Satisfactory Academic Progress
The Higher Education Amendment of 1965, as amended, mandates institutions of higher education to establish minimum standards of "Satisfactory Academic Progress" for students receiving financial aid. UIW makes its standard applicable to all federal, state, and institutional financial assistance programs for the purpose of maintaining a consistent policy for all students receiving financial aid.
To make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), students must meet all of the following standards:
a) Academic Standards
Students must maintain a cumulative GPA minimum requirement at the end of each academic year for all credit hours attempted, including transfer work (Undergraduates 2.0; Graduate students 3.0). If the cumulative GPA drops below the minimum requirement, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid.
b) Maximum Time Frames
The number of credit hours a student attempts may not exceed 125% of the number of credit hours required for graduation in his or her program of study, as published in the University Bulletin.
That is, if the published number of hours required for graduation is 128, a student may not attempt more than 160 credit hours (128 x 1.25 = 160) and continue to receive financial aid. All periods of enrollment must be considered, even those for which the student did not receive financial aid, as well as hours transferred in from another school. If the number of attempted hours reaches 125% of the hours required for graduation, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid.
Attempted hours include all registered hours per semester whether or not the student earns a grade or receives credit.
The following are considered hours attempted, but not completed:
"F" grades for undergraduate students, "D" or "F" grades for graduate students
"AU" Audited courses
"W," or "IP" grades
Completed hours include all semester hours for which the student earns a grade:
"A" through "D" grades for undergraduate students
"A" through "C" grades for graduate students
"P" passing with credit
All transfer hours accepted for credit
c) Enrollment Status
During the academic year (Fall and Spring) a student who receives financial aid must successfully complete a minimum of 75% of all attempted coursework. If the number of completed hours drops below 75% of attempted hours, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid. (See completion definitions above).
Examples:
If a student attempts (registers for) 30 credit hours in an academic year, he or she must complete a minimum of 22 credit hours (75% x 30 = 22.5 = 22) in order to make SAP for the year. NOTE: All partial credit hours will be rounded down to the nearest hour.
If a student attempts 36 credit hours, he or she must complete a minimum of 27 credit hours (75% x 36 = 27) to be making SAP.
If at the end of the second year a student has attempted 60 credit hours, he or she must have completed a minimum of 45 credit hours (75% x 60 = 45) to be making SAP.