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Cooper Union

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Reponsibilities

  • You have the right to privacy. All information submitted with your financial aid application will be treated as confidential.
  • You have the right to an explanation of the financial aid process. If you do not understand how your financial aid award was determined, please contact the Financial Aid Office.
  • You have a right to appeal. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you believe that your application for financial aid was not fairly evaluated.
  • You are responsible for repaying your loans. Acceptance of any loan carries a serious legal and financial obligation. Failure to meet this obligation will adversely affect your credit rating and prohibit you from receiving federal financial aid in the future. Student borrowers are required to complete entrance counseling before receiving any loan funds. Borrowers are also required to complete exit counseling before leaving school. During exit counseling we will explain the various repayment options and types of deferments available.
  • You are responsible for reporting changes in your finances. You must notify the Financial Aid Office if you receive scholarships, loans or grants from any source so that your financial aid may be reappraised. The Financial Aid Office is required by law to consider all sources of aid when awarding federal student aid funds.
  • You are responsible for reporting changes in your student status. If you change your address, drop below full-time status, or withdraw from school you must notify the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible.
  • You are responsible for using financial aid funds only for educational purposes. Educational expenses include fees, room, board, books, supplies and other living expenses.
  • You are responsible for promptly responding to requests and inquiries from us.
  • You are responsible for keeping copies of all documents and records you submit to us.

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.