Degree Audit Course Review
Per guidance from the Department of Education, federal financial aid may only be utilized towards courses required for a student’s degree program.
In keeping with this federal guidance, any additional courses that are not required to meet degree completion requirements will not be considered when determining financial aid eligibility.
To maintain financial aid eligibility, you must be enrolled in courses that fulfill your major, core or elective requirements as shown on your degree audit. If you register for courses that are not covered by financial aid, you may need to make payment arrangements before the tuition and fee due date in order to avoid receiving a late fee or being removed from your courses for nonpayment.
The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships does not determine what courses meet degree requirements or how courses apply to your program. If you have questions about whether a course meets degree completion requirements, please contact your academic advisor.
With this, there are certain financial aid funds that can be used toward courses that are not considered degree-applicable. For example, Bright Futures scholarships would not always require students to take only degree-specific courses, and some institutional or private scholarships also do not require degree applicability. If you have questions about impacts to any of your financial aid offers, please contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a course is not considered to be a part of your degree program, you should receive an automated email from our office. The course should also reflect on your Classmate app in MyUWF as not financial aid eligible.
Only courses required for your current major and your degree program are eligible. Courses required for a minor may be eligible for financial aid if they can also fulfill core, major or elective requirements for your degree OR if the minor is required for degree completion.
Financial aid issues can arise when minors are added or attempted to be completed after students have completed all major and core requirements or have earned the minimum number of earned credits to graduate. Courses in pursuit of a minor are typically not covered on their own, unless the courses for the minor are specified as required for the student's degree completion per the academic advisor and the published degree audit.
It would be possible for a student to receive financial aid at the same level at the same time (for example, two undergraduate degrees). Students would need to work with the academic advisor of each respective degree program to guarantee that courses for each degree would be applicable to core/major/elective requirements, which should allow financial aid to apply. However, federal aid eligibility is subject to change if both undergraduate degrees are not completed at the same time.
There is no extended eligibility for change in major, multiple majors or minors. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP Policy Details) standards at UWF would also still apply. Please also note, Maximum Time Limit is not the same policy as Florida’s Excess Hours legislation.
Undergraduate students receive financial aid for undergraduate courses only. Students in Accelerated Bachelor’s to Master’s (ABM) programs may receive federal aid toward the graduate coursework academically approved as coursework required for undergraduate degree completion. Similarly, graduate students must be enrolled in graduate courses, or undergraduate courses that have been specifically annotated for graduate credit.
No. Undergraduate level proficiency courses are not eligible for financial aid while pursuing a degree at the graduate level. In order for graduate students to be considered eligible for financial aid, they must pursue courses at the graduate level.