Course Applicability

Course Applicability is the direct result of a federal mandate which requires that an eligible student receive federal student aid for only those courses which apply towards that student's degree, certificate, or other recognized credential.

Course Applicability may impact any student who receives financial aid.

Enrollment status is used to determine the amount of federal student aid awarded; however, only those courses required for a student's degree, certificate, or other recognized credential may be used to determine a student's enrollment status.

All students have access to their degree progress report in the Student Center, which shows the required classes to earn a certificate or degree. It includes how previous coursework applies to requirements and the classes that still need to be taken. View this guide on how to run your degree progress report.

Minimum enrollment standards are set by federal regulations. We review the student's current enrollment; only those courses required for the student's program of study are used to determine enrollment status.

You may update your program of study online.

• First, review your degree progress report in the Student Center. It shows the classes that are required to earn your certificate or degree.
• If your degree program is incorrect, you can make updates to your program of study online.
• If your program of study is correct, please update your enrollment. You can update your enrollment in your Student Center by adding or dropping classes.
• If you have questions regarding your program requirements, contact a college advisor.

If your course has been flagged as ineligible for federal student aid, and you believe it is required for your program of study, contact your academic advisor.

Yes. Financial aid will pay for a maximum of 30 credit hours of remedial courses.

You can always register for any classes that you want! However, federal regulations prohibit using courses that fall outside of your academic requirements to determine your aid eligibility. This means that you may have to pay out of pocket for classes that do not apply to your program of study.

If your award amount is reduced for a class taken outside of your program of study, your tuition charges may not be fully covered, leaving you with a balance due. Pay attention to the emails you receive in your student email account and work with both Advising and Financial Aid to make the best decisions for you.

It depends. Once you complete the requirements for your degree or certificate, federal financial aid will not cover additional courses that you might need for your transfer destination. You may still want to complete additional courses, but you will be responsible to pay for them.

You can check how the classes you registered for are applying to your requirements by reviewing your degree progress report. You can also review award requirements on the Maricopa website by searching for your degree or certificate and selecting the appropriate subplan.

No, this does not necessarily mean that you won't receive financial aid. However, you need to take the steps outlined in the email notification to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of federal student aid possible.

No, you don’t have to drop it. However, you will not be awarded federal student aid for that particular course. Your enrollment status would be adjusted from full-time (12 or more credit hours) to three-quarters-time (9 to11.5 credit hours), resulting in a reduction to your federal student aid award amount. If you remain enrolled in the course, you would be responsible for all charges related to it.

Similar to other remedial coursework, if your acceptance into an eligible program is contingent upon completion of the ESL coursework, then your ESL courses cannot be included in your enrollment status level, and are not eligible for federal student aid. If, however, you are admitted into an eligible program and take ESL courses while in that program, then the ESL courses are included in your enrollment status level, and are eligible for federal student aid. Unlike other remedial courses, ESL courses do not need to be at the secondary level, and ESL courses do not count against the one year limitation on remedial coursework. Keep in mind that receiving federal student aid over a series of semesters for ESL courses can exhaust a student’s limited eligibility for such funds.

A student not enrolled in a degree or certificate program is eligible for Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans (and a parent may receive Direct PLUS Loans on behalf of a dependent student) for up to one year if the student is taking coursework necessary for enrollment in an eligible program. Preparatory coursework prepares a student for a given program of study at the postsecondary level.

A student not enrolled in a degree or certificate program is eligible for Federal Work Study (FWS), and Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Loans (and a parent may receive Direct PLUS Loans on behalf of a dependent student) if the student is enrolled at least half time (six or more credit hours) in required teacher certification coursework. Teacher certification courses included in a student’s enrollment status are restricted as follows:

• Courses must be required for elementary or secondary teacher certification or recertification in the state where the student plans to teach.
• Courses must be credit or clock hour courses and not direct assessment of student learning.

A student is allowed a maximum of one retake per passed course. The repeated course, previously passed, will be included in a student’s enrollment status one time, and therefore eligible for federal student aid.

• If the student fails the repeated course on the second attempt, the repeated course is counted as the one allowed retake for that course; and that course is no longer eligible for federal student aid.
• If the student withdraws from the repeated course, prior to completion of the course, the repeated course is not counted as the one allowed retake for that course; the student may therefore retake the passed course again and receive federal student aid.

A student is allowed to repeat a course previously failed. The repeated course, previously failed, will be included in a student’s enrollment status and therefore eligible for federal student aid.

• If the student withdraws from the repeated course, prior to completion of the course, the student is allowed to repeat the course again, and receive federal student aid. If the student fails the repeated course, the student is allowed to repeat the course again, and receive federal student aid.
• If the student withdraws from the repeated course (3rd attempt), prior to completion of the course, the student is allowed to repeat the course again, and receive federal student aid.
• If the student fails the repeated course (3rd attempt), the student is allowed to repeat the course again, and receive federal student aid.
• If policy requires a student to retake all of the courses in a term in which a student fails a course, only the first retake of any previously passed course is eligible for federal student aid.
  • Passed course – any grade higher than an “F.”
• As a student, you may retake any course multiple times; however, once you have met the aforementioned grade expectations, federal student aid will no longer be available for the course, and you would be responsible for all charges related to it.