Take 15! Continuous Full-Time Enrollment
15 Credit Hours Required for State Aid Eligibility:
Undergraduate students must enroll in and earn (complete with passing grades) 15 credit hours per semester to maintain eligibility for state aid for programs that require full-time enrollment. Undergraduate state aid programs that require full-time enrollment are:
- 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)
Notice Regarding Hours:
If you receive the following notice, your state aid eligibility has been canceled due to failure to maintain full-time enrollment:
You must earn at least 15 hours each semester for “program name” eligibility. Your school reported that you earned “# of hours” hours in the previous semester attended. Please visit www.mississippi.edu/take15 for information and next steps.
Carefully review the policies below before contacting the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. Common questions have been addressed.
What You Should Do:
- Review the “Full-time Enrollment Policies” below.
- Full-time enrollment requires students to enroll in and earn (complete with passing grades) at least 15 credit hours (9 credit hours at William Carey University) every term at a single institution. Summer hours CANNOT be added to Fall or Spring hours.
- If you have registered for fewer than 15 credit hours for the upcoming term, contact the registrar at your institution to add additional hours.
- If your school reported the wrong number of enrolled or earned hours, contact your school to request a correction. Students should not report their enrollment/earned hour status directly to the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. Enrollment status and earned hours are reported by the institution on behalf of its students.
- If your enrollment dropped because you recently underwent a significant personal event or you are nearing degree completion, you may be eligible for an individual exception. Review below the “Acceptable Reasons for Appeal” and follow the “Steps for Submitting an Appeal.”
Full-time Enrollment Policies:
- Undergraduate students must enroll in and earn (complete with passing grades) 15 credit hours per semester (9 credit hours per trimester) to maintain eligibility for state aid for programs that require full-time enrollment.
- Summer credit hours cannot be added to Fall, Winter (William Carey University only), and/or Spring credit hours.
- The school will determine to which term credit hours earned during intersessions and mini-sessions will be applied and will report the hours accordingly.
- If enrollment drops below 15 credit hours before state aid has been disbursed to the student, the aid will be canceled for that term and the following term. If enrollment drops below 15 credits after state aid has been disbursed to the student, the aid will be canceled for the following term.
- Students should not report their enrollment status/earned hours directly to the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid. Enrollment status and earned hours are 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 6-14 credit hours remaining to complete a degree may appeal for an exception for a single term. No appeal will be accepted and no aid will be disbursed for any semester carrying less than 6 hours.
- 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. See the Institutional Information webpage for more information.
- 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. See the Institutional Information webpage for more information.
- 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.
Student Appeals for Individual Exceptions to the Full-time Enrollment Requirement:
Students can appeal decisions related to full-time, continuous enrollment for certain reasons.
- Student undergoes a significant personal event, such as a serious illness, personal injury, divorce, or death of an immediate family member. An immediate family member is defined as a parent, spouse, sibling, or child. (Historically, appeals have not been granted for students with certain learning disabilities. However, if a student submits an appeal for such a reason and provides compelling documentation from a physician, the appeal will be considered.)
- Student is nearing degree completion and does not have enough hours remaining to warrant full-time enrollment. Students with 6-14 credit hours remaining may appeal for an exception for a single term.
Steps for Submitting an Appeal:
- The STUDENT should make the appeal in writing, using the Appeal Form (download above).
- The personal event appeal should be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation.
- The nearing degree appeal should be accompanied by a letter on institutional letterhead from the appropriate dean, director, or academic advisor.
- The letter from the faculty/administrator should indicate 1) the expected graduation date, 2) the total number of hours the student needs to complete his/her degree, and 3) the number of hours the student intends to take each term. A template is available for institutions to complete the requested information. The template may be completed digitally but should be printed on institutional letterhead and signed.
TEMPLATE for Verification of Appeal - There is no deadline for appeals from students. Appeals are received and considered year-round.
- The appeal and supporting documentation may be mailed, faxed, or emailed to the attention of “Appeals Committee”:
Mail to: Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211
Scan and email to:
Fax to: 601-432-6527
