Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards to Retain Eligibility for Federal Title IV Financial Aid - Undergraduate Level Policy

Policy Statement

This policy explains the federal academic requirements to maintain eligibility for Federal Title IV financial aid at the Undergraduate Level.

Purpose/Scope

Students are advised that continued eligibility for federal financial aid awards requires that students maintain compliance with Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards. Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards are reviewed at the end of each academic term. Students who fail to maintain pace, who fall below the required grade point average, or who meet or surpass the maximum time frame standard, or any combination of the standards, will be considered out of compliance and ineligible to receive Federal Title IV aid for future semesters, beginning immediately, until compliance has been regained. Notification of ineligibility following the term will be sent to students after the semester grades have been analyzed.

Definitions

Bmail - SUNY Brockport’s email system and official mode of communication.

Policy Procedures

Awards affected at the undergraduate level

• Federal Nursing Loans
• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG)
• Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH) 
• Federal Work-Study
• William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans-Subsidized Stafford Loans
• William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans-Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loan (for Parents and Graduate students)

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards:

Federal law requires that satisfactory academic progress standards be measured in both quantitative (i.e., pace) and qualitative terms (i.e., grade point average or GPA).

“A student who completed the academic requirements for a program but does not yet have the degree or certificate is not eligible for further additional FSA funds for that program”- Federal Student Aid Handbook (Vol. 1, Ch. 1,p. 1-10).

Maximum Time Frame Standard

Students receiving funds under Title IV must complete their degrees within 150 percent of the published program length as measured in credits or forfeit federal aid eligibility. For example, the standard time frame for an undergraduate program is usually 120 credit hours. The student would be required to complete their program within 180 credit hours. In addition, students must show evidence of making satisfactory progress toward their degree objectives to remain eligible for further funds. This requirement also applies to students with a second major and Second Degree students. The maximum time frame standard evaluation will include those credits attempted at SUNY Brockport and those accepted for transfer credit by the academic program in which the student is enrolled.

GPA

Students must maintain a minimum cumulative Brockport grade point average, based on class status, to be in compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards. Transfer credits are used to determine class status, but transfer grade point average will not be considered in this standard. See chart below:

Pace

Pace measures a student’s progression to ensure the student will graduate within the maximum time frame of their program. The student’s pace progression is calculated by dividing the cumulative number of hours the student has successfully completed by the cumulative number of hours the student has attempted.  Students at SUNY Brockport must maintain a minimum pace of 2/3 or 66.667% to be in compliance with the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards.

In calculating pace, the following grades are treated as attempted but not successfully completed: E, I, PR, U, and W. Remedial/developmental courses will be included in the calculation until a student reaches junior status, and then remedial courses will be removed from the calculation. Courses that are repeated to improve a grade are counted as attempted each time they are taken, but are only counted as completed once. Courses removed by the Forgiveness Policy for students readmitted after dismissal will be counted in credits attempted. Every term is considered when measuring the completion rate, whether or not the student received federal financial aid.

Transfer credits will be counted towards both the attempted and completed credit hours. Transfer credit from two-year colleges may not exceed 64 credits. Total transfer credits may not exceed a maximum of 90 credits from one or more four-year colleges or a combination of two- and four- year institutions.

Repeating a Course:

Title IV financial aid will pay for only ONE retake of a previously passed course. Students must be registered for 12 credit hours in addition to any course repeated more than once to be considered full time for financial aid purposes. In other words, after the second taking of a course in which a passing grade has been received, the course will no longer count as part of the student’s enrollment for federal aid purposes. Students who are taking 12 credit hours and 3 of these credits are from a course that is being taken for the 3rd time, would be considered 3⁄4 time for Title IV financial aid eligibility. Courses that are allowed to be repeated for additional credit are not subject to this requirement unless the maximum number of credits has been attained.

If a student completes a course successfully, then registers for the same course a second time, but withdraws from or fails the course, this still counts as their second taking.

Warning System:

A review of Federal Academic Standards for Title IV Aid compliance is completed at the end of each academic term for all students.  When a student becomes out of compliance, they will receive one warning term to use aid while working to get back into good Federal Academic Standards for Title IV aid.

Students who are in danger of losing their federal aid will be notified after the grades are calculated for the term and will receive an alert of the potential financial aid loss through Bmail – The University’s official mode of communication. It is advised that students consult with their Program advisor in conjunction with The University’s Academic Compliance Officer to determine what steps need to be taken to reduce the chance of being out of compliance at the end of the following term in which the student is registered for classes.

Students who do not meet the Federal Academic Standards at the end of the next semester in which they are registered for class will be considered out of compliance and ineligible to receive federal Title IV aid for future semesters. Notification of ineligibility will be sent to students after the semester grades have been analyzed.

Regaining Eligibility for Federal Title IV Aid:

A student will not be eligible to receive Federal Title IV aid until they have re-established compliance with Federal Academic Standards. Maximum time frame students will not be able to reestablish eligibility. A student may re-establish eligibility in the following ways:

Meeting Federal Academic Performance Standards at One’s Own Cost

A student who loses eligibility may regain it by successfully completing courses at SUNY Brockport to meet the stated requirements. Such courses must be funded without benefit of Title IV aid and under no circumstances will aid be paid retroactively for those courses once eligibility has been re- established. Upon completion of these courses, a student should submit a request to the Academic Compliance Officer for re-evaluation of eligibility.

Mitigating Circumstances Appeals

Students who fail to meet the established standards for reasons beyond their control may appeal their loss of eligibility due to mitigating circumstances. Federal regulations, however, do not allow for mitigation under any circumstance for students not completing their program of study within 150 percent of the published length of the educational program for full-time students. Mitigating circumstances appeals may only be made for pace and GPA issues.

Such mitigating circumstances must fall into one of the following categories: 

1. Death of a relative
2. Injury or Extended Illness
3. Severe Personal Problems

To make the appeal, students must fill out the appeal form available on the Financial Aid website in the Forms Center.  This will require a statement explaining why the student failed to meet the standards, what has changed in the situation or how the situation is being managed.  Also include any third party documentation available that will support what is cited as the mitigating circumstance. Third party documentation should be in the form of a note from a doctor or counselor, a death notice or obituary, or a notarized memo from a non-professional source. Mitigating Circumstances Appeals will not be accepted without third party documentation.

Completed appeals, including third party documentation, should be returned to the Financial Aid Office. The Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards Committee will review the appeal and will send a letter of decision within two weeks of receiving the appeal. All committee decisions are final. Completing the Mitigating Circumstances Appeal does not guarantee approval.

If an appeal is approved, a student will be granted one of the following options: 

Single Semester Financial Aid Probation

The student will be placed on financial aid probation for one semester and will be eligible to receive Federal Title IV aid for that semester. If the student fails to meet Federal Academic Standards at the end of the probationary semester, the student will no longer be eligible for federal aid. A new Mitigating Circumstances Appeal cannot be submitted unless a new and different situation has occurred.

Student Academic Plan of Study

An Academic Plan of Study may be required with an approved Mitigating Circumstances Appeal. If an Academic Plan of Study is required, the student must follow the Plan for a specified period of time to meet Federal Academic Standards. The student must successfully complete a specific number of credit hours with a 2.0 GPA or better for the specified semesters. Plans will be adjusted accordingly on a student-by- student basis.

Students requiring an Academic Plan of Study must meet with their departmental advisor(s) to plan for current and future semesters to determine courses, number of credits, and in some cases required GPA for each semester. The plan will be reviewed by the Academic Compliance Officer at the end of each semester to determine if the student is eligible to continue receiving Federal Title IV aid. Students will be eligible to receive Federal Title IV aid for the semester in which the plan is implemented. Students must notify the Academic Compliance Officer of any changes to the Academic Plan of Study. The Plan must be updated for all academic changes such as adding or dropping a major/minor, adding, dropping or withdrawing from course(s), taking a Leave of Absence, or changing enrollment status (full-time, part- time). Failure to meet the terms of the Plan or to notify the Academic Compliance Officer of changes to the Plan will void the current plan and may result in termination of Federal Title IV aid. If the current Plan is made void, the student may appeal the Plan, but ONLY if a new and different situation has occurred. Only appeals with third party documentation will be considered. The Plan of Study Appeal form is available through the Academic Compliance Officer.

Consortium Agreements and Eligibility for Federal Title IV Aid

It should be noted that undergraduate students utilizing a consortium agreement must provide an official college transcript from the institution where the course is being taken. No transfer credit will be received and no Federal Title IV aid will be released for an upcoming semester until the transcript has been received. A student’s Federal Title IV compliance with the pace standard can be negatively impacted by a transfer course that is not successfully completed (ie: if an E, F, or W are earned). If a student utilizing a consortium agreement has questions about how the course can affect compliance, please contact the Academic Compliance Officer.

Links to Related Procedures and Information

There are no links for this policy at this time.

Contact Information

Academic Compliance Officer

History (in descending order)

Approval

This policy was approved by President’s Cabinet on 2019-04-24