Mississippi students may want to consider adding an extra class to their fall schedule if they still want to qualify for state financial aid.
While the university and federal aid programs still recognize 12 hours as full-time status, multiple state financial aid programs are now asking students to be enrolled in a minimum of 15 hours.
“We’re trying to pass the word as widely as we can, because there’s not a lot of time to react,” Director of Financial Aid Laura Diven-Brown said.
The decision to change qualifications for aid was made by the Mississippi Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board and went into effect June 1.
Diven-Brown said since the decision was made recently, educational institutions across the state have been trying to tell students as soon as possible in case there are conflicts.
The decision does not impact federal aid packages such as Pell Grant, but it does impact more than Mississippi Tuition Assistance Grant recipients. Students who receive the Law Enforcement Officers and Firemen Scholarship, critical needs, William Winter scholarship, Teacher Education Scholars Forgivable Loan and others will also need to enroll in 15 hours to receive aid.
Out of the 20,827 students at the Oxford and regional campuses for the 2015-2016 academic year, 4,365 students received state aid assistance. An average of 60 percent of incoming students are in-state, according to the Ole Miss financial aid records in 2015.
The policy change has caused Mississippi students like junior nutrition major Mikayla Jekabsons to rethink their schedules.
Jekabsons has received state aid funds since her freshman year at the university and said she normally signs up for 16 to 17 hours of classes, but not for this fall.
She only signed up for 14 since she knew she would be busier than usual. In addition to the normal responsibilities of being a full-time student, Jekabsons also has a part-time job and is a member of the university’s Pride of the South marching band, which has a vigorous practice schedule during football season.
“It was more difficult to accommodate for the change in the middle of the summer than it would have been if we received the notification around the time we were registering for classes in the spring,” Jekabsons said. “I carefully planned my class schedule and then finding out I would have to change it in June was a little disappointing.”
Jekabsons said she immediately went online and started searching for one-hour credit classes since she only needed one hour to receive the aid.
While it might be easier for some students to add a class, it will not be for other students with children or part-time jobs.
There might be exceptions for students who are nearing graduation with fewer than 15 hours left to complete, as well anyone who has had a recent serious illness or injury and other cases. Appeals can be filed through the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid even past the Sept. 1 application deadline.
“People are really going to have to think through what is the best solution for them,” Diven-Brown said.
