Policy and Program Guidance

Grade Reporting Policy

APA Part 605 General Administration Rules and Regulations, Section II, D. 7. b).

For continuing college students, the Office accepts the overall cumulative college GPA, as calculated and certified by the registrar at the end of each term or year. The college GPA is reported directly to the Office at the end of each term by the college in a Grade Report. A student should not submit a transcript at the end of each term unless requested by the Office. The Office will not calculate GPAs, but will accept the GPA calculated by the college. 

• Grades should be reported by the attending institution. The attending institution is the primary institution which administers and disburses the student’s state aid.
• State law requires that the GPA used to determine state aid eligibility include grades from “all college work attempted”. The law does not account for institutional policies regarding transfer grades and/or grade forgiveness, etc. Therefore, each institution should establish policies for calculating and reporting the overall cumulative GPA for purposes of state aid.
• Institutions must use the same method of calculation for reporting the overall cumulative GPA via MAAPP as for reporting via the Grade Report.

Continuous, Full-time Enrollment Guidance

For most state aid programs, including MTAG, MESG, and HELP, students must maintain continuous, full-time enrollment.  Full-time is defined as 12 credit hours per term.  

Student Appeals for Individual Exceptions

• Students can appeal decisions related to full-time, continuous enrollment for certain reasons. See Continuous, Full-time Enrollment for more information.

Lock-step Programs Requiring Fewer than 12 Hours:

• In general, a program with a defined curriculum pathway (lock-step program) is a program in which all students in a cohort are expected to enroll in the same courses in the same sequence.
• If the institution offers a program or programs with defined curriculum pathways (lock-step programs) which require fewer than 12 hours per term, the institution should apply in writing to request an exception for all students enrolled in the program at the institution. The request should include the basic rationale, the impacted program’s name, the impacted program/major (CIP) codes, approximately how many students are enrolled and have received aid (MTAG, MESG, or HELP) in the past, and a copy of the curriculum pathway.
• Each institution should assemble a comprehensive list of programs and submit one comprehensive request, rather than multiple requests.

Nursing:

• Nursing in general does not qualify for the exception for lock-step programs.
• However, if an institution offers a specific nursing program in which all nursing students take the same courses in the same order (defined curriculum pathway), then the institution should apply for an exception for all students in that specific nursing program.

Student Teaching, Practicums, Clinicals, and other Special Terms:

• A number of different majors require students to complete a special term for student teaching, a field practicum, or clinicals.
• For these special terms, the institution should identify the students in such a term with a “T” (for student teaching), “P”(for practicum), or “C” (for clinicals) in the co-op field on the enrollment report and grade report. All identified students will be exempt from the 12 credit-hour requirement.
• Students in majors with a special term will only be exempt from the 12 credit-hour requirement during the special term, not all terms.

FAITH Scholarship Award Guidance

• The FAITH Scholarship awards an amount equal to the student’s full Cost of Attendance (COA) less all other grant aid.
• FAITH awards will not be increased to cover unusual or unnecessary costs of attendance, such as those associated with study abroad or other programs outside the scope of a student’s usual course of study.
  • Unusual or Unnecessary Costs – For the purposes of awarding FAITH, tuition expenses in excess of a student’s regular resident tuition (such as increased tuition for study abroad or other such programs) should be excluded. Similarly, travel expenses in excess of a student’s typical commuter travel expenses (such as flights for study abroad, etc.) should be excluded. Other COA revisions that typical students would encounter in their usual course of study (i.e. computer allowance or instrument repairs for a music major) that might be unusual but are necessary for the student’s successful completion of their program of study may be included. Specific questions about “unusual or unnecessary costs of attendance” may be directed to sfa@mississippi.edu.
• Students attending private institutions will receive an award amount equal to the average of the prior year’s published undergraduate COA of all public institutions less all other grant aid.
• FAITH Awards are available for fall, spring, and summer terms.
• Students must be enrolled in a minum of 6 credit hours per term to receive FAITH during that term.
• FAITH receipients are NOT required to maintain continuous enrollment, but students can receive FAITH for a maximum of 5 calendar years, regardless of whether the student experiences breaks in enrollment.