 |
|
|
|
Process Overview & Responsibilities All students receiving Financial Aid are expected to complete their declared program before exceeding 150% of the published length of the program measured in academic years or terms. For example, if the publish length of an academic program is 120 credit hours a maximum period must not exceed 180 (120 x 1.5) attempted credit hours. For WSU bachelors programs this is generally 189 semester hours. Students enrolled in a two-year degree program will be prorated accordingly. Both qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (completion rate) measures will be used to determine the student's progress. It is the student's responsibility to become familiar with, and maintain good Satisfactory Academic Progress while receiving Financial Aid at WSU. The monitoring of satisfactory progress is handled by the Financial Aid Department on a semester by semester basis. All students applying for Financial Aid must be checked for satisfactory progress before any award offer is made. Students will be notified of not meeting the minimum requirements. For further information concerning Satisfactory Academic Progress Regulations, refer to 34 CFR 668.34. |
|
Suspension of Financial Aid
Probation while on Financial Aid
|
Quantitative Measure
In addition to maintaining the University's academic standing, all financially aided students must satisfactorily complete a specified number of hours (receive grades other than I, T, W, UW, NC, E, or AU).
Note: Repeated courses are not counted towards the minimum hours required. CLEP, AP, Military, Remedial, ESL and Foreign credits are not counted towards the minimum or the 189 attempted credit hours. Special exams for credit for any foreign language will be reviewed based upon a student's program of study. IT IS THE STUDENTS RESPONSIBILITY TO MONITOR YOUR TOTAL ATTEMPTED HOURS.
Qualitative Measure
A financially aided student must maintain the academic standards of the University as stipulated in the University's catalogue in order to receive federal funding. In addition to the University's standards, Federal regulations require that all financially aided students MUST maintain a "C" average cumulative GPA (2.0 on a 4.0 scale) by the end of their second year (or after 4 attempted semesters) to be eligible for financial aid. Students not meeting this requirement will be suspended from financial aid until they bring their cumulative GPA to the minimum requirement. Exceptions to this requirement must be approved by the Financial Aid Committee. Cases resulting from mitigating circumstances will be reviewed by the committee.
Summer Semester: A student who did not complete the minimum credit hours by the end of spring semester of any academic year can use the summer session to make up those hours without financial assistance. All students that are financially aided during the summer sessions MUST meet the minimum satisfactory progress requirements above, based upon their level of enrollment.
Treatment of Transfer Students, Second Degrees, and Second Majors
Transfer Students: All previous work completed at other institutions will be included in the total hours of eligibility at WSU for satisfactory progress requirements whether or not the student received financial aid at the other insititution(s). The transfer grade point average is considered in Satisfactory Progress.
Second Degree/Second Major: A student who pursues a double major degree, or students who have completed degree requirements but have failed to apply for graduation and continue to take more undergraduate courses, will be closely monitored.
Appeals
Students suspended from financial aid can regain eligibility by:
- Continuing their enrollment without financial aid, and reducing their credit hours deficit to zero, or bringing their cumulative GPA to at least 2.0 OR
- Appealing to the Financial Aid Committee in writing (typewritten) for an exception from satisfactory progress requirements due to mitigating circumstances. (Deficit hours can be forgiven on a case-by-case basis due to properly documented mitigating circumstances). Refer to the Guideline for Satisfactory Progress Appeal.
- A student can be placed on probation and monitored semester by semester until the committee is satisfied by the student's progress.
Circumstances for Appeal
- The death of a relative of the student.
- An injury or illness of the student.
- An injury or illness of the student's dependent child or spouse.
- Other special circumstances (e.g. jury duty, official military duty, etc.)
Documentation is required depending on the students individual circumstances.
PLEASE NOTE: The appeal is a one-time exception to the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirement. Circumstances relating to employment are generally not considered in granting exceptions to Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements.
If you receive notice of a Financial Aid Suspension, contact a Financial Aid Counselor.
