PACE FAQ

Q. My cumulative GPA is above a 2.0, why am I on federal aid warning?

A. A good GPA alone isn't enough to maintain federal aid eligibility. You also need to earn passing grades in a minimum percentage of the courses you attempt; this is called Pace. 

• Every course you register for (including transfer courses with passing grades) counts as an attempted course.
• If you fail, withdraw from, repeat, or receive an incomplete in a course, it still counts as attempted and appears on your transcript.
• Courses graded "D" or better count as passing.

If you're not passing at least 67% of your attempted courses (50% for graduate students), you'll be placed on financial aid warning and could lose federal aid eligibility after your warning semester. You also risk exhausting your aid eligibility before you graduate, even if you're in good academic standing at USU.

Q. What happens if I drop or withdraw from a course?

A. It depends on when you drop:

If you drop before the last day to add (the refund period), the course won't count as attempted and won't affect your Pace. However, if you receive a grant, you may need to repay some of those funds.

If you drop after the last day to add, the course counts as attempted and will appear on your transcript with a "W" grade. Any "W" counts as attempted but not earned, which hurts your Pace. If you receive a grant, you may also need to repay some of those funds if we can't document you participated academically  in the course.

Q. How do complete or early withdrawals affect Pace?

A. If you completely withdraw during the refund period, your Pace won't be affected; but you'll likely need to repay most or all your federal aid. If you withdraw after the refund period, all withdrawn courses receive a "W" grade and count as attempted credits. The more courses you withdraw from, the more your Pace is affected. You'll also need to repay any unearned funds. For more details, see our Early Withdrawal page.

Q. How do "F" grades hurt my total institution GPA and my PACE?

A. Failing grades count as attempted credits with no earned value, meaning they hurt both your GPA and your Pace. Failing all your classes in a semester can also put you at risk of repaying some or all your federal aid immediately.

Q. I repeated some classes with poor grades, why am I on federal aid warning?

A. Repeating a class you previously failed is generally fine. But repeating a class you previously passed can improve your GPA while hurting your Pace. Here's why: the most recent grade replaces the original in your GPA calculation, but the original attempt still shows on your transcript as attempted with no earned value — similar to a withdrawn course, it counts against your Pace.

Some courses are designed to be repeated, like music, studio, and exercise classes. These retain all passing grades and won't hurt your Pace unless you fail or withdraw from them.

Federal regulations allow you to receive aid for only one repeat of a previously passed course. This may not prevent you from enrolling in a class as many times as you need — but aid won't be disbursed for it after that one repeat. For example, if you received a D in Math 1050 and repeated it to improve your grade, you can receive aid for that one repeat. If you still need a higher grade after that, you can take it again, but aid won't be available for additional attempts.

This rule may not apply if you didn't receive federal aid the previous time you took the course. Reach out to your federal aid counselor to document your situation.

Q. I qualified for Academic Renewal — why am I on federal aid warning?

A. Academic Renewal allows grades of "D+" or below from five or more years ago to be removed from your cumulative GPA calculation. However, those courses remain on your transcript, and federal regulations require them to be counted as attempted credits. This means they still count against your Pace and maximum timeframe, even though they no longer affect your GPA.

Q. I qualified for Academic Record Adjustment — why am I on federal aid warning?

A. An Academic Record Adjustment allows you to petition for transcript changes when you've experienced extenuating circumstances. However, any withdrawn courses remain on your transcript and federal regulations still require them to be counted as attempted credits, meaning they count against your Pace and maximum timeframe even if they no longer affect your GPA.

Q. How do I get off of warning status and back into good standing?

A. You have one warning semester to bring your Pace back up to the required standard. In some cases, passing enough courses in a single semester can do it. If that's not mathematically possible, you may be able to appeal for federal aid probation based on any special circumstances that affected your progress.

Q. How many courses can I drop in a term and still be okay?

A. The table below shows how many credits undergraduates need to pass in their first semester at USU based on enrollment, to avoid financial aid warning for Pace.

Q. How do I know if I'm passing enough courses to maintain aid eligibility until I graduate?

A. The table below shows the minimum earned credits needed at various points in your academic career to stay in good standing. Students who fall below 67% completion tend to hit their maximum timeframe before they finish their degree, meaning aid runs out before graduation.

Total credits attempted:	Minimum credits earned to be ok:
10	7
20	14
30	20
40	27
45 (Technical Certificate)	31
50	34
60 (Second Bachelor's)	40
70	47
80	54
90 (Associates)	60
100	67
110	74
120	80
130	87
140	94
150	100
160	107
170	114
180 (First Bachelor's Degree — maximum timeframe)	120

A first bachelor's degree generally requires 120 earned credits to graduate, and federal aid stops after 180 attempted credits. As the table shows, if you're consistently below the 67% completion rate, you risk running out of aid before your final semesters. For program-specific timeframe limits, see the Maximum Timeframe section of the SAP policy.