Repeat Coursework
Effective July 1, 2011, federal regulations (34 CFR Section 668.2 (b)) limit student financial aid eligibility for repeated coursework. Only one repetition is allowed for a course that has been previously taken and passed. This change does not limit students from retaking previously passed coursework multiple times; it simply limits federal Title IV* payment for previously passed courses.
* Financial aid offered by the federal government is done so by the Department of Education. When Congress passed the Higher Education Act in the 1960s, it established certain types of financial aid to be offered to students (known as Title IV).
Important points in this regulation
- There is no limit on the number of times that financial aid can pay for a course that has not been passed. However, financial aid will pay for only one repetition of a course that was previously passed. (Passing includes grades of A, B, C or D.)
- This regulation is applicable to both full- and part-time students.
- For the purpose of determining repeat course eligibility, full-time is defined as 12 credit hours. For ex-ample, a student who is enrolled in 15 credits, including a repeat course, will not be impacted because the student is enrolled in 12 credit hours which are not repeats.
Federal Title IV aid will be based on the student’s adjusted enrollment status. This recalculation will be applied regardless of whether a student received financial aid for previous course enrollments. Stu-dents will be notified by mail if they are receiving Title IV aid and are enrolled in non-repeatable coursework.
EXAMPLE 1:
A student takes a course and receives a grade of D. The student needs a C in the course to count to-ward requirements for the degree. The student retakes the course (and receives aid) and earns another D. Although the student still needs to retake the course, she/he is no longer eligible to receive federal aid for that course.
EXAMPLE 2:
A student repeats a previously passed course. The student receives an F on the second attempt. The student attempts the course for a third time. The third course attempt will not be counted in the total enrollment hours and the student will not receive aid for that class.
EXAMPLE 3:
A student repeats a previously passed course. The student withdraws from the course on the second attempt. The student attempts the course for a third time. The third course attempt will not be count-ed in total enrollment hours and the student will not receive aid for that class.
Appeals
Appeals will be considered for students with extenuating circumstances who have proper documentation of new program or transferring degree requirements, and who are making Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid.
Under federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) regulations, a repeat course will count toward a student’s completion rate and maximum allowable credits for financial aid, whether or not the student successfully completes the repeat course and earns credit for it.