ASU - Financial Aid & Scholarships - Leadership Defined

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

* A Revised Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy will be posted by May 1, 2008, effective for Fall 2008.

All students enrolled at ASU must meet the following Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. Student's academic progress will go through an annual review at the conclusion of the spring semester of each school year and/or during the application process. Transfer work will be evaluated in the same manner as credit hours received at ASU. Students on financial aid probation will be reviewed at the end of each semester and each summer term.

  1. Students must be admitted and enrolled in a degree or certificate granting program. Students enrolled in a four-year baccalaureate program will be allowed the equivalent of twelve full-time semesters to complete a degree. Students enrolled in a two-year associate program will be allowed the equivalent of six full-time semesters to complete the degree or certificate. Students enrolled in a certificate granting program will be allowed the equivalent of three full-time semesters to complete the certificate. Summer enrollment will be evaluated as one semester. Students pursuing a degree that requires admission to that program must be admitted to the Program by the end of the student's eighth full-time semester.
  2. Students must successfully complete, as a minimum, the hours of credit indicated in the sp chart. Allowances will be made on an individual basis for semesters involving remedial courses. As a minimum, students must complete two-thirds of their attempted coursework each semester and maintain a 2.0 G.P.A.
Semester Hours Attempted Cumulative Earned Hours
1 12 8
2 24 16
3 36 24
4 48 34
5 60 44
6 72 55
7 84 66
8 96 78
9 108 90
10 120 102
11 132 115
12 144 128
  1. Withdrawal from the university and/or receiving a 0.00 G.P.A. for a semester are viewed as unsatisfactory progress and are reviewed at the conclusion of each fall and spring semester and summer terms. (The completion of developmental courses is considered in the two-thirds attempted/completion standard above.)
  2. All students must maintain a minimum G.P.A. of 2.0, either cumulatively or for the term. If at any point it is clear that a student will not be able to graduate in twelve semesters, the student becomes ineligible for federal aid. Students repeating courses should have their academic transcript recalculated.
  3. Incomplete course work will be evaluated as failing grades until the course has been satisfactorily completed or an explanation accepted by the Financial Aid Director.
  4. Graduate students must be accepted in a degree seeking program and enrolled in five graduate credit hours during the Fall and Spring semester or three credit hours during the summer session.
  5. Students pursuing a second undergraduate degree or certification will need to submit a degree plan approved by their academic advisor indicating the required courses. A new maximum time frame will be established for that pursuit.
  6. Students may appeal to have their eligibility restored if there are extenuating circumstances related to their academic progress. Such situations may include unplanned medical conditions, victim of a severe crime, or a participant in a vehicle accident. Although these situations do not ensure that your appeal will be approved they are merely examples of situations that have been reviewed in the past and might be considered extenuating.
  7. When a student, who has been placed on satisfactory progress, completes the required coursework to bring them back into compliance, it is the student's responsibility to notify the financial aid office via appeal. This coursework must be completed at the student's expense.
  8. Students who have more than 60 attempted hours and less than a cumulative 2.0 G.P.A. are not eligible for an appeal.
  9. The committee will review appeals on the Wednesday before the first day of class each semester. The committee will also typically review student appeals on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month. The committee will notify the student of its decision by replying to the university assigned email address. Neither the committee nor the financial aid staff will give appeal results over the phone.

Submitting an Appeal

*Students may appeal to have their eligibility restored if there are extenuating circumstances related to their academic progress. Extenuating circumstances are typically identified as situations beyond the student's control that do not allow them to successfully complete the semester; such situations may include unplanned medical conditions, victim of a severe crime, or a participant in a vehicle accident. Although these situations do not insure that your appeal will be approved they are merely examples of situations that have been reviewed in the past and might be considered extenuating. Students may only submit their appeals in writing and must follow the prescribed guidelines below:

The committee will only review your appeal once in any given semester.

Notice: Satisfactory academic progress appeals will be reviewed by the committee on the second and fourth Monday of every month. For an appeal to be reviewed on one of these days, the appeal information must be received by the financial aid office by 5:00pm the Friday before.

  1. Your appeal must have your name and student ID number (or social security number) listed on it. Appeals that do not have this information will not be reviewed by the committee.
  2. Your appeal needs to be typed on standard 8 ½ by 11 paper. The appeal should be double-spaced and no more than 2 pages in length. Appeals that do not meet these standards will not be reviewed by the committee.
  3. Your appeal should clearly identify your extenuating circumstances for the term(s) in question.
  4. Any necessary documentation that can help validate your appeal should be turned in with the appeal. Such documentation may include hospital records, police records, court records, letter from your doctor, any documentation that may help in identifying your particular situation. Not all appeals are required to have documentation, but the committee will only review your appeal once in any given semester therefore you should give them all the information you can to help them make a decision.
  5. Students who have 60 hours or more are required to submit a degree plan form with their appeal. Appeals that are submitted without a required degree plan will not be reviewed by the committee.
  6. Submit your appeal to the Financial Aid & Scholarships Office which is located in the Student Union, room 2078.

Checking the Status of an Appeal

The committee reviews student appeals on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month. The committee will notify you of its decision by replying to your university assigned email address. Neither the committee nor the financial aid staff will give appeal results over the phone.

Please note that the above appeal process is for Financial Aid only. Students appealing the loss of a scholarship due to extenuating circumstances should contact the Scholarship Coordinator at dbolar@astatae.edu for additional information