Unusual Enrollment History and Financial Aid Eligibility

WPO 5.08-12      Unusual Enrollment History and Financial Aid Eligibility (Op5.08-17)

The U.S. Department of Education has established regulations to prevent abuse of the Federal Pell Grant Program and Direct Student Loan programs by identifying students with unusual enrollment histories (UEH), generally consisting of a Pell Grant or a Direct Student Loan disbursement at multiple institutions during the past four academic years.  The Office of Financial Aid is required to review the financial aid and enrollment history of any student whose federal aid application, the FAFSA, is flagged by the Department of Education for UEH in order to determine future aid eligibility.

A student’s financial aid and enrollment history will be reviewed to determine that academic credit was earned during the terms that aid was received.  If no academic credit was earned, the student will be asked to provide a written statement on why they did not earn credits for that time period. A decision regarding these statements is made based on guidance from the Department of Education.

Students must ensure that Missouri State University-West Plains has received all official transcripts for all schools previously attended.  These transcripts are required at the time of admission and must be on file with the Office of Admissions.  Failure to provide the Office of Admissions with all transcripts could result in the student’s admission status being revoked.

A student whose aid eligibility is denied based on unusual enrollment history can be reconsidered for federal student aid after meeting with an academic advisor, enrolling only in courses that are required by their program, completing one semester without dropping or withdrawing (officially or unofficially) from any courses after the term begins, and meeting all other standards of the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy.

Line of authority

Responsible administrator and office: Vice Chancellor of Student Services

Contact person in that office: Coordinator of Financial Aid

Chancellor Approval: