Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

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Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

The SAP policy applies to all students.

  • Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

    Students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program at North Greenville University must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (“SAP”) standards in order to maintain eligibility for any form of financial aid.  The SAP evaluation process involves a review of three specific components: quantitative, qualitative, and maximum timeframe. 

    Please note that many state and institutional scholarships have higher eligibility requirements than those set forth by this SAP policy.  It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to know and understand the specific eligibility criteria for his/her federal, state, and institutional and private awards.

  • Quantitative Standards

    To meet the minimum requirement for the quantitative SAP component, a student must complete at least 67% of the credit hours in which s/he has enrolled. This percentage is calculated by dividing the number of cumulative credit hours earned by the number of cumulative credit hours attempted. Attempted hours include those for completed courses, incomplete courses, withdrawn courses, and failed courses. All transfer hours accepted by North Greenville University will be counted in the calculations for both earned and attempted hours. Courses that are dropped within the regular add/drop period (as published in the university’s catalog and course schedule) are not included on a student’s transcript and will therefore not be counted in hours attempted. Furthermore, remedial coursework (see definition below) is excluded from the quantitative calculation. In the event that a student repeats a course, only the attempted and earned hours associated with the highest earned grade for the repeated course will count in the quantitative calculation.

  • Qualitative Standards

    To meet the minimum requirement for the qualitative SAP component, graduate students must maintain a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA at all times, and undergraduate students must earn a minimum cumulative GPA in accordance with the scale below:

    Credit Hours Attempted                Cumulative GPA

    0-29.5 Credits                                     1.50 CGPA

    30-59.5 Credits                                   1.75 CGPA

    60+ Credits                                         2.00 CGPA

    Withdrawn credits, incomplete credits, and grades earned from transfer coursework will be excluded from the GPA calculation for SAP. The highest grade for a repeated course (attempted at NGU) will be used in the GPA calculation for SAP.  The grades earned for remedial coursework are excluded from the GPA calculation.  Students are, however, required to pass their remedial coursework in order to maintain SAP.  In the event that a student fails his/her remedial coursework, s/he will automatically fail the qualitative component of SAP and will automatically advance to a financial aid warning status.  If a student who fails his/her remedial courses was already on a financial aid warning status at the time of remedial failure, that student will automatically advance to an ineligible status.

  • Maximum Timeframe

    The maximum timeframe component limits the length of time that a student can receive federal student aid. A student will not be permitted to receive aid after exceeding 150% of the length of his/her degree program (measured in credit hours attempted). In the event that a student changes his/her academic program, the time-frame calculation may be reset, in which case, only the hours required for his/her new academic program will count toward the maximum timeframe calculation. This reset can only happen once per student, and it must be requested by the student via NGU’s official process (i.e. this reset does not occur automatically).

  • Remedial Coursework Definition

    For the purpose of calculating SAP, only the following two courses count as remedial: MATH 0310 and MATH 0320. READ 1290 and ENGL 1300, while still part of NGU’s transitional programing, carry college credit and can be applied toward degree completion as elective hours; therefore, READ 1290 and ENGL 1300 are not considered remedial for SAP purposes.

  • Review of SAP

    The academic records of all students will be reviewed for SAP at the end of each academic term (fall, spring, and summer), and all students will be notified of their SAP status via institutional email once the calculations have been completed. Students who initially move into an unsatisfactory SAP status will be given one additional semester to meet SAP criteria. During this time, the student will be placed on a financial aid warning status. If a student fails to meet all SAP criteria by the end of the financial aid warning period, that student will become ineligible for all forms of aid (federal, state, and institutional) until such time as all SAP criteria have been met. Exception: students who fail the time limit component will immediately move to an ineligible SAP status and will not be granted a financial aid warning period.

  • SAP Appeals

    Students with unusual circumstances (e.g. death in the family, illness, or other circumstances beyond their control) may request the reinstatement of their financial aid by submitting an appeal form and supporting documentation to the office of financial aid. If a student’s appeal is granted, s/he will be placed on either a probationary status for one semester or, at the discretion of the financial aid office, an academic plan. If the appeal is denied, the student will become ineligible for all forms of financial aid (federal, state, and institutional) until s/he has met all SAP requirements.

    • In the event that a student is placed on probationary status, the student will be able to receive his/her financial aid for one additional semester.  If—at the end of the probationary period—the student has met all SAP requirements, the student will be placed back into an eligible status for financial aid and will continue receiving aid for as long as s/he continues to maintain his/her SAP requirements.  If—on the other hand—a student has not met all SAP requirements by the end of the probationary period, the student will become ineligible for financial aid until such time that all SAP requirements have been met.
    • If a student requires more than one semester to meet SAP standards, the student may be placed on an academic plan for a determined period of time while s/he works to meet his/her SAP components. In the event that a student is placed on an academic plan, that student will be required to meet a series of pre-defined academic goals in order to maintain his/her financial aid eligibility. Students who are placed on an academic plan and who fail to meet all of their pre-defined requirements will lose their eligibility for federal, state, and institutional eligibility until such time as they are meeting all of their SAP components. The academic plan will persist until such time as (1) the student has met all SAP components and no longer needs to be placed on an academic plan, (2) the student fails to meet the pre-defined requirements expressly listed in their academic plans or (3) the student fails to maintain continuous, full-time enrollment. 

    Only one appeal may be submitted per unusual circumstance occurrence.  All appeal decisions are final and may not be re-appealed. All claims made in the appeal must be substantiated with supporting documentation. If a student is unable to provide documentation that substantiates his/her reason for requesting an appeal, his/her appeal cannot be approved. If a student or parent has a question about what type of supporting documentation should be submitted with the appeal, the student or parent should contact the Office of Financial Aid via finaid@ngu.edu; the office will be glad to provide guidance. 

    All appeals will be carefully reviewed by the financial aid committee, and students will be notified via their NGU email account as to the outcome of the appeal decision.

  • SAP Status Definitions

    Eligible SAP Status – A student that is placed in an eligible SAP status has satisfactorily met the qualitative, quantitative, and time limit components of SAP. A student in an eligible SAP status is eligible for financial aid.

    Financial Aid Warning Status – A student that is placed in a financial aid warning status has initially failed one or more components of SAP. A student in a financial aid warning status is given one additional semester to meet his/her SAP components (this additional semester is referred to as a financial aid warning period). If—at the end of the financial aid warning period—the student has not met all of his/her SAP components, the student will advance to an ineligible status.

    Ineligible SAP Status – A student that is placed in an ineligible SAP status has exhausted his/her financial aid warning and is still not meeting all of his/her SAP components. A student in an ineligible SAP status is not eligible for any form of financial aid until such time as s/he meets all of his/her SAP components.

    Probationary SAP Status – A student that is placed in a probationary SAP status has applied and been approved for a satisfactory academic progress appeal immediately following being placed in an ineligible SAP status. A student in a probationary SAP status is given one additional semester to meet his/her SAP components (this additional semester is referred to as a financial aid probationary period). If—at the end of the financial aid probationary period—the student has not met all of his/her SAP components, the student will advance to an ineligible status.

    Academic Plan SAP Status – A student that is placed in an academic plan SAP status has applied and been approved for a satisfactory academic progress appeal immediately following being placed in an ineligible SAP status. A student in an academic plan SAP status is eligible for financial aid so long as s/he completes all of the terms and conditions associated with his/her academic plan. Students who fail to meet the requirements of their academic plan will advance to an ineligible status.

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North Greenville University (NGU) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.