Aid Recalculation Due to Enrollment Activities

Financial aid recipients must be aware that repeating a course, dropping a course, or withdrawing from a course can adversely affect their financial aid eligibility in a given term or their eligibility to receive aid in the future. Federal aid recipients who repeat coursework will only be eligible to receive financial aid for that repeated coursework under certain conditions that are outlined below. Federal aid recipients who adjust their course load will have their aid adjusted based on the timing of the registration activity and the amount of time they participate in the course. A student may have limited eligibility when adding classes and may be required to repay all or a portion of aid received depending on the point of dropping or withdrawing from a course.

Repeating Coursework

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:

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.

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.

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 2011 term and received a grade of D again. David is retaking the course once again during the Fall 2011 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.

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.

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.

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 Bursar 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.

Adding or Dropping Courses

Students who add or drop courses during the 100% refund period for that term will see their tuition charges and aid adjust based on their registered classes.

Students who drop courses during another refund period (80% -60%) may be subject to still pay for a portion of a dropped course based on the date the drop was processed. Your financial aid (including scholarships) may be reduced or cancelled depending on your new enrollment status.
ALERT: Students considering withdrawing from a class should be familiar with the appropriate tuition credit percentages for the class(s). Summer, in particular, has unique refund periods due to the variety of class lengths available. Tuition Credit Percentage information is available by clicking the CRN link on your "Student Printable Schedule" from your "Student Tools & Courses" tab in FlashLine. You can also access this information by selecting "Schedule of Classes" on the Registrar's home page.

Adding Courses After the 100% Tuition Credit Percentage Period

Adding classes to your schedule after the 100% tuition credit percentage period of the term may not result in a change in your aid eligibility. Your enrollment at the end of the 100% refund period is used to calculate aid amounts. Students with extenuating circumstances who add courses after the 100% refund period may submit a Change of Enrollment Appeal.

Withdrawing From Classes After the 100% Refund Period

Grades of W can affect your aid for future terms or years. Carefully review the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress to ensure you are staying on track to retain aid eligibility. Students who become eligible to receive financial aid or accept aid after withdrawing from a course will have their aid adjusted based on their remaining course enrollment.

Complete Withdrawal From Courses / Exiting from the University

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

Your aid will be prorated based on the timing of your withdrawal. If any loan credit remains, it may be returned to the lender to reduce your loan repayment balance.
You will be reported to loan companies as no longer enrolled. Therefore, you may be subject to accelerated loan repayment responsibilities.
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.

Never Attended, Failed (NF) and Stopped Attending, Failed (SF) Grades

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.

Auditing a Course

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.