Satisfactory Academic Progress

Standards for Maintaining Financial Aid Eligibility

The Higher Education act of 1965, as amended by Congress in 1980, mandates institutions of Higher Education to establish minimum standards of "satisfactory progress" for students receiving financial aid. WVUIT's policy makes these standards applicable to the Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, WV Higher Education Grants, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Parent Loans, Federal College Work-Study, and some institutionally awarded funds.

Special Note: The state grant programs each have their own standards for academic progress. Therefore, recipients are governed by both State and institutional policies.

Evaluation

The standards established by the Financial Aid Office, consistent with the federal student aid requirements, are stated below. All three requirements must be met. SAP includes:

1. Quantitative (number of courses completed divided by the number of courses attempted – this must be at least 75%);
2. Qualitative (grade point average – 2.0 or above); and
3. The 150% federal rule. See section C below.

The University’s academic forgiveness policies (or rollback policies) do not apply to satisfactory academic progress standards for financial aid, according to Federal regulations.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is evaluated at the end of spring semester. Students who do not meet the three standards listed above (quantitative, qualitative, and completion of the program or degree requirements within 150% of the time printed in the catalog) are placed on probation for the next term in which they enroll. Students who withdraw from all classes, receive all failing grades, or all Incompletes in any semester are be subject to probation or suspension after that semester. See the SAP criteria explained below.

A. Students are required to earn at least 75% of the credit hours for which they enroll during each term. Full-time students are governed by the following chart.

Special Note: Earning the minimum hours each term may not allow for completion of a degree within the maximum allotted time frame for aid of 150% (3 years for an Associate Degree, 6 years for the first Baccalaureate Degree). See B. below for further information.

Part-time students are governed by the following chart:

B. Students must maintain a grade point average of 2.0 (C) overall. This does not necessarily mean that each student must make a 2.0 average for each semester. However, falling below the required GPA will make it more difficult in subsequent semesters to bring the overall GPA up to a 2.0 average.

C. Satisfactory Academic Progress requires a student pursuing an Associate Degree to complete the requirements within three (3) academic years or 150% of the time printed in this catalog for each major. Those students pursuing a Baccalaureate Degree must complete the requirements within 6 academic years. Students pursuing an Associate Degree must complete the requirements within 3 academic years. Financial Aid will be terminated for students who do not meet this time frame.

Grades of W (withdrawal), F (failure), and I (incomplete) are counted as hours attempted but not earned. Incoming transfer students are governed by the above criteria including grades received from all courses at any institution. During the first two years of enrollment, aid will be denied (suspended) after two or more consecutive semesters on Academic Probation. After two years of enrollment, aid will be denied (suspended) if the student’s overall GPA drops below 2.0 and the completion rate drops below 75%. A student that has been placed on Financial Aid Suspension must bring the GPA requirement of 2.0 and completion rate of 75% up to required standards before financial aid can be reinstated. The student must request reinstatement in writing.

Graduate Students

The graduate student must earn at least 75% of the hours enrolled. Hours must be completed with a “C” grade or better. Aid may be awarded for a maximum of 6 semesters.

Termination

Failure to meet any of the above criteria for Satisfactory Academic Progress will result in suspension (termination) of financial aid (Pell, SEOG, Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, Wood, WVHEG, and all scholarships) until SAP standards are met. Suspension of financial aid eligibility does not prohibit a student from enrollment at WVU Tech or CTC at WVU Tech using his or her own funds.

Appeals

Any student who is placed on financial aid suspension may submit a written appeal including documentation to

within 20 working days from the date of suspension. The Director of Financial Aid reviews each appeal and, if it meets federal requirements, presents it to the Loans, Grants and Scholarships Committee for a final decision. You may appeal Financial aid suspension only once. Undocumented appeals will be denied. The appeal process also ends with the Loans, Grants and Scholarships Committee. Some conditions for appealing suspension may include death in the immediate family, serious illness of the student or immediate family member, or natural disaster. Items to include in the letter of appeal: the reason for lack of progress, documentation supporting this reason or reasons, and plans for correcting this situation to ensure future success in college.

Reinstatement: Student aid will be reinstated for one semester with a minimum of 6 hours. All courses must be successfully completely with no withdrawals or incompletes. At the end of this semester, grades and completion rate will be monitored to ensure continued improvement.

IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO REVIEW AND CONSIDER THE REQUIREMENTS FOR MAKING AND MAINTAINING SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS FOR FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY.