U.S. Department of Education regulations require that a student must be enrolled in an eligible program of study to receive financial aid. In addition, only classes required for your degree or certificate are eligible for federal financial aid funding. Financial aid disbursements (what is paid to your account) will be calculated based on the courses you take listed on your KCKCC degree audit. Classes not required for your degree or certificate will not be eligible for any financial aid funding.
How do I view my degree or certificate course requirements?
Sign in to Self Service. Look under Academics to find Degree Audit. You will be able to view the academic program you are taking and the list of courses required to complete your degree or certificate.
How do I change my degree or certificate program?
If you wish to change your degree or certificate program you may complete and submit the Change Degree and Certificate Program Form found under Registration on Web Advisor. You may also see an Academic Advisor or the Registrar’s Office for assistance in updating your program.
What if I want to take classes that are not required for my degree or certificate program?
If you are a financial aid student, you are welcome to take classes which are not required for your degree or certificate. However, the credit hours for these classes will not be calculated in your eligibility for federal student aid.
Eligibility Examples
If you are eligible for the Federal Pell Grant and are enrolled in 12 credit hours, but only nine are required for your degree or certificate, you will receive a Federal Pell Grant for only nine eligible hours.
If you are enrolled in six credits hours, but only three hours are required for your program you will not be eligible for a Federal Direct Student Loan or Work Study. Students must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 eligible credit hours for a Federal Student Loan or Work Study.
What if a class is not part of my degree or certificate program but is a required pre-requisite?
There are some instances when a class is required, but is not listed on your degree or certificate program such as a pre-requisite course needed before you can take a course listed on your degree plan or substitutions approved by academic departments, as well as certain classes for the Honors Program.
If a class is required but not listed on the degree or certificate course requirements, the student must submit the Financial Aid Course Eligibility Exception Request Form which is available from the Student Financial Aid Office. Once submitted the Office of Financial Aid will review the request and determine whether or not the credits for the class can be included as eligible credits for financial aid. If approved, the student will be notified through their KCKCC student e-mail.
NOTE: Remedial and ESOL courses are eligible for financial aid funding even though they are not listed on degree or certificate course requirements. The Financial Aid Course Eligibility Exception Request does not need to be submitted for developmental or ESOL courses.
I need to take a developmental MATH or ENGL class and it is not listed as required as part of my degree or certificate program.
Remedial courses (classes below the 100 level: ENGL-0099, MATH-0097 etc...) are eligible for financial aid funding, up to a maximum of 30 attempted credits of developmental courses. As long as the student is otherwise eligible for financial aid, the credits for the developmental course will be considered as eligible for financial aid.
ESOL courses are also eligible for financial aid. As long as the student is otherwise eligible for financial aid, the credits for ESOL courses will be considered as eligible for financial aid.