Financial Aid for Modules

Students Enrolled in Modules (classes that are shorter than a term) ECU Policy - Students must be enrolled in 8 week courses by the 10th day of the semester, NOT the 8 week course add/drop date.  Any courses added after that day will NOT be used in the calculation for PELL eligibility for the semester. Example: You are enrolled in 12 hours at the semester census date (6 hours first 8 weeks and 6 hours second 8 weeks).  You complete the first 8 week courses but drop a 2nd 8 week course and add another 8 week course.  Your PELL will be adjusted down to 3/4 time because your dropped a 2nd 8 week course during the courses drop/add period.  The additional 2nd 8 week course you added will NOT count since it was added AFTER the 10th day of the semester.

Census Date/Pell Calculation
Students who plan to take eight-week or shortened-format courses during the semester should enroll in them before the end of the two-week add/drop period of the regular 16-week semester that the course will be transcribed to in order for the class(es) to be included in that semester award. For example students enrolling for the fall with a first eight-week course and a second eight-week course should enroll in both courses before the 10th day (census day) of class in the fall 16-week semester to maximize aid eligibility. 

Cost of Attendance Calculation
Students enrolled in Modules are affected differently than students enrolled for the whole term. Modules are classes that do not span the entire length of the term.

The U.S. Department of Education requires that students who receive aid be assigned a Cost of Attendance (COA) budget for the terms they are awarded federal aid. However, Cost of Attendance cannot be assigned to periods of non-attendance. Therefore students who attend only eight weeks of a 16-week semester will receive COA for only the eight-week period.

COA affects the total amount of aid that a student may receive. In some situations this will reduce the amount of student loans or other aid that a student can otherwise receive. Students who enroll for the entire nine-month school year could receive aid up to their COA of $19,728.  Students who attend only two eight-week sessions could have a COA of $10,259. COA could be reduced further for classes that are shorter than eight weeks.

Delayed Disbursement of Aid
Federal Student Aid Disbursement rules require that student aid funds are not disbursed during a period of non-enrollment. First disbursements will be scheduled for the module that includes first date of attendance. Students who enroll in only the second eight weeks of a term will receive disbursements at the beginning of that module, not at the beginning of the semester.

Return of Funds for Modules
The U.S. Department of Education requires schools to return Federal Student Aid Funds for students who withdraw from a term. This section of regulations is also affected by modules. Students who are enrolled in modules for the entire 16-week term and complete the term are not affected. However students enrolled in modules for 16 weeks and then withdraw might have an amount that will be returned to the federal aid programs.

Consider a student who is enrolled in two consecutive eight-week sessions and withdraws from the second session while enrolled in the first. The withdrawal date is the date that the student completed the first module. And the federal return of financial aid funds is based on that date. If the same student is enrolled in a 16-week class a refund of aid would not be required as the student is still enrolled.

Financial Aid Enrollment Recommendations

1. Students enrolling in modules should enroll in all classes before the census date (10th day of class for the 16-week semester or fifth day of the eight-week summer semester) to maximize aid eligibility.
2. Students should either enroll in at least one 16-week course or two consecutive eight-week courses or a combination of both to get the full cost of attendance allowance for the term.
3. Students must begin attendance or have academic activity in each module to get aid for that module.
4. Students that drop or withdraw from a 2nd 8-week course before the 5th day of class, the course will not be counted in the calculation of the Pell Grant.  Not will any course that the students adds after the semester census date (10th day of class for the 16-week semester).