The Student Notice of Award (SNOA) process allows departments, units, and colleges across the University to provide financial assistance to students while observing federal regulations. These awards are often in one of the following categories:

• Scholarship: annual award made to an undergraduate student based on merit.
• Fellowship: annual award made to a graduate student based on merit.
• Tuition Support: amount provided to a student specifically for tuition and fees.
• Doctoral RA Remission: award provided to a graduate research assistant student.
• Student Activity Award: award amount provided to a student for participating in a specific activity during the semester.

Definition of Other Financial Assistance (OFA)

Federal regulation (34 CFR § 673.5, c) requires colleges to take other financial assistance into account when calculating need to award student aid. This other financial assistance, or OFA, reduces the cost of attendance and may limit the amount of financial aid a student may receive within the year.

Any award received by a student because of their enrollment at UTEP must be counted as OFA, regardless of the type of award and whether or not it was applied to the student's tuition or other educational costs. Exceptions to this rule include wages for employment that is not need-based and compensation an athlete receives under a name, image, and likeness contract (NIL). VA Chapter benefits are also not considered OFA.

A SNOA request may not be processed if the student has received enough financial aid or other assistance to cover the cost of attendance, or it may require the student's financial aid to be reduced to make room for the new award. No institutional awards may be processed over a student's cost of attendance.

The steps to process a SNOA are as follows:

1. The creator (the person requesting the award to be processed) accesses the electronic form to submit the SNOA and logs in with their UTEP credentials. If unable to log in, the creator should email studentfinancialaid@utep.edu and write "SNOA" in the subject line to request access. Access is usually provided within 24 hours.
2. The creator is responsible for completing the online form, which requires the following information:
   • Award type
   • Academic year
   • Cost center/Project ID to fund the award
   • College/Center or Department
   • The name of the Principal Investigator (PI) or Account Signatory who will approve the award
   • Student ID of the SNOA recipient (multiple recipients can be added)
   • IRS information
3. If the cost center or project ID does not already have a detail code associated with it, one will be created by Student Business Services.
4. Click save to submit the form.
5. Based on the award type, the form routes electronically for approval to the PI and other parties such as the Graduate School or ORSP.
6. The creator is notified via email once the SNOA request is processed (approved) or if the request is rejected.

It is the responsibility of the creator to follow up with the PI or Account Signatory to ensure the request is approved in a timely manner. Once all approvals are submitted, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will process the SNOA request within 48 hours. During peak processing times, requests may be delayed.

Note: Please keep in mind that a Student Notice Of Award is NOT permitted by institutional policy and state law to be used as a method of payment or compensation. Please contact Accounts Payable for additional information.