Satisfactory Academic Progress

The U.S. Department of Education requires that all students who receive financial aid make satisfactory progress toward completion of their programs of study. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the measure of a student’s overall academic progress. Labouré College has developed the following policy to comply with the federal regulations and standards. Students who do not meet these standards may not receive financial aid, including loans.

A student’s entire academic history is reviewed for the purposes of determining SAP, including credits not paid for by financial aid. For all students, progress is reviewed at the end of each academic semester after grades have been submitted.

Standard 1 Qualitative: Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA)

Students have to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 for each semester enrolled.

Standard 2 Quantitative: Completion Rate

Students have to complete successfully a minimum of 67 percent of all courses attempted. The pace at which a student progresses through a program is calculated by dividing the total number of hours the student has successfully completed by the total number of credits attempted.

EXAMPLE #1: A student who has attempted three courses, two three-credit courses and one four-credit course (total of ten credits), has to complete successfully at least seven credits (a three-credit and a four-credit course) of the ten credits (seven credits divided by ten = 70%).

EXAMPLE #2: A student who has attempted three three-credit courses (total of nine credits) has to complete successfully all courses to meet the standard. If the student completes only two courses, the student will not be meet the SAP standards (six credits divided by nine credits = 66%).

Attempted credits: All credits for which a student has registered are considered attempted credits whether or not the course is completed. Repeated courses as well as grades of F, course withdrawals (W, WP, WF), and courses that are not completed (I) at the end of each semester are included as attempted.

Repeated credits. These credits are included in the calculation for both attempted and earned credits. If a student retakes a course for which credit has already been earned, the student may receive aid to cover the repeated course only once.

Transfer credits. Credits from other colleges that are accepted by Labouré College are counted as attempted and earned.

Standard 3: Maximum Timeframe: 150% Rule

Students have to complete their programs in no more than 150% of the published length of the educational program. Part-time attendance counts in the maximum timeframe calculation. Students who do not complete a program within this timeframe are no longer eligible to receive financial aid. Up to thirty developmental credits are exempt from this requirement.

Transfer Credits. All transfer credits that have been or could be applied to the student’s current program of study are considered when calculating the maximum timeframe requirements for the program.

Program Changes. All earned and attempted credits (including grades of F, W, WP, WF, I, and repeats) that have been or could be applied to the new program of study are considered when calculating the maximum timeframe requirements for the new program.

Grad/Re-Admit. All earned credits that have been applied to the new program of study are considered when calculating the maximum timeframe requirements for the new program.

Academic and Financial Aid Warning

Any student in a degree or certificate program who does not meet Standards 1 and/or 2 for the first time is placed on warning. A student will be notified via their College student email informing him or her of the warning.

Students who are placed on warning are eligible to receive financial aid during the next semester. At the end of the warning period, one of the following actions will occur:

A student is removed from warning, if the student meets all SAP standards; or
A student is placed on suspension if, after the warning period, the student is not meeting Standards 1 and/or 2.

Academic and Financial Aid Suspension

If SAP Standards 1 and/or 2 are not met after the warning period, the student is placed on suspension. A student placed on suspension is no longer eligible to receive any form of financial aid. The student will receive a letter in the mail and an email with the information that either the qualitative or quantitative standards of SAP are not being met. Additionally, students who are placed on suspension for failing to complete their program within 150% of the published program length will receive a letter in the mail and an email informing them of their status.

Financial aid eligibility can be reinstated if the student either:

Enrolls and pays for courses raising his/her GPA and/or completion rate to meet the required SAP standards; or
Successfully appeals the suspension status.

Appeal

A student has the right to appeal a suspension due to mitigating circumstances such as, but not limited to, illness, military service, or a previously undiagnosed learning disability. The following has to be completed and submitted to the One-Stop Student Service Center:

An appeal, in writing, using the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form. The form has to be reviewed and signed by the student and an Academic Advisor;
Documentation verifying the special circumstances (e.g., doctor's letter, third-party letter); and
An Academic Progress Plan.

The Appeal Committee considers all appeals. Notification of the decision is sent to the student's email account and by mail. The student receives the notification within two weeks of the date the appeal is received, or after the semester's final grades have been posted. If the appeal is granted, the student is placed on probation, and the student is eligible to receive aid for the appealed semester. At the end of the appeal semester, the student's academic progress is reviewed. If the conditions of the appeal are not met, the student is no longer eligible to receive financial aid. If the conditions of the appeal are met, the student continues to be eligible for financial aid. The conditions of the appeal are reviewed each semester until the student is making satisfactory academic progress (SAP).

Normally, students who are granted an appeal and are placed in a probation status are allowed to enroll in fewer than twelve credits the following semester. Students who wish to take more than the recommended number of credits have to appeal the recommendation to the Vice President of Academic Affairs.