Course Program of Study
Courses in Program of Study (CPoS)
Carefully choosing and scheduling your courses each term is essential to completing your program on time. When you are intentional about building your schedule with required courses for your program, you are more likely to finish your program on time and save money by avoiding additional tuition and fee costs.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education requires that institutions only distribute financial aid funds for courses that apply to a student’s specific degree program. This includes courses for the student's major(s), concentrations, program electives, and free electives needed to complete your degree requirements. This means that if your specific award requires a minimum enrollment (half-time, full-time, etc.) only the credits for courses required by your program are used when determining your financial aid enrollment status.
Effective Fall 2025, -Dearborn implemented Courses in Program of Study (CPoS) which utilizes Degree Works to review your registration each term and notify you if any courses are not required for your program. This notification will allow you to review your degree requirements and adjust your registration for either academic or financial aid purposes before the semester begins.
Enrollment Requirements
Federal Aid will be adjusted for students enrolled less than full-time.
Half time enrollment in classes that are required for your degree program are required to be eligible for most federal aid.
Undergraduate
| Total Registered Hours | Hours That Count | Hours That Do Not Count | Federal Aid Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 12 | 0 | Full Time |
| 12 | 6 | 6 | Half Time |
| 16 | 12 | 4 | Full Time |
| 12 | 0 | 12 | No Federal Aid Eligibility |
Graduate
| Total Registered Hours | Hours That Count | Hours That Do Not Count | Federal Aid Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 0 | Full Time |
| 8 | 4 | 4 | Half Time |
| 9 | 8 | 1 | Full Time |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | No Federal Aid Eligibility |
FAQ
Ensuring you are taking the appropriate courses towards your degree may also lower costs, including student loan debt, for students seeking timely degree completion by helping students complete their degree programs faster by focusing on coursework directly related to their field of study. To learn more, please refer to the following Q&A.
Your program of study is the courses required to complete your degree as listed on your DegreeWorks audit. This includes required coursework of the declared major and concentration as outlined in the .
Course Program of Study (CPoS) is a process used to determine, each term, which courses in a student's schedule are required for their program of study. can only be paid for courses within a student's program of study. These aid programs include federal grants, federal student loans, and federal work-study.
Your program of study is the courses required to complete your degree as listed on your DegreeWorks audit.
In addition to ensuring that federal student financial aid regulations are being met, CPoS is designed to help you stay on track and finish your degree in a timely manner. Enrolling in only courses that count toward your program of study helps to minimize your education expenses and debt.
You will see a notification in via both the Financial Aid and Degree Works detailing the courses that are eligible for financial aid in accordance with the established guidelines. Expand the information window.
View your DegreeWorks to see if the courses you are taking count for your program of study. Here you can see the listing of required courses that you have taken, are currently enrolled in, and still need to take. See more details on Degree Works.
In DegreeWorks, courses that do not count for federal financial aid will be listed in the ‘Not Counted’ or "Electives and additional courses - excluded" section at the bottom of the audit worksheet.
'Not Counted' are courses that either exceed the number of allowed repeats, exceed the number of credits eligible for degree credit, or are considered developmental and therefore, will not count as hours towards graduation. "Electives and additional courses - excluded" means the ECA (Elective Credits Allowed for federal financial aid) is exceeded and will not be covered by federal financial aid.
The Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships will notify you, via your umich email, if you are enrolled in courses that may decrease your eligibility for federal student financial aid. In addition, you can view your CPoS status at any time on My -Dearborn Portal via both the Financial Aid and Degree Works
Do NOT change your schedule without first speaking to your assigned academic advisor. Your advisor will review your DegreeWorks audit and, if necessary, help you to identify an alternate course.
For undergraduate students, twelve credits of degree-applicable courses are required for federal financial aid to disburse at the full-time block rate. Credits 13 and beyond do not necessarily have to be degree-applicable.
If you make a change to your schedule, your Degree Works audit and -Dearborn portal will be updated by the next day, and will process daily through drop/add.
The courses that you are enrolled in must fulfill the requirements for your current degree program to be eligible for financial aid. Students must submit any change of major requests to their college by the first day of class in order for it to be processed for the current term. If a change of major is processed after the last day to add for the term, the change of major will be effective for the following term.
Some colleges may also have additional deadlines and restrictions for students changing their majors. Approval of these changes is always subject to any eligibility criteria in effect for the program of major to which the student is applying.
You will be eligible to receive financial aid with an “undeclared” major status for up to 60 scheduled credits toward a bachelor’s degree. Once your academic record reflects 60 earned credits, you will be required to select a program of study in order to remain eligible for continued financial aid funding. You must declare your major before the start of the semester. Undecided transfer students have one semester to declare a major, work with your advisor.
Visit the to review repeating course policies. For the financial aid impacts, visit our webpage on receiving aid.
The last day to drop a class/withdraw from the University without a W grade is the final day to modify your enrollment to impact aid. Financial aid will be finalized based on the student's enrollment in required classes as of the close of this day.
Students must submit any change of major requests by the first day of class in order for it to be processed for the current term.
Programs that are designated as leading to a degree.
Yes, you can still take courses that are not required for your degree or certificate. However, these courses will not count toward your enrollment level for determining financial aid eligibility.
If your aid, at the reduced enrollment level, does not cover all of your tuition and fee charges, you will need to pay the balance due in full or via the payment plan.
Reminder: For full-time undergraduate students, as long as the first 12 credits fulfill the degree, credits taken 13+ will have no financial impact.
All federal aid programs administered via the Department of Education, which include:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant
- Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants
- Federal Direct Loans
- Federal Work-Study
According to federal regulations, financial aid can cover a maximum of 30 remedial/developmental credits; therefore, if you have not exceeded the 30 credit limit, financial aid will count remedial/developmental credits in your enrollment level.
The Financial Aid Office may need to re-evaluate your financial aid eligibility based on your change in schedule. This could result in you having to repay a portion or all of the financial aid you have received. You should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to making any schedule changes after the semester begins.
Merit or Academic Scholarships awarded at the time of admission are not impacted. Need-based institutional aid could be impacted.
Failure to make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in the courses taken at -Dearborn can result in a loss of eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial assistance. -Dearborn reviews the academic progress of financial aid recipients at the end of each semester (fall, winter, and summer).
Study abroad courses may count for federal aid eligibility if they apply towards coursework in your declared program of study.
If a course does not satisfy a requirement for your program of study (declared major/minor), it will not count toward your Federal Financial Aid eligibility. You should make an appointment with an academic advisor to consider an appropriate course of action (adding a required course, dropping the ineligible course, or remaining enrolled in the ineligible course).
Minors and certificates are not covered by federal aid but courses that are required for both your program and minor/certificate will be covered. Students wanting to add a minor or certificate can use free elective credit towards the 120+ credit hours required for your program. In addition, because -Dearborn has flat-rate tuition, if you have at least 12 credits that count in CPoS, any credits above 13 can be taken outside of CPoS.
Students who elect the 4+1 option, are eligible for federal student aid for the graduate-level coursework that counts towards their undergraduate degree. The maximum number of graduate-level credits that can be counted toward an undergraduate degree program is 16 credit hours in an accelerated program. Courses must apply to the undergraduate degree to count towards federal aid eligibility.
If a substitution is approved it will count as a program requirement and be financial aid eligible. Substitution MUST be approved before the start of the term you will be taking the course.
Any courses taken, including those required for professional program admission, must be included in your program of study as viewed on DegreeWorks to be eligible for federal financial aid. You can take classes that are not required by the program of study, however, those classes cannot be covered by federal student financial aid. For undergraduate students, twelve credits of degree-applicable courses are required for federal financial aid to disburse at the full-time rate. Credits 13 and beyond do not necessarily have to be degree-applicable.
If courses required as prerequisites for graduate or professional school are fulfilling at least one graduation requirement then they count for financial aid purposes. If the course(s) are labeled as “NOT CPOS Eligible” on Degree Works, they can be taken at no additional expense if you are already enrolled in at least 12 credits that count for financial aid purposes in that semester.
Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
4901 Evergreen Road
Dearborn, MI 48128