Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy
for 2008-09 thru 2010-11 Award Years

Both federal statutes and U.S. Department of Education regulations require institutions of higher education to establish minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students receiving federal aid. In addition, all State of Georgia financial assistance program regulations (HOPE, HERO, etc.) require students to meet the SAP criteria established for federal student aid. SAP means a student is proceeding in a positive manner toward fulfilling degree or certification requirements. SAP consists of two components of measurement: quantity and quality.  Students who fail to maintain SAP are no longer eligible for federal or State of Georgia financial aid. 

OSFA checks the Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage (150%) at the end of each Spring term. The Minimum Overall Completion Percentage (67%) and the 2.0 cumulative grade point average are checked following the end of each Summer.

Measurement of Quantity

Undergraduate Students

Minimum Overall Completion Percentage (67%)

Student financial aid recipients must demonstrate measurable progress toward earning a degree by successfully completing 67% (see example) of all hours attempted at the University and all hours accepted in transfer. Grades of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, or S count as the successful completion of a course, as long as credit is earned. Grades of F, W, WF, WP, I, IP, U, NR, ER, V or Repeated Courses do not count as the successful completion of a course.

67% Calculation Example
UGA Attempted Hours	62
Transfer Hours Accepted	+ 11
Total Attempted Hours	= 73 hours x 67% = 48.91

Minimum number of earned hours required to meet Minimum Overall Completion Percentage (67%) for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage (150%)

Otherwise eligible students cannot receive financial aid once they have attempted 150% of the number of hours required to complete an undergraduate degree program. For most undergraduate programs of study, this provides up to 182 attempted semester hours for student financial aid recipients to complete a 121 semester hour program. The maximum allowable number of attempted hours will be increased proportionally for students in programs of study which require more than 121 hours. All hours attempted at the University and all hours accepted in transfer by the University (including those hours attempted when the student did not receive federal or state student aid) are counted and do apply toward the 150% maximum total attempted hours.

Students who have attempted enough hours to complete a degree may no longer be eligible for student financial aid. In addition, once it is apparent that a student will not be able to complete an undergraduate degree within the 150% maximum total attempted hours time frame (generally 182 semester hours), eligibility for student financial aid will be revoked (2009-10 Federal Student Aid Handbook, page 1-11). See the following attempted hour examples to determine if you are approaching the 150% maximum time frame and may no longer be eligible for federal or state student aid:

Examples:

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 the University and all hours accepted in transfer. 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 future eligibility for student financial aid at the University. Changing majors in and of itself is not a justification for exceeding the 150% maximum.

Repeated Courses

All repeated courses and their grades will be included in the 67% and 150% calculations.

Undergraduate Transfer Students

Undergraduate transfer students are subject to the 67% Minimum Overall Completion Percentage and the 150% Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage. All hours attempted while enrolled at the University and all transfer hours accepted by the University are included in SAP determination.

Mandatory Academic Assistance Credit Hours

Students required to enroll in non-degree credit hours may be eligible for an additional one to two semesters of aid eligibility beyond the 150% Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage depending on the number of Academic Assistance credit hours attempted.

Independent Study

Only Independent Study courses which are completed by the end of Summer Semester will apply toward meeting the 67% Minimum Completion Percentage. For courses completed after the end of Summer, students must contact OSFA when their grades are entered to request a re-evaluation of the 67% completion rate.

Study Abroad/Student Exchange Programs/Consortium Courses

Hours enrolled in Study Abroad, Student Exchange or Consortium courses are counted as attempted hours when applying SAP standards. These grades do not count as successfully completed hours until a transcript is received by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and grades are entered on the student's academic transcript. Students should contact OSFA once Study Abroad, Student Exchange or Consortium grades are entered so OSFA can determine if the student now meets the 67% Minimum Completion Percentage for SAP.

Excessive Elective Courses

Students taking an excessive number of elective courses may have their financial aid revoked as these do not contribute to making satisfactory progress toward earning a degree.

Academic Renewal

University approval of Academic Renewal does not supersede SAP requirements. All hours will continue to be included in determining SAP.

Additional Bachelors Degree

The Maximum Total Hours Percentage (150%) will be increased by 90 additional hours for students who have graduated with a Bachelors degree and wish to pursue a subsequent Bachelors degree. The Minimum Overall Completion Percentage (67%) and the 2.0 overall cumulative grade point average are still based on all hours accepted for transfer credit by the University plus all the hours attempted at the University.

Otherwise Eligible Non-Degree Students

Otherwise eligible non-degree students must meet undergraduate SAP requirements.

Students Seeking Dual Bachelors Degrees

Students enrolled in two Bachelors 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 using the degree which requires the most hours.

Graduate Students

For Graduate students to remain eligible for student financial aid the following applies:

• Students must maintain the necessary academic and other standards required by their school or college for continued enrollment.
• Students who withdraw from the University two or more times while receiving aid will no longer be eligible for student financial aid.
• Students must complete their study within the established time frame as determined by their graduate program.
• Students who change majors must meet academic program requirements.

Measurement of Quality

Undergraduate Students

All undergraduate students must have at least a 2.0 overall cumulative grade point average at the end of every Summer semester regardless of the total number of attempted and earned hours.

Graduate Students

The academic progress of graduate students is monitored by the graduate program in which they are enrolled.

Graduate students may be dismissed from their graduate programs by their departments at the end of any semester if the department determines they have not made sufficient academic progress to warrant continuance of study. Termination of students follows the policies and procedures adopted by the academic department and reported to the Graduate School. Dismissal of the student by an academic department may be appealed to the dean of the Graduate School after all avenues of appeal have been exhausted at the departmental level. When students are terminated by a department, but not simultaneously by the Graduate School, they may apply for admission to another graduate program if they wish to do so.

Students with a cumulative graduate course grade point average (GPA) below 3.0 for two consecutive terms are placed on academic probation by the Graduate School. They then must earn a 3.0 GPA or higher in each succeeding semester their overall cumulative graduate grade point average remains below 3.0. These students are no longer on probation when their cumulative graduate GPA is 3.0 or above. If they make below a 3.0 semester GPA while on probation, they are dismissed from the degree program. When students repeat a graduate course, the last grade will be utilized to calculate the cumulative graduate GPA that is used for probation and dismissal, admission to degree candidacy and graduation. Grades of S, U, I, and V will not be used in calculating the cumulative graduate average. However, when a grade of I converts to F, this may result in an action of probation or dismissal for the semester in which the conversion takes place, even if the student is not registered for the semester in which the I grade is converted. When students are dismissed under the terms of this policy, they may not apply for admission to another graduate program offered by the University.

Students dismissed by the Graduate School for academic reasons may appeal the dismissal to the dean of the Graduate School. The appeal must be submitted to the dean within 30 calendar days following receipt of notice of dismissal. Information concerning the appeal process may be obtained from the Graduate School.

Evaluation of Statisfactory Academic Progress

Students who have exceeded the Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage (150%) SAP standard reviewed at the end of each Spring semester are no longer eligible for financial aid effective the upcoming Fall semester.

Financial Aid Warning

Students who fail to meet the 67% and/or the minimum 2.0 overall grade point average SAP standards reviewed at the end of each Summer semester will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the upcoming Fall semester during which they remain eligible to receive student financial aid. All financial aid awarded for semesters following Fall Semester will be cancelled unless the student re-establishes eligibility for aid.  Students exceeding the 150% maximum total attempted hours percentage are not eligible for the Financial Aid Warning term. 

Notification

We will e-mail affected students of their failure to maintain the relevant SAP standards after spring and summer grades are posted.

SAP Appeals Process

Student financial aid recipients failing to maintain the Quantity and/or Quality component(s) of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Student Financial Aid Recipients due to an extenuating circumstance beyond their control such as serious injury, illness or mental health condition involving the student or immediate family or death of an immediate family member should appeal in writing explaining their circumstance to OSFA. Students must submit documentation with the appeal which confirms this circumstance.  The student must also be able to document that the circumstances have either been resolved or stabilized.

When a SAP appeal is denied by OSFA, students may appeal to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee which is composed of the Registrar, a faculty member from the Committee on Student Affairs, and a faculty member from the Educational Affairs Committee. This committee meets only once each year. Only appeals denied by OSFA can be appealed to the committee.  The conditions or stipulations to which a student must adhere as part of an OSFA approved appeal cannot be appealed to the committee.

Students whose appeals are approved will continue to have their records reviewed at the end of each Summer semester. The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form for Student Financial Aid Recipients is available at forms/121.pdf.

Re-Establishing Eligibility Without an Approved Appeal

The following option applies only to students not maintaining the 67% completion rate and/or the minimum overall 2.0 gpa. This option does not apply to students who have exceeded the Maximum Total Attempted Hours Percentage (150%).

A student can re-establish eligibility only by taking action that brings the student into compliance with the qualitative (2.0 overall cumulative GPA) and quantitative (completed a minimum 67% of all hours attempted at the University and all hours accepted in transfer) components of the school's SAP standard including the maximum time frame (Source: 2009-10 Federal Student Aid Handbook, page 1-13).

Jack is not making SAP - He has not earned 67% of his attempted hours At the end of Summer Semester OSFA reviews Jack's total hours attempted and total hours earned. He has attempted 73 hours and earned 47. 67% of 73 attempted hours is 48.91 - Jack is not making SAP. He must either submit an appeal in writing explaining his extenuating circumstances and that appeal be approved or, earn hours in future semesters to regain compliance with the 67% SAP standard.		How Jack Clears SAP - He has now earned 67% of his attempted hours Jack either did not submit an appeal or his appeal was not approved; therefore, he must earn the hours necessary to regain SAP compliance. During Fall semester he takes 12 hours and completes 10 of them. He now has 85 attempted hours and 57 earned hours. 67% of 85 attempted hours is 56.95. Jack is now making SAP because his earned hours are greater than the calculated 56.95 hours required.
Jill is not making SAP - She does not have a 2.0 overall cumulative GPA At the end of Summer, Jill does not have a 2.0 overall cumulative grade point average (GPA). She must either submit an appeal in writing explaining her extenuating circumstances and that appeal be approved or, earn grades in future semesters to regain compliance with the 2.0 overall cumulative grade point average SAP standard.		How Jill clears SAP - Jill either did not submit an appeal or her appeal was not approved. When Jill's overall cumulative grade point average is 2.0 or greater, she will regain eligibility for student financial aid.

Student Financial Counseling May Be Required

Students who previously received Federal Direct Student Loans or previously failed to maintain SAP may be required to complete financial counseling before eligibility for student financial aid can be re-established.

Regaining Your Student Financial Aid

A student may be awarded Federal Pell Grants, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, ACG, SMART Grants, and state financial aid (HOPE Scholarship, Governor's Scholarship, etc.) for the payment period in which the student resumes SAP. For Federal Direct Loans the student regains eligibility for the entire period of enrollment in which the student again meets SAP standards.

Other rules and regulations governing federal and state student financial aid programs still apply.

If you have questions concerning the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Student Financial Aid Recipients telephone (706) 542-6147 or come to the office at 220 Holmes/Hunter Academic Building.