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Stay on Track

Stay on Track is the process used by UTRGV to identify courses within a student’s degree plan.

Courses that do not apply toward a student’s degree program will not be eligible for financial aid. All enrolled courses must count in a student’s declared major/minor using the university’s degree evaluation tool to be counted as part of the student’s degree plan.

Undergraduate Student FAQs

All types of financial aid, including federal, state, and Institutional aid, will only be paid for courses that count toward the student’s degree plan.

The cost of attendance for students will be reduced for courses that are not included in their degree plans, which may result in a lower amount of Federal, State, and Institutional aid that students can receive.

Scholarships are not withheld for courses that don’t apply to students’ degree plans. However, students with scholarships and who also have need-based aid could have their scholarships adjusted due to a reduction in the cost of attendance.

Students will be notified via their UTRGV email and will have an alert posted on their Financial Aid self-service page in ASSIST. Students can also view their courses using Degree Works.

Advisors are another source of help for students regarding their degree plans. They will discuss course options with students so that students can update their class schedules, so that all courses fit the degree plan.

The degree evaluation tool will be used to determine if courses are part of a student’s degree plan. If they are not, students impacted by the Stay on Track process will be notified before the start of the semester. This process will run before the disbursement of financial aid (10 days before the first class day). It will continue to run through the Census date (12th class day in regular terms, 4th class day in Summer, and 5th class day for Modules).

After this point, no further adjustments will be allowed. All changes to a student’s degree plan must be made before the Census date of each term/semester.

Undergraduate students should reference DegreeWorks in ASSIST to determine which courses count and don’t.

Undergraduate students will be notified via their UTRGV email and will have an alert posted on their Financial Aid self-service page on ASSIST. In addition, students can view their courses using DegreeWorks.

Academic Advisors are a student’s point of contact for determining whether courses are included in a degree plan. They will assist students with updating their course schedule so that all courses are within a student’s degree plan.

Students’ financial aid awards will be calculated based on hours enrolled that count toward the degree plan. Students receiving financial aid are strongly encouraged to take courses that count toward completion of their degree. For financial aid purposes, a student is considered full-time if enrolled in 12 credit hours or more as an undergraduate, or 9 credit hours as a graduate/professional student. Some financial aid programs for undergraduates require enrollment in 15 hours.

Students should always reference their official degree plans in the UTRGV Catalog or DegreeWorks for undergraduates. However, if a student believes a course should count toward the degree, but it is not covered by Financial Aid, contact your advisor or graduate program coordinator.

Only courses that count toward a student’s degree can be covered by financial aid. Suppose a student drops all courses that count toward the degree and remains enrolled only in courses that do not count toward the degree. In that case, the financial aid will be canceled, and the student may be required to repay all or a portion of the financial aid disbursed to them.

Two separate processes will affect repeated courses. The first is the degree plan evaluation, and the second is the repeated coursework evaluation. A repeated course will count for the Stay on Track evaluation process if it is part of a student’s degree plan. However, the repeated course would still need to pass the repeated coursework evaluation to be eligible for financial aid.

Students are allowed to repeat a previously passed course that counts toward the degree only once. The only exception is for courses that are required to be taken multiple times (using the same course number throughout a degree program) and where the content is different each time the course is taken.

Athletes are required to enroll full-time, unless certified to be in the final hours before graduation. If an athlete has federal aid in the aid award package and is not enrolled full-time (12 hours or more for undergraduates or 9 hours or more for graduate students) in courses that count in the degree plan, the cost of attendance will be reduced. This may impact financial aid depending on individual aid packages and sources of funds.

The Cost of Attendance is an estimate of the cost for students to go to school for a specific amount of time, such as per semester or per year. It is based on a student’s enrollment status. Enrollment status for financial aid consideration is based on eligible courses only. If a student is enrolled in 12 hours or more that count toward the degree plan, the student will be considered a full-time student for cost of attendance purposes.

Only the courses that count toward a student’s declared major in the degree plan as of the Census date for each semester will be evaluated for financial aid eligibility. Courses counting toward future declared majors/minors will not count. The Census Date for each term is published on the academic calendar.

It is important that all changes to a student’s declared major be made far in advance of the first class day to avoid adverse impacts on financial aid.

Double majors must be officially declared far in advance of the first class day to avoid adverse impacts on financial aid. The Census Date for each term is published on the academic calendar. Courses taken toward an undeclared major will not count in the Stay on Track evaluation process.

Minors must be officially declared far in advance of the first class day to avoid adverse impacts on financial aid. The Census Date for each term is published on the academic calendar. Courses taken toward an undeclared minor will not count in the Stay on Track evaluation process.

When a course is required that is not in a student’s degree plan, this prerequisite course could be considered remedial for financial aid purposes, even if the prerequisite course is not defined as a remedial course by UTRGV.

Courses such as remedial math and English that prepare students for college are considered eligible for financial aid if the student is enrolled as a regular student in an eligible program.

As with any other course, the study abroad courses or independent study courses must count toward a student’s degree plan to be considered for financial aid eligibility.

As long as you remain in a minimum of twelve hours that apply toward your degree based on your official degree plan, you will be awarded financial aid for those hours, which match UTRGV’s tuition cap of 12 credit hours.

International students may have changes in status, including citizenship, that make them eligible for financial aid later. We would like our international students to be aware of the requirements should they qualify for and accept financial aid in future semesters.

Graduate Student FAQs

All types of financial aid, including Federal, State, and institutional aid, will only be paid for courses that count toward the student’s degree plan. The cost of attendance for students will be reduced for courses that are not included in their degree plans, which may result in a lower amount of Federal, State, and institutional aid that students can receive.

Scholarships are not withheld for courses that don’t apply to a student’s degree plans. However, students with scholarships and who also have need-based aid could have their scholarships adjusted due to a reduction in the cost of attendance.

Students will be notified via their UTRGV email and will have an alert posted on their Financial Aid self-service page in ASSIST. Students can also look in the Courses Not Fulfilling Degree Requirements section in DegreeWorks.

Graduate Program Coordinators are another source of help for students regarding their degree plans. They will discuss course options with students so that students can update their class schedules and ensure all courses fit their degree plan.

After this point, no further adjustments will be allowed. All changes to a student’s degree plan must be made before the Census date of each term/semester.

Graduate students can monitor if a specific course meets their degree requirements by logging in to ASSIST and going to the Home tab under Financial Aid. Courses both eligible and not eligible for financial aid are listed.

Graduate students can look in the Courses Not Fulfilling Degree Requirements section in DegreeWorks to see which classes are not eligible for financial aid. In some cases, it is possible for students to be taking a course in their degree plan that they may not need because they have already fulfilled requirements for that course or area; financial aid may not cover these courses.

Graduate Program Coordinators are a student’s point of contact on whether courses are included in a degree plan. They will assist students with updating their course schedule so that all courses are within a student’s degree plan.

If a student believes a course should count toward their degree, but it is not covered by Financial Aid, they should contact their Graduate Program Coordinator as soon as possible and before the census date.

If a Graduate student is enrolled in 9 hours or more that count toward the degree plan, the student will be considered a full-time student for cost of attendance purposes.

Stay on Track

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Stay on Track

Undergraduate Student FAQs

Graduate Student FAQs

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Financial Aid

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Stay on Track

Resources Menu

Stay on Track

Undergraduate Student FAQs

What types of Financial Aid are affected by the Stay on Track requirement?

How are Scholarships affected by the Stay on Track requirement?

How are students notified when courses will not be paid for by financial aid?

When will the process be run to identify courses not in a student’s degree plan?

What if I don’t know whether a course counts toward my degree?

What should I do if I have been notified that one or more of my courses do not count in my degree plan (declared major, minor, and/or concentration)?

How many hours (courses) do I need to enroll in?

What if a course is not being counted for my financial aid eligibility, but I believe it counts toward my degree?

What if I drop all the courses counting toward my degree, but I remain enrolled in other courses?

How does Repeated Coursework affect the Stay on Track requirement?

What if I am retaking a course?

How does this affect athletic scholarships and aid?

How does the Stay on Track requirement affect Cost of Attendance?

How do changes of major impact the Stay on Track Requirement?

How are courses for double majors treated?

How are courses for a minor treated?

Are prerequisite courses eligible for financial aid?

Is a remedial course eligible for financial aid?

What about study abroad or independent study courses?

What if I am enrolled in 12 hours (or more) that count toward the degree, but I’m also in other hours that don’t count?

I am an international student. Why am I getting notices about financial aid?

Graduate Student FAQs

What types of Financial Aid are affected by the Stay on Track requirement?

How are Scholarships affected by the Stay on Track requirement?

How are students notified when courses will not be paid for by financial aid?

When will the process run to identify courses not in a student’s degree plan?

What if I don’t know whether a course counts toward my degree?

Where can I find my courses that are not part of my degree plan and not eligible for financial aid?

What should I do if I have been notified that one or more of my courses do not count in my degree plan and are not eligible for financial aid?

What if a course is not being counted for my financial aid eligibility, but I believe it counts toward my degree?

How does the Stay on Track requirement affect the Cost of Attendance?

I am an International Student. Why am I getting notices about financial aid?

Financial Aid

Financial Aid

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