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Preparing to Apply for Federal Student Aid (FSA)

Please review the following items that must be satisfied in order for any student to receive Federal Student Aid:

• Satisfactory Academic Progress
• Academic Semester and Academic Year
• Enrollment Status Requirements
• Course Drop/Withdrawal Consequences

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to receive Federal Student Aid.  According to Federal Regulations, students who fail to make satisfactory progress towards their degree or certificate may lose their ability to receive Federal Student Aid.  Students who lose their aid may appeal the loss provided there are ‘mitigating circumstances’ that inhibited their academic progress. 

There are THREE criteria used to measure Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): 

• Cumulative grade point average (qualitative)
• Credit hour completion (quantitative)
• Program deadline

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA):  Cumulative GPA is calculated after 12 undergraduate credits or 9 graduate credits are earned at one of our universities.  Evaluation thereafter occurs in the segments listed in the table below.  Only credits completed at one of our universities with a final grade of A through F count towards the CGPA calculation.

To meet SAP requirements students must maintain a CGPA that meets or exceeds our minimum as shown in the chart below.  Students who fail to meet CGPA requirements also fail to meet SAP requirements, and will be denied Federal Student Aid.  (Information on Loss of FSA Eligibility is located under Policies and Procedures for Award of FSA.)

Satisfactory Academic Progress Criteria Based on CGPA & Credits Completed

*Credits transferred in from another college or university via an official Transfer Credit Evaluation are factored into the calculation of how many credits a student has completed.  For example, an undergraduate student with no transfer credits must have a minimum CGPA of 1.00 once they have completed their first 12 credits.  However, a student who transferred in 15 credits and then earned his/her first 12 credits must have a minimum CGPA of 1.50 (15 transfer credits plus 12 credits completed equals 27 completed credits which falls into the 25-36 total credits completed range in the chart above).

Credit Hour Completion:  Each academic program within our university system has a defined number of credit hours required for completion.  A student must complete his/her program within 150% of the published credits.  (For example, if your program requirements are 120 credits, you must satisfy all requirements of your program without having to attempt more than 180 credits.)

• Courses with a final undergraduate grade of A through D- or a final graduate grade of A through C will be counted towards credits completed. 
• Final grades that fall below the minimums (D- for undergraduates, C for graduates) are not counted as credits earned but will be used to determine credits completed.
• Courses with grades of incomplete (“I”) will not be counted as attempted until a final grade is earned by the student or the Registrar or Instructor converts the “I” grade to an “F.”
• Courses that are dropped prior to the course start date or during the add/drop period in Week One will not count towards attempted credits. Please note:  All students are required to log into each of their courses during Week One to confirm their attendance. Students who do not log into their classrooms during Week One will be dropped from any courses which has not been attended. Detailed information on classroom attendance can be viewed inside the online Student Handbook by clicking here.
• Remedial courses do not count towards attempted credits. 
• Any course in which the student remains beyond Week One will count towards attempted courses regardless of the grade received.
• Repeated courses will count as attempted courses.
• To maintain SAP, students must achieve a minimum percentage of credits earned versus credits attempted.  

SAP Criteria Based on Credits Attempted versus Credits Completed

Program Deadline

Program deadline start dates are determined when the student completes Week One of their initial course(s). Students must complete their program within the timeframe allowed as follows:

Bachelor’s Degree 10 years
Master’s Degree 7 years

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Academic Semester & Academic Year

Students receiving Federal Student Aid (FSA) must follow an academic calendar which consists of an ‘Academic Year’ and two ‘Academic Semesters’. All courses taken must fit within the start and end dates of the ‘Academic Semester’. Once an Academic Year is started (Academic Start dates are listed below), registrations will not be accepted outside the student’s Academic Year.

For Financial Aid purposes, the student academic year at either of our universities is defined as 32 weeks of instructional time.  Within the weeks of the academic year, a full-time undergraduate student must be expected to complete at least 24 semester hours (12 hours each semester) and a graduate student must complete 18 semester hours (9 hours each semester).

For detailed information on undergraduate grade level determination (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior), please visit Policies and Procedures for FSA Award.

Academic Start Dates

Prior to registering for courses, students pursuing FSA will complete a Federal Student Aid Intent Form where they will select their Academic Start Date (refer to Completing the FSA Intent Form link for more information). Once the start date is selected, students must take courses that fall within their ‘Academic Semester’.  The table below lists ‘Start dates’ and their corresponding Academic Semesters and the Academic Year attached to the start date.

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Enrollment Status Requirements

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Course Drop/Withdrawal Consequences

Dropping or withdrawing from courses may affect a student’s enrollment status thus affecting Federal Student Aid eligibility.  If a course drop or withdrawal leaves a student below half-time status at any point during a semester, they may become ineligible for Federal Student loans, including any funds that have already disbursed.  Detailed information about Course Drops and Withdrawals and the tuition refund policy is located in the online Student Handbook under Drop/Withdrawal Policy.

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