Office of Financial Aid

Special Students Pamphlet

You Are a Special Student If...

If you are a graduate student enrolled in a graduate program, but are taking all undergraduate courses, for financial aid purposes, you are classified as a Special Student. Federal regulations state you are not eligible for financial aid. If you meet the Teacher Certification criteria, or if the undergraduate classes are considered a prerequisite/deficiency for your graduate degree, you may be eligible for funding. Please contact the Financial Aid Office.

Federal regulations prevent the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from providing financial aid to Special Students for the academic year except under certain circumstances. If you meet one or more of the circumstances listed above, you must provide the Financial Aid Office with appropriate documentation depending on your individual circumstance(s).

In order to qualify for financial aid, federal regulations stipulate that students must:

  • Be enrolled in a degree/licensure program
  • Continue to make satisfactory academic progress toward that degree/licensure (see Academic Progression Requirements for Financial Aid Recipients)
    • Complete 67% of attempted credits based on the 10th day enrollment
    • Maintain a GPA of 2.0 as an undergrad or a 3.0 as a grad
    • 2nd degree student will be funded for a maximum of 90 credits

All Special Students must be enrolled at least half time to receive financial aid.

The minimum course load for each career is:

Graduates 6.0 credits
Undergraduates 6.0 credits

* All Special Students must appeal for semesters of financial aid eligibility. The financial aid office will approve this appeal on behalf of the student once the student meets the criteria to be eligible for federal financial aid. However if the student becomes ineligible for failure to make progress they must appeal to regain eligibility.

Letters, documentation, and related questions can be directed to:

ShariLynn DuClos, Assistant Director Financial Aid
Financial Aid Office
800 West Main Street
Hyer Hall 130
Whitewater, WI 53190

Office: (262) 472-1130
Fax: (262) 472-5655

Teacher Certification*

You must contact the College of Education at 262-472-4677 and request that they send an official statement to the Financial Aid Office, along with a copy of your licensure plan. The statement should bear the signature of the Director of Certification, Winther Hall 2037. An advisor cannot provide this information. Funding is based on the undergraduate guidelines for enrollment and loan limits. If you are not admitted into Professional Education, each term the Financial Aid Office will verify that the enrolled courses are listed in the licensure plan. Only course work listed in the licensure plan can be funded. The information may be submitted via e-mail to ShariLynn DuClos.

Second Degree*

You must submit evidence that you are following a plan, which leads to a new degree that is different from your first degree, i.e. 1st degree BA, new degree BS, BSE, BBA. That evidence must be a statement(s) from your advisor. The statement should be on department letter head with your identification number and approval (signature) of the advisor of the college involved. The information in the letter must match the student's information in the computer system. The advisor may e-mail the required information to ShariLynn DuClos. Without such evidence, we must presume the additional course work to be simply an augmentation of the existing degree (additional major/minor).

Required information for letter from advisor:

  • Student Name
  • ID #
  • First Degree (e.g. BA, BS, BBA, BSE)
  • Current Degree
  • Number of credits
  • Advisor Name
  • Advisor Title
  • Advisor Contact Information

Required Courses for Admission to a Graduate Program

If you are taking required courses to enter into a graduate program, you must provide an admissions denial letter from the UW-Whitewater Graduate Studies Office stating what undergraduate courses must be completed before you can be admitted into the graduate program.

Misclassified

You must request the Admissions Office or the Graduate Studies Office to correct their record so that you are no longer incorrectly classified as a Special Student. Please notify the Financial Aid Office once this information has been corrected.