Transition to Teach

T2T Financial Aid FAQs

What is T2T?

Transition to teach, or T2T, is a route to achieve Teacher Licensure Certification in Kansas. You can read more about how to apply or specifics about the program here. There is also a page on eligibility for the program here.

Various programs are available for T2T students, but for federal financial aid purposes, the most important difference is degree-seeking versus non-degree-seeking. The process of receiving federal financial aid as a degree-seeking T2T student is similar to that for regular Graduate students. However, the process for non-degree T2T students is slightly more complicated and can cause frustration among this population.

What’s the difference between degree-seeking versus non-degree-seeking T2T federal aid?

Degree-seeking T2T students are categorized as Graduate students, while non-degree-seeking T2T students technically qualify as Undergraduate students for financial aid.

While the degree path will show up as Graduate non-degree, these students are categorized as Undergraduate students for all financial aid purposes, which causes confusion with the federal aid process.

Due to this confusion, many non-degree-seeking T2T students mark on their FAFSA that they are Graduate students. Instead, you will need to mark that you are 5th Year Undergraduate or Other for your class standing. If you mark that you will be a Graduate student, our office will have to make changes to your FAFSA, which can cause delays in receiving your aid.

Unlike degree-seeking T2T students who will draw their loan eligibility from a new Graduate limit, non-degree-seeking T2T students will draw from their existing Undergraduate loan limits.

Can I get federal financial aid as a T2T student?

Yes! However, degree-seeking students and non-degree-seeking students receive aid in different capacities.

Typically, degree-seeking T2T students must be enrolled in at least 5 credit hours that go towards their program of study to be federal aid eligible. Additionally, like other Graduate students, you will only be eligible for Unsubsidized loans from the federal government.

Non-degree-seeking T2T students must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours that go towards their program of study to be federal aid eligible like other Undergraduate students. However, because you’re categorized as Undergraduate students, there is a possibility that non-degree T2T students could be eligible for other aid like Subsidized loans in addition to the typical Unsubsidized loans. If you’re considered a dependent on your FAFSA, you could also be eligible for Parent PLUS Loans. However, this possibility depends on how close each student is to their limit for these types of aid and their need based on their FAFSA information. 

For reference, the loan limits for Graduate and Undergraduate students are as follows:

Undergraduate Dependent: $31,000 (with a $23,000 sub max)
Undergraduate Independent: $57,500 (with a $23,000 sub max)
Graduate: $138,500

You can log into your studentaid.gov account to see how much in loans you’ve taken out. 

What if I’m a non-degree-seeking T2T student who is at their Undergraduate loan limits?

If this is the case, you would unfortunately not be eligible for federal aid. However, students in this situation are not entirely out of options and could look into alternative loans, which are loans through private lenders rather than the federal government.

Here is the link to our page on alternative loans.

How do I apply for federal aid?

To be eligible for federal student aid, you must first fill out a FAFSA. FAFSAs are usable for the fall, spring, and summer semesters and must be filled out every year you plan to attend.

We recommend you fill this out at least 2 months in advance to avoid delays in your aid.

If you are a degree-seeking T2T student, the process is the same as that of a regular Graduate student. First, You must fill out your FAFSA for the correct school year on studentaid.gov. When filling it out, you should mark that you will be a Graduate student.

Once you’ve filled it out and added FHSU, your FAFSA will be sent to our office, and we will review your account for federal aid eligibility. However, as a Graduate student, you must be in at least 5 credit hours that go towards your program of study to be eligible for federal aid.

However, if you are a non-degree-seeking T2T student, the process gains a few steps that regularly confuse some students. Similarly to degree-seeking students, the process starts with filling out and sending FHSU a FAFSA. Instead of marking your class standing as a Graduate student, you would need to mark yourself as a 5th Year Undergraduate or Other.

Once our office receives your FAFSA, you will receive an action item on Workday named “Not Admitted as Degree-Seeking.” To be eligible for federal aid, this action item needs to be turned in and reviewed by our office. We recommend you fill out your FAFSA at least 2 months before your start date to allow ample time to complete this process.

The instructions are as follows to complete the action item, but they will also be available under the action item description on Workday:

As a non-degree student taking coursework for the purpose of Teacher Licensure or for Prerequisites to a Teacher Licensure program, you will need to email the FHSU Licensure Office at Licensure@fhsu.edu. You will need to request that they complete a Verification of Teacher Licensure form if you are currently enrolled in a program OR a Verification of Enrollment in Prerequisite Coursework form if you are taking coursework to qualify for a program. Include your name and what program you are taking coursework for in the email. Their office will email the completed form to you to upload to your Workday account.

Once you’ve uploaded your form, please allow 7-10 business days for our office to review and evaluate it. At that point, our office should be able to get your account packaged for federal aid. Please remember that you must be in at least 6 credit hours that go towards your degree to be eligible for federal aid. You will be pulling your eligibility from the remainder of your Undergraduate limits.

What is an estimated time frame for receiving aid?

It can take up to 4 weeks for our office to receive your FAFSA from the date you submit or send it to us. FAFSA sends your information to various departments to verify your information, so even if your FAFSA says “Processed” on studentaid.gov, our office could still be waiting to receive it. Once we receive your FAFSA, you should receive a notification informing you of that fact.

Once we receive your FAFSA, there’s a possibility that you could go through a process called verification, which is where we need to verify your information by requesting documentation such as your W-2s. This process is selected randomly, but it needs to be completed before our office can package you for federal aid. We typically estimate that the entire process can take up to 4 weeks from start to finish. Please be aware that sometimes the documentation you provide can cause us to request more information, so please watch your Workday and email throughout the process.

When you’re finished with the verification process or if you are not selected, we typically estimate that the packaging process can take up to 2 weeks. When your account is packaged, you should receive an automated email to your FHSU email informing you of changes made to your account. At that point, you should be able to go onto Workday and accept/decline any offers you’ve received.

Please go to Menu > myFHSU > Financials > Accept/Decline Aid to do so. If you don’t wish to accept the full amount that you are offered, please change the box that says “Offered” to “Accepted,” and then a new dialog box should appear directly to the left of that one, which will allow you to type in the exact amount you would like to receive of your offer.

For questions about your balance, please contact Student Fiscal Services at 785-628-5251 or sfsmail@fhsu.edu.

Once your aid is accepted, our office will process your loan to get it ready to disburse. However, you must complete your Master Promissory Note (MPN) on studentaid.gov and, depending on your loan history, Loan Entrance Counseling on studentaid.gov.

These action items must be completed and on file before we can disburse your aid. Please be aware that you do not need to send us the confirmation email you receive from FAFSA about these items, as the federal government will send our office an official version of your documents. We cannot accept or use screenshots of your confirmation email to disburse your loans. Your MPN action item will only say Successfully Completed once your loan has originated, meaning we could have your MPN, but your action item might still need to clear.

If you’re completing these steps before your class start date, your aid should disburse the week before classes start. However, if you’re completing this in the middle of a semester, please allow up to 2 weeks for your loan to be originated and processed.