Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress

To remain eligible for Federal Title IV aid, students must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) towards completion of their degree. SAP is measured by a qualitative standard (Students must maintain a minimum GPA.) and a quantitative standard (Students must earn a certain percentage of credits attempted.) Monroe University monitors SAP at the end of each semester.

Cumulative GPAs will be reviewed at the end of each semester:

Satisfactory Academic Progress  (Academic Year 2020-2021) 

Quantitative Standard    

• SEMESTER 1-3     
  
  Must complete 50% of courses attempted with passing grades.*
• SEMESTER 4-12    
  
  Must complete 67% of courses attempted with passing grades.* 
  
   
• Students will be dismissed from the University if Qualitative Standards are not met.
• Students may be placed on SAP Federal Warning for one payment period (semester). If Quantitative Standards are not met at the end of the next payment period, the student will be dismissed.  

*All credit classes, regardless of grade, that are applicable to a student's program of study are counted as attempted courses for quantitative purposes and for maximum number of attempted credits allowed.

For students whose first semester at Monroe University is less-than-full-time, the SAP policy is as follows:

• Students who are less than full-time in their first semester at Monroe University and  have not reached the measurement threshold for a first-semester SAP determination continue to be eligible for Title IV aid.
• At the end of the second semester, these students must meet first-semester SAP requirements; 2.5 semesters, second semester requirement; 3.5, third semester requirement, etc.  
• Students with a semester count of 1.5 must meet semester 1 SAP requirements.

1. Students who fail to achieve the cited qualitative (cumulative GPA) standards
2. Students who fail to achieve the cited quantitative standards
3. Students who attempt the same remedial course three times or complete the same remedial course twice without a passing grade.
4. Students who attempt 150% of the credits required for the completion of their program

Maximum Number of Attempted Credits:

Students receiving federal aid must complete their degrees within 150% of the normal time for completion. For example, students may not attempt more than 90 credits to earn the 60 credits needed for an associate degree or 180 credits to earn the 120 credits needed for a bachelor’s degree or 225 credits to earn the 150 credits needed for the 5-year bachelor’s degree. 

Students may regain Title IV eligibility by meeting the qualitative and quantitative standards.

Federal SAP Aid Warning

A student who fails to achieve required quantitative standards receives a Federal SAP Warning  status and remains eligible for Title IV Federal aid. Such a student must achieve SAP standards after one payment period (semester). Failure to do so will result in the loss of Title IV aid.

SAP Appeal Process

Students who fail to make Quantitative Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) or who will fail to complete their degree within the maximum time frame may appeal the loss of their Title IV eligibility. If the appeal is granted, the student is placed on probation or an academic plan. The student remains eligible  for Title IV aid during the probationary period or as long as the academic plan is successfully followed.

Students can initiate appeals at the appropriate Student Services Office or Student Financial Services Office. SAP appeals are considered on a case by case basis where extenuating circumstances prevented the student from meeting Quantitative SAP requirements.  Documentation of the circumstances is required in addition to an explanation of how the student's current circumstances have changed to now enable him/her to successfully meet SAP requirements after one probationary period or by following a customized academic plan.

During semesters where the student is either non-matriculated or does not receive any Title IV assistance, all relevant courses taken will count as courses attempted for the cumulative quantitative and qualitative analysis.

• Transfer Students
  
  Monroe University considers a minimum of 12 credits to be a semester equivalent. Because the University does not transfer the value of letter grades, students who transfer credits from another institution will be placed on the SAP chart according to the semester that corresponds to their accepted number of transfer credits. If the minimum cumulative GPA is not met at the end of the transfer student’s first semester, the student is placed on academic probation and must meet the required standard at the end of his/her second semester in order to remain in good academic standing. Please note: Students who transfer in less than 12 credits must meet the required cumulative GPA at the end of their first semester.
• Second Degree Students
  
  Students pursuing a second degree shall measure Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) by counting the credits accepted toward the second degree as both credits attempted and credits earned. (Please note that students attempting a second bachelor’s degree are only eligible for Direct Student Loans.)
• Change of Major/Change of Degree
  
  Students who change majors will have their quantitative standards of progress calculated from the time of the change of major to include only the credits attempted and earned that are applicable to the new major.

• Official withdrawals (W) (initiated by the student) will be considered course attempts but will not count towards a student’s grade point average (GPA).
• Administrative withdrawals (AW) (initiated by the college) will be considered course attempts and will count as an ‘F’ in a student’s grade point average.
• Unofficial withdrawals (UW) initiated by the college will be considered course attempts, but will not count towards a student's grade point average (GPA).
• Incomplete grades (I) will be considered course attempts and will count as an ‘F’ towards a student’s GPA.
• All transfer and test-based credits earned will count as credits attempted and credits earned but will not count towards a student’s GPA.
• Repeated courses will be considered course attempts. The highest passing grade will replace the lowest grade.
• Noncredit remedial courses will not be considered course attempts and will not count towards a student’s GPA.

To remain eligible for federal Title IV aid, students must make satisfactory academic progress towards the completion of their degree.   SAP is measured by a qualitative standard (GPA) and a quantitative standard.  Monroe University monitors SAP at the end of each payment period.

Qualitative Standard

• Students are expected to earn a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
• If a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, he/she will be dismissed.
• Students whose cumulative GPA falls between 2.00-2.99 will be placed on GRAD SAP WARNING and will continue to be eligible for Title IV funding. Such students must achieve the required cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end of the following payment period (semester) in order to continue their eligibility for Title IV aid. 
• Students may only attempt a class twice. 

Quantitative Standard

• The quantitative standard requires that students complete a minimum of 67% of their attempted courses.  Students who fail to meet this standard are placed on Federal SAP Warning and students continue to be eligible for Title IV funding, but must achieve the required standard by the end of the following payment period. For purposes of this calculation, percentages are rounded up.
• For students who change their program of study, the quantitative standard will be calculated from the time of the program change and will only include attempted credits that are applicable to the new program of study.   

• An Official Withdrawal  is considered a course attempted, but does not count towards the GPA.
• An Administrative withdrawal (AW) (initiated by the University) is considered a course attempted and counts as an “F” in a student’s GPA.
• A repeated course is  considered a course attempted. The passing grade of the second attempt replaces the first earned grade.  Students may only attempt a course twice.
• An incomplete grade is considered a course attempted and counts as an F towards a student’s GPA.  
• All transfer, proficiency, and prior learning credits count as attempted credits and credits earned , but do not count toward the student’s GPA. 

• Students who fail to achieve the required cumulative GPA of 3.0 following their Graduate SAP WARNING status
• Students who fail to achieve the required quantitative standard (67%) following their Federal SAP Warning status
• Students who attempt more than 150% of the credits required for the completion of their program.  A student may not attempt more than 54 credits to earn a degree that requires 36 credits.

Satisfactory academic progress for Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) guidelines can be viewed here.