Background for All Fund Sources

Many sources of funds are available for meeting the financial needs of your students. Some fund sources are grants that the student is not required to repay. Other fund sources are loans from the Department of Education (direct loans) or from other institutions such as banks and other lending organizations. Loans have to be repaid to the lender by the student or parents, usually with interest.

Other fund sources include student payments. They can be:

A payment schedule for payments made by a student or payments made by an agency on behalf of the student
Other outside resources paid directly to the student that do not require repayment (such as Veterans Administration benefits)

Fund sources can also be third parties such as commercial financial institutions, private and governmental agencies, corporations, charitable organizations, parents of students, and the students themselves. Your institution configures its fund sources.

Title IV Programs

The most prominent of these fund sources are the Title IV funds provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), authorizes the Federal Pell Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Perkins Loan Programs. These programs are collectively known as Title IV programs. There are several other sources of funds provided by federal and state departments and agencies.

In addition to the Title IV programs, there are other federal financial assistance programs for students including AmeriCorps, The Hope Scholarship, Lifetime Learning Credit, and programs funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Title IV programs may be categorized as gift aid or self-help aid. Gift aid consists of grants and scholarships that are given to students; it does not have to be repaid. Self-help aid takes the form of loans (which must be repaid) and employment (which pays students wages for hours worked at jobs provided on campus or off campus).