Eligibility Requirements

• Most financial aid programs, including grants and student loans, require you to enroll in and maintain a minimum of half-time enrollment in degree applicable credit hours each semester at TWU. Most TWU Scholarships will require full-time enrollment. The TEXAS Grant program requires at least 9 undergraduate hours each semester. Financial aid awards will be canceled for students who do not enroll in the required number of credit hours for that financial aid program.
• Graduate students who are enrolled in Professional Paper, Thesis, Dissertation or other approved equivalency courses are considered to be enrolled half-time.
• Dropping below half-time enrollment per semester will result in the following:
  • Cancellation of future disbursements of loan proceeds. Reapplication for following semesters will be required.
  • Requirement for loan recipients to complete a loan Exit Interview within 30 days of dropping below six credit hours.
  • Being required to repay part or all of the aid received.
  • Entering loan grace period or being required to begin loan repayment.

Undergraduate students

Graduate students

Students must be enrolled in summer courses before summer financial aid will be awarded.

In the summer, most financial aid programs, including grants and student loans, require you to enroll in and maintain a minimum of half-time enrollment in degree applicable credit hours through any combination of the available summer sessions. Financial aid awards will be canceled for students who do not enroll in the required number of credit hours for that financial aid program.

Undergraduate students

Graduate students

A new federal regulation limits the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course.

• A student may receive aid when repeating a course that was previously failed, regardless of the number of times the course was attempted and failed.
• A student may receive aid to repeat a previously passed course one additional time.
• Once a student has completed any course twice with at least one passing grade, he/she is no longer eligible to receive aid for that course.
• If a student retakes a course that is not aid eligible, a recalculation of aid is done to exclude the credits for the repeated course.
• This rule applies whether or not the student received aid for earlier enrollments in the course.
• Not all aid will require adjustment.
• Students will receive notification if there are adjustments made to their financial aid awards due to repeating coursework beyond the limits.
• NOTE: Federal regulations specify that students may not receive aid for repeating courses previously passed even if the student is required to retake those courses as part of a structured program.

For example, a student, who fails a course in a semester and is required by the college or department to repeat all courses taken in that semester before moving on in the program, would not be eligible to receive aid for the passed courses, only for the failed one(s). That may mean that the student would not be eligible for any aid for the semester, depending upon the number of previously passed courses being repeated.

All repeated courses affect financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations. A repeated course, along with the original attempt, must be counted as attempted credit hours.

• Students who registered for classes, were awarded financial aid and decided not to attend, must officially withdraw from the university through the Student Life Office, prior to the first day of class. Failure to do so will result in grades of "F" for the semester and may cause you to incur additional charges. You may also experience a delay in receiving financial aid at another school for that semester if you did not request cancellation of your financial aid and withdraw from the university prior to the first day of class.
• If you receive any student loan, you must complete a loan Exit Interview with the Financial Aid Office if you drop below 6 credit hours, fail to enroll for any long semester, graduate, or transfer to another school.

• You must notify the Financial Aid Office if you are receiving financial assistance from any sources other than TWU (Example: Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), Texas Commission for the Blind, JTPA, Veteran Benefits, and private scholarships, etc.) Failure to notify the Financial Aid Office of this assistance prior to being awarded aid by TWU may result in cancellation or reduction of financial aid awarded, and you may be required to repay any amounts which exceed your eligibility.
• Your Pell Grant award will be re-evaluated based on your enrollment status as of the last day to drop a class and receive a refund (see Schedule of Classes). This re-evaluation may result in a reduced Pell Grant award. In some cases, you may become ineligible for a Pell Grant.
• Loans will be cancelled and funds returned to the lender if you drop below half-time enrollment prior to the official semester Census Day. (See Schedule of Classes each semester.) You will be required to repay TWU any loan funds you received for that semester.
• For the Fall and Spring semesters, financial aid funds, including student loans, will disburse on the 1st day of classes for that semester. For the Summer, financial aid funds, including student loans, will disburse on the 1st day of classes for the session that the student has established at least half-time enrollment in degree applicable hours.
• Students who have received a bachelor’s degree are ineligible for Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and the Toward Excellence, Access and Success Grant.
• Transfer Students - Must cancel financial aid awards at the school you previously attended if those awards cover the same semesters you have requested financial aid at TWU. If you received a TEXAS Grant at your previous school, you must submit a copy of your high school transcript and a copy of your Award Letter to the TWU Financial Aid Office. Your eligibility for these programs at TWU cannot be determined without this documentation.
• Privacy Issues - The TWU Financial Aid Office will not discuss or release your financial aid information or records to any agency or person, including parents or spouse, without your written consent unless the agency is entitled, by law, to have access to the information. You may give written consent for your information to be released to another person or agency by submitting the TWU Authorization to Release Educational Records form to the Registrar's Office.