• Federal Student Aid
  • Eligibility
  • Preparing to Apply
  • Types of Federal Aid
  • How to Apply
  • Awarding Federal Student Aid
  • Policies & Procedures
  • Current Students
  • Consumer Information
  • Academic Calendar
• Student Fees
• Payment Options
• Refund Policies
• Enrollment Options
• Academic Calendar
• Scholarships
• Student Aid Calculator

Preparing to Apply for Federal Student Aid

• Important Information Students Should Know Before Applying for Federal Student Aid
• All official transcripts from every school previously attended should be sent to CSU prior to the evaluation process.

Statement: All financial aid applicants are encouraged to file federal income tax returns for applicant, parent and/or spouse as applicable, prior to completing their 2012-2013 FAFSA. This will allow students and prospective students to use the IRS Data Retrieval Process when completing the FAFSA. This tool will save you time and increase the accuracy of your FAFSA information. The IRS Data Retrieval tool is also the fastest and most secure solution for meeting verification requirements if applicable.

Programs Not Eligible for Federal Student Aid at CSU

Students must be enrolled in an eligible program at CSU to receive Federal Student Aid. Items listed below are not eligible for Federal Financial Aid (FSA).

• Associate of Arts in General Studies
• All Certificate Programs

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 eight 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

Students must be enrolled at least half-time in order to be eligible to receive federal student aid (FSA). If a student’s enrollment status changes during the first week of classes, or a student does not begin attendance in all courses, the amount of federal student aid awarded will be recalculated. A student must meet the minimum enrollment status in order to be eligible to receive federal student aid. 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.

Award Year Requirements

A student is required to complete an academic year in order to receive additional federal student loans. CSU defines our academic year as 24 semester hours over a period of 32 weeks of instructional time for undergraduate students and 12 semester hours over a period of 32 weeks of instructional time for graduate students. If a student drops or withdraws and fails to complete the academic year requirements and exhausts all of their financial aid eligibility for the award year, they may be required to take courses using an alternative method of payment in order to complete the required hours.

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 eight 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.