Your enrollment does affect your eligibility for federal financial aid.
Federal regulations require you to be in an associate or bachelor's degree to receive financial aid at Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology, but the courses you take must also be required for the program. Essentially, only the coursework that counts towards your degree will be used in determining your hours of enrollment for federal aid purposes (grants, loans, and Federal Work-Study).
If we determine one or more of your courses is not aid eligible, you will receive an email to your student email account. The notification will clearly identify that there is an issue with aid eligibility for a specific semester
Start early and be familiar with your DegreeWorks audit, so you can make enrollment adjustments. Your program of study is located on top. Generally, courses not counting will show in the “courses not applied” section of your audit. You can also use the “What If” feature to check other degrees or certificates you may be considering. If you are planning on changing your enrollment or program of study, we encourage you to contact your advisor for assistance.
Aid awarded will be applied to your account balance owed when the funds are disbursed. Your balance could include tuition for a course that is not eligible.
For example: let’s say you have 9 hours and only 6 are eligible; it’s possible for your award to cover the tuition for the eligible hours and have enough excess to pay for the 3 hour course that is not eligible. Always review your awards on your Banner Portal (my.okstate.edu) to see the whole picture.
Electives, developmental (also called remedial or 0-level), and concentration courses all can count as long as they are required for the program of study.
If the prerequisite is listed as a required course for your program, the course will be eligible.
Contact your academic advisor. He or she may need to submit a substitution or advise you to replace the course with another course.
We would encourage you to contact financial aid staff for assistance. We may review your situation for consideration as “preparatory coursework”. Through preparatory coursework, students may be eligible for federal loans while taking required courses within the approved timeframe.
Yes, you can take a course that is not required. Just know that the course will not count toward your financial aid enrollment status.
No, only courses that count toward your program at OSUIT can be counted for student aid.
DegreeWorks should properly identify crossover courses, including electives. Even with a double major, to be eligible for federal aid, you must still be enrolled in required courses.
Once you make a change, DegreeWorks will need to update overnight. Then, contact the financial aid office so we can re-evaluate your eligibility. Contacting us will provide you peace of mind and ensure accuracy within your updated audit and financial aid award.
Our office may need to re-evaluate your financial aid eligibility, depending on when the schedule change occurs. We would encourage you to contact the financial aid office prior to making any schedule changes after a semester begins. Schedule changes could affect the amount awarded or disbursed, causing a student to owe a balance.
In most cases, no you don’t. Half-time is required for student loans, and half-time, or even less-than-half-time, is sufficient to receive your financial aid.
Full-time = 12 or more hours
Three-quarter-time = 9 - 11 hours
Half-time = 6 - 8 hours
Less-than-half-time = < 6 hours
Eligibility Examples
If you are eligible for the Pell Grant and are enrolled in 12 credit hours, but only 9 are required for your program, you will receive federal aid for only those 9 eligible hours.
If you are enrolled in 6 credit hours, but only 3 are required for your program, you will not be eligible for the student loan. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 eligible hours for Federal Direct loans.
Prepare and register early to ensure your courses will be eligible for federal aid.