CPoS FAQs
Courses in Program of Study (CPoS) FAQs
The U.S. Department of Education regulations require that a student must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program to receive federal financial aid at Northeastern State University. Essentially, only the coursework that counts toward your degree will be used in determining your hours of enrollment for federal aid purposes (grants, loans, and Federal Work-Study).
Students enrolling in courses that are not required to complete their degree could see their financial aid prorated and/or cancelled as required by the Department of Education.
Course Program of Study (CPoS) is a process to ensure that students are enrolled in classes that apply to their degree program or course of study.
The U.S. Department of Education require institutions to ensure federal financial aid is used to pay for courses that apply to a student's degree program. CPoS is used by Northeastern State University to meet this requirement.
To see if your classes are eligible, check your Degree Works audit. Degree Works is a great way for you to review your program audit to see required courses and courses remaining to complete your program.
Your advisor can also meet with you to map out your program plan.
Start early and be familiar with your Degree Works audit so you can make enrollment adjustments. Your program of study is located on top. You can also use the "What If" feature to check other degrees or certificates that you may be considering. If you are planning on changing your enrollment or program of study, we encourage you to contact your advisor for assistance.
Students who have submitted a FAFSA will be notified by the Office of Student Financial Services if they are registered in courses that do not apply in their degree program.
Courses that do not count toward the degree or program of study may be viewed on the Financial Aid Award Overview tab on goNSU.
If a student believes a course should count, but it isn't, they should contact their academic advisor.
Offered and accepted financial aid will be applied to the account balance owed when the funds are disbursed. The balance could include tuition for a course that is not eligible.
For example: a student is enrolled in 9 hours and only 6 are eligible; it is possible for the financial aid to cover tuition for eligible hours and have enough excess to pay for the 3-hours course that is not eligible. Always review financial aid offers on the goNSU portal to see the whole picture.
Electives, development (also called remedial or zero level), and concentration courses all can count as long as they are required for the program of study.
If the prerequisite is listed as a required course for your program, the course will be eligible.
Contact your academic advisor. He or she may need to submit a substitution or advise you to replace the course with another course.
We encourage students to contact financial aid staff for assistance. We may review the situation for consideration as "preparatory coursework". Through preparatory coursework, students may be eligible for federal loans while taking required courses within the approved time frame.
Yes, students may take a course that is not required. Just know that the course will not count toward the financial aid enrollment status.
No, only courses that count toward your program at NSU can be counted for student aid.
Degree Works should properly identify crossover courses, including electives. Even with a double major, to be eligible for federal aid, you must still be enrolled in required courses.
Once you make a change, Degree Works will need to update overnight. Then, contact the financial aid office so we can re-evaluate your eligibility. Contacting us will provide you peace of mind and ensure accuracy within your updated audit and financial aid award.
Our office may need to re-evaluate your financial aid eligibility, depending on when the schedule change occurs. We would encourage you to contact the financial aid office prior to making any schedule changes after a semester begins. Schedule changes could affect the amount of aid awarded or disbursed, causing a student to owe a balance.
In most cases, full-time enrollment is not required. Half-time is required for student loans, and half-time, or even less-than-half-time, may be sufficient for undergraduates to receive federal aid.
Undergraduates: Full-time = 12 hours or more, Three-Quarter-time = 9-11 hours, Half-time = 6-8 hours, Less-than-half-time = <6 hours
Graduates: Full-time = 9 hours or more, Half-time = 5-8 hours