PACE FAQ

Q. My total institution GPA is above a 2.0, why am I on federal aid warning?

A. Academic progress for federal aid means more than just having a good total institution GPA. You must also earn a minimum number of passing grades each semester based on your enrollment. 

• Every course you register for (including transfer courses with passing grades) is considered an attempted course.
• If you fail, withdraw from a course, repeat courses, or get an incomplete in one or more courses, these courses are still considered attempted and they show up on your transcript.
• Courses graded "D" or better are considered passing or earned courses.

If you are not passing 67 percent of the courses on your transcript (50% for graduates) you are put on WARNING and could lose federal aid eligibility after your WARNING semester. You also run the risk of not graduating before your eligibility for aid is exhausted even if you are still in good standing at USU. The amount of passing credits compared to the amount of attempted credits is your PACE or rate of completion.

Q. What happens if I drop or withdraw from a course?

A. It depends on when you drop:

Classes you drop before the last day to add (or the refund period) do not count as attempted credits. If you drop a course during the refund period it will not count against your PACE, however, if you were a grant recipient, you may be required to repay some of the grant monies you received for that course.

Classes you drop after the last day to add (after the refund period) are considered attempted (and withdrawn) and are generally given a "W" grade on your transcript. Any withdrawn classes count as attempted credits on your transcript. Any course on your transcript with a "W" grade is an attempted course.

Q. How do complete withdrawals or early withdrawals affect PACE?

A. It depends. If you completely withdraw during the refund period, there is no effect other than having to repay most or all of your federal aid. If you completely withdraw after the last day to add (after the refund period,) you receive a "W" grade on your transcript. All withdrawn classes count as attempted credits on your transcript. The more classes you withdraw from, the more your PACE is negatively impacted. Also, you must repay any unearned funds when you completely withdraw from all of your classes. More detail about complete or early withdrawals.

Q. How do "F" grades hurt my total institution GPA and my PACE?

A. Failing grades are considered attempted credits and have no earned value: i.e., 0.0 total institution GPA. Failing courses hurts your total institution GPA as well as your PACE. Failing all of your classes can put you at risk of repaying some or all of your federal aid immediately.

Q. I repeated some classes with poor grades, why am I on federal aid warning?

A. Repeating classes with a failing grade is generally ok. But anytime you repeat a course with a passing grade, you may be helping your total institution GPA while reducing your PACE! This happens because the better grade replaces the poor grade; the poor grade no longer has any GPA value which improves your total institution GPA. But the replaced course is still listed as an attempted course on your transcript. It's there, but it has no graded or earned value anymore. Like a withdrawn course, it will count against your PACE.

Please note that some classes are intended to be repeated, such as music, studio, and exercise courses, these courses generally retain all of the passing grades you received and will not harm your PACE unless you fail or withdraw from them.

Federal regulations allow students to receive aid for only one repeat of a previously passed class except for those classes noted above . When you register, your account will disregard any such repeated classes when disbursing aid. Repeating courses too often, will count against PACE even if you did not receive federal aid for them. However, this policy does not prevent you from enrolling in a class as many times as you need.

For example, if you received a D in Math 1050, and wished to improve your grade, you can receive aid for one repeat of that class.  Once you have taken it again - even if you still need a higher grade for your major - aid will not be available for that class again.

This regulation may not apply if you did not receive federal aid the previous time(s) you took the course. You can work with your assigned Federal Aid Counselor to document if this is the case.

Q. I qualified for Academic Renewal, why am I on federal aid warning?

A. The renewal procedure allows the student's academic record to be reviewed for the purpose of eliminating from a student's overall GPA all grades of "D+" or below that were entered on the academic transcript five or more calendar years prior to admission. However, these courses still remain on your transcript and federal regulations require them to be counted as attempted courses. Therefore, these courses still count against PACE and maximum credit limits even though they no longer count against your total institution GPA.

Q. I qualified for Academic Record Adjustment, why am I on federal aid warning?

A. An academic record adjustment allows the student's to petition for changes to their academic transcript when they have experienced an extenuating circumstance. However, any withdrawn courses remain on your transcript and federal regulations require them to be counted as attempted courses. Therefore, these courses still count against PACE and maximum credit limits even though they no longer count against your total institution GPA.

Q. How do I get off of warning status and back into good standing?

A. You only get one semester on warning to get back into good standing for federal aid. This could happen by taking and passing enough courses in a single semester. When this is not mathematically possible, you may appeal for federal aid on probation if there were circumstances beyond your control that hindered your academic progress.

Q. How many courses can I drop in a term and still be okay?

A. The table below illustrates how many credits undergraduates must pass in your first term at USU based on the number of credits enrolled or attempted to avoid Federal Aid Warning for PACE. Please see the next question about how many passing credits overall are required to remain in good standing.

Q. How do I know if I'm not passing enough courses in order to maintain federal aid eligibility until I graduate?

A. The table below roughly illustrates the minimum number of courses requiring passing grades for the total number of courses you attempt in order to be in good standing for different program timeframes. Please note that students who fail to earn passing grades in 67 percent of their courses tend to be suspended for too many credits before they graduate.

Total credits attempted:	Minimum credits earned to be ok:
10	7
20 (Proficiency Program)	14
30	20
40	27
45 (Certificate Program)	31
50	34
60 (Second Bachelor's)	40
70	47
80	54
90 (Associates)	60
100	67
110	74
120	80
130	87
140	94
150	100
160	107
170	114
180 (First Bachelor's Degree)	120

Bachelor’s degrees generally require 120 earned credits to graduate. We suspend federal aid before a student attempts 180 credits. As you can see above, a student who is under the 67 percent completion rate is at risk of not being able to use federal aid for their final semesters. Second Bachelors' students must finish their program in 60 attempted credits. Associate Degree students must finish their program in 90 attempted credits. Certificates of completion must be finished in 45 credits, whereas certificates of proficiency must be completed within 18-20 credits.