Eligible Programs & Courses

Aid eligible programs and courses

Federal regulations require a student seeking federal financial aid be enrolled in an eligible certificate or degree program.

Financial Aid eligibility can be found with program descriptions. In addition to being enrolled in an eligible program, federal financial aid can be disbursed only for coursework required for that program of study.

Essentially, only remedial coursework and coursework that counts towards a student’s program will be used in determining the student’s enrollment status for federal financial aid.

Remedial coursework

Remedial coursework is defined at Pima Community College as coursework numbered 001-099 in Math (MAT), Reading (REA), Writing (WRT), English as a Second Language (ESL), Integrated College Skills (ICS), and Academic and Critical Literacy (ACL). A remedial course must be taught at the high school level to be eligible for federal student aid. Courses that do not meet this requirement are labeled in the schedule of classes as not eligible for federal financial aid.

• A student may receive federal financial aid for up to 30 credits in remedial MAT, REA, WRT, ICS, and ACL courses as long as the course is required for the program of study.
• ESL courses do not have such a limit, however the courses must be part of the ESL pathway and not an ESL elective

Eligible coursework

Eligible coursework is listed in the program of study in the student’s catalog and is needed by the student to complete the program requirements.

Eligibility Examples

If a student enrolls in 12 credit hours but only 9 credit hours apply to the program of study or are financial aid eligible, financial aid will cover only the 9 credit hours. Financial Aid will determine the student’s Pell Grant eligibility using the enrollment status of ¾ time.

If a student enrolls in 6 credit hours but only 3 credit hours apply to the program of study, the student will not be eligible for a student loan. Students must be enrolled in at least 6 financial aid eligible credits to receive a Direct loan.