In the UW Flexible Option, all course repeats, regardless of the original grade received, are considered a continuation of the initial enrollment. A course is only eligible for financial aid one time, regardless of the number of attempts needed to achieve mastery (a passing grade). Repeating a course may alter your original federal financial aid disbursement schedule. Because every student’s situation is unique, you should contact the UW Flexible Option Financial Aid Office for further information. To learn more about repeating a course, please visit the Student Resource Center for your program of study and access the Repeating a Competency Set link.
Financial Aid & Repeating a Course
Your financial aid eligibility is based on the total number of credit hours required to complete the academic program. If you re-enroll in the same course across multiple subscription periods, each enrollment (or “repeated attempt”) is considered a continuation of your initial enrollment, or attempt, in the course. This is the case regardless of the grade received, including A-F, Incomplete (I), Withdrawn (W), and In Progress (PR) grades.
Each course is included only once for federal financial aid purposes (including calculation of enrollment status and Satisfactory Academic Progress), regardless of the number of “attempts” or subscription periods in which a student enrolls in the same course. If a repeated course spans multiple payment periods, the credit hours earned are included in the payment period the student successfully completed the course, not in any previous payment period(s) in which the course was attempted.
Repeating a course may alter your original disbursement schedule. Your disbursement schedule will also be impacted by the following:
- The number of credit hours you successfully completed and the number of weeks you have completed
- Your current Academic Plan of Study showing intent to complete additional, unique credit hours
A course with a grade of In Progress (PR) is considered attempted, but not successfully completed, until the student repeats the course and earns a passing grade. For financial aid calculation purposes, credit hours associated with a course will be included only once when calculating Pace and Maximum Time Frame requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) purposes. Each course is only eligible for federal financial aid one time.
Example
- Frank enrolled in a 3-credit-hour course in the September subscription period. He earned a grade of In Progress (PR). In December, Frank enrolled in the same course and this time received a passing grade of an A. For financial aid purposes, his enrollment in this course will be treated as one enrollment. To calculate Pace and Maximum Time Frame requirements for SAP, 3 credit hours will be considered attempted one time.
Further, if you attempt a course that satisfies a specific degree requirement, but do not successfully complete it, and then enroll in a different course to satisfy the same degree requirement, the new course cannot be factored into your financial aid enrollment status since the previous course was already considered in your financial aid eligibility.
Example
- Frank must complete 9 credit hours in Humanities and Fine Arts to satisfy his degree requirements. He has already satisfied 6 credit hours and already fulfilled his electives. He enrolls in MUS173 to fulfill the remaining Humanities and Fine Arts requirements. He earns an In Progress grade (PR). In the next subscription period, he enrolls in MUS273 to complete the same Humanities and Fine Arts requirement. Since both courses are intended to fulfill the same degree requirement, MUS273 would not be included in the student’s financial aid enrollment status since MUS173 was previously included in the calculation.
Military Education Benefits & Repeating a Course
If you are interested in, or currently using, military education benefits, you are encouraged to contact your Veterans Certifying Official at your home institution to learn if there are impacts to your benefits when repeating a course.
Federal Benefits
If you re-enroll in the same course across multiple subscription periods, each enrollment (or “repeated attempt”) is considered a continuation of your initial enrollment, or attempt, in the course. This is the case for grades received, including A-D, and In Progress (PR) grades. Each course is certified only once for federal education benefit purposes with the exception of punitive grades (F). This includes students using the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the Montgomery GI Bill, and Survivor or Dependent benefits.
State Benefits
The primary state benefit for WI veterans and their family members is the WI GI Bill. None of the restrictions for federal benefits listed above are applicable to the WI GI Bill. Courses may be repeated as often as required. However, there is one very important eligibility criteria for this benefit. As of January 1, 2014, a cumulative GPA requirement of 2.0 is required in order to use the benefit each subscription period. Please contact your Veterans Certifying Official for questions or more information.