Your program of study are the courses required to complete your degree as listed on your DegreeWorks audit. This includes required coursework of the declared major, minor, concentration as outlined in the academic bulletin.

Course Program of Study (CPoS) is a process used to determine, each term, which courses in a student's schedule are required for their program of study.  Federal student financial aid can only be paid on courses within a student's program of study.  These aid programs include federal grants, federal student loans, and federal work-study.

Your program of study are the courses required to complete your degree as listed on your DegreeWorks audit.

In addition to ensuring that federal student financial aid regulations are being met, CPoS is designed to help you stay on track and finish your degree in a timely manner. Enrolling in only courses that count toward your program of study helps to minimize your education expenses and debt.

You can view your financial aid package in Self Service Carolina:

• Select "Financial Aid".

• Select "Award".

• Select "Award for Aid Year".

• Select "USC Columbia" Campus.

• Select the appropriate aid year.

• View “Award Overview” to see a summary of your awards.

Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid & Scholarships with questions.

If you do not receive federal financial aid, CPoS will not impact you.

Your course enrollment will begin being reviewed in advance of the upcoming term. Course enrollment will be reviewed nightly to account for any classes that are added/dropped. At the semester drop/add deadline, your course enrollment will be reviewed a final time for CPoS financial aid purposes. Changes to your course enrollment after this date will not be considered for CPoS purposes.

It’s recommended that you check your DegreeWorks audit when you make changes to your course schedule. Degree Works will be updated the day after changes are made.

Contact your academic advisor if you have questions about how your enrolled courses apply to your program of study or where they should fall in your DegreeWorks audit.

View your DegreeWorks audit to see if the courses you are taking count for your program of study. Here you can see the listing of required courses that you have taken, are currently enrolled in, and still need to take.

In DegreeWorks, courses that do not count for federal financial aid will be listed in the ‘Fallthrough’ section at the bottom of the audit worksheet.

The Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships will notify you, via your USC email, if you are enrolled in courses that may decrease your eligibility for federal student financial aid.  In addition, you can view your CPoS status at any time on Self Service Carolina:

• Select “Student”

• Select “Advisement Planning”

• Click “Course Program of Study (CPoS) Evaluation”

Do NOT change your schedule without first speaking to your assigned academic advisor. Your advisor will review your DegreeWorks audit and, if necessary, help you to identify an alternate course.

For undergraduate students, twelve credits of degree-applicable courses are required for federal financial aid to disburse at the full-time rate. Credits 13 and beyond do not necessarily have to be degree-applicable.

If you make a change prior to the semester drop/add deadline, you will want to check your DegreeWorks audit to ensure that the course counts toward your program of study. You will also want to make sure that you are enrolled in at least 12 credit hours that counts toward your program of study.

Your DegreeWorks audit will be updated the day after changes are made.

Making changes to your course enrollment after the drop/add deadline and receiving a grade of W or WF will not impact CPoS for that semester.

At the full semester drop/add deadline, your course enrollment will be reviewed a final time for CPoS financial aid purposes.

Yes, as long as the courses you are enrolled in are reflected as part of your program of study in DegreeWorks. This will include Carolina Core courses and courses that count toward a declared minor.

Only courses that count for your current declared major will count toward financial aid enrollment requirements.

You should meet with an Exploratory Advisor in the University Advising Center if you are wanting to change your major to discuss options to help you meet academic and financial aid needs.

Both majors must be officially declared for courses to count for financial aid. Both majors are part of your program of study, so you need to take at least 12 credits that can count toward your program of study.

CPoS will only consider courses counting towards your primary degree. Consult with your academic advisor about how this may affect your coursework and federal aid eligibility.

A course may be part of a student’s program of study, but not count toward federal student financial aid eligibility if it exceeds the number of repeat attempts allowed by statute. If a student receives an ‘F’ grade in a course, they are permitted to retake the course as many times as they need until they make a ‘D’ or higher. Once they have made a ‘D’ or higher, they are only permitted to retake the course one additional time after that.

While a ‘D’ may not be successfully passing to advance a student’s academic program, for federal student financial aid purposes, the 'D' is considered a passing grade.

Contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships with questions. The rules for repeat coursework are complex and your individual situation may benefit from review.

Yes, you may take courses that are not required. However, those courses cannot be covered by federal student financial aid. For undergraduate students, twelve credits of degree-applicable courses are required for federal financial aid to disburse at the full-time rate. Credits 13 and beyond do not necessarily have to be degree-applicable.

Any elective course taken must be a requirement of your program of study. If you see that an elective you were advised to take is not counted in the CPoS process, reach out to your academic advisor.

Only courses that are part of the program of study are eligible for financial aid. You can take classes that are not required by the program of study, however those classes cannot be covered by federal student financial aid.

Any courses taken, including those required for professional program admission, must be included in your program of study as viewed on DegreeWorks to be eligible for federal financial aid. You can take classes that are not required by the program of study, however those classes cannot be covered by federal student financial aid. For undergraduate students, twelve credits of degree-applicable courses are required for federal financial aid to disburse at the full-time rate. Credits 13 and beyond do not necessarily have to be degree-applicable.

Scholarships, from any source, are not affected by CPoS.

CPoS does not affect Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).