A federal or state drug conviction can disqualify a student for federal and state financial aid. MSOE will review all information that is submitted by students on the FAFSA application that confirm they have a drug conviction. Students will be notified at the time their FAFSA application is reviewed of their ineligibility and given the information on how to regain eligibility.
Convictions only count if they were for an offense that occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student financial aid. If a MSOE student is convicted of a drug offense during an academic year they will be ineligible for future federal and state financial aid based on the guidelines outlined in the Federal Student Aid Handbook.
The chart below illustrates the period of ineligibility for federal and state financial aid, depending on whether the conviction was for sale or possession and whether the student had previous offenses. (A conviction for sale of drugs includes convictions for conspiring to sell drugs.)
| Possession of Illegal Drugs | Sale of Illegal Drugs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st offense | 1 year from date of conviction | 2 years from date of conviction |
| 2nd offense | 2 years from date of conviction | Indefinite period |
| 3+ offensess | Indefinite period | Indefinite period |
A student regains eligibility the day after the period of ineligibility ends or when he successfully completes a qualified drug rehabilitation program or passes two unannounced drug tests given by such a program. Further drug convictions will make him ineligible again.
Students denied eligibility for an indefinite period can regain it after successfully completing rehabilitation program, passing two unannounced drug tests from such a program, or if a conviction is reversed, set aside, or removed from the student’s record so that fewer than two convictions for sale or three convictions for possession remain on the record. In such cases, the nature and dates of the remaining convictions will determine when the student regains eligibility.