Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Federal regulations require that all students receiving Federal Title IV Financial Aid funds maintain standards of satisfactory academic progress in the pursuit of their degree or certificate. Satisfactory academic progress is defined as passing a required number of hours and achieving a required grade point average during a reasonable period of time. Regulations require that your entire academic history be considered, even if you have never received federal aid.
Three standards are used to measure academic progress for financial aid purposes:
1. Cumulative Grade Point Average
In order to retain financial aid eligibility a student must progress each term according to the following grade scale:
| Hours Attempted | Minimum Cumulative GPA |
| 1-29 | 1.50 |
| 30-59 | 1.80 |
| 60+ | 2.00 |
2. Credit Completion Rate
This is the number of hours completed compared to the number of hours attempted. To retain financial aid eligibility a student must earn a minimum of 67% of the total number of hours attempted.
- Completion Rate = cumulative earned hours / cumulative attempted hours
- All attempted hours are counted, including transfer hours
3. Maximum Time Frame
A student is no longer eligible to receive financial aid once he/she has attempted more than 150% of the credits required for the major the student is currently enrolled. For example, a program requiring 120 hours for graduation would allow 180 attempted hours (120 x 1.5= 180).
The following are considered when evaluating a student’s satisfactory academic progress:
- Grades of A, B, C, or D are considered attempted and earned hours
- Withdrawals (W), Incomplete (I), Failures (F), No Credit (NC), and In Progress (IP) grades are considered attempted, but not earned
- Audited courses are included in the attempted hours, but not in the total of hours earned
- Remedial courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours
- Transfer credits are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours and the cumulative GPA
- Repeated courses and courses for which the student has been granted Academic Renewal are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours
SAP Review
Academic progress will be reviewed at the end of the spring semester for currently enrolled financial aid recipients. The academic progress of new financial aid recipients will be reviewed as ISIR data is received.
SAP will be reviewed at the end of the fall semester for official and unofficial withdrawals and those students that have dropped to less than half time.
- Students not meeting the minimum SAP standards will be placed on financial aid suspension
- Students on financial aid suspension are not eligible to receive financial aid
Appeal Process
A student may appeal the loss of financial aid eligibility if extenuating circumstances interfered with the ability to meet satisfactory progress requirements. A student may not appeal for exceeding the maximum time frame allowed.
In order for an appeal to be reviewed by the committee, the student’s circumstances must meet one of the following criteria:
- Prolonged illness, medical condition, or injury to student or immediate family member
- Death of an immediate family member
- Traumatic life-altering event
Proper documentation will be required. Documentation may include:
- Physician’s letter and hospital records (must include dates)
- Death certificate and/or obituary
- Court documents
Appeal Decisions
- All decisions of the SAP Appeals Committee are final
- Notification of the decision will be sent to the student's permanent address
- Financial Aid will be awarded for the academic year on a probationary basis for appeal approvals
- Terms and conditions of appeal approval will be included in the notification letter
Regaining Financial Aid Eligibility
Financial aid eligibility can be re-established after the student improves their academic record to meet the three minimum standards required by the SAP policy, without the assistance of financial aid funds.