Satisfactory Academic Progress

1.3  Satisfactory Progress

For Financial Aid Applicants and Recipients

Financial Aid recipients must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress toward a degree objective to remain eligible to receive Title IV financial aid at Purdue University North Central (PNC). The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy at PNC is based on both qualitative and quantitative measurement standards established by Federal Regulations governing student Title IV financial aid. These standards are cumulative and include all periods of a student's enrollment, including periods in which the student did not receive student financial aid. The Satisfactory Academic Progress(SAP) process will be run on a term basis. This means SAP will be run after the fall term, spring term and summer term.

To remain eligible for financial aid under the PNC Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, students must meet the following requirements:

GPA Requirement.  To continue to meet the undergraduate satisfactory academic progress GPA requirements, undergraduate students must maintain a minimum graduation index based on their current academic classification.  See chart below.

Classification	Cumulative GPA Less Than
1st semester freshman	1.5
2nd semester freshman	1.6
1st semester sophomore	1.7*
2nd semester sophomore	1.8*
1st semester junior	1.9
2nd semester junior	2.0
1st semester senior	2.0
2nd semester senior +	2.0

*Minimum Graduation Index of 2.0 is required at this level for students pursuing an associate degree.  If a student does not have a Minimum Graduation Index of 2.0 or better at the end of their 1st semester as a sophomore, they will be placed on Financial Aid Warning status for their 2nd semester as a sophomore.  If they still do not have a Minimum Graduation Index of 2.0 at the end of their 2nd semester, they will become ineligible for financial aid and must follow the procedure listed below to appeal their status.

Graduate Students - To continue to meet the Graduate satisfactory academic progress GPA requirements, students must maintain a minimum graduation index of 3.00.  

Academic Dismissal - Students who are dropped from the university for academic deficiency will be considered ineligible for financial aid.  Upon academic reinstatement, a student must then file a Financial Aid Appeal to have their Title IV eligibility reviewed and reinstated. 

Timeframe Requirement. Student financial aid is available for up to 150% of the number of hours required to complete a degree program. The average length of an undergraduate bachelor degree program of study at PNC is 126 credit hours. An undergraduate student pursuing a bachelor degree is eligible to receive financial aid for a maximum of 189 attempted credit hours.  The average length of an undergraduate associate degree program of study at PNC is 66 credit hours.  A student seeking an associate degree at PNC is eligible to receive financial aid for a maximum of 99 attempted credit hours.  When a student has received a total of 99 attempted hours for their associates degree or 189 for their bachelors degree, they must file a Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal EACH TERM until they receive their degree, bearing in mind that the possibility of appealing the drop status is NOT a guarantee of approval of the appeal.  Graduate students may receive financial aid for a MAXIMUM of 90 attempted credit hours. All hours attempted and all hours accepted in transfer by Purdue North Central (including those for which the student did not receive financial aid) count toward the 150% maximum total attempted hours.

Changing Majors - Students who change majors during the academic year are strongly encouraged not to withdraw from any classes as they must complete 67% of the hours attempted at Purdue North Central. Students who change majors or degree programs are at risk of exceeding the 150% maximum allowable number of attempted semester hours before obtaining a degree. Students who decide to change majors or degree programs should do so early in their academic career so as not to jeopardize their eligibility for student financial aid.

Repeat Courses - All repeated courses will be included in the 67% and 150% totals as attempted and count as either completed or non-completed, as appropriate.

Incomplete Courses – Incomplete courses initially count as attempted but not completed courses in the SAP process in both the 67% and 150% totals.  Student should notify the Financial Aid Office when a final grade is received and the SAP status will then be recalculated at the completion of that term.

Withdrawals – All courses attempted but withdrawn from are included in the SAP process as attempted and unsuccessful completions and count toward both the 67% and 150% totals.

Non-credit Courses – Non-credit remedial courses are included in the SAP process as either attempted and successful or unsuccessful completion as the case may be.

Undergraduate Transfer Students - Undergraduate transfer students are subject to the 67% Minimum Overall Completion Rate Percentage and the 150% Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage. All hours attempted while enrolled at Purdue North Central and all transfer hours accepted by Purdue North Central are included in Satisfactory Academic Progress determination.

Consortium Agreements-Official transcripts must be submitted upon completion of each consortium semester. All coursework including unsuccessfully completed courses will be included in overall attempted hours during the satisfactory academic progress process.

Subsequent Degrees – After receiving their initial Bachelor’s Degree, students pursuing a subsequent Bachelor’s Degree may only receive an additional 90 credit hours in student loans* to complete the subsequent degree.  In addition, when the student has received a total of 189 attempted hours, they must file a Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal EACH SEMESTER until they receive the additional bachelor degree.
Students pursuing an Associate’s Degree after having received a Bachelor’s Degree may only receive an additional 45 credit hours in student loans*.  The 67% completion standard and GPA requirements still apply.  
*Only if the student has not yet reached their undergraduate aggregate loan limit.

Students Seeking Dual Bachelor’s Degrees - Students enrolled in two Bachelor’s degree programs at the same time must still meet the 150% standard for completing their degrees and are not eligible for additional hours of aid eligibility. The 150% is calculated from the degree requiring the most hours.

Completion Rate Requirement - Pace.  In order to show progression toward completion of their program of study, a student's overall total number of earned (successfully completed) credit hours must be equal to or greater than 67% of the overall total number of their attempted credit hours.  All attempted coursework including repeated courses, remedial courses and withdrawals recorded on the academic record at the time of the progress check is taken into consideration for the completion rate requirement.  The following grades are used to determine completion rate.

Completion of a Class	Non-completion of a Class
A+, A, A-	W, WF (withdraw)
B+, B, B-	F (failed)  E
C+, C, C-	PI, SI, I, IF, IX (incomplete)
D+, D, D-	Audit
P, S	NS, N, U

 

 

 

 

 

Student is meeting the Completion Rate Requirement if:
Overall Earned Credit Hours >= 67% of Overall Attempted Credit Hours

Example:
Student's Overall Earned Credit Hours is 127
Student's Overall Attempted Credit Hours is 136
136 x .67 = 91 (minimum number of Overall Earned Credit Hours the student must have)

As the Student's Overall Earned Credit Hours (127) is greater than 67% of the Students Overall Attempted Credit Hours (136 x .67 or 91), the student is meeting the Completion Rate Requirement.

General Information

• Transfer credit hours are included in determining attempted total credit hours.
• Withdrawals, grades of “F”, grades of “incomplete”, courses that are repeated, and non-credit courses are included in determining a student's Satisfactory Academic Progress status.

Financial Aid Warning Status
Students failing to meet the GPA or Completion Rate requirements as outlined are placed on Financial Aid Warning for one term.  While on Financial Aid Warning the student is eligible to receive student financial aid.  Students failing to meet the GPA or Completion Rate requirements by the end of their financial aid warning period automatically become ineligible to receive financial aid.

Ineligible Status and Probation Status
If a student becomes ineligible due to unsatisfactory academic performance the following steps apply:    

1. Student appeals (see appeal information below) drop status with Financial Aid Office within time frame set by the Financial Aid Office.  Please note that a late appeal is automatically disqualified.

1.  If student’s appeal is approved:
   1. Student is reinstated on a probationary status for the upcoming academic term.
   2. Student must develop and agree to a plan of study with their advisor and the Financial Aid Office representative.  Each term, until the student is again meeting progress standards, the student will meet with their advisor and Financial Aid Office representative to determine if student is progressing according to their plan of study.  If not, the student will again be placed on financial aid drop status and unable to appeal until they are meeting SAP standard.

2. If student’s appeal is denied:
   1. Student must satisfactorily complete enough credit hours to once again meet the satisfactory academic progress policy standards.
   2. After satisfactorily completing the required credit hours and achieving the minimum graduation index to again meet the satisfactory academic progress policy standards, the student must submit a written request for reinstatement to the Financial Aid Office.

Appeal Process
An ineligible status can be appealed within 30 days of becoming ineligible if the student has had mitigating circumstances such as personal illness or injury, or the death of an immediate family member.  Students may go to www.pnc.edu/financialaid , and click ‘Forms’ tab to obtain a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form. Note: A warning status cannot be appealed.

Financial Aid After Reinstatement
A student may be paid Pell Grant and campus-based funds, state funds, and/or Direct Loan funds for the academic period in which the student is reinstated via the Appeal Process or they are again meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress standards, but cannot be paid for any academic period during which time the student was in an ineligible status.

Policy Implementation
This policy is effective as of the 2011-2012 academic year.  The first term this policy will apply is the fall, 2011, term.  For the summer, 2011, term, the previous policy will apply when run after the posting of summer grades.  Questions regarding the appropriate policy should be directed to Enrollment Services in Tech 157.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Degree Audit