Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Student Aid – Undergraduate Students
In addition to the information provided here, please also be sure to review the satisfactory academic progress for your specific program by visiting your financial aid office's website.
To be eligible for financial aid, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP). SAP is reviewed annually at the end of the summer term. These policies apply equally to full-time and part-time students. All periods of enrollment are included in the calculation of SAP, even those in which a student might not have received financial aid. The standards applied to recipients of financial aid will always be at least as strict as standards applied to all students. Please note that these expectations apply even in those cases where you change your major or area of babyÖ±²¥app. If you finish one degree and begin another, these measures begin anew with the start of the new degree program.
SAP requirements:
- GRADE POINT AVERAGE
A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (equivalent to a “C” average) is required. - COMPLETION RATE
Students must successfully complete at least 2/3 of all classes attempted.
Completed Hours / Attempted Hours = Completion Rate - MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME
Students must complete their degree requirements within 150% of the length of their academic program. Undergraduate degrees, generally, require 45 units (classes of 4 hours each). Therefore, the maximum timeframe is 67.5 (45 units X 1.5) attempted units. If a program is longer, multiply the required units by 1.5 to arrive at the maximum length. Once it becomes mathematically impossible to graduate within 150% of the program length, students are ineligible for financial aid. If the difference between the maximum timeframe is smaller than what is required to complete the program, the student is then not eligible.
ATTEMPTED HOURS: In keeping with the Registrar’s policy, attempted hours include all those in which a student is enrolled at the end of the drop period.
WITHDRAWALS do not impact the GPA. Withdrawals will adversely affect the Completion Rate and are NOT considered a successful completion.
REPEATED COURSES affect both the GPA and Completion Rate.
TRANSFER HOURS do not affect the GPA. Transfer hours are added to both completed hours and attempted hours in the Completion Rate calculation.
STUDY ABROAD classes in programs through other schools will not impact the GPA. These hours are treated the same as transfer hours and added to both completed and attempted hours.
DISTANCE EDUCATION classes are treated no differently from on-campus classes.
INCOMPLETE COURSES will not affect the GPA. Once they are completed, SAP will be recalculated to ensure that GPA remains above 2.00. Incomplete courses will adversely affect the Completion Rate, counting as attempted hours but not completed hours.
FAILED COURSES will impact the GPA. A failed course will also adversely affect the completion rate, counting as attempted hours but not completed hours.
Financial Aid Suspension
At the time of review, if a student fails to meet one or more of the standards, a notification of suspension will be sent to the university email account. SAP Reviews are conducted after summer term grades are posted. Students on suspension are immediately not eligible for financial aid.
Reestablishing Eligibility Following Suspension
After receiving a financial aid suspension, students can reestablish eligibility by completing additional coursework without aid funding. Once on suspension, a student who improves their GPA and/or completion rate to reestablish satisfactory academic progress, should notify the financial aid office and request a review of SAP. Students can request a SAP review at the close of any term, once grades are posted.
SAP Appeals
Students may appeal a SAP suspension through the Financial Aid Office. Information on how to submit an appeal will be provided with the notification of suspension that will be sent via university email. The Appeal should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office within two weeks of notification of SAP failure. The appeal should explain the reason for the SAP failure, a description of what has changed since the failure, and the plan for the resolution of the issues that caused the failure. Examples of approved appeals might include the unfortunate death of a parent, injury or illness of the student, or other unusual circumstances.
Financial Aid Probation
If an appeal is approved, students can receive aid for one term and are expected to be back up to standard by the end of that term. For those students where it is not possible to rebound after one term, an academic plan will be established with their academic advisor. The academic plan will extend the probationary period beyond the one term.
For those denied an appeal or who choose not to appeal, eligibility can be reestablished by enrolling without financial aid and rising above the minimum standards. At the point that a student is again above the minimum standards, financial aid can be provided for the following eligible term.
Other Undergraduate Programs
Outside of the larger undergraduate population, the university has a handful of students in other programs. These programs share the general enrollment and registration characteristics of the larger population. However, there are slight differences in the process and criteria for SAP.
School of Professional Studies (SPS):
The SAP criteria for these students is the same as the larger undergraduate population. But, the review for eligibility is conducted at the end of each payment period rather than on an annual basis. Since the review occurs after each payment period, the first failure of SAP results in a financial aid warning status for the next payment period. If a student fails again for their warning period, they are put on suspension and notified by university email of their ability to appeal. If a student meets all SAP criteria after their warning period, they are put back into a satisfactory status.
Certificate and Short Term Prerequisite Programs:
The university has a handful of certificate programs that are eligible for Title IV aid. These programs are not 4-year programs so must be reviewed more frequently. The review of SAP for these programs occurs at the end of each payment period. Also, these students are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA
Certificate programs include:
- Premedicine Professional Health Students
- Prephysical Therapy Professional Health students
- Prenursing Professional Health Students
- Prephysician Assistant Professional Health Students
- Preclinical Psychology Professional Health Students
Prerequisite (eligible for no more than one year of enrollment):
- Prespeech pathology students
- Premed completion students