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Enrollment Management and Services 
Student Services Center

Enrollment Requirements

The enrollment status definitions in the chart below apply to all terms — including summer — for financial aid purposes.

Enrollment Status for Financial Aid

Enrollment status for financial aid purposes may differ from enrollment status as defined by other University offices such as the Office of the Registration and Records, the Graduate School, or the Office of International Services.

Students who enroll less than full-time may have their aid adjusted after the add/drop period. Enrollment is confirmed on the last day to drop/add a class.

Students enrolled less than half-time may be placed on a loan repayment schedule by a lender or guarantor if the student is the recipient of federal financial aid.

Full Time3/4 TimeHalf TimeLess than Half Time
Undergraduate Credit Hours12+9-116-81-5
Graduate Credit Hours9+7-8.54.5-6.51-4

Note: Audit hours are not used in determining enrollment status.

Graduate Students

Graduate students enrolled in programs requiring completion of a dissertation or thesis may qualify to be classified as enrolled at least half time when they have reached the semester in which a load between 3 and 8 hours will reach an accumulated total equal to the minimum number of hours required by the program, provided they enroll for at least 3 credit hours. The Graduate Plan of Work must be on file to confirm the dissertation or thesis requirement.

Courses Required for Degree

A student’s enrollment status for financial aid purposes is based on the courses that are applicable to a student’s degree program. If a student is enrolled in courses that do not count toward the degree program, they are not included in the enrollment status for financial aid purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

A course that is required for a degree program.

Federal and state regulations require that funding be applied only to those courses that are applicable to your degree program.

Review your degree audit in MyPack Portal to ensure that the courses in which you plan to enroll meet one of your degree requirements. Graduate students should review your Graduate Plan of Work or consult with your advisor to ensure classes meet degree requirements.

As long as the intended major or minor has been saved as an intention on your degree audit, your enrollment will be mapped against your intention. If you are an undergraduate student and plan to add another major or a minor, it is important to submit a CODA and/or minor declaration as early as possible.

Enrollment in undergraduate certificate courses does not count for financial aid purposes unless courses completed as part of the undergraduate certificate also meet the student’s major or minor degree requirements. Enrollment in graduate certificate courses does count for financial aid purposes.

As long as your CODA request has been submitted, your enrollment will be mapped against both your current major and your intended major.

Yes. If you are required to take a course before you can enroll in a course required for a degree or minor, the course is considered a pre-requisite and counts in your enrollment status for financial aid purposes.

Both majors/degrees will be used to verify your enrollment in degree-applicable courses. However, once the requirements for one major are complete, you are considered to have graduated, even if you have not formally applied to graduate yet. Students in more than one degree program should ensure that degree requirements for both programs are completed simultaneously; otherwise, financial aid may be adjusted in the term in which one major has been completed.

Your enrollment status for financial aid purposes is 3/4-time enrollment (9-11 credits).

Your enrollment status for financial aid purposes is full-time, as long as you remain enrolled in at least 12 degree-applicable credit hours.

You should check the requirements for your scholarship with your scholarship provider or contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for clarification. For most scholarship programs, this policy does not apply.

Your enrollment abroad must also be degree-applicable if you will be receiving financial aid. The Study Abroad Enrollment Agreement form signed by you and your academic advisor serves to ensure that the enrollment plan you make will satisfy this policy. Your foreign transcript will be evaluated upon your return to confirm that all courses completed abroad are degree-applicable. If they are not, your aid may be negatively impacted retroactively.

If an advisee has planned to enroll in a course that does not satisfy a degree requirement, mention this policy for financial aid recipients. If the student is unsure of how the policy applies to them specifically, you may refer them to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.