SAP Policy

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Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Federal regulations require the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) to monitor the academic progress of all students applying for federal financial aid. All financial aid recipients are reviewed for Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each term (fall, spring, summer). Financial aid applicants who have not been reviewed in the last term are reviewed when their FAFSA is received by Wichita State.

To maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress, you must:

Successfully complete at least 67% of all attempted credit hours
Maintain at least the minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA)
Complete your degree program within the maximum time frame of no more than 150% of your program’s length

Failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress standards may result in the suspension of your financial aid and the loss of your financial aid eligibility.

This policy applies to all semesters of enrollment, not just those in which you received financial aid. All WSU credit hours and all transfer credit hours recorded by the WSU Registrar’s Office will be evaluated. The OFA reserves the right to re-evaluate your Satisfactory Academic Progress if additional coursework is received.

1. Pace: Percent of Attempted Credit Hours Earned

You must complete at least 67% (rounded up) of your overall credit hours attempted. This includes both WSU hours and all transfer credit hours recorded by the WSU Registrar’s Office at the time of the evaluation.

Attempted credit hours include: all enrolled hours (including withdrawn courses); remedial; badge; credit/no credit; satisfactory/unsatisfactory; and repeated courses.

Completed hours include: grades of A, B, C, D (including plus/minus); in progress (IP); Badge Earned (BG); credit; or satisfactory.

Completed hours do NOT include: grades of F; No Badge Earned (NBG); incomplete (I); no grade submitted (NGS); no credit; unsatisfactory; or hours that were audited, dropped, withdrawn from, or ones you stopped attending.

Example 1: Susie has attempted 114 credit hours at the time of the Satisfactory Academic Progress review. She has successfully completed 87 hours (76% of the hours attempted). She is meeting the standard for Pace.

Example 2: Bill has attempted 65 credit hours at the time of the Satisfactory Academic Progress review. He has successfully completed 32 hours (49% of the hours attempted). He is NOT meeting the standard for Pace because he has not successfully completed at least 67% of his attempted credit hours.

2. GPA: Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average

You must maintain at least the minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA).

Undergraduate Students: 2.00 GPA

Graduate Students: 3.00 GPA

3. Maximum Time Frame for Degree Completion

Federal regulations limit eligibility for federal aid to no more than 150% of the published length of your educational program. Wichita State applies this limit to the total number of attempted credit hours. If there is a change in major or degree, you may request that the maximum time frame be re-evaluated for the new program.

Undergraduate Students:

Associate's Degree: 90 Attempted Hours
Bachelor's Degree: 180 Attempted Hours
Second or Subsequent Bachelor's Degree: 225 (Includes Hours Toward 1st Degree)

Graduate Students:

Graduate students may not exceed 150% of the published length of the educational program. Additional graduate programs are NOT evaluated independently.

Example 3: John has attempted 45 hours in a graduate program that requires 36 hours for completion. He is meeting the standard because his degree program allows up to 54 hours in accordance with the 150% allowance.

Example 4: Jane has attempted 66 hours of graduate credit (32 in her first graduate degree and 34 in her second). Her second graduate program requires 36 hours. She is NOT meeting the standard because she has exceeded the 54 hours permitted within the 150% allowance.

Financial Aid Warning

The first term in which you do not complete the minimum Pace of your credit hours and/or do not meet the minimum GPA, (Items 1 and 2), you will be placed on financial aid warning. While on warning, you may continue to receive financial aid at Wichita State without filing a financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal. This is not the same as being on academic probation with the University. Please note that there is no warning period for Maximum Time Frame (Item 3).

Warning status is only an alert encouraging a student to improve his or her academic progress for the next term so that financial aid eligibility can be continued.

You cannot be in warning status for two consecutive terms. At the end of the next term of evaluation, you will either be placed in an eligible financial aid status (if you meet the required Pace or GPA requirements) or in a suspended financial aid status.

Financial Aid Suspension

You will be placed on financial aid suspension, resulting in the loss of your federal financial aid, if either of the following situations occurs:

You fail to meet Pace and/or GPA standards (Items 1 and 2) for two or more consecutive terms.
You reach the Maximum Time Frame for your educational program (Item 3).

You may appeal the suspension. If your appeal is approved, your aid may be reinstated for one semester on “financial aid probation.”

If you are on financial aid probation, you will be expected to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress by the end of your financial aid probation semester or successfully follow the academic plan designed specifically for you (as explained below in the appeal process). Failure to meet either of these expectations will result in financial aid suspension.

Graduate Students and SAP

Undergraduate courses numbered 500-level and below are not generally included as completed hours for graduate students per the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for financial aid. If you are required to enroll in an undergraduate course for the graduate degree, your appeal must include supporting documentation from the academic advisor that confirms the undergraduate course is required. Please note that only graduate-level coursework that is required for your graduate degree will count toward your financial aid enrollment status.

If you receive a financial aid suspension letter due to a grade of incomplete (I) associated with a thesis, dissertation or project/research, you should contact your graduate academic advisor and request a Degree Plan of Study relative to your established coursework. The Degree Plan of Study must be signed by your graduate academic advisor and could be required by the OFA for subsequent academic years until you have successfully graduated with a Master’s or Doctorate degree. The Degree Plan of Study must be submitted to the OFA along with your appeal. The suspension status will be removed only if you have met the conditions of the Degree Plan of Study, the Satisfactory Academic Policy as it applies to other graduate coursework attempted, and the required 3.0 GPA. If these conditions have not been met, you will be subject to the Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal process and procedures as it relates to your extenuating circumstance.

Financial Aid Appeal Process

If extenuating circumstances prevented you from meeting the financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, you may appeal the suspension. You can obtain the appeal application and instructions on-line at wichita.edu/sapappeal.

You must type the appeal and include documentation of your extenuating circumstances. The appeal must also include an academic plan that you have designed with your academic advisor. The academic plan allows you to show that you will successfully meet the conditions of your academic plan, even though you may still be below the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. This academic plan ensures that you will meet the required standards by a specific point in time.

If you drop courses BEFORE the 100% tuition refund date, you must submit a Revised Academic Plan.

If you withdraw from courses AFTER the 100% refund date, you will be required to re-appeal for future eligibility.

All appeals are reviewed by a committee, or by an individual financial aid professional on a case-by-case basis. The decision of the committee is final.

The OFA reserves the right to put conditions on the reinstatement of your federal financial aid. You will be notified of the appeal decision by email or paper communication.

Re-Establishing Eligibility

If you did not have extenuating circumstances, or if the appeal was denied, it is still possible to re-establish your financial aid eligibility for future terms. To re-establish eligibility, you must take courses at your own expense in a subsequent term(s) until the standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress are met.