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Enrollment Status & Financial Aid Eligibility

Your financial aid eligibility is determined based on your enrollment status at the time financial aid is disbursed. Changes to your course schedule during the University’s add/drop period may affect your eligibility for certain types of financial aid.

Undergraduate Enrollment Status

• 12 or more credit hours: Full-time
• 9–11 credit hours: Three-quarter time
• 6–8 credit hours: Half-time
• 1–5 credit hours: Less than half-time

Note: Enrollment status may affect your eligibility for federal, state, institutional, and other financial aid programs. Eligibility requirements vary by aid program.

Graduate Enrollment Status

• 6 or more credit hours: Full-time
• 3–5 credit hours: Half-time
• 1–2 credit hours: Less than half-time

Minimum Enrollment Requirements

Federal Direct Loans

Students must be enrolled at least half-time to receive Federal Direct Loan funds.

Beginning with the 2026–2027 academic year, federal regulations require annual Direct Loan eligibility for students enrolled less than full-time to be prorated based on enrollment intensity under the Schedule of Reduction (SOR).

Learn more about the Schedule of Reduction (SOR) and other federal loan changes on the Federal Financial Aid Updates page.

Scholarships

Unless otherwise specified by the scholarship program, students must be enrolled full-time to receive institutional scholarships.

Graduate Students Enrolled in Undergraduate Coursework

Graduate students taking undergraduate coursework must enroll in at least 6 undergraduate credit hours to be considered half-time for federal financial aid purposes.

Withdrawing & Financial Aid Implications

Official Withdrawals

If you receive federal Title IV financial aid and officially withdraw before completing more than 60% of the payment period, federal regulations require UWA to calculate how much financial aid you earned based on your withdrawal date.

Any unearned Title IV funds must be returned to the appropriate federal aid programs in accordance with the Federal Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) regulations. If funds must be returned, you may owe a balance to the University.

Unofficial Withdrawals

An unofficial withdrawal occurs when a student:

• Does not earn a passing grade in any course during the term.
• Stops participating academically before completing more than 60% of the payment period.
• Does not officially withdraw from the University.

Federal regulations require UWA to determine the student’s last date of academic participation and recalculate financial aid eligibility under the Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4) regulations. Students may be required to repay a portion of the federal financial aid received.

No Shows

Students who never begin attendance or academically participate in any registered course are generally not eligible to receive federal financial aid for that payment period.

Any federal financial aid disbursed before attendance is verified must be returned, and students may be responsible for any resulting balance owed to the University.

Important Note

If you stop attending all of your classes, you should officially withdraw from the University by contacting the .

Failing to officially withdraw may result in:

• A recalculation of your financial aid eligibility.
• A balance owed to the University.
• An impact on your future financial aid eligibility, including Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

FAQs