Enrollment
Enrollment
Enrollment and Financial Aid
The number of credits you take each semester directly impacts your eligibility for the various federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs. There are times when the number of credits on your course schedule will not be reflected on your financial aid enrollment which can inadvertently reduce the types and amount of financial aid for which you qualify.
At times you may look at your semester registration and notice that while it appears that you are registered full-time, you may not see the financial aid on your account that requires full-time enrollment (ie. TAG, Garden State Guarantee/Rowan Opportunity, scholarships, etc.).
There are three main reasons for this discrepancy:
- Course Program of Study (CPoS)
- Repeated coursework
- Attendance Verification
Please Note: Financial aid awards may not immediately reflect your financial aid enrollment. Please be certain you are registered in sufficient credits that are required for your program to receive all forms of aid available to you, as described below.
Reasons Your Registration May Not Match Financial Aid Enrollment
1. Course Program of Study (CPoS)
To adhere to the US Department of Education's policy which only allows schools to process financial aid for courses that are required to complete your degree program, the University has implemented a process called Course Program of Study (CPoS).
When determining your enrollment level (full-time, part-time, etc.) for financial aid purposes, only courses that are required for your degree will be counted when determining the types of aid programs for which you are eligible.
| Example Schedule | Required for Program per Degree Works? | #of Credits | Impact on Financial Aid with CPoS |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Yes | 3 | In this example, you would not be considered full-time and would not be eligible for types of financial aid that require full-time enrollment (see chart below). |
| Math | Yes | 3 | |
| Chemistry | Yes | 3 | |
| Underwater Basket Weaving | No | 3 | |
| TOTAL FINANCIAL AID CREDITS | - |
9 Credits (NOT full-time) |
At times there may be ways to rectify this discrepancy between the actual number of credits for which you are enrolled and your financial aid enrollment status without having to make changes to your course selection.
Some common examples could be a missing course exception/substitution or not having your intended minor, additional program, or certificate properly updated on your student account.
Please view the link below for detailed information about how to review Degree Works and the required actions needed to ensure you are registered for the appropriate coursework to maximize your financial aid and to keep on pace for timely program completion.
2. Credits for Repeated Coursework
There are limits to the number of times that you can repeat a course and have those credits count toward your financial aid enrollment. If you're repeating a course and notice that you are not receiving your full-time financial aid awards despite being registered for full-time credits, the course that you are repeating may not be "payable" by financial aid and not count toward your financial aid enrollment.
3. Attendance Verification
If you have one or more courses where your attendance was not confirmed by your professor during the first two weeks after the commencement of the course, those credits will not count toward your financial aid enrollment and could lower the amounts and types of aid on your account.
Enrollment Requirements
Minimum Required Credits for Various Forms of Aid
| Type of Aid | Full-time | Half-time & 3/4 Time | Less than Half-time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Direct Loans | Yes | Yes | No |
| PLUS Loans | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pell Grant* | Yes | Yes, prorated | Yes, prorated |
| New Jersey Aid* (TAG, EOF, NJSTARSII) | Yes | No | No |
| Rowan Scholars Scholarship* | Yes | No | No |
| Rowan Opportunity Program/Garden State Guarantee* | Yes | No | No |
*Indicates aid that is only available to undergraduate students.
Enrollment Definitions
| Level | Full-time | 3/4-time | Half-time | Less than Half-time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | 12+ credits | 9-11 credits | 6-8 credits | less than 6 credits |
| Graduate | 9+ credits | - | 4.5 credits | less than 4.5 credits |
Note: the above enrollment requirements pertain to individual Summer Session Enrollment as well.
