Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid
É«ÖÐÉ« University students are required to meet the minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to maintain eligibility for federal, state, and institutional financial aid. É«ÖÐÉ« is required to establish an SAP policy in accordance with the U.S. Department of Education regulation 34 CFR 668.34. Additional PA state grant requirements are indicated at the end of this policy.
This policy applies to all É«ÖÐÉ« students. The SAP policy for financial aid is at least as strict as the academic policy for students who are not receiving financial aid. Students will be evaluated at the end of each award period.
In general, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA and complete a minimum percent of their attempted courses with passing grades.
Academic Standing
The Academic Standing policy is listed in the É«ÖÐÉ« University catalog. Please note that Academic Standing is different from SAP. Students who are academically dismissed from É«ÖÐÉ« are ineligible for financial aid. Appeals for readmission to É«ÖÐÉ« will be considered by the Academic Standing Committee and students may need to appeal separately for SAP if they do not need to appeal for academic standing.
Timeframe for Evaluation
Satisfactory academic progress is monitored at the end of every payment period that the student has attempted credits. This includes the fall, spring and summer semesters. Winter courses are calculated with spring enrollment.
Students in the accelerated post-baccalaureate nursing program are reviewed at the end of sessions II, IV, and VI as two sessions are grouped for each payment period.
Students in the accelerated post-baccalaureate nursing program are reviewed at the end of sessions II, IV, and VI as two sessions are grouped for each payment period.
Students in the MFA program are reviewed at the end of each payment period for disbursement.
Treatment of Courses
Attempted credits include all transfer, PLA, AP, IB and CLEP credits in addition to all credits for which the student earned a passing or non-passing grade including grades of F, I, NC, P, W or WF. Attempted credits will include all repeated courses, regardless of the grade earned, at the student’s evaluated academic level.
Completed credits include all transfer, PLA, AB, IB and CLEP credits in addition to all credits for which the student earned any grade other than F, I, NC, P, W or WF. Completed credits will include all repeated courses that the student has successfully completed at the student’s evaluated academic level.
Audit courses are not counted when determining either the attempted or completed courses.
Minimum Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is measured by three standards: qualitative, quantitative, and maximum timeframe.
Qualitative Standard (GPA)
In order to meet the qualitative standard for SAP, students must earn at least a minimum cumulative GPA. The GPA used for determining SAP is the GPA as defined by É«ÖÐɫ’s Registrar’s Office. Courses excluded for academic amnesty will be included in the GPA used for SAP.
Graduate Students
Including graduate-level certificates, post-baccalaureate students in graduate level courses, and the accelerated post-baccalaureate BSN
Graduate and doctoral students must earn at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA in their graduate coursework.
Graduate students who earn more than one grade of C and/or at least one grade of F in a graduate course are not meeting the minimum qualitative standard regardless of cumulative GPA.
Undergraduate Students
Including Post-Baccalaureate Certificate for Speech-Language Pathology and post-baccalaureate teaching students in undergraduate level courses
To remain eligible to continue receiving federal and institutional financial aid, É«ÖÐÉ« students must achieve the following academic standards:
- 1.50 cumulative GPA for up to 11.99 attempted course units
- 1.80 cumulative GPA after 12 attempted course units
- 2.00 cumulative GPA after 16 attempted course units
Quantitative Standard (Pace of Completion)
The quantitative standard is the same for both graduate and undergraduate students. In order to meet the quantitative standard for SAP, students must complete 70% of cumulative attempted credits.
Pace is defined as the total number of credits completed divided by the total number of credits attempted. For example, a student who has completed 18 of their 27 attempted credits would have completed 66.7% of their attempted credits. This student would not meet the minimum standard of 70%.
Maximum Timeframe
Students may not receive financial aid for credits in excess of 150% of the number of credits required for graduation from their selected program. For example, if the student’s program requires a minimum of 39 credits to graduate, the student would become ineligible for financial aid once the student has attempted 58 (39 x 150%) credits.
In addition,Graduate and Doctoral students may not receive financial aid for credits that are taken more than seven (7) years after the beginning of their program.
Students Not Meeting the Minimum Standards for SAP
Satisfactory academic progress is evaluated at the end of each award period. One of the following SAP statuses will be assigned to the student. Students are notified via email to their É«ÖÐÉ« email account.
Satisfactory
If the student meets the minimum standards of SAP as defined above, the student is eligible to receive federal student aid funds in the following semester of enrollment.
A student who has no prior academic history at É«ÖÐÉ« or who is meeting the requirements above will be in a Satisfactory status.
Financial Aid Warning
A student who fails to meet quantitative or qualitative measures of SAP will be placed in a status of Financial Aid Warning for the next award period of enrollment. The student will remain eligible to receive financial aid while in Financial Aid Warning status.
A student who does not meet the minimum quantitative or qualitative standards at the end of their period of Financial Aid Warning will be ineligible for financial aid for the next award period and assigned a status of Financial Aid Suspension.
Graduate students who earn more than one C and/or at least one F are not eligible for a warning status. Doctoral students who earn less than a B are also not eligible for a warning status.
Financial Aid Suspension
A student who does not meet the minimum quantitative or qualitative standards of SAP after a Financial Aid Warning is ineligible for financial aid; however, these students may appeal using the appeals process in this policy.
A student who does not meet the maximum time frame standard is ineligible for financial aid; however, these students may appeal using the appeals process in this policy.
A graduate student who earns more than one C and/or at least one F is ineligible for financial aid; however, these students may appeal using the appeals process in this policy.
A doctoral student who earns less than a B is ineligible for financial aid; however, these students may appeal using the appeals process in this policy.
A student who has not met the terms of their Financial Aid Probation (see below) is ineligible for financial aid and may not appeal.
Financial Aid Probation
A student will be placed in a status of Financial Aid Probation if an SAP appeal, using the process indicated in the policy below, is approved. The student will remain in a status of Financial Aid Probation as long as they continue to meet the terms of their academic plan. Financial Aid Probation ends once the student meets the minimum standards of SAP. Students are eligible for financial aid while on Financial Aid Probation.
A student may receive financial aid for the award period during which the appeal was approved. A student must notify the Financial Aid Office each time that they update their academic plan.
Re-establishing Eligibility
Students who are ineligible for financial aid can re-establish their eligibility by meeting the minimum standards for SAP. Students may also appeal to have their eligibility reinstated.
Appeals Process
Students who are ineligible for financial aid by reason of not meeting the minimum standards of SAP may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid. To appeal, the student must submit a written explanation of any extenuating circumstances that prevented them from maintaining satisfactory academic progress as well as a graduation plan completed with their academic advisor.
Appeals should be directed to the Financial Aid Office and should address the entire academic history, not just the prior semester. Supporting documentation, including, but not limited to doctor’s notes, newspaper articles, or letters from third parties, regarding the conditions for appeal are suggested.
All appeal decisions are final. Students will be notified of the results of the appeal via É«ÖÐÉ« email. Students awaiting a response to their appeal are responsible for paying their tuition and fees by the payment deadline to register for classes or to avoid late fees.
Grade Changes
Students who achieve satisfactory standing as the result of a grade change may have their aid reinstated. Students whose SAP status is downgraded to unsatisfactory as the result of a grade change will either immediately be placed on warning or will lose their eligibility for financial aid as appropriate. Students should submit a request to the financial aid office to request that their grade change be evaluated.
- During the Payment Period: Any grade change the student receives for a previous Payment Period during the current Payment Period may result in the students SAP being recalculated. Common grade changes include incomplete grades converting to a letter grade, unsuccessful letter grades converting into Administrative Withdrawals and withdrawals/unsuccessful letter grades converting into Administrative Drops.
- After Completion of the Payment Period: Any grade change the student receives after the completion of Payment Period for a previous Payment Period will not result in the students SAP being recalculated as the period has ended
PA State Grant
PHEAA, (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency), requires that both full-time and part-time grant recipients make academic progress at the conclusion of each academic year (summer). If a student does not meet the academic progress requirements, he or she will be ineligible for a PHEAA grant for their next term(s) of enrollment.
For each full-time PHEAA grant received, a student must complete 12 credits. If a student maintains full-time enrollment for the academic year, the requirement would be 24 credits with a minimum grade of "D" and no repeats of courses with a grade of "D" or better.
For each part-time PHEAA grant received, a student must complete 6 credits. If a student maintains part-time enrollment for the academic year, the requirement would be 12 credits with a minimum grade of "D" and no repeats of courses with a grade of "D" or better.
If a student received a full-time PHEAA grant for 1 semester and a part-time PHEAA grant for another, the requirement would be 18 credits with a minimum grade of "D" and no repeats of courses with a grade of "D" or better.
Students who lose their PHEAA grants due to lack of academic progress can regain their eligibility only by achieving the number of credits that they are deficient for progress during the next term(s) in which they are enrolled. Progress is re-evaluated each semester. Please note that CLEP tests do not count towards a deficiency.
For more information about the PHEAA State Grant Program, please click .