Aid Recalculation Due to Enrollment Activities

Effective July 1, 2011, the federal government instituted new regulations regarding repeated coursework and federal financial aid eligibility (Federal Register 668.2). These regulations stipulate that if a student repeats a class, for which they have already earned a passing grade, the student can only receive financial aid for that class one more time. Kent State University defines a passing grade as a grade of D or higher. This can be best illustrated through the following examples:

1. Greg took Biology 10001 during the Spring 2011 term and received a grade of D for that course. Greg is retaking the course during the Fall 2011 term to try to get a better grade. Since Greg already received a passing grade (D) in the course and is retaking it again for the first time, he is eligible to receive federal financial aid for this course during the Fall 2011 term.
2. Sarah took Math 10001 during the Spring 2011 term and earned a grade of F. She is retaking the course during the Fall 2011 term. Since Sarah has not earned a passing grade for Math 10001, she is eligible to receive federal financial aid for this course.
3. David took Biology 10001 during the Fall 2011 term and received a grade of D for that course. He retook the course again during the Spring 2012 term and received a grade of D again. David is retaking the course once again during the Fall 2012 term to try to get a better grade. Since David already received a passing grade (D) in the course and is retaking it again for the third time, he is no longer eligible to receive federal financial aid for this course.
4. Sandra took Math 10001 during the Fall 2010 term and earned a grade of F. She retook the course during the Spring 2011 term and earned a grade of D. However, in order to take Math 10002, Sandra needs to earn at least a grade of C in Math 10001. Since Sandra earned a passing grade (D) in Math 10001, she can attempt Math 10001 only one more time and be eligible to receive federal financial aid for Math 10001.
5. Taylor took Math 10001 during the Fall 2010 term and earned a grade of D. She retook the course during the Spring 2011 term and earned a grade of F. She would like to retake the course again during the Fall 2011 term. Since Taylor already earned a passing grade (D) in Math 10001, and she has repeated it once since passing the course the first time, she is no longer eligible to receive federal financial aid for this course.
6. Tom enrolled in Accounting Special Topics course during the fall 2010 term. He earned a passing grade in that course. Tom enrolled in the same Special Topics course again during the Spring 2011 term and received a passing grade. He would like to enroll in the Special Topics course for a third time during the Fall 2011 term. Because this course is considered to be repeatable by Kent State University and contains different course content each semester, Tom may receive federal financial aid for this course for a third term.

Financial aid will be adjusted for coursework the student attempts to retake prior to the release of federal financial aid to the Student's account. Changes made to your schedule after the release of federal financial aid will be reviewed for repeated coursework and may result in a reduction of financial aid awards.

Students who add or drop courses before the financial aid census date for that term will see their tuition charges and aid adjust based on their registered classes.

The amount of your Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant and/or Federal TEACH Grant will be based on your enrollment as of the census date for each term.

• For the fall and spring semesters the census date is the end of the first week of the full term.
• For the summer term, the census date for the entire summer (Intersession, Summer I, Summer II and Summer III sessions) is the end of the 100% refund period for Summer I.

Some scholarships may also be reduced or cancelled depending on your enrollment status at the census date.

Prior to withdrawing or dropping a course, students should contact the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center to discuss the potential impact of their tuition bill and financial aid awards.

Adding classes to your schedule after the financial aid census date may not result in a change in your aid awards.  The amount of your Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant and/or Federal TEACH Grant will be based on your enrollment as of the census date for each term.

• For the fall and spring semesters, the census date is the end of the first week of the standard term.
• For the summer term, the census date for the entire summer (Intersession, Summer I, Summer II, and Summer III sessions) is the end of the 100% refund period for Summer I.

Students with extenuating circumstances who add courses after the financial aid census date may request a Change of Enrollment Appeal form from the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center.

Withdrawing from a course can affect your financial aid for the current term. Prior to withdrawing or dropping a course, students should contact the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center to discuss the potential impact on their tuition bill and financial aid awards. Students who become eligible to receive financial aid or accept aid after withdrawing from a course may not be eligible to receive financial aid, or full financial aid, for that course.

Withdrawing from a course can also affect your ability to receive financial aid in the future. Review the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress to ensure you are staying on track.

If you fully withdraw from all courses or exit the University after the first day of classes:

• Your federal aid will be reduced based on the timing of your withdrawal.  Any reduction to federal loans will be returned to the loan servicer to reduce your loan repayment balance. This may result in a balance owed to the Bursar’s Office.
• You will be reported to loan servicers as no longer enrolled. Therefore, you may be subject to accelerated loan repayment responsibilities.  You will also be required to complete Exit Loan Counseling.
• Financial aid for future terms may be canceled.

Reductions in aid based on your withdrawal or non-participation could cause a carry-over balance to a future term. Failure to pay this balance could result in a registration or transcript hold.

Instructors are required to report each term whether or not a student has started a course. If a student does not start a course, that course must be taken out of consideration for federal financial aid. The federal aid for the term will be recalculated excluding that course. Depending on the remaining hours of registration, students may have their aid partially reduced or fully canceled. Students may also be subject to federal aid return calculations.

Students who do not attend and will not be participating in a course should drop the class prior to the start of the term (or, at the very least, within the 100% refund period) to avoid financial aid recalculation.

Students who receive grades of NF or SF during a term will be subject to recalculation of their financial aid eligibility, even if the student later withdraws from that course.

Any course that is graded as an NF must be taken out of consideration for federal financial aid. The federal aid for the term will be recalculated excluding that course. Depending on the remaining hours of registration, students may have their aid partially or fully reduced. Students with no remaining courses or having withdrawn from all attended courses are also subject to federal aid return calculations.

Students who do not attend and will not be participating in a course should drop the class prior to the start of the term (or, at the very least, within the 100% refund period) to avoid financial aid recalculation at the end of the term.

Because audited courses are not counted toward the student's degree requirements, they cannot be used to determine a student's enrollment status for federal and state financial aid eligibility. Auditing a course may require an adjustment to a student's financial aid awards.

Per federal regulations, students can receive financial aid for only 30 attempted hours of remedial coursework. Remedial coursework affected by this policy include:

• Introduction to Chemistry
• Introduction to College Writing – Stretch
• Pre-Algebra
• Basic Algebra I
• Basic Algebra II
• Basic Algebra III
• Basic Algebra IV
• Reading Strategies for College Success
• Study Strategies for College Success

Grades of W, WF, WP, F, U, SF, NR, IP, IN and Z count as attempted hours for these courses.

Students who exceed the 30 credit hour requirement will no longer be eligible to receive financial aid toward additional remedial courses. As a result, their financial aid could be adjusted or cancelled for a particular term.

Federal regulations stipulate that a student must be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program to receive federal Title IV financial aid, including federal Direct Student Loan and federal Direct PLUS Loans. An eligible program is one that leads to a degree or certificate. 

Kent State University academic policy states that students must officially declare a degree granting major by the semester immediately following the completion of 45 Kent State University earned credit hours. Students with 60+ earned or attempted hours who are still in a non-degree granting program (including the Exploratory major and pre-majors) must declare a degree granting major or submit a copy of their Plan for Continuation of Study Form to the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center. 

This form must provide the deadline date or semester that the student will be granted an extension to declare a degree granting major. The form must be signed by all appropriate individuals including an academic advisor and the College/Campus Dean’s designee. The Plan for Continuation of Study Form is available only from academic advisors. Completion of the Plan for Continuation of Study Form does not guarantee financial aid eligibility.

Graduate students who choose to take an academic Leave of Absence will be considered to be withdrawn from the University for federal Title IV financial aid purposes. If you take a Leave of Absence:

• The first day of the Leave of Absence will be considered your withdrawal date.
• Your federal aid will be reduced based on the timing of your withdrawal.  Any reduction to federal loans will be returned to the loan servicer to reduce your loan repayment balance. This may result in a balance owed to the university.
• You will be reported to loan servicers as no longer enrolled. Therefore, you may be subject to accelerated loan repayment responsibilities. You will also be required to complete Exit Loan Counseling.
• Financial aid for future terms may be canceled.

Reductions in aid based on your withdrawal or non-participation could cause a carry-over balance to a future term. Failure to pay this balance could result in a registration or transcript hold.  If you have questions about how your financial aid may be affected, please contact the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center prior to taking the Leave of Absence.