Financial Aid » FA Polices and Procedures » Satisfactory Academic Progress
Satisfactory Academic ProgressAll students must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements to receive federally sponsored financial aid at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences. SAP for Financial Aid is an individual policy distinct from the Institute’s Academic Standing policy. The Institute’s SAP includes both qualitative and quantitative components in compliance with Federal Regulations. Students must maintain a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher and must earn at least 50 percent of their attempted credit hours each semester. Students who fall below these standards become ineligible for federal financial aid.
Under certain extenuating circumstances, students who fall below the SAP requirements may appeal to the financial aid office within 30 days of ineligibility notification. During such an appeal due to extenuating circumstances, the student’s aid may be continued for one semester, if the appeal request is granted. If the student has not met the SAP requirements by the end of the appeal semester, he or she is no longer eligible for federally sponsored financial aid.
The Registrar will notify the financial aid office when a student fails to meet the SAP. The financial aid office will notify the student and the business office because a student may need to arrange alternative methods of payment to achieve financial clearance.
At the end of a student’s probationary semester, the financial aid office receives the grade report from the Registrar and reviews the end of semester grade reports for those students who have lost financial aid due to failure to maintain SAP. The financial aid office determines if SAP has been restored (restoration of federally sponsored financial aid becomes possible when the student achieves SAP requirements, based on official end-of-semester grade reports) and notifies the student by letter, retaining a copy of that letter in the student’s financial aid file.