When the Associate Provost receives a formal appeal from a student or faculty member, the GSBA will be constituted. The Associate Provost shall appoint three members of the graduate faculty to serve on the board.

Each year, the faculty of each program will identify one of their students for potential service. The Associate Provost will appoint two students (neither from the same program as the student or faculty member involved in the appeal) to serve on the GSBA.

The student and faculty member shall each have the right to ask for replacement of any two members of the original selection. The Associate Provost will appoint substitutes as needed. Only two such challenges may be used by either party.

Ordinarily, the student must first meet with the faculty member in question and try to resolve the issue. Failing this, the appellant should contact the department chair. (If the faculty member in question is the department chair, the student must first meet with the department chair to try to resolve the issue.) The department chair should hear from both the student and the faculty member and try to resolve the issue in a professional manner. The department chair shall keep a record of the outcome.

If after meeting with the department chair the issue is unresolved, the appellant should contact the college dean. The college dean should hear from both the student and the faculty member and try to resolve the issue in a professional manner. The college dean shall keep a record of the outcome. If an agreement is not reached after meeting with the faculty member, department chair and college dean, then the appellant may file a written notice of appeal.

If the normal procedure does not resolve the complaint, the appellant may file a written notice of appeal with the Associate Provost within one academic term of the occurrence of the dispute. Upon receipt of the written appeal, the Associate Provost will have 15 working days in which to appoint the GSBA members. The GSBA will meet within 10 working days, select a chair and interview the student, faculty member and any other interested parties.

If an informal agreement cannot be reached at this level within 30 working days of the GSBA’s first meeting, the appeal process will continue in a formal manner as follows:

Excellence in oral and written communication skills is characteristic of effective professional leaders. As a consequence, graduate courses require students to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in communication skills and encourage the development of these skills throughout the program.

It is generally assumed that students admitted to a degree program have developed basic communication skills through undergraduate study and/or experience. Students who are found to be deficient in these skills may be required to take additional coursework or self-study in order to continue in the program. Students who are having difficulty should consult with their advisors.

-Submit International Graduate Student Application
-$40 non-refundable application fee
-Official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously attended with English translation.
-Official ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators) evaluation of any home country transcripts (may be required of some applicants)
-Official results of standardized test scores – GMAT, GRE, MAT, TOEFL or IELTS (may be required of some applicants)
-Letters of reference from persons who know the applicant from a professional or academic perspective (4 - Clinical Psychology; 3 - Education; 2 - M.B.A., M.C.E.P., M.S.M.I.S, M.S.M.O.B., M.P.H., M.S.N.W., M.S.S.C.P.)
-Evidence of a high level of English proficiency
-Written statement of educational and career goals
-Resume, if applicable
-Personal Interview (may be required of some applicants)
-Confidential Financial Statement of Support – with official bank statement, letter of sponsorship or other supporting documents
-International Student Health form -Students must fully complete the health form that includes evidence of all immunizations and a current TB test.
-Proof of Insurance

1. Official transcripts from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of International English Language Testing System (IELTS).
2. Recent completion of full-time study at the university level, minimum of two years, in a country where English is the native language as well as the language of instruction.

• A list of all courses studied each year
• Grades or examination results received (both passing and failing) in each course
• Maximum and minimum grades obtainable
• Certified English translation of all international academic credentials
  
• If you have studied at a non-U.S. university, you must have your university educational credentials evaluated by a U.S. evaluating company. Benedictine University recommends ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc.) and will provide a form at your request. ECE information and forms also are available at: www.ece.org; choose the "Course by Course" evaluation for all programs except M.A.E.D/M.E.D. for which a subject analysis is required. Read the directions on the evaluation form carefully and send all information needed and payment for the evaluation directly to ECE. Allow four to six weeks for your evaluation to be sent to Benedictine University.

• U.S. embassies and consulate offices
• Fulbright commissions
• Bi-national centers
• Private organizations such as the Institute of International Education. Ask for an international application. Take the test at least five months before the intended start of school

• 1-800-GRE-Call
• 1-800-GMAT-Now
• 1-800-622-3231 (MAT)
• 001-847-869-7700 (TOEFL)

• Annual budgets - For a fee of $50, students can make monthly payments toward their full-year's tuition balance (June - May).
• Single Term budgets - For a fee of $30, students can make monthly payments toward their tuition balance for a single term.

For a fee of $30, students can arrange with Sallie Mae's TuitionPay, a single tuition payment plan due at the end of the term (plus a grace period) with proper documentation from their employer. Documentation of your employer's reimbursement policy must be submitted to the Student Accounts Office of Benedictine University prior to enrolling in this plan. An updated copy of the policy must be submitted every Fall term thereafter. Students may fax their employer’s policy to Student Accounts at (630) 829-6501. The student will be responsible for initiating contact with the Student Accounts Office each term to request enrollment in this plan. If the student's enrollment changes after the initial set up of this plan, the student must contact the Student Accounts Office to request either an update to the plan amount or in the case of withdrawal from the school, removal of the plan. Please note that tuition is due in full according to the deferred due date specified by TuitionPay regardless of when individual employers reimburse their employees. This plan requires ACH (checking account) information as backup for payments not made by the due date.

**Failure to meet payment deadlines will result in a late payment fee of $100 and a financial hold placed on the student’s account**

Summer Term

• Student may drop from a course up to 3 calendar days after the first class meeting for a full refund.
• Student may drop from a course 4 - 6 calendar days after the first class meeting for a 50% refund.
• Students dropping from a course 7 calendar days or more after the first class meeting will receive no refund
• Courses that have a condensed meeting schedule will have no refund available after the first class meeting.

For more information on Student Accounts, please visit http://www.ben.edu/resources/student_accounts.asp.

The fundamental purpose of the financial aid program at Benedictine University is to make it possible for every qualified student to obtain a college education regardless of financial means.

To receive financial aid, graduate students must be enrolled, at least half-time, as a degree-seeking student in an eligible program. For financial aid purposes, full-time enrollment is defined as eight quarter or six semester hours and half-time is a minimum of four quarter or three semester hours. Graduate Learning Team students are considered full-time when enrolled in the established curriculum program schedule.

Graduate students are eligible for up a maximum of $20,500 in Federal Stafford loans per academic year. There are two types of Stafford loans available:

Subsidized Stafford loans are based on financial need. The federal government will pay the interest while the student is in school, during the grace period, and during authorized periods of deferment.

Students requesting a leave of absence must complete and sign an official Leave of Absence form and submit it to the Financial Aid Office to be processed no later than the student's last day of attendance in the course immediately preceding the leave. Students may request a Leave of Absence form by contacting their academic advisor. Upon completion, forms may be sent to the Financial Aid Office by mail, fax or delivered in person. When completing the Leave of Absence form, students should identify the future class(es) from which they request to be withdrawn. As a general matter of policy, students may not use the leave of absence policy to request a withdrawal from classes that are in process or have already ended.
Once the Financial Aid Office has received the Leave of Absence form, the request will be processed and notification will be sent to, the student, Benedictine Central, Cohort Accounting Department and the student's academic advisor. Benedictine Central will withdraw the student from any future courses identified on the form.

If unforeseen, emergency circumstances prevent a student from providing a request for a leave of absence on or before the last date of class attendance as outlined above, the Financial Aid Office, at its discretion, may approve the LOA retroactively. If not approved, the student may submit a written, signed and dated request to his/her academic advisor with appropriate documentation that substantiates the unforeseen circumstance that prevented the student from providing a leave of absence request on or before the last day of attendance. Unforeseen circumstances may include medical and family emergencies, unexpected business travel, and natural disasters. The academic advisor will submit the student's request to the Cohort Appeals Committee for approval. If approved, the student will be granted a leave of absence retroactive to the student's last date of attendance, the student will be notified by Financial Aid and the student's academic record will be adjusted accordingly. Further, if the Cohort Appeals Committee approves the student's request, no additional fees will be imposed when the student retakes the course.

The Financial Aid Office may grant a qualifying student a leave of absence of up to 180 days in any 12-month period during which the student is considered on active status and no Title IV Return of Funds calculation is required. Time in excess of 180 days will not be approved.

As a matter of policy, the leave of absence period will be calculated from the student's last date of attendance. The count will be based on the number of days between the last date of attendance (LDA) and the re-entry date. The initial LDA is used when determining the start date for the 12-month period referred to above.

Students, upon notification to their academic advisor, may return early from an approved leave of absence prior to the LOA end date as long as they are able to begin a new course within their program. The LOA will be shortened according to the student's return date and the 180-day limitation will be credited accordingly.

Title IV funds are awarded to a student under the assumption that the student will attend school for the entire period for which the assistance is awarded. When a student withdraws prior to completing 60% of the payment period, the student may no longer be eligible for the full amount of Title IV funds that the student was originally scheduled to receive.

If a recipient of Title IV grant or loan funds withdraws from the University after beginning attendance, the amount of Title IV grant or loan assistance earned by the student must be determined. If the amount disbursed to the student is greater than the amount the student earned, unearned funds must be returned. If the amount disbursed to the student is less than the amount the student earned, and for which the student is otherwise eligible, he or she is eligible to receive a post-withdrawal disbursement of the earned aid that was not received.

• The amount of financial aid earned by the student is determined by calculating the number of days attended divided by the number of days in the payment period.
• Institutional breaks of five or more consecutive days, excluding LOA's, are excluded from the calculation for purposes of determining the amount of Title IV Aid earned by the student.
• Unearned aid percentage is calculated by subtracting the earned aid percentage from 100%.
• Institutional charges include tuition and school contracted room and board charges.

• Return of Title IV funds is calculated
• Lender is notified of student's status change
  
• Post-Withdrawal Disbursements are identified (if applicable)
• Excess funds earned are offered to student (if applicable)
• Refunds and balance due are identified (funds must be returned no later than 30 days from the date Benedictine University determined the student withdrew).
• Exit Interview is conducted (by mail if necessary)
• Refunds are applied according to the order of Return of Title IV Funds:

1. Unsubsidized Stafford
2. Subsidized Stafford
3. Federal Perkins Loans
4. Federal PLUS/Grad PLUS