Opportunity Scholarship Terms and Conditions

National University (“NU”) is proud to offer the Opportunity Scholarship.  This scholarship will award students a scholarship that matches the amount of the Federal Pell Grant that is awarded for the aid year. This scholarship must be applied to each financial aid year for each year of funding consideration. Information about the Pell Grant is available on the Federal Student Aid website at https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell.

NU reserves the right to modify, revise, or update these Terms and Conditions from time to time, in its sole and absolute discretion as necessary.  Although NU may attempt to notify prospective and current applicants when such changes are made to these Terms and Conditions, applicants should periodically review the most up-to-date version found at https://www.nu.edu/admissions/financial-aid-and-scholarships/scholarships/the-opportunity/. NU may, in its sole discretion, change or discontinue this scholarship opportunity at any time.  Applicants’ submissions serve as acknowledgment and acceptance to these Terms and Conditions, including any subsequent modifications, as stated.  Nothing in the Terms and Conditions shall be deemed to confer any third-party rights or benefits.

Eligibility

To be considered eligible for the Opportunity Scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Be pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree.
• Submit the Opportunity Scholarship application (must be completed each financial aid year for funding consideration for that year).
• Be a Pell Grant recipient.
• Complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in advance of submitting their application.
• Once enrolled, a scholarship recipient must not receive or be eligible to receive a total of 100% or more tuition reimbursement from any source(s) including but not limited to: corporate reimbursement, preferred tuition rate, other scholarships and/or private scholarships, except for Veterans Administration GI benefits (excluding Chapter 33), Veterans Administration Vocational Rehabilitation Benefits, military tuition assistance and Title IV financial aid funding (“Financial Eligibility”).
• NU will verify applicants’ Financial Eligibility before confirming final awards.
• Students who have previously completed courses at NU entering the same degree level must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 for bachelor’s programs and 3.0 for master’s programs (excluding the Juris Doctorate program, which require a 2.4 cumulative GPA).

Application

The application is available at https://www.nu.edu/admissions/financial-aid-and-scholarships/scholarships/the-opportunity/.  By applying to the Opportunity Scholarship, an applicant: (i) agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions, as may be modified, revised, updated, or terminated by NU in its sole and absolute discretion, and (ii) represents and warrants that the information provided is accurate at the time of submission.

Additional Grant Details and Releases

• Any necessary determination, or clarification, as to the interpretation or to the application of a particular term shall be made by NU in its sole and absolute discretion. NU reserves the right in its sole discretion to terminate, suspend or make any changes or modifications to these Terms and Conditions of the Opportunity Scholarship, including, but not limited to, the eligibility criteria, the selection process, the deadline dates, and the award.
• By applying to the Opportunity Scholarship, an applicant agrees:
  • To release, indemnify and hold harmless NU and its employees, officers, trustees, affiliates, agents, representatives, assigns, licensees, designees, and all persons acting under NU’s permission or authority (collectively, “NU Parties”), from any and all claims, liabilities, losses and damages of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, including without limitation court costs, attorneys’ fees, and any expenses and damages that may be incurred from (i) their application materials, which includes but is not limited to infringement upon or other violations of the copyright, trademark, privacy, reputational, publicity, or proprietary rights of any third party, defamation, rights of publicity or invasion of privacy, or (ii) acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of the Opportunity Scholarship award, participation in the application process and/or representations made by the applicant or recipient.
  • To grant NU a sole, worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, sublicensable, transferable right to use, display, print, publish, reproduce, distribute, modify, transmit, create derivative works from, promote and provide access to your name, application materials, photograph, likeness, voice, prize information, statements and/or biographical information for publicity, promotional, and educational purposes, in any media now known or hereafter invented, without compensation or notification, except as prohibited by applicable law.
  • To waive all moral rights in the application materials.
  • To waive all claims to any compensation by NU.
• NU and its employees, officers, trustees, affiliates, agents, and representatives are not responsible for any typographical or other errors in the offer or administration of this scholarship, including, but not limited to, errors in any printing or posting of these Terms and Conditions, the selection and announcement of any winner, or the distribution of any Opportunity Scholarship. NU may correct any such errors at its sole discretion.
• NU makes no warranties of any kind, express or implied, with respect to Opportunity Scholarship. Acceptance, participation in and/or use of the Opportunity Scholarship is at an applicant’s sole risk and NU is not responsible for any damages whatsoever including special, indirect, or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with the use and/or misuse of the Opportunity Scholarship.
• NU is not responsible for late, lost, misdirected, or unintelligible entries, including entries not received because of interrupted or unavailable network services, failed communications networks or equipment, computer hardware or software, or other errors or malfunctions, whether human, mechanical or electronic.
• Should NU, in its sole discretion, determine that Opportunity Scholarship submission, selection, or any other process has been compromised by virus, bugs, tampering, disruptions, hackers, or other causes beyond its control, NU reserves the right to void suspect entries, disqualify applicants suspected to be involved, and/or terminate such selection or other process and choose the awardees in a fair and reasonable manner from among all eligible entries submitted prior to such termination. All decisions of NU are final.
• Regardless of any action taken by NU pursuant to these Terms and Conditions, nothing shall prohibit NU from seeking any other lawful remedies to which NU may be entitled in the event any representations or releases made by the Scholarship applicant or recipient are false.
• Award Use:
  • Scholarships that are awarded to the recipients may only be credited to their accounts and used to assist with the payment of their tuition in an eligible program and are not redeemable in cash.
  • Scholarships will be awarded at the same value as the recipient’s Pell Grant award.
  • No student will receive more than one offer of assistance from NU, such as other scholarships, grants, and technology awards.
  • Any scholarship funds that are awarded may not be used for the purchase of books, any fees that may be applicable to their degree program, room and board, or outside materials (computers, internet service etc.).
• Scholarship funding will not be retroactively awarded and will only apply to the current term in which a student is selected as a recipient.
• For applicants using Federal Financial Aid (FFA), the applicant understands that a scholarship award is financial assistance and counts toward the student’s cost of attendance. As such, the amount of FFA available to the student may be impacted. The Student Financial Services team will conduct a financial review of all scholarship winners and articulate any changes needed to the respective recipients.
• Any courses accepted as transfer from another school to an NU degree plan will only reduce the necessary coursework required to complete a degree at NU and will not result in any additional unused scholarship funds.
• Courses taken under the Scholarship may be recorded against the student’s calendar year 1098-T.

Maintenance Requirements

• All existing student policies located in the NU Catalog, the Privacy Policy, Conditions of Use page, and these Terms and Conditions must be adhered to while the recipient is a student at NU.
• For the duration of the award, students must be succeeding in their degree program. The student must maintain financial eligibility as outlined in the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies located in the NU Catalog. Should a recipient lose financial aid eligibility, the Opportunity Scholarship funding will terminate.
• Students must not take a break in between courses greater than 90 days (measured from the last day of the last completed class) unless on an authorized leave of absence.
• Should a scholarship recipient withdraw or be dismissed from NU prior to disbursement of all scholarship funds awarded to them, the balance of the tuition funds awarded, but not disbursed, will be terminated and will not be available to the student for future courses.
• If a scholarship recipient permanently loses scholarship eligibility for not meeting maintenance requirements outlined in these terms and conditions, they are not eligible to apply for any additional NU funded tuition scholarships for the duration of their degree program, including program changes in the same degree level.
• The scholarship terminates upon graduation and does not automatically carry over to any additional programs or courses completed.
• Scholarship funds may only be applied to courses in the recipient’s original academic program following award of the scholarship, except as follows: (1) the recipient opts to transfer to a new academic program prior to completion of 33% or more of the courses in the original academic program, or (2) the recipient opts to transfer to a new specialization within the original academic program prior to completion of 33% or more of the courses in the original specialization. Scholarships are not otherwise transferable. NU reserves the right to waive scholarship transferability to a new academic program on a case-by-case basis. Scholarship funding terminates upon graduation and is not transferable to additional degree programs.