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Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment requirements vary for different types of financial aid. For many types of aid, part-time enrollment is permitted and the aid may be adjusted to reflect less than full-time enrollment. Others require half-time or full-time enrollment. Scholarship recipients are responsible for knowing and complying with the rules specific to each scholarship program.

Enrollment Status for Federal and State Aid

For financial aid purposes, the following minimums apply in determining eligibility for assistance in fall, spring, and summer. All summer sessions are combined and treated as one semester. All enrollment must be through USI and classes must appear on students' USI class schedule.

Status Undergraduate Minimums Graduate Minimums
Full time 12 semester hours

6 semester hours

(beginning summer 2016)

3/4 time 9 semester hours
1/2 time 6 semester hours

3 semester hours

(beginning summer 2016)

Assistance may be reduced or withdrawn for less than full-time enrollment. Only credits which are required for successful completion of the student's degree program may be counted in the determination of enrollment status. Also, students may only receive financial aid funding for one repetition of a previously passed course. If a student repeats a previously passed course more than once, that course will not count towards the student's enrollment status for financial aid purposes.

Federal Grants

Generally, federal grants require a minimum of half-time enrollment. Aid amounts may be adjusted for less than full-time enrollment. A small number of exceptionally needy students may qualify for Pell Grants and certain campus-based programs for less than half-time enrollment. The enrollment status for the Pell Grant is determined on the fifth day of each semester.

Federal Loans

Students must be enrolled half-time to be eligible for Direct Loans, Direct PLUS Loans and/or Direct Graduate PLUS Loans.

State Aid

The Indiana Higher Education Award and Twenty-First Century Scholars Program require full-time enrollment. In addition, students who drop below full-time enrollment during the drop/add period (first four weeks of fall and spring) lose their entire Indiana Higher Education Award and/or Twenty-First Century Scholars award for that semester.

Students who receive state financial aid for the first time during the 2013-2014 academic year or thereafter will be required to meet certain completion requirements to renew state financial aid awards in subsequent years. For more information about credit completion requirements visit Indiana's student financial aid website

Limited funding is available for a small number of Indiana Higher Education Awards for less than full-time students who are otherwise eligible.

The Minority Teachers Scholarship requires full-time enrollment.

The Nursing Scholarship requires at least half-time enrollment.

USI Scholarships

The majority of USI scholarship require full-time enrollment. Most also require a certain number of earned credit hours each academic year to maintain eligibility. More information on scholarship regulations is available online.