Maintain Your Eligibility
To maintain eligibility, you must continue meeting the following requirements:
- Be a U.S. citizen, or an eligible non-citizen, a permanent resident who has valid documentation from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security verifying that their stay in the US is for other than temporary purposes or be classified as an AB540 for state aid eligibility only
- Continue meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in a course of study leading to associate degree, certificate, or transfer to baccalaureate degree program
- Not be in default on any federal student loans
- Not owe an overpayment of federal student aid
- Be enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program of study during the academic year
- Have a valid Social Security Number (federal only)
- Demonstrate an Ability to Benefit
You must continue to be actively enrolled in at least one approved financial aid unit at any of the nine Los Angeles Community College District colleges. Active enrollment means classes have started and you are actively attending class. It is advised that you do not change home college in the middle of the semester.
Approved Units are courses within a student’s academic program. For students who have had an Extension Petition approved, Approved Units refer to the units/classes listed on their Student Educational Plan (submitted with their petition) that have been approved by the Financial Aid Office for financial aid eligibility at your home college.
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Status
Full-time enrollment is considered 12 or more units (a.k.a credit hours) per term, three quarter-time is considered 9-11 1/2 units per term, half-time is considered 6-8 1/2 units per term, less-than-half-time is 1/2 - 5 1/2 units per term.
Enrollment Intensity (Federal Pell Grant only)
Enrollment intensity is the percentage of full-time enrollment at which a student is enrolled, rounded to the nearest whole percent. For example, if full-time enrollment is 12 credit hours and the student is enrolled in 7 hours, the enrollment intensity would be 7 ÷ 12 × 100% = 58%.
For federal student aid purposes, full-time enrollment is 12 credit hours in a standard term. Below is a chart of enrollment intensity relative to full-time.
Note that enrollment intensity cannot exceed 100% for purposes of Pell Grant proration.
| Units | Enrollment Category (old) | Enrollment Intensity (New) |
|---|---|---|
| 12 (or more) | Full-time | 100% |
| 11 | Three-Quarter Time | 92% |
|
10 |
Three-Quarter Time | 83% |
| 9 | Three-Quarter Time | 75% |
| 8 | Half-Time | 67% |
| 7 | Half-Time | 58% |
| 6 | Half-Time | 50% |
| 5 | Less-Than-Half-Time | 42% |
| 4 | Less-Than-Half-Time | 33% |
| 3 | Less-Than-Half-Time | 25% |
| 2 | Less-Than-Half-Time | 17% |
| 1 | Less-Than-Half-Time | 8% |
How Financial Aid is "Packaged"
Once the student's financial aid eligibility is established, a "package" of aid is provided which may be a combination of grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships.
Grant amounts are based on the number of units a student is enrolled in at the time of disbursement. Pell Grants are scheduled for payments twice per term. FSEOG, SSCG, and Cal Grants are scheduled for payment once per term. Federal Work-Study is paid twice a month. Loans are disbursed twice per loan period (period of enrollment for which the loan covers).
Change in Enrollment Status
The college is required to review payment of funds to students each enrollment period to determine if the student has received an overpayment. If you did not attend any of your classes prior to the first day of instruction and were dropped by the instructor after you already received financial aid funds, you will have to repay all of the funds you received.
If you received a disbursement and then dropped units, you may be subject to repayment of some or all of the funds you received. Students who received federal financial aid funds and then withdrew from all classes at their home school will not receive further disbursement and may owe an overpayment.