Satisfactory Progress & Good Standing

The federal government requires that institutions of higher education establish minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward the completion of a degree.

The federal government requires that institutions of higher education establish minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) toward the completion of a degree. This policy is different from what the Academic Status Committee uses for academic progress. Since the federal policy uses different standards for measurement it would be considered stricter than the academic policy. This policy is applied to all students regardless of enrollment status (full, or part-time).   

Students who fail to meet these standards are not eligible to receive federal, state, and institutional financial aid. SAP includes three standards: qualitative, quantitative, and maximum time frame.

Students must meet all three standards to be eligible for financial aid. SAP will be monitored at the end of each semester. Students will be given a warning, placed on financial aid probation, or their financial aid will be terminated, depending on their situation.

Students seeking second degrees and students with double majors are monitored like any other students under this policy. If or when the students exceed the maximum time frames allowed for their respective programs, they can appeal.

Qualitative Standard

The chart below represents the general GPA requirements for federal student aid:

Incomplete Grades

Any course with I (Incomplete) is counted in credits attempted but not completed. When an actual grade is assigned, SAP standards are re-evaluated based on the grades(s) earned and completed credits, if applicable.

Grade Change

If a student's grade is changed, SAP standards are re-evaluated based on the new grade value and completed credits, if applicable.

Changes of Major

If a student changes majors, all credits attempted, including those taken toward the prior major, will be counted when calculating the cumulative GPA.

Quantitative Standard

When students enroll in classes and receive financial aid to pay for those classes, they are expected to successfully complete those courses. Students must complete at least 67% of the cumulative attempted units attempted for the semester. Only passing grades count as successful completions. Incomplete, failing grades and withdrawals are not considered completed courses, but are considered attempted courses, and will be calculated in the 67% completion requirement. The total number of attempted units (cumulative) is multiplied by 0.67 to obtain the minimum hours that a student must have successfully completed. Rounding down is not permitted. For example:

A full-­time student is defined as one enrolled for at least 3.25 units at the end of the second week of classes. A half-­time student must be enrolled in at least two units per semester. A three-quarter-­time student is enrolled in at least 3 units. Students must petition the Academic Status Committee for approval to attend half or three-quarter time.

Maximum Time Frame Standard

To remain eligible for financial aid, a student must make sufficient progress to graduate within 150% of the units required for their program. Several variables are considered when calculating the 150% limit and the satisfactory progression rules. These variables include, but are not limited to:

• All attempted units are counted even if the student is not receiving aid to pay for them. Attempted units are the units for which the student is enrolled every semester.
• Any transfer hours accepted from another college and applied toward the completion of the program are counted in the maximum timeframe.
• If a student repeats a course, both attempts will be counted in the maximum units and progression calculation, even if the student did not receive aid for both attempts. Financial aid will pay for only two attempts in the university-level course.
• If a student withdraws from a course(s) after the add/drop date for that course, it is counted as an attempted course and is included in the SAP calculation.
• All periods of enrollment and attempted units will be evaluated, as they apply to the current program of study, whether or not financial aid was awarded during prior enrollment periods.
• Students pursuing a second undergraduate degree at OWU are permitted to have the maximum time frame reset so that only course attempts in pursuit of the second degree are calculated.
• If a student changes majors, all credits attempted, including those taken toward the prior major, will be counted in the credits attempted versus credits completed calculation.

A student receiving federal aid who is within 3.25 units of meeting the maximum time frame allowed to complete a program will be sent a notice that he/she is near the limit. If the degree is not completed within the time allowed, the student becomes ineligible for federal financial aid.

Evaluation

Academic progress will be evaluated at the end of each semester. If a student does not meet eligibility requirements he/she will be placed on a financial warning status. Students are notified via email from the financialaid@owu.edu email account. The email will contain information regarding their warning status and it is recommended they contact their academic advisor to come up with an academic plan. Students will continue to receive financial aid for the term in which they are on a warning status. However, if a student does not meet SAP at the end of that term, he/she will lose eligibility for all financial aid for the subsequent semester and be placed on a termination status. If a student does meet eligibility requirements at the end of the warning status semester, the warning status will be removed. It is possible for a student to receive more than one warning period during his/her academic career but not consecutively. The Academic Status Committee will send out the termination notifications to the students along with the necessary deadlines to appeal their termination status. The financial aid office will accept appeals up until the add/drop period. If a student appeals termination status and the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on a Financial Aid Probation status. Probation will allow the student to have his/her financial aid reinstated for one semester. Specific conditions may apply to the student’s probation period.

At the end of each semester, SAP will be reviewed. Students with a terminated status will not have any financial aid disbursed to their billing account. Students with statuses of warning and probation will continue to receive all financial aid. Students whose financial aid is terminated for failure to meet the quantitative, qualitative, or maximum time frame requirements of the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy are sent a notification letter or email, which outlines the specific area of the SAP policy that the student has a deficiency and explains that financial aid awards cannot be paid because of this deficiency.

Appeals and Probation

Students whose financial aid is terminated for failure to meet one or more of the SAP requirements have the right to appeal on the basis of Injury, death of a relative, illness of the student, or other special circumstances. Appeals can result in a) Denial of reinstatement, or b) Probation status with the reinstatement of the student’s financial aid for one semester.

The appeal will be reviewed by the Academic Status Committee, and the results of the appeal will be communicated to the student. If the student will require more than one term to meet the requirements of the SAP policy, they must have an academic plan that maps performance necessary to meet the SAP standards. Students are required to complete an academic recovery plan, which may be participating in one of the Academic Support and Achievement Programs, ASAP 1 or 2, or developing a plan with their academic advisors.  In either case, students should submit a copy of the plan to the Financial Aid Office so counselors can monitor their academic progress.  An appeal may be approved without an academic plan if a student is able to meet the SAP standards by the end of the next term. For example, for a student with a 1.99 GPA; it is possible to achieve a GPA in the next term and be over the 2.0 minimum GPA required by the SAP policy.

Exceptions

Grade point average requirements for continuation of the Schubert and Founders scholarships, Branch Rickey scholarship, Music scholarship, Dean’s scholarship, Bishop Award, and other University scholarships and awards are higher than those of other programs. Those requirements must be met to continue receiving those funds.

With the exception of the section pertaining to status (I.A.), Ohio College Opportunity Grants (OCOG) are not covered by these guidelines. State law requires only that recipients be enrolled full-­time. Two other state grant programs are not subject to these regulations. The Vermont grant program requires only that students not receive more than four years of state assistance. The Pennsylvania program looks only at satisfactory progress, i.e. moving to the next class level, not grade point average.