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Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require that all student financial aid recipients make satisfactory academic progress toward achieving a certificate or degree. The standards apply to all terms regardless of whether or not the student received financial aid. In addition, students must also meet the retention standards of the university as outlined in the Butler University Handbook. Satisfactory Academic Progress is measured by three components:

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

• Quantitative (Pace) - Total of all credit hours attempted versus credit hours earned measured cumulatively throughout the student's enrollment at Butler University (includes accepted transfer credit hours).
• Qualitative - Cumulative Grade Point Average.
• Maximum timeframe - The maximum time to complete a program.

Progress will be measured at the end of each term. Students on Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Warning have one semester to earn credit hours to meet the standards of satisfactory progress.

Progress Standards

Quantitative

Pace is measured by total Earned Hours divided by all Attempted Hours. A student may not fall below 67%.

Example: A student who attempts 15 credit hours for a semester and earns 12 credit hours has a percentage of 12/15 (80%). However the next term the student enrolls in 15 credit hours and only earns 6 credit hours. The overall attempted hours have now increased (accumulated) to 30 and the earned hours are 18. The calculation is 18/30 (60%). The student is no longer making progress.

Courses completed with grades of A, B, C, and D count toward earned credit hours. Courses completed with grades of F, W, I, X, NC or any other grade that does not result in credit hours completed will not count in earned hours. A few academic programs require coursework ("Z courses") that is assigned a grade but for which the credit hours are not counted toward the minimum required for a degree. Credit hours for these courses are measured as successfully completed if a letter grade of A, B, C, or D is assigned.

Quantitative progress is reviewed every term to determine if the student has completed sufficient total credit hours to maintain a pace of 67% or greater.

Qualitative

Students must have a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher at the end of their first two years (or four terms) at Butler University and continue to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher for all subsequent terms.

Maximum Timeframe

Students in an academic program with a program length of 120 hours who have attempted 180 credit hours toward a degree will be ineligible for student financial aid. All other programs with different lengths must not exceed 150% of the program length. Students may receive financial aid for a maximum of 30 credit hours of Remedial/Developmental coursework.

Graduate students in a program length of 30 credit hours have 5 years and a maximum of 45 attempted credit hours to complete their degree. Graduate programs of longer than 30 credit hours have a maximum timeframe; the number of attempted credit hours cannot exceed 150% of the program length.

Note: A student will be considered to have reached the credit hour maximum when the SAP review makes it clear that the student cannot mathematically finish the program within the maximum credit limit. At that time the student will become ineligible.

SAP Terminology

Withdrawals (W):  Courses that are recorded on the student's permanent academic transcript will be included as credit hours attempted. These will have an adverse effect on the student's ability to meet the requirements of the credit hour progression schedule for financial aid.

Incomplete grades (I): Courses that are assigned an incomplete grade are included in the cumulative credit hours attempted. These cannot be used as credit hours earned in the progress standard until a successful grade is assigned.

Pass/Fail: No more than seven credit hours of regular, non-developmental courses taken will be counted as satisfactorily completed credit hours under this policy.

Repeated Courses: Retaking courses in which the student either received a passing or failing grade, adversely affects the student's ability to meet the progress requirements. All attempted credit hours are counted in the quantitative standard.

Students are allowed only one time to repeat a course in which they achieved a passing grade. After one allowable time, the student will not earn federal financial assistance for future repeats. For example: a student earns a "D" in a course and wants to repeat the class (the student has already repeated a passing grade course one other time). If the repeat course makes the enrollment full-time (9 credits + 3 credit hour repeat) then the federal aid will be adjusted to ¾ time enrollment for 9 credit hours. If the course is added to full-time enrollment of 12 or more credit hours, the student can receive federal aid based on full-time status.

Transfer Credits: Only transfer credit hours officially accepted will be counted in the maximum number of attempted (and completed) credit hours for financial aid eligibility. If the student is required to take additional hours that would exceed the maximum cumulative allowable hours, the student must submit a written appeal to the Office of Financial Aid. If the appeal is approved, the student may continue to receive financial aid.

Second Degree Students: Students who are enrolled in a degree program, which is equal to or lower than a degree already earned, will have the previous degree's accepted credit hours applied toward the student's current certificate or degree program. The accepted credit hours will be counted in the maximum number of allowable credit hours for financial aid eligibility.

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Warning (Financial Aid Warning)

Students will be placed on financial aid warning if they fail to meet either the qualitative or quantitative standard at the time of review. Students placed on warning are then reviewed at the end of each academic term.

Students will be removed from financial aid warning in the following term if they meet or exceed SAP standards.

Disqualification from Financial Aid (Loss of Financial Aid Eligibility)

Students on financial aid warning who fail to meet the stated standards of progress in their next semester of enrollment will be ineligible for financial aid. This period of ineligibility is called Financial Aid Hold.

Students that are not keeping pace and fall below 67% or are not meeting the qualitative cumulative GPA standard may find that it will take more than one semester to meet the minimum requirements for progress. In either of these cases an Educational Plan in collaboration with the Learning Resource Center (LRC) will need to be implemented to measure progress for multiple semesters (see section IV for appeal process).

Students who pre-register for a subsequent semester before grades are evaluated and who use financial aid to defer tuition and fees may owe a financial aid repayment if they do not maintain satisfactory academic progress and are placed on Financial Aid Hold after grades are posted and reviewed.

Disqualification from financial aid does not prevent students from enrolling without financial aid if they are otherwise eligible to continue their enrollment. Students should consult with a Financial Aid Counselor to determine how to regain eligibility for financial aid.

Tuition Remission is an employee benefit and is not affected by a student's SAP standing.

Appeals to Regain Eligibility

Students who fail to meet these standards and have lost eligibility for financial aid may appeal.

The appeal must be in writing on the SAP Appeal Form provided by the Office of Financial Aid. This may require an Educational Plan to be completed with the LRC if the SAP standards cannot be met by the end of the subsequent semester. Appeals should be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid within two weeks of the date of notification. Appeals are then reviewed by the Financial Aid Committee. Reasons that may be acceptable for appeal are: (1) serious illness or accident on the part of the student; (2) death, accident or serious illness in the immediate family; (3) change in academic program; and, (4) other extenuating circumstances. The written appeal and the student's circumstances will be taken into consideration when determining the student's ability to meet the appropriate standards for the certificate or degree program in which the student is enrolled. The student is limited to two appeals during their enrollment at Butler University. Successful appeals will be approved with a probationary status not to exceed one semester. Students on an Educational Plan may have increased timeframes based on their evaluation. Denied appeals must meet SAP standards before regaining eligibility.

Regaining Eligibility

Students who failed to meet these Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards and who choose to enroll without benefit of student financial aid may request a review of their academic record after any term in which they are enrolled without the receipt of financial aid. If the standards are met at the time of review, eligibility may be regained for subsequent terms of enrollment in the academic year.