Keeping Your Aid - Graduate Students

The awarding and release of financial aid (federal, state and institutional) is contingent on a student maintaining eligibility to receive financial aid funds. Maintaining eligibility includes demonstrating academic progress, meeting enrollment criteria, understanding how repeated coursework affects you and much more.

You can make sure you stay eligible for financial aid by paying attention to a few things, including keeping on track toward completing your Graduate Degree program. Review the information below for specific information about maintaining your eligibility for financial aid. 

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, requires that all institutions of higher education establish a minimum standard of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students receiving federal financial aid.  At CSULB, these SAP Standards are applicable to all federal, state and institutional aid programs for the purpose of maintaining a consistent policy for all students receiving financial aid.

What is SAP?

CSULB has three specific standards for measuring Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Graduate Students applying for, and receiving, financial aid:

  1. Maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
  2. Complete at least 67% of cumulative credit hours attempted
  3. Not exceed the established Maximum Time Frame for completing your Graduate Degree / Program (based on attempted units).

Your SAP Status is reviewed after each semester in order to verify your continued eligibility to receive financial aid.  You will receive an email letting you know that results of the review – and the impact on your ability to continue to receive aid. 

Failure to meet one or more of the SAP Standards may affect whether or not you can continue to receive your aid.

Once you have been enrolled for at least one semester at CSULB, you can monitor your SAP status through MyCSULB, including how you measure up against each of the three required SAP Standards. Please note that if you do not attend CSULB during a specific semester, but were previously enrolled at the University, we will evaluate your SAP status prior to the awarding – and/or release of funds.

Students who are not meeting SAP may be able to appeal the decision.  For more information regarding the appeal process, review Understanding SAP.

All financial aid awards are initially offered based on the expectation of full-time enrollment in eligible coursework (per semester enrollment of 8 units for Master’s Degree students, 6 units for Doctoral students).  While your actual overall enrollment may be considered full-time from an academic perspective, a minimum of half-time enrollment (4 units for Master’s Degree students, 3 units for Doctoral students) in aid-eligible classes for your Graduate Program is necessary in order to remain eligible to receive financial aid funds.

Enrollment at Census
Census is the point when the university verifies your actual enrollment for the semester.  At CSULB, Census occurs immediately following the end of the add/drop period for the semester.  Your enrollment (units and coursework) will be reviewed at Census; only those courses eligible for financial aid for graduate students can be factored in when determining your eligibility & enrollment status for financial aid.     

If you are enrolled less than full-time in eligible coursework at Census, you may be required to repay some, or all, of the aid you previously received for the semester.

Review Graduate Aid Programs for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards. 

The decision about whether or not to drop a class is an academic issue; however, it is your responsibility to understand the financial implications of this decision. Dropping a class may impact your aid eligibility for the current and future semesters. Your aid will be recalculated at Census based on your verified enrollment in classes required for your Credential; you may have to return some, or all, of your aid for the current semester, depending on how your enrollment status is impacted.

The impact on your aid eligibility depends on the time during the semester that you drop a class:

Period I: First two weeks (Fall & Spring)

  • You will not receive a grade for a course you withdraw from during this time (the dropped course will not be recorded on your transcript).
  • Financial Aid Awards may be adjusted based on specific enrollment requirements for each award.  Review Credential Aid Programs for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards.
  • You are responsible for any charges resulting from an enrollment change (and your aid eligibility).

Period II: Third through fourth week/Census (Fall & Spring)

  • You will receive a “W” grade for the course when you withdraw, which may impact your SAP Status
    • Classes with a grade of W impact both the PACE Standard and the Maximum Time Frame for financial aid, as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed.
  • Financial Aid Awards may be adjusted based on specific enrollment requirements for each award.  Review Credential Aid Programs for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards.
  • You are responsible for any charges resulting from an enrollment change (and your aid eligibility).

Period III:  Fifth Week through the end of the semester (Fall & Spring)

  • You will receive a “W” grade for the course when you withdraw, which may impact your SAP Status
    • Classes with a grade of W impact both the PACE Standard and the Maximum Time Frame for financial aid, as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed.
  • Financial Aid Awards that were already released will not be adjusted. 
    • New financial aid award amounts will be based on your enrollment at the time of awarding.

The laws governing federal financial aid assume that a student must "earn" federal financial aid awards directly in proportion to the number of days of the term attended. In other words, you earn your financial aid as your attend class.

If you completely withdraw from all classes during a semester, the Financial Aid Office must recalculate your aid eligibility based on the amount of aid you “earned” (according to the Return of Title IV Funds policy).  If you received (or the school received on your behalf) more aid than was earned, the unearned funds must be returned to the federal programs, which may result in a balance due on your account.

Additionally, withdrawing from all classes can also affect your Satisfactory Academic Progress, which ultimately affects your aid eligibility.For more information, review Understanding Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Impact on Financial Aid if you withdraw from ALL classes:

  • Your financial aid will be recalculated based on “earned” aid
  • You will be required to return the portion of aid that was not earned.
  • You will be notified by email (within 30 days of withdrawing from CSULB) with the results of the aid recalculation.
  • If you have received a loan (for the current semester, or in previous semesters), your loans will enter into their 6-month grace period. If you have previously used the entire 6 month grace period – your loans will enter active repayment. Log on to NSLDS to review the current status of your loans.
  • All classes that receive a grade of “W” may negatively impact your SAP Status (both the PACE Standard and the Maximum Time Frame for financial aid), as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed.

Federal and state regulations limit students’ eligibility of financial aid with regards to retaking (or repeating) coursework. You may only receive financial aid for one repetition of a previously passed course (grade of D or better). In addition, repeated courses will not count towards your actual enrollment for financial aid purposes. Make sure to review Understanding Repeat Coursework and Aid Eligibility.

Impact on Financial Aid:

  • You will be notified by email if you are registered for any courses that are considered to be not eligible for aid due to retaking / repeating the course. 
  • Your enrollment for the semester will be verified at Census.  If you are registered for any courses that are not eligible for aid due to retaking / repeating the course, your aid will be recalculated based on enrollment in aid eligible courses only.
  • The aid recalculation may result in an adjustment to your aid based on specific enrollment requirements for each award.  Review Graduate Aid Programs for details on how your enrollment will impact your specific awards.
  • Each time you retake (repeat) a class, it counts as units attempted.  This may negatively impact your SAP Status (both the PACE Standard and the Maximum Time Frame for financial aid), as these courses are considered to be Attempted – but not Completed.
  • You are responsible for any charges resulting from an enrollment recalculation (and your aid eligibility).

You must complete a new Financial Aid Application each year!

Things change every year: New jobs, graduations, marriages, births, and more. One small change in your circumstances can have a big impact on your eligibility for financial aid.  As a result, the financial aid application (FAFSA, or DREAM Application), determines your eligibility for only one academic year. The financial aid application for the next academic year becomes available every October 1st – and the CSULB Priority Filing Deadline is March 2nd.  If you miss the Priority Filing Deadline, you will not be eligible for CSULB or CA State Aid for the upcoming academic year.