Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy - All Campuses
To be eligible for financial aid, a student must be making “satisfactory academic progress”. The Financial Aid Office standards for satisfactory academic progress may not be exactly the same as academic standards of the University, or any academic department or school. The Financial Aid Office standards may be the same or stricter than what has been established by the academic department for students who are not receiving Title IV assistance. The established guidelines (based on federal regulations) for evaluating a student’s progress take into consideration cumulative Siena Heights grade point average and the number of semester hours or terms attempted and completed.
According to Federal Financial Aid guidelines, students, at all times, must have successfully completed two-thirds of all courses taken.
In order to maintain satisfactory academic progress (to be in good standing academically) a student must do two things:
- Maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA as an undergraduate student, and a 3.0 GPA as a graduate student; and
- Successfully complete (i.e., pass) 2/3 of the credit hours attempted.
Undergraduate students will be allowed to receive financial aid for a maximum of 180 hours of course work that will apply towards the student’s academic program. This amount is determined by adding the accepted course work a student took prior to attending Siena Heights plus all course work taken at Siena Heights. Students in certificate programs that evaluate students on a pass/fail basis will be required to receive a passing grade from the department.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Warning
Siena Heights reviews student’s satisfactory academic progress status at the end of each semester, to include summer, fall, and winter. If it is determined that a student has not met the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, students will be placed on financial aid “warning, and be allowed one additional semester with which to improve the deficiency to the required Satisfactory Academic Progress policy requirements.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Academic Plan
Students who do not meet satisfactory academic progress requirements at the end of the financial aid “warning” semester will not be eligible for federal student financial aid without appealing for the continuation of aid beyond the “warning” semester. If the appeal is approved, students will be allowed to receive financial aid as long as the terms of appeal, the “academic plan,” are being met.
Students who do not meet the terms of satisfactory academic progress, and who either elect not to file an appeal, or who failed to meet the terms of their financial aid academic plan will not be eligible for financial aid until the time in which the student meets all requirements set forth in the original Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.
Appeal Procedure
Any student denied financial aid due to the policy may appeal to the Director of Financial Aid. After the Director of Financial Aid receives an application for appeal, the student will be notified in writing of the results of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal once a decision has been made. Reinstatement of aid for a subsequent period will be determined on an individual basis. Students who have been suspended from the university and reinstated by the Academic Standards Committee may not be eligible for aid.
Incompletes, Withdrawals, Failures and Repetitions
Classes graded as failure (“E”), “incomplete,” “no credit,” “withdraw” or “administrative withdrawal” will be evaluated as courses attempted, although not successfully completed. Attempted hours include all hours enrolled in after the first week of classes. Repeated courses will count toward academic progress.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy Chart
The chart shows the minimum number of earned hours each type of student needs per academic year of attendance.
# of Years: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Fulltime: 16 32 54 76 98 120
3/4 time: 12 24 36 49 62 76 90 105 120
1/2 Time: 8 16 26 36 46 56 66 76 87 98 109 120
Transfer and Siena Heights Credit Hours
When determining if a student is within the requirements of Siena Height’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, the Financial Aid Office will consider only the hours that transfer in or that were taken at Siena Heights, and that are applicable to the student’s academic program. Transfer credit grades are not considered in a student’s GPA. The GPA used for Satisfactory Academic Progress policy only considers classes taken at Siena.
