Satisfactory Academic Progress: Financial Aid

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS

For a printed copy of this policy click here

Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid to monitor the academic progress of all students toward the completion of their degree. Your complete EMU academic record is considered regardless of whether or not financial aid was received each semester. This monitoring process is called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Academic progress is evaluated each semester of enrollment using three factors:

Grade point average
Percentage of attempted credit hours completed
Maximum credits of eligibility in which to complete a degree

Failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress will result in cancellation of eligibility to receive funds from Federal Title IV, state, or university need-based aid programs.*

Undergraduate students are required to:

Maintain a 2.00 overall grade point average
Complete and pass a minimum of 67% of the courses attempted at EMU
Complete all degree requirements (this includes credit hours transferred into EMU) within 150% of the minimum number required to graduate. (Example: 124 minimum X 1.5 = 186)

Graduate students are required to:

Maintain a 3.00 overall grade point average.
Complete and pass a minimum of 67% of the courses attempted.
Complete all degree requirements (this includes credit hours transferred into EMU)within 150% of the minimum number of required to graduate. (Example: 30 minimum X 1.5 = 45)

PRE-CANCELLATION

Students, who fail to meet the above requirements of SAP, are placed on pre-cancellation. While on pre-cancellation, students are eligible to receive financial aid for a total of 2 semesters on pre-cancellation.

CANCELLATION

Students will no longer be eligible for financial aid if any of the following occur:

Following 2 semesters of pre-cancellation, the student fails to meet the minimum SAP requirements.
Student has earned the maximum credits of eligibility allowed for their program of study.

TREATMENT OF WITHDRAWLS

Students who withdraw from a complete semester may be required to return some, or all, of the financial aid paid to their student account. The withdrawal will not affect a student’s GPA, but it will affect the completion rate. Students must maintain a 67% completion rate in order to be eligible for federal aid.

Students who withdraw from some, but not all, courses in a semester will also have their completion rate affected.

If you are considering a withdrawal please contact the Office of Financial Aid to discuss the consequences of the withdrawal.

Students who had extenuating circumstances which resulted in failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress may appeal the cancellation.

TREATMENT OF GRADES INDICATING NON-COMPLETION OF A COURSE

Students who receive an E, I, IP, NC or N grade have failed to complete the course. This will affect the completion rate and may affect the GPA. If a course is repeated all attempts will be included towards the completion rate and the minimum hours required to graduate, however, only the most recent grade will be factored into the cumulative GPA.

APPEAL PROCESS

Students who had extenuating circumstances which resulted in failure to maintain SAP may appeal the cancellation.

• Students who are cancelled following two semesters of pre-cancellation must submit a letter of explanation to the Financial Aid Review Committee and attach third party documentation, as appropriate.

• Students who are cancelled because of failure to complete degree requirements within 150% of the program requirements must submit the Maximum Credit Hours Reached Appeal Form and attach third party documentation, as appropriate. The appeal form is available online at http://www.emich.edu/finaid/onlineforms/onlineforms.htm

The Financial Aid Review Committee meets weekly. Cases are reviewed and decisions are made within 12 business days after receipt. Students are notified by e-mail to their my.emich addresses of the outcome of their appeals.

Calculating Completion Rate

Divide the number of passed* EMU hours into the number of attempted* EMU hours.

Example: _125_ (passed hours) ÷ _131_ (attempted hours) = 95%.
Your Completion Rate: _____ (passed hours) ÷ (attempted hours) ____ = ___ (completion rate)

The Financial Aid Review Committee meets weekly. Cases are reviewed and decisions are made within 10 to 15 business days after receipt. Students are notified in writing of the outcome of their appeals.

*Passed and Attempted EMU hours are found under the “Student Services & Financial Aid” tab of your my.emich account. Once you have clicked on the tab go to “Student Records” and then “Academic Transcript”.

* Federal Title IV, state, and university aid programs include but are not limited to: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, Federal Work Study, Federal PLUS Loan (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), Michigan Educational Opportunity Grant, Michigan Adult Part-Time Grant, Michigan Work Study, Michigan Competitive Scholarship, and University Grant/Award.

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