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  7. Policy and Procedure for Satisfactory Academic Progress (Graduate Students)

Policy and Procedure for Satisfactory Academic Progress (On Campus Graduate Students)

To receive federal funds administered by the Office of Financial Assistance at Bradley University, students must be making measurable academic progress toward completion of an eligible degree program often referred to as Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). In accordance with federal regulations, the SAP standards that Title IV aid recipients are required to meet are at least as strict as the standards that students not receiving Title IV aid are held to.

For all enrolled students at Bradley University, SAP is reviewed no less than once per academic year at the conclusion of the spring semester. Bradley University’s SAP policy requires that on-campus graduate recipients of financial aid must meet the following quantitative and qualitative standards at each official SAP review point.

Qualitative Standards

Students must meet a qualitative standard of academic progress measured through cumulative grade point average (GPA). Graduate students are considered in “good standing” for academic and federal financial aid purposes if they maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. Graduate students who do not maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA are placed on academic probation but retain federal aid eligibility for two additional semesters so long as they have a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA (at least a “C” average). Note that a student’s Bradley GPA is not impacted by courses for which the student enrolls at another institution (i.e. transfer credits).

Quantitative Standards (Pace and Duration)

The minimum pace requirement ensures that students stay on track to finish their degree program within the maximum time frame for financial aid eligibility.

Pace

Students must meet a quantitative standard of academic progress known as pace. Pace is measured by a percentage completion rate. To meet the SAP pace standard, students must successfully complete at least 70% of all attempted credit hours. The calculation is made as follows: earned credit hours divided by attempted credit hours = completion rate (result will be rounded to closest whole number using standard rounding rules). Courses with grades of “W”, “F”, “IN”, “IP”, and repeated courses for which credit hours have previously been earned (i.e. grade of “D” or better) are included in attempted credit hours but are not included in earned credit hours. Transfer credit hours from another institution that are accepted toward the student's educational program will count as both attempted and completed hours.

Maximum Time Frame for Degree Completion (Duration)

Federal regulations require institutions to develop a maximum time frame for degree completion that serves as a limit to the duration of financial aid eligibility. At Bradley, the maximum timeframe for completion of a graduate program is 150% of the credit hours required for the program. For example, if a graduate program requires 40 credit hours to complete, a student would be permitted financial aid eligibility for up to 60 attempted credit hours (40 times 150%). Note that a student fails to meet the maximum time frame standard at the point which it is determined to be mathematically impossible for a student to complete their program within the maximum time frame. This will likely be before the maximum time frame is actually reached.

The total number of credits required for degree completion will vary by program. The University catalog provides information on the number of required credits for program completion. In instances where additional research hours are required, the student’s academic advisor/department chair can indicate if the student is making satisfactory progress toward the degree objective. Students who are meeting the required 70% of attempted credits will complete degree objective within 150% of the expected time frame. Students who are pursuing a course of study with greater credit hour requirements than what is listed in the University catalog need to notify the Financial Aid Office in order to have a review done on a case-by-case basis.

Failure to Meet Satisfactory Academic Progress

Those failing to meet SAP for the first time will be notified in writing at the conclusion of spring semester when the official SAP review is performed. Students already on financial aid probation will be reviewed at the conclusion of each semester and notified of any changes at that time. Written notification includes the reason for failure to meet SAP, the impact on eligibility for all sources of financial assistance (including Title IV), and the process for appeal. All written notifications will be sent to the student’s Bradley email address.

Students who have failed to meet one or more of the SAP standards at an official SAP review point will lose their eligibility for Federal Title IV financial assistance. A student who has failed to meet SAP standards may regain eligibility for financial aid in one of two ways:

  • Students may appeal to have their eligibility reinstated via the appeal procedures detailed below, or
  • Students who have had an appeal denied or choose not to appeal may reestablish their eligibility by attending Bradley courses and achieving the overall SAP standards without the use of financial assistance.

Appeal Procedure

Students who are denied financial aid because they failed to make measurable progress (pace) or have failed the maximum time frame standard may appeal the decision. All appeals must be made in writing to the Office of Financial Assistance Progress Review Committee using the Satisfactory Academic Progress Petition & Scholarship Appeal Form. A link to the appeal form will be provided to the student with the notice of failure to meet SAP. All appeals must fully explain the extraordinary circumstances which prevented the student from achieving SAP standards. These circumstances may include personal injury or illness which occurs during an enrollment period, death of an immediate family member or legal guardian during an enrollment period, or other documented circumstances that were unexpected in nature and beyond control of the student. The appeal must include a detailed plan explaining how the student will reestablish SAP including what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow them to meet SAP requirements at the next evaluation.

All appeals will be reviewed by the Office of Financial Assistance Progress Review Committee within 15 business days of submission, and the student will be contacted via email if additional information is needed. A student who appeals will be notified via their Bradley email address of the outcome of the appeal. If the appeal is granted, the Committee will determine a set of stipulations that the student must meet each semester going forward that will ensure they reestablish SAP within a set period of time. The student will be sent an approval contract (also known as an academic plan) detailing these stipulations via email. This contract will need to be hand-signed and returned to the Office of Financial Assistance via email, mail, or in person. Once the signed contract is returned, the student will be considered to be on Financial Aid Probation with an Academic Plan for one semester. Provided the student continues to meet the conditions laid forth in the appeal approval contract at the conclusion of each enrolled semester, the Financial Aid Probation status will continue to be in effect and the student will remain eligible for financial aid.

Students who failed to meet the conditions set forth in their appeal approval contract or do not meet the GPA standard may appeal in writing via email to the Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Financial Assistance who can grant an extension of their Financial Aid Probation for an additional semester. Again, the appeal must fully explain the extraordinary circumstances which prevented the student from achieving SAP standards and a detailed plan explaining how the student will reestablish SAP including what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow them to meet SAP requirements at the next evaluation. Extraordinary circumstances may include personal injury or illness which occurs during an enrollment period, death of an immediate family member or legal guardian during an enrollment period, or other documented circumstances that were unexpected in nature and beyond control of the student. Subsequent appeals that are based on the same rationale as a previous appeal will likely not be granted. Appeal decisions will be communicated with the student in writing via the student’s Bradley email.

Financial Aid Probation Period

“Probation” is the status assigned to a student who fails to meet SAP standards and who has appealed and had the appeal granted. A student on financial aid “probation” may receive financial aid for one enrollment period. At that point, the student must meet SAP standards and/or the conditions specified in the appeal approval contract to retain their financial assistance.

Incomplete Coursework

A course with a grade of Incomplete “IN” or In Progress “IP” will count as attempted hours but will not count as earned hours therefore impacting a student’s pace. The impact on a student’s cumulative grade point average will be determined by the official university Grade Point System. Once a grade is assigned for the course, that grade will be included in the next official SAP review for pace, duration, and GPA which could impact a student’s aid eligibility either positively or negatively.

Repeated Coursework

Repeated courses will be included in the pace calculation. If a student has previously earned credit hours for the course (i.e. grade of “D” or better), the repeat will count towards attempted hours but will not count towards earned hours. If a student has not previously earned credit for the repeated course, a successful course attempt will count as both attempted and earned hours while an unsuccessful attempt will only count for attempted hours. The impact on a student’s cumulative grade point average will be determined by the official university Grade Point System. The cumulative grade point average will then be evaluated in accordance with the qualitative SAP standards listed above.

Pass/Fail and Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory Coursework

Courses that receive pass/fail (P/F) or satisfactory/unsatisfactory grades (S/U) should be few and far between for most students. These courses will always be included in pace calculations as attempted hours. However, only those with a grade of “P” or “S” will be counted as earned hours. The impact on a student’s cumulative grade point average will be determined by the official university Grade Point System. The cumulative grade point average will then be evaluated in accordance with the qualitative SAP standards listed above.

Withdrawn Coursework

If a student drops some but not all of their courses during the officially recognized add/drop period (i.e. through the second full week of classes each semester), the dropped courses will not be included in pace calculations. However, if a student completes a full withdrawal from all classes after beginning attendance but before the end of the add/drop period, those courses will be considered for SAP measurements. In pace calculations, these courses will count as attempted hours but will not count as earned hours. Similarly, all classes for which a student receives a grade of “W” will count as attempted but not earned. For duration calculations, semesters in which the student performs a full withdrawal after establishing attendance will be counted as a semester of enrollment. The impact on a student’s cumulative grade point average will be determined by the official university Grade Point System. The cumulative grade point average will then be evaluated in accordance with the qualitative SAP standards listed above.

Remedial Coursework

Remedial coursework will be counted in both attempted and earned hours for the quantitative SAP evaluation as applicable based on the grade received. Even if remedial coursework will not impact a student’s official university grade point average, it will be included in the qualitative component of a student’s SAP evaluation as required by federal regulations.

Grade Changes

Evaluation of SAP standards is based on the initial final grades that have been posted for the most recently concluded semester. If a grade change for a prior term occurs after the start of a subsequent semester, that grade change will not be considered for SAP eligibility that semester. Therefore, a student would need to submit a SAP appeal to be considered for financial aid if SAP standards were not being met based on the initial grade that was posted. The revised grade would be considered in subsequent SAP evaluations.

Academic Amnesty/Forgiveness

In rare circumstances, students can have prior grades forgiven on their academic record via the university’s Academic Forgiveness Policy so that they do not factor into the cumulative grade point average. However, the Academic Forgiveness Policy does not exempt courses from being included in a SAP evaluation. All courses that the student has taken at Bradley University will be included in both the quantitative and qualitative components of each official SAP evaluation. A student may choose to discuss the academic forgiveness as part of an appeal for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility.

Other SAP Considerations

The academic year at Bradley University consists of fall, spring, and summer enrollment periods. An official measurement of SAP is made at the end of each spring semester for all students, and the status is effective with the summer enrollment period. For students who are already on Financial Aid Probation, a SAP review will take place at the end of each enrolled semester.

Students enrolling at Bradley University for the first time (including those who transfer coursework that is applicable to their degree) are considered initially to be meeting SAP. Students who have been academically suspended from a Bradley graduate program and who are readmitted are not eligible for financial aid unless meeting the SAP policy. Students who are readmitted and are not meeting SAP standards may follow the appeal procedures detailed in this policy if consideration for financial aid is desired.

Students may change majors/programs, but all attempted credit hours and all earned grades will be considered as part of the evaluation of academic progress for financial aid. Change of major may be considered as part of an appeal.

All periods of enrollment will be included in the measurement of satisfactory academic progress. Terms in which the student enrolled but did not receive financial aid and/or terms in which the student completely withdrew or ceased attending after classes began are included in the measurement.

All SAP measurements will be based on cumulative Bradley University hours and GPA.

Policies and Procedures