Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

 

Qualitative Standard

To maintain SAP, students must achieve minimum cumulative grade point averages appropriate to progress toward their degree, and they must complete coursework at a regular and sustained pace. Minimum cumulative GPAs are as follows:

 

Quantitative Standard – Maximum Time Frame and Pace

Students must complete their degree within 150% of the published length of the academic program. As a result, students enrolled in a degree program requiring 120 earned credits must earn a minimum of 67% of their total cumulative attempted credits by the end of each spring semester. Please note – students earning credits at the minimum allowable standard of 67% will take 6 years to graduate.

Bachelor’s Degree – 120 credits required to graduate. To remain eligible for financial aid, a student must earn their degree by the time attempting 180 credits (120 x 150% = 180)

 

SAP Suspension

A student will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension if one of the following occurs after the conclusion of the spring semester:

• A student does not earn a minimum of 67% of total cumulative attempted credits
• A student does not meet the GPA requirement, as specified above

Students will be notified in writing of the deficit and placed on Financial Aid Suspension until either SAP standards have been met, or until the student successfully appeals SAP based on documented special circumstances. This means ineligibility for all federal and institutional aid.

Students experiencing extenuating circumstances may appeal to the policy (see Appeal Process). In addition, students are encouraged to contact the Registrar’s Office about the transferability of credits before signing up for classes at another institution. Please be aware that taking credits at an institution other than LVC will neither help to improve or harm students’ GPA at LVC. However, transfer credits will be included in the number of credits attempted and earned for the quantitative standard.

All LVC students will be notified via  email at the conclusion of each spring semester to review their SAP status on the LVC Financial Aid Portal. For those students who wish to appeal based on special circumstances, the portal will link to the guidelines and forms students must follow to begin the process .

 

Repeating Course Work

Students are permitted to repeat the same course once after having earned a D- or better, therefore having earned the credits for that course, and still be permitted to receive financial aid for that course. Repeat credits will be included in attempted credits, but not in earned credits if the original grade earned was a D- or better. Repeat credits for which no credit was previously earned will be counted if a passing grade is earned. This is important when considering the number of credits that can be earned for the payment period and SAP standards.

 

Transfer Credits

All transfer credits that are accepted toward a student’s educational program will be counted as both attempted and completed hours for the purpose of determining maximum time frame and pace.

 

Grades Included for SAP Standards

The following grades are included in both the qualitative and quantitative measures of the SAP policy:  A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F. Grades of P (pass) and PH (pass with honors) will count in the quantitative standard, but not the qualitative standard. Incomplete (I), withdraw grades (W), and in progress (IP) do not count in the qualitative standard, but do count in the quantitative standard. Once the I and/or IP grade changes, it is counted in both measures. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the Financial Aid Office of all grade changes to be certain SAP has been reviewed accurately. Audited courses are not eligible for financial aid or are they counted toward SAP since no credits or letter grade can be earned.

 

Appeal Process

Students experiencing extenuating circumstances, i.e. death in the family, medical reasons, mental health issues, etc., may appeal the SAP policy by the deadline stated in the procedures document found on the LVC Financial Aid Portal. To appeal, the student MUST complete the following and submit the documents to the Financial Aid Office:

• SAP Appeal Worksheet  – Available of the LVC Financial Aid Portal

AND

• A cover letter signed by the student including an explanation of why the student failed to meet SAP and noting what has changed that will allow the student to meet SAP standards by the end of the next academic year.  External documentation should be included whenever possible to support the special circumstance noted in the student’s appeal cover letter.

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee will review all appeals and respond to students in writing of the decision and any required steps the student must take.

• A student whose appeal is approved will be placed on an Academic Action Plan (AAP) to be developed by the student and the Assistant Dean of Student Success and Retention. Determination of who will be placed on an AAP will be made by the *SAP Appeals Committee based on the student’s past academic performance and circumstances of the appeal. Students who are approved will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and be eligible for federal and institutional aid for the subsequent semester. Their AAP will be reviewed at the end of this period, and if students are following the AAP with a clear path forward to degree completion, their probation status will continue for another semester. If they do not meet the requirements of the AAP after one semester, the Appeals Committee will decide regarding eligibility for the next semester.

Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, students will be notified by the Financial Aid Office in writing of their status and any “next steps” which may include an AAP.

*SAP Appeals Committee consists of:

• Director of Financial Aid (Chair)
• Assistant Dean of Student Success and Retention
• Associate Dean of Academic Success and Registrar

 

Important SAP Terms

Financial Aid Suspension: The status assigned after a student fails to meet one or both SAP standards as defined above. Students on this status will be ineligible for federal and institutional aid until SAP standards are met.

Financial Aid Probation: The status assigned to students who appeal  Financial Aid Suspension due to extenuating circumstances and are approved. These students are required to complete and fully adhere to an Academic Action Plan.

 

PA State Grant Recipients

The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) requires state grant recipients enrolled full-time (12 or more credits per semester) to earn a minimum of 24 credits per academic year or 12 credits per semester, if enrolled for one semester during the academic year. There is no GPA requirement. This review is conducted by the Financial Aid Office staff annually at the conclusion of the spring semester and students failing to meet SAP standards for PHEAA are notified by email and regular mail. There is an appeals process through PHEAA, if extenuating circumstances exist. You may contact the Financial Aid Office for the appropriate form or download it from the documents and forms link at pheaa.org.

The required number of credits for part-time PHEAA recipients is as follows:

Transfer Students – The academic transcripts of transfer students who are PA State Grant recipients will be collected to evaluate the academic progress of these students at their previous institution during their most recent academic year of enrollment. Transfer students who failed to make progress at their previous institution will not be eligible for a PA State Grant until they earn the remaining credits.

 

Qualitative Standard

To maintain SAP, graduate students must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 to be eligible for federal and institutional financial aid.

 

Quantitative Standard—Maximum Time Frame and Pace

Students must complete their degree within 150% of the number of credits necessary to complete the educational program. As a result, students must earn a minimum of 67% of their total cumulative attempted credits at the end of each payment period. Since graduate programs at LVC require different numbers of credits to obtain a degree, the maximum timeframe will vary by program. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have questions about the maximum timeframe for your program. See the example calculation below:

• 36 credits required to graduate – In order to remain eligible for financial aid, students must earn their degree by the time attempting 54 credits (36 x 150% = 54)

Students who do not earn a minimum of 67% of total cumulative attempted credits and meet the GPA requirement, as specified above, will be notified in writing of the deficit and placed on Financial Aid Suspension.

Students experiencing extenuating circumstances may appeal to the policy (see Appeal Process). In addition, students are encouraged to contact the Registrar’s Office about the transferability of credits before signing up for classes at another institution. Please be aware that taking credits at an institution other than LVC will neither help to improve or harm students’ GPA at LVC. However, transfer credits will be included in the number of credits attempted and earned for the quantitative standard.

 

Repeating Course Work

Students are permitted to repeat the same course only once after having earned a D- or better, therefore having earned the credits for that course, and still be permitted to receive financial aid for that course. Credits earned for a repeated course will not be counted a second time if the original grade earned was a D- or better. This is important when considering the number of credits that can be earned for the payment period and SAP standards.

 

Transfer Credits

All transfer credits that are accepted toward a student’s educational program will be counted as both attempted and completed hours for the purpose of determining maximum time frame and pace.

 

Grades Included for SAP Standards

The following grades are included in both the qualitative and quantitative measures of the SAP policy:  A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F. Grades of P (pass) and PH (pass with honors) will count in the quantitative standard, but not the qualitative standard. Incomplete (I), withdraw grades (W), and in progress (IP) do not count in the qualitative standard, but do count in the quantitative standard. Once the I and/or IP grade changes, it is counted in both measures. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the Financial Aid Office of all grade changes to be certain SAP has been reviewed accurately. Audited courses are not eligible for financial aid or are they counted toward SAP since no credits or letter grade can be earned.

 

Appeal Process

Students experiencing extenuating circumstances, i.e. death in the family, medical reasons, mental health issues, etc., may appeal the SAP policy by the deadline stated in the procedures document found on the LVC Financial Aid Portal. To appeal, the student MUST complete the following and submit the documents to the Financial Aid Office:

• SAP Appeal Worksheet  – Available of the LVC Financial Aid Portal

AND

• A cover letter signed by the student including an explanation of why the student failed to meet SAP and noting what has changed that will allow the student to meet SAP standards by the end of the next academic year.  External documentation should be included whenever possible to support the special circumstance noted in the student’s appeal cover letter.

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee will review all appeals and respond to students in writing of the decision and any required steps the student must take.

• A student whose appeal is approved will be placed on an Academic Action Plan (AAP) to be developed by the student and the Assistant Dean of Student Success and Retention. Determination of who will be placed on an AAP will be made by the *SAP Appeals Committee based on the student’s past academic performance and circumstances of the appeal. Students who are approved will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and be eligible for federal and institutional aid for the subsequent semester. Their AAP will be reviewed at the end of this period, and if students are following the AAP with a clear path forward to degree completion, their probation status will continue for another semester. If they do not meet the requirements of the AAP after one semester, the Appeals Committee will decide regarding eligibility for the next semester.

Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, students will be notified by the Financial Aid Office in writing of their status and any “next steps” which may include an AAP.

*SAP Appeals Committee consists of:

• Director of Financial Aid (Chair)
• Assistant Dean of Student Success and Retention
• Registrar and Associate Dean of Academic Success

 

Important SAP Terms

Financial Aid Suspension: The status assigned after a student fails to meet one or both SAP standards as defined above. Students on this status will be ineligible for federal and institutional aid until SAP standards are met.

Financial Aid Probation: The status assigned to students who appeal  Financial Aid Suspension due to extenuating circumstances and are approved. These students are required to complete and fully adhere to an Academic Action Plan.