Enrollment Status

Verification of non-participation

Early active participation in your course(s) is important for academic success as well as for financial aid eligibility purposes. Participation is defined as active engagement in the instructional activity related to the course of study.

Examples of participation:

1. Attending a lecture where interaction between the instructor and students can occur
2. Handing in homework
3. Taking a quiz
4. Posting information/comments on the course platform

Simply logging into the course online platform without engagement is not active participation.

If you do not begin participation in your course(s) by the 2nd Friday of the term/module that your course falls into (this date will differ depending on your course start date), you will be administratively dropped from that course and your financial aid will be re-evaluated which may have an impact on your eligibility. This process follows federal regulations for the purpose of establishing financial aid eligibility.

Federal Pell Grant Recalculation Date

In accordance with federal regulations, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid will recalculate Federal Pell grant based on the enrollment status as of the Pell Recalculation Date (PRD). The Pell Recalculation Date is based on your class start dates for that semester. Your PRD would be the Monday of the third week of your last starting course of that semester (typical course start dates are (1) 16-week course, (2) 12-week course, (3) 8-week course). All Pell grants will be based upon the PRD enrollment intensity.

Adding/dropping courses

A student's financial aid offer is prepared based on anticipated full-time enrollment. If the student's actual attendance is less than full-time (e.g., half-time), financial aid will be adjusted accordingly. Pell grants are adjusted each semester, as required, based on the student's enrollment intensity as of the Pell Recalculation Date assigned to the student.

A Federal Pell grant payment made at the beginning of the semester is based on the student's enrollment as of the day the aid is disbursed. If a student drops any classes between the time of the initial payment and their Pell Recalculation Date for the semester, the Pell grant may be partially or totally reversed. If a student withdraws from a course prior to their Pell Recalculation Date, that withdrawn course will not count into their eligible Pell. If a student adds a new class after their Pell Recalculation Date but now has a new Pell Recalculation Date (due to the new later starting course), the Pell will be recalculated after the next date hits.

To ensure receipt of the maximum Federal Pell Grant for which students are eligible and to avoid having to reimburse funds already posted to their account, students are strongly encouraged to finalize their course schedule no later than the Pell Recalculation Date.

Withdraws

Students who withdraw from single courses (not a full semester withdraw) before their Pell Recalculation Date may be subject to their Federal Pell Grant being partially or totally reversed. Pell grant funds will not be adjusted for students who withdraw from a single course or courses after their PRD. Courses where the student does not fully participate in a course and receives an unearned E grade (or unsuccessful completion) may also be subjected to a recalculation of the Pell grant.

This policy does not apply to students who withdraw from all courses. Complete withdrawals from the university are subject to federal, state, and institutional refund policies and may require an adjustment of financial aid already processed through Return of Title IV funds (R2T4). There are situations where the Federal Pell Grant will need to be recalculated prior to the R2T4 process. More information about complete withdraws can be found from the Registrar and Billing office.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

If you drop or withdraw from classes (or change your class status to audit) during the semester, you may also have future financial aid eligibility issues. Please review your Satisfactory Academic Progress for more information on the requirements to maintain financial aid eligibility.

Enrollment level

You must enroll at Central Michigan University each semester to receive financial aid funds for that semester. Minimum enrollment requirements vary by financial aid program. Please contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid if you plan to enroll for less than full-time status. Please note that only courses required for your program of study will be counted in your enrollment status used for financial aid eligibility. 

If you are Federal Pell Grant eligible, starting the 2024-25 academic year, the Federal Pell Grant is based on your enrollment intensity which takes the actual credits you are enrolled in to determine the prorated eligible amount that you may receive each term (based off full time enrollment which is maxed at 12 credits each term). 

Prior learning credits: Federal student aid cannot be awarded for any part of a program based on study or life experience prior to enrollment in the program, nor can it be awarded based on learning assessments not associated with educational activities administered by the school.

Graduating Senior Proration: If you are a graduating senior (Undergraduate) who is attending only one semester (you will graduate at the end of the Fall semester), federal law requires CMU OSFA to prorate your loan(s) based on the number of credits for which you are enrolled. Per federal regulations, only credits required for degree/program of study completion are utilized in the proration calculation. The proration is based on the annual loan limit, multiplied by the number of units needed for graduation divided by 24.

Internship Enrollment: Students enrolled in an internship must be enrolled at least half time at CMU to be eligible for Federal student loan funds.

Consortium Agreements: You must be enrolled on campus to receive financial aid, except under special circumstances. If your program of study requires a course(s) not offered at CMU you may apply for a Consortium Agreement to receive financial aid while enrolled at least half-time (6 hours undergraduate; 5 hours graduate) at another institution.

Repeated coursework

Changes in federal regulations impact how financial aid can be used for classes taken more than once.

You can receive financial aid:

• To repeat a course that has already been passed (D- or higher) only one additional time. Any repeated attempts after that will not be eligible for financial aid. Note that this applies even if you earn a failing grade (F).
• As many times as necessary to repeat a course in which the only previous grade earned has been a failing grade (F).
• Even if a passing grade has been earned for certain repeat courses, such as Band or thesis hours, due to different subject content being studied in each term.

All courses previously taken, even if financial aid was not used, are compared against the current semester to determine if it is a repeated class and whether it can be paid for using financial aid. Your financial aid may be recalculated if you take a class that is not eligible for financial aid. This policy does not provide exceptions if the repeat courses are taken to meet the plan of study grade requirements, i.e. a grade of C or higher must be earned to count towards your major.

Example with ECO 101

Example with EGR 120

Example with ENG 101

Example with MTH 105

Example with HST 326

Example with MGT 516