Course Program of Study (CPoS)
The US Department of Education regulations require that a student be enrolled in a degree-seeking or eligible certificate program to receive federal financial aid (Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Direct Loans, and Federal Work Study) known as the Course Program of Study (CPoS).
The goal of CPoS
Time limits and aggregate lifetime limits exist for all aid programs; therefore, timely degree completion is critical, and students must be enrolled in courses that are applicable to the degree program or eligible certificate to qualify for federal financial aid. If a student is enrolled in courses that are not required, the federal financial aid award could be prorated or canceled.
How we apply the requirement
Cornell College defines CPoS as referring to all courses and requirements needed to earn a degree. Undergraduate programs are outlined on the Stellic degree evaluation and include courses in the student’s major (one major, not two), teaching certification, general education requirements, or electives needed to meet the overall requirement (i.e. 31 credits). We evaluate whether students meet the eligibity requirement each semester.
What if students are pursuing more than one major?
Courses taken for a second degree or minor may not be considered a required part of the program of study. Requirements for either may be combined each semester; however, once a student has completed the requirements for the degree and a first major, they are considered to have earned a degree and are no longer eligible for Title IV federal grants or state aid for additional coursework.
Note: Once a student is enrolled in enough credits in their program of study to be full-time for the semester (3 blocks), they will be eligible for maximum federal and state aid, and can take additional courses whether or not the course is in their program of study. For example, the student may be in 3 courses required for their program of study (full-time), then take a fourth block course for a minor or additional major, putting them at 4 blocks of overall enrollment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cornell will begin actively implementing CPoS in the Fall 2025 term.
A course is eligible for federal financial aid if it satisfies a requirement in the student’s program of study (general education requirements for the degree, and one major). Students may consult their Stellic degree audit to review which courses will fulfill degree or major requirements (including courses needed to meet the overall graduation requirement of 31 credits). In-progress or complete courses listed in the ‘Unmatched’ section are not aid eligible.
If a student has earned 31 credits and has completed all the general education requirements, but still needs to complete courses for the major, those courses are still aid eligible. If they only need to complete 1 or 2 courses for that major, any additional courses taken that semester will not be eligible for aid.
Students enrolled in courses impacted by CPoS will be notified via email. If an adjustment is made to their financial aid offer, they will receive an email from the Office of Financial Aid aid alerting them that there has been a change in their financial aid eligibility.
Students should reach out to their academic advisor before they make any changes to their course schedule. An advisor will be able to review the academic record and Stellic Degree Audit to determine whether the CPoS process is accurately assessing their courses.
The federal rules for dual majors or degrees are specific to the Pell and SEOG grant programs. For these programs, once the student completes all degree requirements for one major or degree, a student is no longer eligible for Pell or SEOG, whether the student has been conferred a bachelor’s degree or not.
Students can avoid losing aid eligibility by arranging courses to enter their final semester with degree requirements in both majors.
Courses for a minor are only eligible for federal financial aid if they meet part of the degree completion requirements, such as an elective or credits towards their major.
Students are considered to be full-time and eligible for the maximum federal aid at 3 blocks (credits) per semester and therefore eligible to take additional courses outside of the program of study/major in for their 4th block (credit) that semester.
A prerequisite course is only eligible for federal aid programs if the course satisfies a degree requirement in the program of study such as a general education requirement or an elective credit needed to meet overall degree requirements.
Students may take a course that is not required in their program. However, you will not receive any federal financial aid to support the cost of the course. Students should speak with their advisor and the Registrar and Financial Assistance offices.
If a student is taking at least three other courses that do apply to their program of study, they will be considered full-time and financial aid will not be impacted.
CPOS applies to federal aid (e.g., Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, TEACH Grant, Federal Direct Loans, Federal Direct PLUS Loans, Federal Work Study, etc.) as well as State aid (Iowa Tuition Grant, AIOS, ETV, GEAR UP, etc.). Institutional aid is not subject to the same regulatory restrictions. However, because a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA) will be reduced for ineligible coursework, Institutional aid may be reduced given that a student’s total aid cannot exceed COA.