Terms and Conditions

Due to your participation in a study abroad program, you must certify that you have read and understood the following terms and conditions prior to accepting your awards.

The University Financial Aid and Scholarship Services office will communicate with you regarding your aid, including terms and conditions, through your NMSU email account and your MyNMSU account. It is important to monitor both accounts regularly.

Type of Aid Offered

To be eligible for financial aid, you must be enrolled at NMSU in a degree-seeking program, be meeting all Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, and be participating in a University-approved study abroad program. You may use federal, state, and institutional aid for an approved study abroad program. You may not use work-study awards.

Students, who need additional funding beyond their Federal Student Aid eligibility, may want to consider Private Loans. Researching Private Loans should happen as soon as possible, as they do require an application and credit check to be completed with the lender you select.

You cannot postpone your graduation in order to participate in a study abroad program and expect to receive financial aid. In these cases, participation must be at your own expense.

Students are ineligible to receive the following awards while studying abroad:

• Workstudy
• Out-of-State Competitive
• Descubre/Descubre Graduate Out-of-State
• 135-Mile Out-of-State
• Western Undergraduate/Western Regional Out-of-State
• Colorado/Arizona Out-of-State
• New Mexico Tribal Member Out-of-State

Disbursement of Federal Financial Aid and Scholarships

• Study Abroad programs that start before or within the first 10-days of the semester start date at NMSU, will receive their Federal Financial Aid disbursements as part of the same disbursement schedule as students that remain on campus. Any refund of excess funds will be transferred via electronic funds transfer (EFT) to the bank account you have designated within 3-business days of disbursement.
• Study Abroad programs that start after the tenth day of the NMSU semester start date will receive their Federal Financial Aid disbursement 10-days prior to the start of your study abroad program. Any excess funds will be transferred via EFT to the bank account you have designated within 3-business days of disbursement.

Federal Regulations do not allow us to disburse your Federal Student Aid funds any sooner than indicated above. As a result, you may need to ensure you have funds available to cover expenses prior to your departure until your financial aid funds become available.

Academic Transcript Requirements

Unofficial Transcript Requirement

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services is required to determine that you are meeting all aspects of Satisfactory Academic Progress prior to disbursing aid for a consecutive term. Due to the delay in official transcripts being received from your study abroad school, you will be required to provide our office with a copy of an unofficial transcript or a grade report in order for your aid eligibility to be determined. Your Federal and State aid will not be disbursed for a consecutive term until the unofficial transcript or grade report has been received and reviewed by your Financial Aid Advisor.

Official Transcript Requirement

The unofficial transcript requirement, mentioned above, allows us to disburse your Federal and State financial aid for only one consecutive term following a study abroad program. Beyond your first term of enrollment, following a study abroad program, official transcripts are required before your Federal and State aid will be disbursed.

Students who participate in a study abroad program are responsible for ensuring their official transcripts are evaluated by their Academic Advisor and posted to their NMSU student record by the deadline dates listed below. The lack of coursework being posted to your student record will indicate non-attendance and will result in all Federal and State aid received being billed back to your student account. In order to avoid being billed, it is imperative you work with your Academic Advisor to meet the deadline dates and keep your Financial Aid Advisor updated through the process.

Official Transcript Deadlines

Official transcripts must be evaluated by your Academic Advisor and coursework must be posted to your student record by the following dates.

Course Registration

All credits attempted through the study-abroad program must apply toward your degree completion requirements. Students are required to work with their Academic Advisor prior to departure to complete the Course Equivalency Form to ensure the courses selected will transfer back to your student record. A signed Course Equivalency form must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office. If there are any changes to the courses that were originally approved, students are required to contact their Academic Advisor immediately and resubmit a Course Equivalency form to obtain approval for any new course(s). A signed copy of the revised form must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office. A change in a course(s) without prior approval from your Academic Advisor could result in all or a portion of the Federal and State aid received being billed back to your student account. Failure to submit a signed copy of the Course Equivalency form will prevent your financial aid from disbursing.

Withdrawal and Cancellation of Study Abroad

In the event your registration is canceled, you withdraw, or are removed from the program, Federal Regulations require a calculation to be made to determine the amount of aid you are eligible to keep and the amount of aid that must be returned immediately. You will be required to repay any and all financial aid funds that were released to you or that were paid toward the university debt on your behalf.

Failure to repay these funds may prevent you from re-enrolling at the University; may prevent you from obtaining transcripts to transfer to another institution; may result in your account being referred to a collection agency, and may result in a damaged credit rating.

It is imperative that you contact both your Study Abroad Advisor and Financial Aid Advisor before canceling or withdrawing from your Study Abroad program.

Accepting the Terms and Conditions 

Students studying abroad must sign a Study Abroad Terms and Conditions through their NMSU Education Abroad portal. Failure to accept the Terms and Conditions will prevent your financial aid awards from disbursing.