I. INTRODUCTION

Federal and state regulations require that students receiving assistance from financial aid programs be monitored for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Satisfactory Academic Progress includes qualitative progress (grade-point average) and quantitative progress (hours earned) toward degree completion.

Monitoring is required for students who receive aid from any of the following programs:

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
• Federal and Institutional Work-Study
• Federal Perkins Loans
• Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loans
• KHEAA College Access Program (CAP)

KEES, Incentive, Alumni, Scholarship and Waiver Programs are not covered by this policy.

The University’s Academic Progress policy (administered through the Academic Advising and Retention Center) is separate from the Department of Student Financial Assistance’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy. A student may be placed on probation and/or be required to appeal by both the Academic Advising and Retention Center and the Department of Student Financial Assistance.

II. STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

To be admitted officially to the University a student must have a high school diploma, a GED certificate or completed home schooling. Undergraduates receiving financial aid must be admitted in good standing, degree-seeking and taking courses applicable to their degree program. Graduate students must be officially admitted to a program of study in good standing and taking courses applicable to their degree program. If a Graduate student changes their program of study, they are required to provide the Department of Student Financial Assistance with a copy of their letter of acceptance into the new program.

Students admitted to the University on probation are automatically placed on probation with the Department of Student Financial Assistance for financial aid purposes (refer to Section V & VI).

III. QUALITATIVE PROGRESS: Grade-Point Average (GPA)

Undergraduates:

• Beginning first year students and transfer/readmit students must be admitted to the University or Community College in good standing.
• Continuing students must maintain the minimum cumulative higher education (HiEd) GPA and minimum cumulative WKU GPA as indicated in the table below.

Graduate Students:

• Students must be admitted or readmitted in good standing and maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative HiEd GPA and a minimum 3.0 WKU GPA.

Qualitative progress is monitored for all recipients at the end of each Spring term for the current academic year. Failure to meet the grade-point average requirements indicated above will result in a student being placed on probation for the next semester in which they apply for financial aid (refer to Section VI).

IV. QUANITITATIVE PROGRESS (Hours Earned)

Each term students are awarded financial aid they must earn at least 75% of the number of hours for which they were awarded aid as indicated in the tables below.

Undergraduates:

Graduate Students:

Students who were awarded financial aid that drop below half-time enrollment statusare denied aid for the next subsequent term until eligibility is regained or student has been approved on an appeal (refer to Section VII & VIII).

Students pursuing an Associates Degree must complete graduation requirements by the time they have reached 96 quality (attempted) hours. Students pursuing a Bachelors Degreemust complete graduation requirements by the time they have reached 192 quality (attempted) hours. All quality (attempted) hours for which grades are received are counted, regardless if Title IV aid was received for those hours.

Quantitative progress is monitored for all recipients at the end of each Spring term for the current academic year. Failure to meet the hours earned requirements indicated above will result in a student being placed on probation for the next semester in which they apply for financial aid (refer to Section VI).

V. FAILURE TO MEET SAP REQUIREMENTS

Students who fail to meet either the grade-point average or hours earned components of the SAP policy are placed on probation for the next subsequent semester in which they apply for assistance. In addition, students admitted to the University on probation are likewise placed on probation with the Department of Student Financial Assistance.

In order to receive aid on a probationary status the following criteria must be met:

• Student must complete an on-line probation counseling session at www.wku.edu/finaid/sapoc.htm or complete a hardcopy probation counseling contract available in the Department of Student Financial Assistance
• Student cannot owe an outstanding balance to the University

VI. PROBATION STATUS

Students that are placed on probation for a particular term and have completed the probation counseling session must meet BOTH of the following requirements to continue to receive assistance beyond the probationary period:

• Satisfactory Academic Achievement (GPA) : Must earn a minimum 2.0 undergraduate, 3.0 graduate grade-point average for the semester
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (Hours Earned) : Must earn 100% of the credit hours for which aid was awarded for the semester

Students that do not meet these requirements for their term of probation are ineligible for aid for any subsequent semester until they meet the criteria for reinstatement of aid (refer to Section VII), or have gained approval based on an appeal (refer to Section VIII).

Students that are placed on probation and continue to earn the minimum semester grade-point average and hours earned requirements, will remain on probation until their cumulative grade-point average is a minimum of 2.0 undergraduate, 3.0 graduate AND their total hours earned is at least 75% of total hours attempted. Once these requirements are met, the student will be removed from probationary status for the next subsequent term.

VII. REINSTATEMENT OF AID

Students who are deemed ineligible for financial aid due to unsatisfactory academic progress (failure to meet requirements of probationary status or withdrawal after receiving assistance) must satisfy one of the following criteria and complete an appeal form to be re-considered for eligibility (refer to Section VIII):

• Must have paid for and completed a minimum of six credit hours (or completed the deficit number of credit hours with a minimum of six credit hours) with a 2.0 or greater GPA without the use of federal assistance.
• Must have not attended WKU for at least one year (one year = fall and spring semesters combined or one calendar year).

VIII. APPEAL PROCEDURES

Eligibility to Appeal:

1. Students that were previously on probation and did not meet the terms of that probationary status are eligible to appeal if they first meet the criteria defined in Section VII.
2. Students that were previously on probation and did not meet the terms of that probationary status are eligible to appeal if they have mitigating circumstances that can be documented (i.e. illness, death of immediate family member, divorce). Supporting documentation in these situations will be required (such as medical reports, legal documents, etc.).
3. If a student has been academically dismissed from the University, an appeal for federal financial assistance cannot be processed until the student is allowed re-admittance to the University as determined by the Academic Advising and Retention Center.
4. If a student owes a balance to the University for more than $100 for repayment to any financial assistance programs, an appeal cannot be submitted to the Department of Student Financial Assistance until the obligation has been paid.

Appeal Process:

1. To appeal, students must complete an Appeal Form and an Appeal Contract and submit BOTH items to the Department of Student Financial Assistance. Both forms are available online at www.wku.edu/finaid/faforms.htm or by hardcopy in the Department of Student Financial Assistance.
2. Appeals are reviewed by the Department of Student Financial Assistance and/or the Financial Aid Appeals Committee. The decision of the Committee is final.
3. The earlier an appeal is submitted the sooner eligibility for financial assistance can be determined. A student submitting an appeal should be prepared to make any tuition and fee payments required for that term in the event the appeal is not processed prior to any pending due date or in the event the appeal is denied.
4. It is the responsibility of the student who submits an appeal to determine that all other financial aid application materials are complete. If an appeal is approved and application materials incomplete, a further delay in the awarding process will result.

Approved Appeals:

Students are notified in writing if an appeal has been approved. Once approved, the student is required to make satisfactory academic progress for the term in which the appeal was submitted and approved. To make satisfactory academic progress, BOTH of the following requirements must be met:

• Satisfactory Academic Achievement (GPA) : Must earn a minimum 2.0 undergraduate, 3.0 graduate grade-point average for the semester
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (Hours Earned) : Must earn 100% of the credit hours for which aid was awarded for the semester

Students receiving financial assistance based on an approved appeal for a particular term that do not make satisfactory academic progress for that term cannot submit a new appeal until they have met the following conditions:

1. Must have paid for and completed a minimum of six credit hours with a 2.0 or greater GPA without the use of federal assistance
2. Must have not attended WKU for at least one year (one year = fall and spring semesters combined or one calendar year).

Students that are on an approved appeal and continue to earn the minimum semester grade-point average and hours earned requirements, will remain on probation until their cumulative grade-point average is a minimum of 2.0 undergraduate, 3.0 graduate AND their total hours earned is at least 75% of total hours attempted. Once these requirements are met, the student will be removed from the approved appeal probationary status for the next subsequent term.

Students whose approved appeal is for excessive hours may only take courses that are reflected on their Official Degree Program. Taking courses not part of an approved degree program will result in revocation of approved appeal status and loss of financial aid eligibility at WKU.

Denied Appeals:

Students are notified in writing if an appeal has been denied. If an appeal for financial assistance is denied and the student enrolls in courses for that term, he/she is responsible for all tuition and fees for that term.

Students whose academic appeals are denied must satisfy one of the following criteria to become eligible to re-appeal again in a subsequent term:

• Must have paid for and completed a minimum of six credit hours with a 2.0 or greater GPA without the use of federal assistance.
• Must have not attended any college, university, trade or vocational school for a period of at least one year (one year = fall and spring semesters combined or one calendar year).

Multiple Appeals:

Students that were on an approved appeal and did not meet the term requirements are not eligible to re-appeal for subsequent terms until they have met the requirements indicated under the “Denied Appeals” section. Exceptions are allowed on a case-by-case basis for those individuals with documented mitigating circumstances (such as illness, death of family member, etc.). If the previous appeal was approved based on the same mitigating circumstance then a second appeal based on the same situation is not allowed. A student needs to demonstrate that the conditions that existed previously that hindered successful progress toward a degree have been remedied.

IX. COURSES FOR WHICH NO CREDIT IS EARNED

1. Audits, Incompletes, and grades of ‘W’ or ‘F’ do not count as hours earned.
2. A student must complete all assignments for an Incomplete (X) or an In Progress (IP) course and have a passing grade for that course posted on their academic transcript before credit may be included in the number of hours earned for that term. A grade of NR (no report) or ER (no report for just one student) indicates a grade has not been posted by an instructor. Students on probation or an approved appeal must also have official grades for these courses reflected on their academic transcript before they can be included in the number of hours earned for that term.
3. Courses that are applicable toward the student’s degree program and are repeated for the first or second time will be counted in the student’s enrollment status (as financial aid award hours) for that particular term.
4. Courses numbered 0-99 (continuing education and special purposes courses) do not count in the total hours and quality points required for graduation. If such courses are recommended for a student’s program of study, the courses will be considered as part of the hours earned for financial aid purposes. Students receiving financial aid may not take more than 30 hours of courses numbered 0-99.

X. FAILURE TO PASS ANY COURSES FOR A TERM

Students that fail to pass any courses for a term in which they received federal financial assistance will automatically be denied assistance for the next subsequent term. Such students are eligible to appeal (refer to VII), assuming they are not already on probation or an approved appeal for the term in which all failing grades were received.

A return of funds to financial aid programs may be required as a result of receiving all failing grades. In these instances, students are not eligible to appeal until all financial obligations to the University have been resolved.

Students that have an incomplete and all other grades of failing, will be treated as a student that has failed all courses for purposes of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Such students are eligible to appeal, assuming they are not already on probation or an approved appeal for the term in which the incomplete and failing grades were received.

If documentation is received to validate that the student is in the process of completing the incomplete grade, he/she will not be subject to a return of funds that could result in owing an obligation to the University. If documentation is not received regarding the incomplete course, then the student is subject to a return of funds calculation and must resolve any remaining balance to the University as a result before an academic appeal can be submitted for a subsequent term.

XI. ACADEMIC RENEWAL

A student’s entire academic record is considered when deciding if Satisfactory Academic Progress is being made. Students who have completed academic renewal (refer to WKU Undergraduate Catalog) are still subject to the qualitative and quantitative standards of the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.

XII. TRANSFER CREDIT

Transfer credit is considered as part of the cumulative grade-point average and overall hours for those courses that are recognizable as transfer credit by the University. Likewise these are included in the cumulative grade-point average and overall hours for purposes of evaluating Satisfactory Academic Progress.

XIII. CONCLUSION

It is the student’s responsibility to maintain the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Students should be familiar with their academic records. Academic records are available to the student from their TopNet account and an official copy can be obtained from the Office of the Registrar. Students should work closely with their academic advisor to plan their degree program and to develop strategies for timely degree completion. Students planning to complete their degree at WKU should contact either their advisor or the Academic Advising and Retention Center before registering for courses at another college or university.

Any student who does not meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid and who plans to enroll for a particular term must be prepared to pay all tuition and fees for that term.

The SAP policy is available to students in the office of the Department of Student Financial Assistance, 317 Potter Hall and on-line at www.wku.edu/finaid, under Keeping Financial Aid, Satisfactory Academic Policy (SAP).

Please contact the Department of Student Financial Assistance if you have questions regarding financial aid policies and procedures.