Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

 

Federal and Minnesota regulations require that all higher education institutions establish and implement a policy to measure whether the student:

1. [the student] is receiving financial aid
2. [the student] is making satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of a degree.

The purpose of this policy is to make sure that students who receive financial aid are using this money appropriately. It is meant to curtail the use of financial aid by students who fail to successfully complete their course work. Failure to meet the following standards makes a student ineligible for all institutional, federal, and state financial aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be evaluated at the end of each enrollment term (fall, spring, and summer) regardless of whether the student received financial aid during that semester.

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Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress

 

To demonstrate satisfactory academic progress (SAP), a student’s academic performance must meet two main SAP components. The first is a qualitative component, represented by grade point average (GPA). The second is a quantitative component measured by credit completion (the ratio between earned and attempted credits) and maximum time frame (the ability to complete the degree or certificate program within an established number of credits).

Students will be notified of their SAP status via their Augsburg email address within 14 days of the end of the term. A paper letter notification will also be sent to the student via U.S. mail when deemed appropriate.

Grade Point Average

All undergraduate students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

Credit Completion

Students must complete 66.67% of all credits attempted. A completed credit has a grade of A, B, C, D, or P. Withdrawals, F, X (extension), I (incomplete), FN (Failed for Non-Attendance), N (Not Passing), and incomplete courses count toward cumulative completion standards.

Students are permitted to retake a failed class and use financial aid as many times as needed to get a passing grade. Once the student passes the course, the passing grade replaces the failed grade. Students are allowed to retake a passing grade in a course once and use financial aid. The higher letter grade would replace the lower letter grade. Repeated courses do not count toward cumulative completion standards.

Earned credits: Transferred credits and satisfactory Augsburg grades (A – D-, P).
Divide earned credits by attempted credits (do not round numbers up or down)
Example: 19 earned credits / 27 attempted credits = .7037 or 70.37%
Example: 17 earned credits / 27 attempted credits = .6296 or 62.96%

Remedial Courses

If the student is admitted into an eligible program and takes remedial coursework (including ESL courses) within that program, they can be considered a regular student, even if they are taking all remedial courses before taking any regular courses. These remedial courses will not be included as attempted credits and the grades from these courses will not be counted towards the cumulative GPA for purposes of SAP evaluation.

A student enrolled solely in a remedial program is not considered to be enrolled in an eligible program and, therefore, is not a regular student. If acceptance into an eligible program is contingent on completing remedial work, a student cannot be considered enrolled in that program until the student completes the remedial work.

Maximum Time Frame

All students are expected to finish their degree or certificate within an acceptable period of time. Financial aid recipients may continue to receive aid through their cumulative attempted credits that equal 150% of the required number of credits needed to complete their program, including transfer credits from another college that apply to the Augsburg University program.

Financial aid eligibility is subject to the constraint that as soon as it becomes mathematically impossible for a student to graduate within the 150% limit, the University will place the student on Financial Aid Suspension.

Students are allowed to make changes in their course of study and major for purposes of this policy; however, all changes will count in a student’s SAP calculation. Change of major can result in a possible overage of attempted credit hours, which would impact the maximum time frame component. Second degree students are required to complete their second degree within the maximum 150% of the hours required for the second degree.

If placed on Financial Aid Suspension for maximum time frame, the student does have the right to appeal. The appeal should reflect on what prevented reasonable progress towards program completion, an estimated timeline for program completion and any other relevant supporting documentation.

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Monitoring Eligibility

 

Academic progress will be reviewed after each semester. All of a student’s academic coursework is considered in the review process, whether the student received aid that semester or not. The assessment will be based on the student’s entire academic record, including all accepted transfer credits.

Financial Aid Warning

If a student does not meet the minimum cumulative GPA and/or credit completion calculation, they will automatically be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the next semester of enrollment. Financial Aid Warning is a notice to the student that they will be suspended and that they will lose financial aid eligibility if both the GPA and credit completion standards are not met at the end of the semester. During a Financial Aid Warning semester, a student may continue to receive financial aid.

Financial Aid Suspension

Students who do not meet the minimum cumulative GPA and/or credit completion percentage at the end of the Financial Aid Warning semester become ineligible for all financial aid and will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. If it is determined that a student will not be able to complete a degree or certificate within the maximum time frame, they will be suspended from receiving all financial aid. Financial Aid Suspension will conclude when the student meets SAP standards, or successfully appeals.

Augsburg University reserves the right to intervene with students who earn less than a 2.00 term GPA and/or less than 66.67% term completion percentage in a semester but are otherwise meeting cumulative standards. Students who earn less than a 1.00 GPA during their first term at Augsburg will be suspended[3].

Students who have been academically suspended by Augsburg University are no longer eligible to receive any financial aid.

Financial Aid Probation

A student who has successfully appealed shall be placed on financial aid probation for one semester. In cases where it is determined a student can meet SAP standards by the end of the subsequent semester, the student will be placed on probation without an Academic Probation “Plan for Success.” If it is determined a student will need more than a single semester to meet SAP standards, the student must develop an Academic Probation “Plan for Success” with an academic advisor that outlines how and when the student will meet SAP standards. While on probation, a student is eligible to receive financial aid. The student’s progress will be reviewed at the end of the probation term.

If at the end of the financial aid probation the student has:

• met the cumulative grade point average and credit completion standards, the student shall be returned to good standing and will be eligible for financial aid.
• not met the cumulative grade point average and completion percentage standards but has met the conditions specified in his/her academic plan, the student will remain eligible for financial aid as long as the student continues to meet the requirements laid out in his/her Academic Probation “Plan for Success”.
• not met the cumulative grade point average and completion percentage standards and has also not met the conditions specified in his/her Academic Probation “Plan for Success,” the student will be re-suspended immediately.

For more information about Probation requirements, visit www.augsburg.edu/advising/majors/probation-advising/.

Regaining Financial Aid Eligibility

Students who have been suspended may apply for readmission after one full academic year (including fall, spring, and summer semesters). At that time, the Student Standing Committee will review the application for readmission. Students must also re-appeal for financial aid.

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Right to Appeal

Undergraduate Students

Graduate students on Financial Aid Warning who do not meet cumulative GPA, term completion standards, or maximum time frame will placed on Financial Aid Suspension and will become ineligible for financial aid. Students may appeal their Financial Aid Suspension by submitting the SAP Appeal Form within 7 days of notification or by the due date given on the notification letter. The form must be completely filled out, along with any additional documents required by the Committee. The appeal should state reasons why the student failed to meet SAP standards, and what changed for the student that will allow the student to demonstrate progress towards meeting SAP standards. The Committee decision is final. Instructions for appeals are included in the Letter of Suspension. If a student’s appeal is denied they will remain on Financial Aid Suspension and will remain ineligible for financial aid.

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Other items to Note:

1. SAP includes all degree seeking students in both the Undergraduate Day and Augsburg for Adults, and all Graduate programs.
2. Financial Aid is defined as: Augsburg Institutional Aid, Federal Title IV funding, and Minnesota State Financial Aid programs.
3. Due to high COVID transmission levels in fall 2021, students in their first term who were suspended due to a GPA of less than 1.0 were granted an automatic appeal and placed on financial aid probation.