Maintaining Your Financial Aid
Maintaining Your Financial Aid
Satisfactory Academic Progress
For you to continue to receive federal or state financial aid, you must demonstrate that you are making satisfactory academic progress towards a degree or certification program.
Satisfactory academic progress means that you must make adequate grades and receive credit for a reasonable number of hours.
| GPA Requirements: |
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| 1 - 32 attempted hours |
1.75 cumulative GPA |
| above 32 attempted hours |
2.0 cumulative GPA |
| Graduate students must maintain a 3.0 GPA. |
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| Hour Requirements: |
| 1 – 32 attempted hours |
60% passed* |
| 33 – 63 attempted hours |
70% passed* |
| 64 – 95 attempted hours |
80% passed* |
| above 95 attempted hours |
80% passed* |
| Graduate students must pass 80% of their attempted hours.* |
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* Less than the percent indicated results in financial aid suspension. You must appeal to receive financial aid again.
Completion Rate: Completion Rate is calculated by dividing number of passed credit hours by the total number of attempted credit hours. Note: hours attempted include grades of: A, B, C, D, F, W, I, AU, S, NP, PR, R, etc.
Incomplete Grades: Incomplete grades are given at the discretion of the course instructor – only when circumstances beyond the student’s control prevent completion of course requirements within the established time. A student must have completed 60% of the course before an incomplete grade can be considered. The student requests an “I” in lieu of a final course grade from the instructor, whose approval is required. The instructor reports the “I” and files a form with the Office of the Registrar documenting the work requiring completion and any other conditions. An “Incomplete” not completed within one calendar year automatically becomes an “F” for both undergraduate and graduate students. (The instructor has the option of setting a terminal date of less than one year.) Students should NOT re-register for a course in which they have an “I”; if they do so, the “I” will become an “F” at the time when a grade is awarded in the re-registered course. Incomplete grades are calculated in the attempted hours for completion rate and maximum time frame.
Repeated Courses: A student may repeat any course the most recent grade received will be used in the calculation of the cumulative grade point average. Each time the course is taken, the credit hours will be calculated in the completion rate and the maximum time frame. Course Repeat Forms are available in the Office of the Registrar and must be completed by students who are repeating a course. The student’s transcript will be coded to reflect that the course was repeated, and their cumulative grade point average will be adjusted.
Course Withdrawals: If a student wishes to withdraw from a course during the term, this withdrawal will still be counted as “attempted” in the overall calculation of credit hours toward the completion rate and the maximum time frame. Student must officially withdraw from individual courses through the registrar’s office and under the timeframes published each semester in the schedule of classes. Students who find themselves unable to appear personally must contact the Registrar by phone, letter, e-mail or FAX to request assistance in completing the process of a course withdrawal. If withdrawal from school occurs within the drop period, this course will not appear on the transcript for that term. If withdrawal occurs after the drop period, grades of “W” are entered for the classes. The “W” for the withdrawal is counted in the attempted hours of a student’s academic progress which reflects in their completion rate and maximum time frame.
Maximum Time Frame
Undergraduates:
- 5-year program (160 hrs x 150%) = 240 hrs
- 4-year program (128 hrs x 150%) = 192 hrs
- Associate Degree (64 hrs x 150%) = 90 hrs.
Graduate Students:
- MSW (65 hrs x 150%) = 98 hrs.
- Counseling (48 hrs x 150%) = 72 hrs.
- Ed. Admin. (39 hrs x 150%) = 59 hrs.
- All others (36 hrs x 150%) = 54 hrs.
* Once you have reached the maximum hours, your financial aid will be suspended. You must appeal if you have reason to believe you should still receive it.
Financial Aid Probation, Suspension, and Appeals
Your academic records and financial aid disbursements are reviewed each semester to determine your eligibility for future aid. If you fall below the minimum grade point or accumulate fewer credit hours than required for Satisfactory Academic Performance, you will be suspended from receiving Financial Aid and must file an appeal or reapply when your academic status has improved.
The Financial Aid Appeal Request Form is available in the Financial Aid Office. You are asked to provide reasons and evidence why you did not maintain Satisfactory Academic Performance. The Appeal Committee meets at the beginning of each semester and evaluates appeals. Financial Aid Packaging will not be completed until appeals are resolved by the committee.
Return of Federal (Title IV) Financial Aid for Students Who Withdraw (Officially and Unofficially)
Title IV is the series of federal regulations that govern the federal financial aid program for education. The Financial Aid Office and the university are directly responsible to the federal government and must account for all of the money sent by the federal government to the university for individual student aid. As a student who receives financial aid, you are also accountable for all the money you are given.
Thus, if you withdraw from the university (officially or unofficially), you may have to pay back all or some of the financial aid you did not earn. It may be determined that you owe the federal programs or you owe the school. It is very important to return any funds that are due, because you will not be able to receive any other financial aid at this school or any other until these funds are repaid.
If a student has received any of the following aid programs (in this order) the R2T4 process must be completed: Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) or Direct Unsubsidized Loans; FFEL or Direct Subsidized Loans; Federal Perkins Loans; FFEL PLUS loans; Federal Pell Grant; Federal SEOG; Academic Competitiveness Grant; National SMART Grant; and in some cases certain State grants.
Official Withdrawals:
Official Withdrawals occur when a student initiates the process of withdrawing from all classes at the University. The student must go through a series of offices and obtain signatures before this withdrawal is processed. The financial aid office will use the date that the student uses to begin the process of withdrawing as the last date of attendance and will calculate the Return to Title IV based on that information.
Unofficial Withdrawals:
At the end of each term, the Financial Aid Office will receive a roster from the Registrar’s Office that lists all students who did not complete any credit hours. If a student receives all F’s in their courses, the Financial Aid Office is required to follow up with the student to determine if the student “Unofficially” withdrew (ceased attendance during the semester, before the last official day of classes). Students will be notified by mail or email, and they must respond within 2 weeks with official documentation from their instructor of record regarding their last date of attendance for that class. At that point, the FAO will determine whether it is an unofficial withdrawal; if determined it is an unofficial withdrawal, it will be subject to the Return to Title IV policy.