Most financial aid requires you to be enrolled at least half-time. If your enrollment will not match what is listed in the Important Messages section in Pathway, please notify our office no later than three weeks before the beginning of the semester to ensure that adjustments can be made prior to the disbursement of your aid.
UMKC generally disburses aid to student accounts the Monday before the start of each semester. We will review your enrollment before the first disbursement and make adjustments if your enrollment status and cost of attendance do not match. We monitor your enrollment and adjust your aid as necessary during the 100% refund period each semester.
The following indicates the number of credit hours required to fulfill the stated financial aid enrollment status for an undergraduate student. The Office of Records and Registration reports enrollment status to the National Clearinghouse for the purposes of loan deferment and forbearance. Enrollment status reported for other purposes may differ from the chart.
| Required credit hours | Financial aid enrollment status |
|---|---|
| 12+ | Full-time |
| 9-11 | Three-quarters time |
| 6-8 | Half-time |
| 5 or fewer | Less than half-time |
The following indicates the number of credit hours required to fulfill the stated financial aid enrollment status for a graduate student. The Office of Records and Registration reports enrollment status to the National Clearinghouse for the purposes of loan deferment and forbearance. Enrollment status reported for other purposes may differ from the chart.
| Required credit hours | Financial aid enrollment status |
|---|---|
| 9+ | Full-time |
| 7-8 | Three-quarters time |
| 5-6 | Half-time |
| 4 or fewer | Less than half-time |
The following indicates the number of credit hours required to fulfill the stated financial aid enrollment status for a Law student. The Office of Records and Registration reports enrollment status to the National Clearinghouse for the purposes of loan deferment and forbearance. Enrollment status reported for other purposes may differ from the chart.
| Required credit hours | Financial aid enrollment status |
|---|---|
| 10+ | Full-time |
| 5-9 | Half-time |
The following indicates the number of credit hours required to fulfill the stated financial aid enrollment status for a health professional student. The Office of Records and Registration reports enrollment status to the National Clearinghouse for the purposes of loan deferment and forbearance. Enrollment status reported for other purposes may differ from the chart.
| Required credit hours | Financial aid enrollment status |
|---|---|
| 12+ | Full-time |
Federal regulations require that students begin attendance or participate in each of their classes in order to receive federal financial aid. Failure to begin a course will result in an administrative drop, which may result in an adjustment to your financial aid.
If you are taking an online class, just logging in to the system is not considered confirmation that you began attendance in the course.
View the administrative drop policy
The decision to withdraw is often complicated, so it is important that you understand all your options. If you find yourself considering withdrawal, please consult with your academic advisor. In addition, please stop by our office to speak with the Return to Title IV coordinator.
We want you to be comfortable with your decision and aware of the financial consequences of your decision, should you decide to withdraw.
We monitor your enrollment during the 100% refund period. If you withdraw from a course during this period, you may have your financial aid adjusted to match your enrollment.
Your enrollment is frozen at the end of the add/drop period — typically the fourth week of classes during the Fall and Spring semesters and at the end of the second week of classes during the Summer semester. After this date, we will adjust certain types of financial aid to reflect actual enrollment.
Review our grant adjustment policy (PDF)
If you withdraw from courses after the fourth week of the term, or the second week during the Summer session, you may be affected by the federally required Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy, which requires that students make progress toward the completion of their degrees within a specified timeframe.
Failing to meet SAP requirements can result in termination of future financial aid.
All students who enroll in coursework that does not span the entire semester — four-week, five-week or eight-week — will receive a hold, known as FA8-8 week session Return of Title IV Funds (R2T4), on their account. This hold requires students to speak with a financial aid representative before they are able to withdraw from or add any coursework. Changes to your enrollment status, while enrolled in shorter session coursework, may cause changes to your financial aid awards.
When you withdraw from all coursework, we are required by federal regulations to calculate the amount of financial aid you are eligible to retain. The Return to Title IV policy (PDF) and process is used to determine if you will be required to repay disbursed aid from the term.
If you intend to totally withdraw from a semester, you should thoroughly read the policy and seek the counsel of a financial aid counselor.
If you don't attend or stop attending all classes without formally notifying the Office of the Registrar, you are considered to have unofficially withdrawn. Unofficially withdrawn students that received federal financial aid must also go through the Return to Title IV calculation, made using the 50 percent point of the semester as the withdrawal date, unless the last date of your attendance in a class can be documented.
Courses that are assessed with withdrawal (W) grades, not reported (NR) grades, failed grades (F) or incomplete (I) can negatively affect students’ progress toward their degree. Failing to meet SAP requirements can result in termination of future financial aid. It is important that all students thoroughly read and understand the SAP policy.
Students who will be graduating at the end of the fall semester will be subject to federal loan proration requirements. The graduating student’s federal Direct Loans must be prorated based on the enrollment level during the fall term. For additional information contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.
Students may receive federal aid for only one repetition of a previously passed course (grade of D or better). Once a student has completed any course twice with a passing grade, the student is no longer eligible to receive aid for that course. However, if a student fails a course, the student can retake and receive financial aid for the course until they have received a passing grade. Students who fail coursework should review the SAP policy to ensure that they are maintaining academic progress.
A student takes a course and receives a passing grade of D’ but needs a C in this course to count toward the degree requirements. The student takes the course again the following semester and earns another D. Although the student needs to retake the course to earn credit toward the degree, the student is no longer eligible to receive federal aid for that class.
The student cannot use that course toward enrollment for financial aid purposes. If the same student is taking 12 credits, including the three credit hours that are considered to be a third repeat, only nine credits will count toward federal financial aid eligibility. This will affect the student’s cost of attendance and may reduce the amount of financial aid the student is eligible to receive.
This policy does not apply to courses in which you enroll on a continuing basis, such as music courses.
All UMKC students, with the exception of non-degree seeking students, are subject to the SAP policy, regardless if they are receiving financial aid. The policy varies depending on the type of student — undergraduate, graduate and professional.
Students enrolling for their first semester at UMKC are considered to be making SAP. Some forms of aid may require higher standards to maintain eligibility.
Students who left UMKC while not making SAP and are readmitted to UMKC must file an appeal.
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