SIS Guides for Financial Aid

Financial Aid Tutorials

  1. Log in to myNOVA.
  2. Click on SIS: Student Information System.
  3. Click on the  Financial Aid tile.
  4. Under the Awards section, click Accept/Decline. 
  5. In the Award Decision column, select if you want to Accept or Decline the offered loans or work-study. 
  6. Select Yes to confirm your decision

For Direct Loan Borrowers

If you accept a student loan at NOVA, you will be borrowing through the Direct Loan Program.

  • Students must complete Entrance Counseling and the Master Promissory Note at Federal Student Aid.
  • NOVA does not process paper Master Promissory Notes for Direct Loans.
  • Awards are for the entire year or for your period of enrollment if aid is received for only one term.
  • To decrease your loan amount, change the accepted amount field and update the total.
  • Accepted loan amounts must be at least $200. 
  • Loan fees are subtracted from the total loan amount before disbursement.
  • Full subsidized loan amounts should be accepted before taking any unsubsidized loan.

Why Should I Review My Anticipated Financial Aid?

If you are awarded financial aid before the semester begins, your award will be based on anticipated full-time enrollment in at least 12 eligible credits. If you choose to enroll in less than 12 eligible credits, your financial aid award may be adjusted. Please follow the steps below to learn how to view your financial aid based on your current enrollment.

How to View the Anticipated Financial Aid

  1. Log in to myNOVA.
  2. Click on SIS: Student Information System.
  3. Click on the Financial Aid tile.
  4. Under the Pending Financial Aid section, click on “CLICK HERE to see Pending Financial Aid Based on Enrollment."
  5. Your Anticipated Aid Based on Actual Enrollment will be calculated and shown on this screen.

Important Notes

  • If your pending financial aid is less than your total charges, pay the remaining balance or enroll in the payment plan by the payment deadline to avoid potentially being dropped for non-payment. 
  • Courses that do not apply to your degree or certificate are not eligible for financial aid and are not included in the pending financial aid calculation. 
  • Pending financial aid will not be credited to your account and reduce the total due shown on your account until it is disbursed. This typically occurs approximately 2-3 weeks after the term census date if you have attended at least 6 eligible credits past the session census date and assuming you do not have any holds or incomplete items on your myNOVA To Do List that prevent disbursement.

  1. Log in to myNOVA.
  2. Click on SIS: Student Information System.
  3. Click on "Action Items & Messages” tile.
  4. Under the To Do List section, click on each outstanding item.
  5. Review the description of what needs to be submitted.  To upload the requested documentation, click Upload from your device. Note that file names with special characters such as '?*&@!' will not be processed.
  6. Choose the file(s) you would like to upload.  If multiple files are required, upload all the files before you click Submit.  You will NOT be able to upload additional documents or make any adjustments to the submitted documents once you click Submit.  Review all uploaded documents carefully before clicking Submit.
  7. You can view the document that was uploaded.

  8. The To Do List item will be marked as Received.  Please continue to periodically check your To Do List. If documents are rejected, the To Do List item will be reset to “Initiated” which means you will need to resubmit documents that are corrected and complete.

If you experience difficulty uploading documents through the To Do List, another option is to submit the documents to the Support Center by creating a case and securely uploading the documents as explained in the tutorial at  https://www.nvcc.edu/forms/pdf/125-396.pdf.

  1. Log in to myNOVA.
  2. Click SIS: Student Information System.
  3. Click on the Financial Aid tile.
  4. Under the Awards section, click on the Summary tab and click on Account Balance near the bottom of the screen.
  5. Then click on "CLICK HERE to see Pending FA based on Actual Enrollment". Be sure to pay any Total Due by the payment deadline to avoid potentially being dropped from courses for non-payment.

Note that financial aid offered prior to the term census (the last day to drop with a tuition refund for the longest session of fall, spring, or summer term as shown on the Academic Calendar) is based on anticipated full-time enrollment in at least 12 eligible credits.

If you enrolled in less than 12 eligible credits, view your pending financial aid based on your current enrollment and determine if your financial aid is enough to cover your balance.

Consider the following options if your financial aid is not enough to cover the total due:

  1. Log in to myNOVA.
  2. Click on SIS: Student Information System.
  3. Click on the Financial Aid tile.
  4. Click on Course Eligibility.
  5. Click on the desired Term to view financial aid eligibility for each course.  
  6. Courses eligible for financial aid will be marked with a check. Ineligible courses will be marked with an “X”.  A question mark will be displayed next to courses that have not yet been evaluated by the financial aid course audit process (which is generally run each night).

Review Your Anticipated Financial Aid Based on Your Current Enrollment

If you are enrolled in less than 12 eligible credits, the financial aid you see offered on your myNOVA account may be reduced after the term census date (the last day to drop with a tuition refund for the longest session of the fall, spring, or summer term as shown on the Academic Calendar). Follow the steps below to view the amount of financial aid you qualify for based on your current enrollment and to determine if it is enough to cover your charges.

View Anticipated Financial Aid and Total Charges

  1. Log in to myNOVA.
  2. Click on SIS: Student Information System.
  3. Click on the Financial Aid tile.
     
  4. Under the Awards section click on the Summary tab and click on Account Balance near the bottom of the screen.
      
  5. Then click on “CLICK HERE to see Pending FA based on Actual Enrollment”. Be sure to pay any Total Due by the payment deadline to avoid potentially being dropped from courses for non-payment.  

Important Notes: 

  • Courses that do not apply to your degree or certificate are not eligible for financial aid and are not included in the Pending Financial Aid calculation.
  • If you accepted a federal Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan, you must enroll in at least six eligible credits and complete the Master Promissory Note and Entrance Counseling at https://studentaid.gov before the loan is counted as Pending Financial Aid. 

If your Pending Financial Aid is MORE than your Charges & Payments, the Total Due section will reflect a $0 balance as shown below and you will not need to make a payment at this time.


    If your Pending Financial Aid is LESS than your Charges & Payments, the remaining balance that you still owe will be displayed in the Total Due section. 

    Be sure to pay the Total Due by the payment deadline.

    Payment Options

    Consider the following options if your financial aid is not enough to cover the total due:

    1. Log in to myNOVA.
    2. Click SIS: Student Information System.
    3. Click the Financial Aid tile.
    4. Under the Financial Aid Summary section, click on the Cost of Attendance tab.
    5. Review your estimated Cost of Attendance. Note that it can be displayed by term or a Fall/Spring summary. The provided figures are only estimates (not actual costs) and are based on anticipated full-time enrollment prior to the term census. 

    1. Log in to  myNOVA.
    2. Click  SIS: Student Information System.
    3. Click on the “Action Items & Messages” tile.
    4. Your To Do List will be listed on the right side of the window.

    5. Click on each To Do List item to view the full description of what is being requested.

      Financial aid eligibility is typically reviewed within 7-10 business days after all financial aid items on your To Do List are submitted and accepted by the Financial Aid Office. 

      Check your To Do List on a regular basis, even after you are awarded financial aid, since additional items may be requested at any time. 

    1. Log in to myNOVA.
    2. Click SIS: Student Information System.
    3. Click on the “Action Items & Messages” tile.
    4. Click on the Message Center on the left side of the window.
    5. Review each message for important information.