Consumer Disclosure Information
Consumer Disclosure Information for Students and Prospective Students (US Federal Loans)
The U.S. government requires institutions offering federal student loans to disclose the following consumer information. Dublin City University (DCU) provides notice of the availability of Institutional and comprehensive Information on Financial Aid on the Federal Aid Section of our website. If you require further information, please email the Financial Aid Administrator.
Return to US Federal Study Aid Page
If you withdraw or fail to attend your programme, you must inform the Global Recruitment Office, the Financial Aid Administrator and your Guarantee Agency/Lender no later than five working days after withdrawal.
Students who withdraw from their programme of study are required to follow the University Withdrawal procedure. Failure to attend after enrolment is deemed to be a withdrawal. Any "unearned" loan funds disbursed to you directly must be returned to the lender.
Withdrawal before completion of 60% of the programme of study
If a student withdraws from their programme of study before and up to a point when 60% of their programme of study has expired, DCU is required in accordance with federal regulations to return all loan funds disbursed on the student’s behalf to the US Department of Education (DoE).
Students in receipt of Federal Aid Loans who withdraw from the course of study are not eligible for the refund of tuition or indeed any fees or costs that have been drawn from Federal Aid Loan funds.
DCU is at liberty to request the immediate re-payment of any proportionate amount up to the certified aggregate annual loan amount if the US Department of Education requires DCU to return the entire loan funds certified in the student’s name. This means that the entire loan amount certified for any one academic year and any portion of it which may have been returned to the student as a credit balance by DCU must be returned to DCU if the US Department of Education indicate that the student’s loan funds are ‘unearned’.
Students should note that the return of loan funds does not cancel their liability to DCU for any tuition fee balance outstanding on their account.
Example: Student A borrows $10,000 which they puts towards their tuition fees. They withdraw from their course 35% of the way through the programme. Therefore as a result: 35% of the loan is retained by the University as ‘earned’ aid and 65% of the loan must be returned to the US DoE as ‘unearned’ aid. The student does not get to retain any part of the loan. Therefore, a student who received a refund (for living expenses etc.) from the college after tuition was deducted will be required to repay the “unearned” portion to DCU.
Withdrawal after completion of 60% of the programme of study
If the student completes more than 60% of their course of study, they are not entitled to a refund of their tuition fees as DCU has maintained their study place and allocated resources for their academic progress.
Dublin City University has a clear refund policy for students attending the University. The following is an addendum for students who are utilising US Federal student aid funds. Pro-rata refund calculations apply for any international student who is attending DCU and who withdraws within 60% of the payment period. If you withdraw from the University whilst in receipt of aid, you may also be required to pay back money to the US Federal government. Learn more at DCU's R2T4 Withdrawals Policy.
If a student who receives financial aid withdraws from the University and is due a refund of fees paid for that period of enrolment, a determination must be made as to whether any of the refund money must be returned to the US Federal aid programme. If it is determined that refund money must be returned to the aid programme, the distribution or order of payment will be as follows:
- Federal Stafford Unsubsidized
- Federal Stafford Subsidized
- Federal PLUS
Satisfactory Academic progress (SAP) means that you are required to maintain an average of at least 40% over grades in each semester. Failure to do so may result in SAP Probation and you being ineligible to receive subsequent disbursements of your loan.
Dublin City University is required by the US Department of Education Regulations 34 CFR (Part 668.16) to define and enforce standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). The guidelines have been established to encourage students to complete successfully, any academic programmes for which aid is received. Students are entitled to modify their enrolment within the first two weeks of each semester and retain eligibility for aid, provided they maintain a full-time enrolment and do not drop below half-time.
In accordance with the US Department of Education Regulations 34 CFR (Part 668.34a), an eligible institution is required to verify SAP for all FSA recipients before releasing any disbursed funds.
All students in receipt of US Federal Aid whilst studying at DCU are required to make satisfactory progress on their course and abide by University Regulations.
The University Policies and Regulations, and Academic Regulations can be found by visiting the OVPAA office webpage.
Federal Loan students should be familiar with DCU's Policy on SAP. View the policy at DCU's Policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).
SAP Probation
If students fail to meet academic standards, a warning will be issued and students will be permitted to receive financial aid for the next semester. However, after the one semester of the warning period, students who fail to return to good standing will be ineligible for financial assistance. Students may appeal ineligibility by providing information on extenuating circumstances, indicating what has changed to allow successful academic progress. If an appeal is granted, students may be placed on financial aid probation and asked to follow an academic plan that will lead to meeting minimum SAP requirements in the near future. If students do not meet the terms of probation, eligibility for financial aid will cease and all remaining aid will be cancelled. Subsequent appeals of the same nature are not permitted. Once a student falls from his/her academic plan and loses eligibility, the only way to regain eligibility for financial aid is to meet the SAP requirements.
DCU will submit the details of your loan to NSLDS, and this data will be accessible to guarantee agencies, lenders and schools determined to be authorised users of the data system.
Entrance Counselling
Prior to the first disbursement, first-time borrowers (other than for Parent PLUS loans) will be provided with comprehensive information on the terms and conditions of the loan and of the borrower’s responsibilities through entrance counselling. The entrance counselling is required to be completed via the Federal Student Aid website before a loan will be approved by DCU.
Exit Counselling
Federal regulations require that all Direct Loan borrowers who graduate or withdraw from their programme of study complete an Exit Counselling Session. This session is designed to provide borrowers with important information about their responsibilities, as well as repayment information. You can complete Exit Counselling via the Federal Student Aid website.
You should receive repayment information from your loan servicer approximately 3 months after you leave school. If you do not receive this information, it is your responsibility to contact the US Department of Education or loan servicer before the end of your grace period to arrange for the repayment of your loan.
It is important that you plan for the repayment of your loan. You will have an opportunity to estimate your monthly payment as you proceed through the online counselling session.
The University will also, notify student loan borrowers that they must complete exit counselling shortly before the student borrower ceases at least half-time study at the school.
PLUS Counselling
Prior to the first disbursement, borrowers who are informed by the US Department of Education that they have an adverse credit history (and have obtained an approved endorser or documented to the satisfaction of the US Department of Education that there are extenuating circumstances related to the adverse credit history) will be required to undertake PLUS counselling. PLUS counselling is required to be completed via Federal Student Aid website before a loan will be approved by DCU.
For information about the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, books and supplies, housing & food, transportation costs, and any other additional costs, please see our Student Support & Development webpage.
Cost of Attendance is based on tuition fees, housing, living costs and calculated after taking into account the student's Student Aid Index (SAI).
Contact DCU’s Financial Aid Administrator by emailing akanksha.mehta@dcu.ie to request your Cost of Attendance (COA) figure/amount.
For information about all need based and non-need based federal, local, private and institutional student financial assistance is available to students at DCU in the Financial Aid section of our website, International Students Scholarship, Student Fees and Grants Office and Graduate Studies Advice on Research Scholarship Applications.
For Information on how to manage your Finances while at DCU, please visit our Student Support & Development Financial Pages which provides monthly and annual Financial estimates.
Students may obtain private loans, subject to credit check and lending criteria. Under the ‘Truth in Lending Act’, we are required to disclose consumer information related to these private loans.
The following private loan companies have made loans to DCU students in the past
DCU’s code of conduct for US education loan borrowers is as follows:
To avoid a conflict of interest with the responsibilities of the University with respect to private education loans, all members of Staff with responsibility for US loans are prohibited from:
- revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender
- receiving gifts from a lender, a guarantor, or a loan servicer
- contracting arrangements providing financial benefit from any lender or affiliate of a lender
- directing borrowers to particular lenders or refusing or delaying loan certifications
- offers of funds for private loans
- Call centre or financial aid office staffing assistance and advisory board compensation.
Facilities and Services available to Students with Disabilities
For information on facilities and services available for students with disabilities, please visit DCU’s Disability and Learning Support Service.
Intercollegiate Athletic Programme
DCU does not have an 'intercollegiate athletic programme’ as defined by the US Department of Education.
Drugs and Alcohol Abuse Prevention
Please see our Student Alcohol and Drugs Policy at DCU. The University operates a clear no drugs policy, and offenders will be subject to disciplinary procedures outlined in the Student Code of Conduct and Discipline. Also, visit Student Support & Development for more information.
Student Fees Protocol and Refund Policy
Please see DCU’s student fee protocol outlined and DCU’s refund policy.
Student Conduct
All DCU students are required to observe the University’s Student Code of Conduct and Discipline, Student Charter, and the University Disciplinary Committee policies. For information, please visit DCU Student Policies.
See our Emergency Policies and Procedures at the Health and Safety webpage.
DCU takes a community approach to promote personal safety for all students, staff and visitors through awareness, partnership and prevention. In order to ensure a safe and secure environment in DCU, everybody is encouraged to play their part in looking out for their own safety and for the safety of others.
The Health and Safety Office offers support to the University community in the event of an emergency, security incident, or similar on campus.
The purpose of the Health and Safety Office is to provide advice and assistance on all aspects of Health & Safety to the DCU community and in doing so maintain the University in good standing in relation to Health & Safety legislative obligations from national and international best practices.
Visit their Safety webpage for information and contact the 24 Hour DCU Emergency Number in the event of an emergency:
+353 1 700 5999
DCU’s retention or progression data can be found at Analysis of Non-Progression among Higher Education New Entrants in Ireland, 2016/17 to 2021/22. See pages 8-9 of the report for the Dublin City University figures. This is the most up to date information available in this area.
96% of DCU students are in employment or further study within six months of graduation. For Career Placement and Employment Data please consult our Statistician within our Quality and Institutional Insights Office who annually collects Career Placement, Continuing Education Data and Employment Data.
DCU is legally required to comply with European General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Please visit our Data Protection Unit for the University’s Policy on Data Protection.
The Global Recruitment Office also ensures that all relevant parties are aware of any potential data sharing and relevant parties are asked to sign a disclosure form.
DCU will provide information published by the US Department of Education to students at any time that information regarding loan availability is requested, including the rights and responsibilities of students and schools under Title IV HEA (Higher Education Act) loan programmes.
DCU hold committed to preserving the highest standards of honesty, transparency, probity and accountability and will not provide any false, erroneous, or misleading statements to a student or prospective student, to the family of an enrolled or prospective student, or to the U.S. Department of Education. DCU is committed to operating in an environment of integrity. Each member of the University staff is responsible for assuring that the actions and activities conducted at the University promote such an environment.
See DCU’s policy on Fraud for further information.
Please see below links for information on various DCU’s policies:
Disclaimer
The university has tried to give students an early opportunity to begin their research on student funding and provides personalised email information at the initial enquiry stage. Although every effort has been made to ensure the information provided is both helpful to prospective candidates and accurate at the time of its publication, it is possible that some information may be outdated or superseded before the start of the academic year.