Unusual Enrollment History
The U.S. Department of Education established regulations to prevent fraud and abuse in the Federal Student Aid program by identifying students with unusual enrollment histories. Some students who have an unusual enrollment history have legitimate reasons for their enrollment at multiple institutions. If selected by the Department of Education, this unusual enrollment history must be resolved before you can receive federal financial aid such as Federal Pell Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized Student Loan, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, or any type of Federal PLUS Loan.
Definition of Unusual Enrollment History
The pattern the Department of Education uses to select students includes those students who have received a Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan at multiple institutions during the past four academic years. Once the Department of Education indicates that a student has an unusual enrollment history, the Financial Aid Office must review the academic history prior to determining federal financial aid eligibility for that student.
What Will Be Required of You
If your enrollment history is selected, our office will notify you of what is required. We will check your financial aid history at all previous institutions where you attended and received federal financial aid during the last four financial aid years. We will notify you of the institutions from which you need to request academic transcripts for our office to review. These transcripts should be sent to the Financial Aid Office. Once all transcripts have been received, our office will verify the academic credit earned at each institution during the relevant year. You are required to have earned academic credit at any institution where you received the Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan while attending in those relevant academic years. If so, we will notify you that you have satisfied this requirement. If you failed to earn academic credit at any institution where you received a Federal Pell Grant and/or Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized loan during the relevant award years, we will notify you that you are not eligible for federal financial aid.
Appeal Process
If you were denied because it was determined that you did not earn academic credit, you may appeal by submitting the Unusual Enrollment History Form, accessible via the Online Financial Aid System. The appeal will be reviewed by our office and we will notify you of the decision. These decisions are final and are not appealable to the Department of Education.
