UW Colleges Money Matters
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy
- Cumulative GPA
- Credits Attempted and Credits Earned
- Policies Regarding Course Work
- Student Notification of Loss of Eligibility
- Appeals Process/Re-Establishing Eligibility
Federal Financial Aid regulations require that UW Colleges establishes, publishes and applies reasonable standards for measuring students' satisfactory academic progress in their educational programs. Included in these standards are a qualitative measure, a quantitative measure and a maximum timeframe requirement. The qualitative and quantitative standards used to monitor academic progress must be cumulative and must include all periods of the student's enrollment including periods for which the student did not receive financial aid.
UW Colleges assesses the following qualitative and quantitative information for all students at the end of each fall and spring term:
- Cumulative GPA (Min. GPA of 2.0 after completing 48 or more credits; graduated scale for less than 48 credits)
- Number of credits attempted (effective Fall 2004 the maximum allowable is 90 credit hours for financial aid eligibility)
- Rate of completion (2/3 credits attempted must be successfully completed)
Failure to meet the UW Colleges Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) may result in the loss of financial aid eligibility.
Cumulative GPA: The Qualitative Measure of Satisfactory Academic Progress
In order to meet the SAP standards for financial aid, students must have a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) at the end of their second academic year at UW Colleges. Since twelve credits are considered full time for tuition and for SAP, the end of the second academic year is defined as the completion of 48 credits.
Students who have earned fewer than 48 credits are required to meet the minimum cumulative GPA requirement according to the following graduated scale:
| Degree Credits Earned | Min. Cum. GPA Required |
|---|---|
| 1-11 | 1.00< |
| 12-23 | 1.25 |
| 24-35 | 1.50 |
| 36-47 | 1.75 |
| >48 | 2.00 |
The UW Colleges Student Financial Aid SAP policy applies courses and credits for GPA as they are defined by UW Colleges academic policy. According to UW Colleges academic policy, students who receive grades of Incomplete have the entire next term in which to complete their work. The Incomplete is not included as credits earned until the final grade is submitted; however, it is counted in credits attempted. Please see your campus Student Services Office to determine how incompletes, remedial courses, audit credits, dropped courses, and transfer credits are calculated in a student's UW Colleges GPA.
CREDITS ATTEMPTED and CREDITS EARNED: The Quantitative Measures of SAP
Students must successfully complete 2/3 of all attempted credits taken at UW Colleges. The percentage is calculated as follows:
- number of credits earned
- number of credits attempted = 2/3 or higher
In this calculation of credits earned, credits are rounded to the next higher whole number.
| Rate of Completion Chart | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits Attempted | 2/3 Completion Rate | Credits Attempted | 2/3 Completion Rate | Credits Attempted | 2/3 Completion Rate |
| 1 | 1 | 31 | 21 | 61 | 41 |
| 2 | 1 | 32 | 21 | 62 | 41 |
| 3 | 2 | 33 | 22 | 63 | 42 |
| 4 | 3 | 34 | 23 | 64 | 43 |
| 5 | 3 | 35 | 23 | 65 | 43 |
| 6 | 4 | 36 | 24 | 66 | 44 |
| 7 | 5 | 37 | 25 | 67 | 45 |
| 8 | 5 | 38 | 25 | 68 | 45 |
| 9 | 6 | 39 | 26 | 69 | 46 |
| 10 | 7 | 40 | 27 | 70 | 47 |
| 11 | 7 | 41 | 27 | 71 | 47 |
| 12 | 8 | 42 | 28 | 72 | 48 |
| 13 | 9 | 43 | 29 | 73 | 49 |
| 14 | 9 | 44 | 29 | 74 | 49 |
| 15 | 10 | 45 | 30 | 75 | 50 |
| 16 | 11 | 46 | 31 | 76 | 51 |
| 17 | 11 | 47 | 31 | 77 | 51 |
| 18 | 12 | 48 | 32 | 78 | 52 |
| 19 | 13 | 49 | 33 | 79 | 53 |
| 20 | 13 | 50 | 33 | 80 | 53 |
| 21 | 14 | 51 | 34 | 81 | 54 |
| 22 | 15 | 52 | 35 | 82 | 55 |
| 23 | 15 | 53 | 35 | 83 | 55 |
| 24 | 16 | 54 | 36 | 84 | 56 |
| 25 | 17 | 55 | 37 | 85 | 57 |
| 26 | 17 | 56 | 37 | 86 | 57 |
| 27 | 18 | 57 | 38 | 87 | 58 |
| 28 | 19 | 58 | 39 | 88 | 59 |
| 29 | 19 | 59 | 39 | 89 | 59 |
| 30 | 20 | 60 | 40 | 90* | 60 |
Federal regulations allow students to receive aid for 150% of the published length of an undergraduate program. UW Colleges publishes in its catalog that students can earn the AAS Degree by completing 60 credits. Students at UW Colleges, therefore, may receive aid for a maximum of 90 credit hours (60 credit hours X 150%=90 credit hours). Once a student has attempted 90 credit hours at UW Colleges (including accepted transfer credits), s/he is no longer eligible to receive financial aid with UW Colleges and this standing is not appealable.
Transfer credits that are accepted by UW Colleges are not included in the rate of completion but are counted toward the maximum timeframe. Credits attempted and credits completed in all academic terms (fall, spring and summer) are included in the rate of completion calculation. UW Colleges reviews SAP progress for all students at the end of each fall and spring term and notifies students of any deficiencies that may exist. Deficiencies can result in the loss of financial aid eligibility.
Policies Regarding Course Work
Incomplete Grades
Students who receive grades of Incomplete might not meet the minimum SAP requirements. When this situation occurs, students should contact the campus Student Services Office to find out if it would be appropriate to file a SAP appeal. Students are responsible for notifying the Financial Aid contact person in the campus Student Services Office when the grade of incomplete has been replaced by a letter grade. If the course work to resolve the grade of incomplete is not adequately completed in the time allowed, the grade changes to an "F" and is included in the calculation of the GPA.
Dropped Credits
Students who drop courses after the end of the 100% refund period may encounter difficulties in meeting the SAP policy standards. Students considering dropping courses after the 100% refund period should consult the campus Student Services Office to review the impact of dropping a course on their future eligibility for financial aid.
Withdrawal From All Course Work
Students who withdraw from all courses need to consider the implication for their satisfactory academic progress status. Withdrawing after the 100% refund period could impact a student's SAP status, future financial aid eligibility and could result in repayment of financial aid received in the current term.
Repeated Course Work
There is no limit to the number of times that a student may repeat a course. Credits for repeated courses count only once as credits earned and only once in a student's GPA; however, these credits are counted as attempted credits for each repeated course. The most recent grade for any repeated course is used in calculating GPA.
Non-Degree (including remedial) Course Work
UW Colleges non-degree courses are considered the same as credit courses for tuition, for full-time academic standing and for SAP with the exception that the grades assigned for non-degree course work are not included in the GPA calculations. Credits for non-degree course work are included in the calculation of the 2/3-completion requirement and in the maximum limit of 90 credits attempted.
Financial aid may be paid for a maximum of 30 non-degree credits.
Student Notification of Loss of Eligibility
The UW Colleges Student Financial Aid Office sends notices to students receiving financial aid at the end of each fall and spring term of enrollment if they have deficiencies under the SAP policy. Students who fail to meet the minimum SAP requirements may be ineligible to receive aid in subsequent terms.
Appeals Process/Re-Establishing Eligibility
Students who are ineligible for financial aid because of their SAP status may have their financial aid reinstated by completing a SAP appeal form and then completing a SAP contract if the appeal is approved. Students exceeding the maximum timeframe of 90 attempted credits cannot appeal their standing. Students who fail to meet the SAP requirements should contact their campus Student Services Office. (Students taking online courses only should contact the Online Advisor.) Examples of mitigating circumstances as well as examples of student appeals can be found on our website at: www.uwc.edu. The following is a list of steps for appealing SAP status:
- Student completes the Satisfactory Academic Progress Financial Aid Appeal Form and submits it to the Student Services Office/Online Advisor.
- Appeal is reviewed by committee and is either accepted or denied.
- If appeal is accepted, student meets with the appropriate Student Services Office staff/Online Advisor and completes the SAP Contract. The campus Student Services staff/Online Advisor reviews the student's progress at the end of the term to determine if the SAP requirements are met.
- If appeal is denied, student is not eligible to receive further financial aid at any UW Colleges campus until the SAP requirements and terms of the contract are met.
- In rare situations in which a student determines that the campus appeals committee did not adequately address her/his special circumstances, the student may make a final appeal to the UW Colleges Office of Student Financial Aid Appeal Committee. This form must be obtained from the Student Services Office/Online Advisor.
SAP Holds
When a student fails to meet the SAP policy and loses financial aid eligibility, a HOLD is placed on the student's record that prevents the student from receiving any further financial aid. This hold does not prohibit the student from registering for classes. If an appeal is filed and approved, the hold is deactivated and the student regains eligibility to receive financial aid. If an appeal is not approved, the student may not receive financial aid at any of the UW College campuses until the student meets the SAP policy requirements. Once the requirements are met, the student is again eligible to receive financial aid in subsequent terms.