Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Financial Aid Programs
Financial aid recipients are required to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). The College will evaluate SAP after grades are reported at the end of each academic year for degree seeking students and the end of each term for students enrolled in a Certificate Program. This SAP policy applies to all financial aid programs except for the New York State financial aid programs that have a different policy for academic progress and program pursuit.
The College requires all graduate students (degree and certificate seeking) to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 in order to remain in the program. This same academic standard will be applied to a student’s eligibility to participate in the federal student aid programs described below. Graduate students must also pursue their degrees by, in general, completing the courses for which they register. Graduate students must complete at least 60 percent of all credits attempted in order to continue to receive aid in subsequent semesters.
For example, a first-year degree or certificate seeking graduate student who enrolls in 30 credits during the academic year must successfully complete at least 18 of those credits by the end of that academic year. They must achieve a GPA of 3.0 If a graduate student completes the required percentage completion of 60% at each credit level they would complete their program within the 150% timeframe.
Example: Graduate degree requires 36 credits; students would reach 150% maximum time limit at 54 attempted credits
Example: Certificate Program requires 30 credits; students would reach 150% maximum time limit at 45 attempted credits
Grades of “I” / “W” / “R” are counted as credits attempted but not earned and count towards the 60% completion rate.
Credit hours from another institution that are accepted toward the student's educational program are counted as both attempted and completed hours.
Repeated courses & withdrawals from courses will count towards a student’s attempted hours.
Students who take an Incomplete (I-grade) for a class are considered to be not maintaining SAP and are, thereby, ineligible for financial aid for a subsequent semester. Financial aid eligibility can be determined only when all classes attempted have been completed. Therefore, the Financial Aid Office will not evaluate aid eligibility or disburse financial aid awards if a student has an outstanding I-grade.
Students not maintaining SAP are ineligible for all financial aid covered by this policy for subsequent semesters until the academic deficiencies have been remedied. To re-establish financial aid eligibility, a student will need to achieve the required number of Total Earned Credits and Cumulative GPA after a subsequent period of enrollment equivalent to a full-time enrollment load (a minimum of twelve credits).
Students may appeal a suspension of financial aid based on the failure to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements. Students are advised to appeal within 30 days of receipt of the “suspension” status letter. All appeals must be submitted in writing to the Office for Financial Aid; must clearly document why the student failed to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements; what has changed and what the student has put in place to achieve Satisfactory Academic Progress. Students are encouraged to submit all appropriate documentation of extenuating or mitigating circumstances. Included in this letter is the student’s plan of action to improve their academic performance.
Examples of circumstances for appeal include, but are not limited to:
• Serious medical illness or injury to the student
• Death of an immediate family member
• Significant change in employment or military status that prevented the student from attending class
• Significant trauma in the student’s life that impairs the student’s emotional and/or physical health
All appeals will be reviewed by the Office for Financial Aid as quickly as possible in the order in which they are received. Once the appeal is reviewed, the committee will render one of the following decisions:
Appeal Approved - If the appeal is approved, it will apply to the current or next term of enrollment. Appeal approvals are not retroactive. The student will be put on financial aid probation and the status will be reviewed at the end of the semester. At the end of the probationary term, if it is found that the student has met the minimum requirements according to the SAP chart, the student will re-establish SAP status. However, if the student does not meet the criteria according to the SAP chart by the end of the probationary term, they will become USAP and not be aid eligible for the next enrolled term or any term until they meet the minimum requirements.
Appeal Denied - If the appeal is denied, the student will not be eligible for federal or institutional financial aid until Satisfactory Academic Standards are met. If the appeal is denied, the student can continue to attend the College and would be fully responsible to find alternative means to pay all costs associated with enrollment.