Office of Student Financial Aid

Financial Aid Academic Status Notification: Warning

Dear $SUBSCRIBER.FIRSTNAME,

Based on United States Department of Education regulations, Illinois Student Assistance Commission rules, and University policy, students who apply and/or receive federal, state and most university aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress. Students must be making satisfactory academic progress regardless of whether they have previously received aid. 

After grades were posted for the previous semester, your financial aid academic status has been updated to warning. In this status, you have the following semester to get your academic status back above standards. 

• GPA: Students must maintain an overall cumulative GPA of at least a 2.0. Only institutional credits are included in this calculation. 
• Overall Completion Rate: Federal and state regulations require all students to successfully complete at least 67% of their coursework. Completion rate is measured by dividing the number of cumulative hours successfully completed by the number of cumulative hours the student has attempted. Accepted transfer hours are included in this calculation. 

Financial aid warning means you will receive aid for the next semester you attend. In this semester, you must raise your cumulative GPA above 2.0 and cumulative completion rate above 67%. If this happens at the end of the semester, your aid will be reinstated. If this does not happen at the end of the semester, you will be terminated from financial aid for the following semester you attend. In termination status, a student is not eligible for any type of federal, state or University financial aid. 

Please check your CougarNet account to find your Financial Aid Status: 

• Visit CougarNet
• Click on either Enter CougarNet with your e-ID or Enter CougarNet with your University ID 
• Click on Financial Aid from the Main Menu page
• In the Financial Aid menu, click on Financial Aid Status
• Click on the current award year in the drop-down box and click Submit
• Current Financial Aid Academic Status will appear

If you have questions about where to seek academic support to help ensure your academic success during your warning term, please contact the Student Success Center on campus. You may also seek support from the GRASP program, which was created to help students who may need more academic support. This program provides multiple resources, including academic advising, mentoring, academic planning and tutoring. 

Additional Information

• Students are responsible for knowing the standards and applying them to their academic history. In addition, students are notified on CougarNet of their current standing and are responsible for reviewing that information and understanding how it affects their financial aid eligibility. 
• This policy applies to undergraduate and graduate students. Some academic programs and financial aid awards may have stricter requirements which would supersede this policy. 
• This policy applies to all Federal Title IV programs, all state and most institutional programs. The policy does not apply to graduate assistantships. Alternative loans and many private scholarships may also be exempt from these requirements. 
• Attempted courses are those in which a grade of A, B, C, D or P is received. Courses in which a WP, WE, WF, W, US, PR, I, AU, E, F, no credit, or blank is received are considered not completed. 
• Financial aid may be received only for the first 30 attempted developmental hours (courses numbered below 100). 
• Students must be enrolled in a program of study leading toward a degree offered by the institution. Students cannot continue receiving financial aid for the same program in which they have already received a degree. 
• The policy is cumulative and regulations state very clearly that they apply to any financial aid applicant/recipient regardless of prior financial aid history. Past performance is often indicative of future performance and we are unable to award federal, state and/or institutional funds to a student who has not performed well in past terms.

Please contact us if you have additional questions concerning your aid and eligibility.