Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards
The U.S. Department of Education requires students to maintain certain academic standards to obtain or retain eligibility for federally sponsored student aid programs. In accordance with these standards, Rockhurst University has established the following standards to measure whether a student has achieved “satisfactory academic progress” (SAP). These standards will be applied uniformly to all undergraduate and graduate students when determining their eligibility for federal, state and university funding.
SAP Definitions
Attempted credits include successfully completed courses, courses dropped after the drop/add period, failed or not passed courses, repeated courses, course withdrawals and transfer credits that have been accepted by the Rockhurst University and apply to the student’s current program of study. Courses in which a student receives delayed/incomplete grades will be counted as hours attempted but will not be counted as successfully completed until a final passing grade is officially posted to the student’s permanent record.
Successful completion is defined as credit hours completed with a minimum grade of “D” resulting in GPA credits being awarded, or with a passing grade of “P.”
Payment period is defined as either the fall semester, or the spring semester, or the summer term.
Maximum Attempted Enrollment Credit Hours
Students receiving federal financial aid must complete their educational programs within a timeframe no longer than 150% of the published length of the educational program. For example, the maximum attempted credit hours in which students may enroll to complete their university degree of study must not exceed 192 attempted credit hours for the completion of a 128 credit-hour degree program. For academic programs requiring less than 128 credit hours for degree completion, the maximum attempted enrollment credit hours for program completion is 150% of the total required credit hours for the program.
Pace of Completion
Students must successfully complete 67% of attempted credit hours for each payment period.
Cumulative GPA Requirement
Students must maintain a Rockhurst University cumulative GPA of 2.0 in order to achieve SAP. The cumulative GPA requirement applies to all federal, state, and university aid. NOTE: Certain university scholarships have GPA requirements that exceed 2.0 (see above).
Monitoring SAP Requirements for Federal Title IV/State Eligibility
At the end of each payment period, the student’s academic record will be reviewed for SAP, including Maximum Attempted Enrollment Credit Hours, Pace of Completion, and Cumulative GPA Requirement.
If the student does not successfully complete 67% of attempted credit hours or has not met the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement, the student shall be placed on academic progress warning. Students remain eligible to receive aid during the warning period, and their record will be reviewed for compliance again following their next payment period. Students will have one payment period to achieve a 2.0 cumulative GPA and to have completed 67% of attempted credit hours. If at the end of the warning payment period the student has not done so, then the student’s eligibility for Federal Title IV/state aid will be terminated. Once the student has achieved SAP, Federal Title IV/state aid will be fully reinstated for future semesters.
Where the review shows that it is no longer mathematically possible for a student to complete within 150% of the published length of his or her educational program, or the student failed to complete within 150% of the published length of the educational program, the student’s eligibility for Federal Title IV/state aid will be terminated.
Monitoring SAP-Requirements for University Scholarships/Awards
At the end of each payment period (spring enrollment period), the student’s academic record will be reviewed for SAP. If the student has not successfully completed 67% of attempted credit hours or has not met the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement, the student will have two payment periods to do so. If at the end of the two payment periods the student has not achieved these GPA and pace of completion requirements, then all university aid will be terminated. Once the student has achieved SAP, university aid will be fully reinstated for future semesters.
Notification
The University will notify students of academic progress deficiencies by sending a letter to the permanent mailing address on file with the University. Students are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their permanent mailing address at all times. Students are responsible for being aware of the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policies and will remain ineligible, even if the University’s notification is not received.
Appeal Process for Federal Title IV/State Aid
A student placed who becomes ineligible for failure to meet the requirements stated above may appeal based on mitigating circumstances that are supported by documentation. Appeals must be made in writing within 30 days of the issuance date of the financial aid ineligibility notification letter to: Director of Financial Aid, Massman 109, financialaid@rockhurst.edu.
After 30 days, no appeals will be considered.
If the appeal is approved, students will be placed on financial aid probation for one payment period and may continue to receive aid as otherwise eligible. At the end of the appealed probation period, the student’s GPA and pace of completion will be reviewed to determine if the student has met the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement and completed 67% of the attempted credit hours, or has otherwise completed the requirements of a probationary academic plan.
At the end of the appealed probation period, students who have, for the probationary period, a completion rate of 67% and a GPA of 2.0 or have otherwise completed the requirements of a probationary academic plan, remain eligible for Title IV/state aid and are removed from financial aid probation. Students who do not meet those requirements for the probationary period will become ineligible for Title IV/state aid.
Changing Majors, Repeat Coursework, Incompletes and Withdrawals, and Second Degree Coursework
In cases where students change degree programs, courses taken that do not contribute to the new degree program do not count toward the 150% credit hour maximum.
Any non-credit coursework, repeat coursework or coursework for which a grade of incomplete or withdraw is given count toward both 150% credit hour maximum and the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement.
Any student pursuing a second-degree program is subject to both the 150% credit hour maximum and the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirements.