Beginning in Fall 2016, undergraduates must enroll in and complete 15 credit hours each semester to remain eligible for state financial aid programs.
These programs require that students are considered full-time:
- Higher Education Legislative Plan for Needy Students Scholarship (HELP)
- Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG)
- Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant (MESG)
- Law Enforcement Officers and Firemen Scholarship (LAW)
- Teacher Education Scholars Forgivable Loan (TES)
- William Winter Teacher and Alternate Route Teacher Forgivable Loan (WWTS/WWAR)
- Health Care Professions Undergraduate Forgivable Loan (HCP-UG)
Students registered for less than 15 credit hours should contact the registrar to add hours.
Here are some answers to commonly asked questions:
- Summer hours cannot be added to Fall or Spring hours.
- If enrollment drops below 15 credits before state aid is disbursed to the student, the aid will be cancelled for that term and the following term. If enrollment drops below 15 credits after state aid is disbursed to the student, the aid will be cancelled for the following term.
- Students should not report their enrollment directly to the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. Enrollment is reported by the institution on behalf of its students.
- All credit hours for a given term must be completed at a single institution. Credit hours cannot be completed at multiple institutions for a single term.
- Students with fewer than 15 credit hours remaining in the course of study may appeal for an exception for a single term. Students with 24 or fewer credit hours remaining in the course of study may appeal for an exception for two terms. Instructions for submitting an appeal is provided below.
- Students enrolled in certain programs with defined curriculum pathways (lock-step) should not apply for individual exceptions. Each institution will apply for program exceptions to apply to all students in such programs.
- Exceptions will be made for students in certain majors that require clinical, practicum, or student teaching terms. Each institution is being advised regarding how to report enrollment for such terms.
- All students, even athletes, will be impacted in the same way. In order to receive and continue to receive state aid, the student must take and complete 15 hours, regardless of whether or not the student is an athlete or on any other kind of institutional scholarship.
For more information please visit www.mississippi.edu/financialaid or call Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid 601-432-6997 or 800-327-2980 (toll-free).
