student receiving financial aid is required to make satisfactory academic progress in a program leading to a degree or certificate. Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) and complete a minimum of 67% of all credits attempted. The minimum GPA for undergraduates is 2.0 and for graduates the minimum GPA is 3.0.
A student must also be able to complete their degree within 150% of the length of their program measured in credits attempted. For instance, a student pursuing a 120 credits bachelor’s degree would need to complete their degree prior to attempting 180 credits.
The full policy is available at https://www.mtech.edu/financial-aid/receiving/academic-progress/index.html.
Return of Title IV (Calculated for Official or Unofficial Withdrawals)
Federal statute requires a recalculation of aid eligibility when a recipient of financial aid withdraws from the institution either officially or unofficially. A student earns aid based on the period of time the student remains enrolled for the payment period.
The full policy and examples of Return of Title IV Calculations is available at https://www.mtech.edu/financial-aid/docs/r2t4policy-procedure.pdf.
Tuition Waivers
The Montana Board of Regents has authorized the waiver of either full or partial tuition for certain categories of students.
These categories include:
- American Indian
- Montana Veterans
- War Orphans
- Dependents of Prisoners of War
- Surviving Dependents of Montana Firefighters or Peace Officers
- Faculty and Staff
- MUS Employee Dependents
- MUS High School Honors
- National Guard
For more information and applications, please visit the financial aid webpage https://www.mtech.edu/financial-aid/index.html under Tuition Waiver Applications.
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