Keeping your award

Award terms and conditions

Financial aid award guide

Maintaining financial aid eligibility is an ongoing process. Not only must you reapply for financial aid every year, but the Financial Aid Office must continually monitor your eligibility. Please review the policies below.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Consequences of withdrawing

Enrollment requirements

You must be admitted and enrolled in a degree or eligible program to remain eligible for financial aid funds.

Enrollment confirmation requirements

Financial aid recipients are expected to attend all courses throughout the semester. Your instructor is required to confirm your participation in class. If your participation in class is not confirmed by your instructor this may affect the amount of financial aid your will receive.

Financial aid for eligible students is not disbursed after the beginning of the semester unless your instructor confirms your course participation. If your participation is not confirmed by the end of the second week of the semester this may affect your aid eligibility and the amount of your federal financial aid may be reduced or canceled.

You may also view your course confirmation status in Academica.

  • Click on Student Resources.
  • Under Student Records, click on Course Participation Status to see the status of each registered course.

More information about confirmation of participation is available on the Registrar's website.

Enrollment requirements for federal direct loans

You must be registered at least half time at the time we disburse your federal direct loan funds. When reviewing your enrollment for loan purposes, we are required to review real-time enrollment. If your participation in class is not verified by your instructor, your loans may be reduced or canceled.

Enrollment requirements for grants and scholarships  

The classes you are enrolled in and attended as of the census date will determine the amount of grant funding you will receive. The census date policy only applies to students who attend class. If your participation in class is not verified by your instructor, your aid may be reduced or canceled.

Semester

Census date

Fall 2024

September 9, 2024

Winter 2025

January 17, 2025

Spring/summer, spring, summer 2025

July 1, 2025

The Office of Student Financial Aid policy is to freeze enrollment hours and the financial aid budget at the census date each semester. At the time we freeze enrollment hours, your financial aid credit hours will not be adjusted unless you fail to attend classes. Complete withdrawal, failure to attend any classes or earn any credits in a semester may result in cancellation of all or a portion of your awards.

If you increase your enrollment level after the census date:

Your federal grants will not be increased

If you decrease your enrollment level after the census date:

Your federal grants will not be increased

If you drop all courses:

We are required to reduce your federal aid based on the percentage of the semester that you have completed

Enrollment requirements at census and award eligibility

You must enroll full time to be eligible for the maximum award amounts. If you enroll less than full time, the amount of aid disbursed may be prorated. You must enroll at least half time to receive federal student loans. Beginning with the 2024-25 aid year, the amount of your Federal Pell Grant will vary based on your total credit hours at census, if you are enrolled less than full-time.

Repeat coursework

Federal financial aid will pay for only one repeat if you have previously earned credit in a course with a passing grade.

  • You are only eligible to receive financial aid the first time the course is repeated.

Example: If you are registered for 12 credits, and one of your three-credit courses is a third attempt (after receiving a passing grade in an earlier attempt) your financial aid will be based on nine credits and you will not be able to receive aid based on full-time enrollment.

  • A second repeat is counted even if you received an incomplete grade.

 Enrollment status

Fall or winter semester
Enrollment status
Undergraduate Graduate Pharm.D. J.D.
Full time 12+ credits 8+ credits 8+ 10+ credits
¾ Time 9-11 credits 6-7 credits 6-7.99 credits 7.5-9.99 credits
Half time 6-8 credits 4-5 credits 4-5.99 credits 5-7.49 credits
Less than half time 1-5 credits 1-3 credits .1-3.99 credits 1-4.99 credits
Spring and summer semester
Enrollment status
Undergraduate Graduate Pharm.D. J.D.
Full time 12+ credits 2+ credits 2+ credits 5+ credits
¾ Time 9-11 credits 1.5-1.99 credits 1.5-1.99 credits 4-4.99 credits
Half time 6-8 credits 1-1.49 credits 1-1.49 credits 3-3.99 credits
Less than half time 1-5 credits .01 to .99 credits .1 to .99 credits .1-2.99 credits
School of Medicine
Enrollment status
MD program
Full time 10+ credits
¾ Time 7.50-9.99 credits
Half time 5-7.49 credits
Less than half time 0.10-4.99 credits

Note: A leave of absence is considered a withdrawal for financial aid purposes and your aid may be reduced or canceled.