Conditions for Receiving Aid

Federal regulations require students to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress in order to receive federal financial aid. Students who fail to maintain minimum standards of satisfactory progress may lose eligibility for federal and institutional aid.  The measures of academic progress include:

Qualitative Measure of Progress - Undergraduate students who have earned less than 30 credits must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 1.80 for continued eligibility. Undergraduate students who have earned 30 credits or more must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 for continued eligibility. Graduate students must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA for continued eligibility.

Quantitative Measure of Progress - At the end of each term all students must have earned a minimum of 70 percent of the total credit hours attempted including credit hours for courses from which the student withdrew without refund.

Time Frame - The time required to complete a degree cannot exceed 150 percent of the published program length. (For example, a student enrolled in a program requiring 120 credit hours to complete their degree would be ineligible for aid after attempting 180 total credit hours. Courses that are attempted during periods when a student did not receive aid are also counted in the calculation). Incomplete grades ("I") and repeat courses will be counted as attempted courses toward the degree. No exceptions will be granted for students who change majors or pursue multiple degrees.

Withdrawals - Students who withdraw from school while receiving financial aid will be subject to the provisions of the Refund and Repayment Policy and may be required to repay part or all of the aid received. In addition, withdrawals will affect the quantitative measures of progress. Students who withdraw completely or fail all courses in a given semester may be placed on Financial Aid suspension.

Regaining Eligibility

Mitigating circumstances: Students who do not meet the minimum satisfactory academic progress requirements may request reinstatement of their eligibility based on any of the circumstance listed below. Request for reinstatement must be made in writing (see Petition section). Approval is NOT guaranteed.

• Death/Illness of an immediate family member
• Personal injury/illness
• Physical disability
• Other extraordinary circumstances

Petition: Students seeking reinstatement of their eligibility to receive financial aid must complete a Satisfactory Academic Progress Petition form and attach supporting documentation. Notification of action taken by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will be mailed within 30 days of the request. If additional documentation is requested, the student has 15 days to provide the documentation.

Students that have their petitions approved will be placed on probation and will be eligible for financial aid.  Students on probation must meet standards of academic progress for every term while on probation.  SAP will be reviewed after each term while the student is on probation.

Note: Financial Aid for the current academic year will be awarded at the time of reinstatement providing funds are still available. All costs of attendance incurred during the period of time in which a student is suspended are the sole responsibility of the student.

Violation of Terms of Probation: Students who have petitioned and are placed on probation must fulfill the terms of such or will be placed on suspension. Students will remain on suspension until meeting the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress with at least one semester without financial aid.

Satisfactory progress is measured at the end of the Spring semester each academic year. Students whose academic performance fails to meet the standard will be notified by the Financial Aid Office that they have failed to meet the standard and are therefore ineligible for federal and institutional financial aid for the subsequent years. Students who feel that they have extenuating circumstances that should be considered may file an appeal with the Financial Aid Office (no later than 30 days after date of suspension letter) by completing the Satisfactory Academic Progress - Petition for Reinstatement form on this web site.