Preparing to Apply for Federal Student Aid

Important Information Students Should Know Before Applying for Federal Student Aid

Programs Not Eligible for Federal Student Aid at CSU

Students must be enrolled in an eligible program at CSU to receive Federal Student Aid (FSA). All CSU degree programs are eligible for FSA except the programs listed below. These programs are not eligible at this time for one of two possible reasons: they are recent additions to the CSU curriculum or they are a certificate program.

Term Enrollment

Students using FSA must enroll in the CSU Term Enrollment System. Term Enrollment is different than the CSU Per-Course/Open Enrollment System. Term Enrollment courses must be completed within 8-weeks, have set start and end dates, and are cohort based. All students in the course will start the course together and proceed through the course on the same timeline. Students must submit discussion board postings and other assignments by the weekly due date.

For more information about the Term Enrollment System, please visit the Term Enrollment System policies page.

Attendance Policy

CSU will verify your attendance in each registered course at the end of the first week. The discussion board posting or Unit I Assessment must be submitted to verify attendance and all Unit I assignments are due by the end of week one to receive credit.  Students who choose not to attend the first week will be institutionally dropped from the course.

Enrollment Status Requirements

The number of semester hours enrolled during an 8-week term affects the amount of FSA the student will receive. Students must be enrolled on at least a half-time status in consecutive terms. Students not meeting the attendance standard indicated above in one or all of their courses will receive a reduction in their enrollment status.  If a student does not meet the minimum enrollment status, FSA will not be disbursed.  Please refer to the chart below for enrollment status classifications.

 

Undergraduate
(Associate and Bachelor Degree Programs)

Graduate
(MS and MBA Programs)

Full-Time

6 credits +

3 credits +

3/4 Time

4 - 5 credits

N/A

Half-Time

3 credits

N/A

 

Dropping or Withdrawing from Courses

Dropping or withdrawing from courses can affect a student’s enrollment status which in turn affects eligibility for FSA.  If a student’s status drops below half-time as a result of a drop or withdrawal during the term, the student may become ineligible for Federal Student Loans including funds that may have already been disbursed for the term.  See CSU Term Enrollment Policies for more information.

Course Extensions

Students may request a single 45 day extension for each course.  Please visit the Term Enrollment Policies section of our website for more details about this policy. Students on extension will receive an "I" (incomplete) grade in their course until the extension ends or course is completed. A grade of “I” is equal to a grade of “F” for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) calculations.  Therefore, grades of "I" may affect a student's future registrations, grade point average, and eligibility for Federal Student Aid. 

Academic Year

Students receiving FSA must follow an academic calendar consisting of an “academic year” that is made up of four terms; each term is 8 weeks in length. The academic year starts on the start date of the first term in which FSA is used.  The academic year must be at least 32 weeks of instructional time for financial aid purposes.  A full-time undergraduate student must be expected to complete at least 24 semester hours (6 hours each term) and a full-time graduate student must complete 12 semester hours (3 hours each term) within the weeks defined in the academic year.


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