Federal regulations
require that financial aid recipients maintain satisfactory
academic progress to be eligible for federal financial aid (i.e.
Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, and Federal Work Study). Institutions,
state education agencies, and scholarship providers have established
guidelines that also require students to meet certain academic
standards in order to remain eligible for their award. Standards
of satisfactory academic progress apply to all students whether
or not they receive financial aid. Satisfactory academic progress
(SAP) is defined as advancing toward fulfilling requirements
for a degree or certificate in a given program of study.
| SAP is measured in three
areas: |
| 1. |
Cumulative Grade
Point Average (Qualitative Standard)
The "qualitative" standard is measured by
the cumulative grade point average. Students must maintain
a minimum term and cumulative grade point average of
at least 2.0 (a C average) on a 4.0 scale. A term is
considered a semester, quarter, or trimester. Many students
and parents are confused about calculating GPA’s.
The school automatically computes each student’s
GPA. However, if you want to compute your GPA yourself,
click here to learn how.
|
| 2. |
Credit Hours Earned (Quantitative
Standard)
The "quantitative" standard is measured by the
total number of attempted credits compared to the total
number of completed credits. Students must complete a
minimum percentage (typically between 60-70%) of all coursework
(registered credit hours) specified in the school’s
Financial Aid Guide. Any course with a grade of withdraw
(W), incomplete (I), progress (PR) or audit (AU) is not
considered completed coursework. Transfer credits are
not included in the calculation. Repeat courses are included
in the calculation. Each school has established guidelines
that students must complete at least the minimum number
of credit hours based on his/her enrollment status (Full-
or Part-Time Status) for each year in their program of
study. |
| 3. |
Maximum Time Frame
Students must complete a degree/certificate program within
a maximum time frame in order to be eligible to receive
financial aid. Federal regulations specify that the time
frame must not exceed 150 percent of credit hours required
for that program. For example: An academic degree/certificate
program’s length for completion is 60 credit hours.
The maximum time frame could not exceed 90 attempted credit
hours (60 X 1.50).
To ensure that a student is making sufficient academic
progress throughout his/her course of study, the financial
aid office compares the number of hours the student
attempted with the number of hours the student successfully
completed. Financial aid will not be awarded to students
who have exceeded the maximum allowable time frame when
satisfactory academic progress is reviewed each term.
Students who have at least one credit hour of maximum
time-frame eligibility at the time of review may receive
aid for an additional term. All terms of attendance
are reviewed, including periods when students did not
receive financial aid and all coursework that was attempted
and may have been used to determine financial aid eligibility.
Preparatory hours are excluded. Repeat courses are included
in the calculation.
A student who exceeds the maximum time frame is required
to complete the remainder of the degree/certificate
program at his/her own expense, unless an appeal is
approved by the financial aid office or appropriate
person/department.
|
To ensure financial aid recipients are making satisfactory academic
progress, academic transcripts, provided by the school’s
registrar to the financial aid office, are reviewed at the end
of each term to determine eligibility for the next term. All
terms of enrollment are reviewed; this includes periods when
financial aid was not received as well as all coursework that
was attempted and may have been used to determine financial
aid eligibility.
Incoming students with no previous postsecondary experience,
who are admitted into the institution, and enrolled in an
eligible degree/certificate program, are assumed to be making
reasonable academic progress at the time of application. Continuing
students applying for financial aid for the first time, must
have maintained reasonable progress during previous terms
of enrollment.
Transfer students are assumed to have reasonable progress
regardless of prior post secondary attendance. In the case
of an applicant whose academic transcripts indicates failure
to maintain reasonable progress, the applicant will be granted
a probationary term and satisfactory progress will be reviewed
at the end of the probationary term. Credits transferred from
previous institutions are counted toward the quantitative
standard and the maximum number of attempted credit hours
allowed. Transfer credits are not taken into account when
satisfactory progress is reviewed.
Remedial courses are included when determining a students
enrollment status, provided the student has been accepted
into a degree/certificate granting program.
A student is expected to complete the appropriate minimum
number of credit hours outlined in the school’s Financial
Aid Guide and maintain a minimum 2.00 term and cumulative
grade point average.
Students who do not meet the requirements outlined in the
school’s Financial Aid Guide are placed on:
• Financial
Aid Probation or
• Financial
Aid Suspension
|
