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Financial Aid | Satisfactory Academic Progress

What is Satisfactory Academic Progress?

When you receive financial aid, federal guidelines require that you make real and measurable progress toward your degree to receive federal funds.

UVU evaluates a student’s academic progress at the end of each semester, using three metrics: GPA, Completion Rate, and Maximum Timeframe.

Students may complete a SAP appeal to reinstate their financial aid eligibility. Students may also reinstate their eligibility through different means, dependent on why they have failed SAP, which is further described under each section.


MINIMUM GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA)

Students are required to meet the following minimum cumulative GPA requirements:

Classification Minimum GPA
Undergraduate Students 2.0
Graduate Students 3.0

Grade Impact

Grades E and UW affect GPA negatively.

Grades I, W, AU, and NC do not affect GPA.

GPA updates when incomplete grades are finalized. Your most recent grade is used for GPA calculation.

Transfer Credits

UVU does not use GPAs from transfer credits; they do not affect GPA.

Academic Renewal

Academic Renewal cannot be applied for either hours attempted/completed, or cumulative GPA for Title IV purposes. Students who are granted Academic Renewal at UVU will have the credit hours removed from their earned credits and GPA for academic purposes.

SAP status considers original grades, not those affected by Academic Renewal.

COMPLETION RATE

General Requirements

Undergraduate students must pass and complete 67% of all credit hours attempted

Graduate students must pass and complete 80% of all credit hours attempted. 

Completion Rate is calculated by dividing earned credit hours by attempted credit hours.

Impact of Grades on Completion Rate

Grades I, E, W, UW, AU, and NC are not considered completed for SAP and negatively impact the completion rate.

Updating incomplete grades to final grades may affect the completion rate.

 Changes in completion rate at SAP evaluation will affect SAP status.

Repeated Courses

All repeated courses count as attempted credits.

Failure to complete a repeated course may negatively impact the completion rate.

Transfer Credits

Accepted transfer credits count as both attempted and completed credits.

They do not negatively affect the student's completion rate.

Maximum Timeframe Completion

Achieving a 67% completion of all attempted credits ensures program/graduate completion within the Maximum Timeframe.

Academic Renewal

 Academic Renewal removes hours attempted/completed and GPA for academic purposes.

SAP considers original grades, not changes due to academic renewal, for evaluation.

MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME

Undergraduate students in a bachelor’s degree program may receive financial aid for up to 180 credit hours.

Undergraduate students in an associate degree program may receive financial aid for up to 90 credits.

Graduate students cannot receive financial aid if they exceed 150% of the published length of their graduate program in credit hours.

For example, if a graduate program requires 30 credit hours, the Maximum Timeframe is 45 credits.

Impact of Grades on Maximum Timeframe:

Grades I, E, W, AU, and NC are considered attempted hours and count towards a student's Maximum Timeframe.

All attempted hours, including transfer credits and repeated courses, count towards a student’s Maximum Timeframe calculation.

Transfer Credits:

Accepted transfer credit hours are considered both attempted and completed, impacting the Maximum Timeframe.

Repeated Courses:

All repeated courses are considered attempted hours and count towards a student's Maximum Timeframe.

IMPORTANT SAP DETAILS

  • When evaluating SAP, all semesters of enrollment will be evaluated regardless of whether you received financial aid during those semesters or not.
  • If you are failed SAP for GPA and/or Completion Rate, you may receive one warning semester per SAP standard. A student on SAP warning will receive financial aid for the next semester for which they enroll. 
  • If you are not meeting SAP standards, you may complete a SAP Appeal by logging in to STUDENTFORMS.
  • To remain eligible for federal and state aid programs, you must meet all UVU SAP standards regardless of whether you have received financial aid in the past.
  • UVU does accept transfer credit. If the credit is accepted, it will be counted as both attempted and completed.
  • These standards apply to your entire academic record at UVU (including renewal grades and transfer credit hours accepted by UVU).
  • If you are not meeting SAP you can still attend classes.
  • Not all financial aid programs require students to meet the SAP standards. For example, many scholarships and private education loans have other eligibility requirements. Students must contact their scholarship program and/or private loan lender to determine if their SAP status impacts the receipt of the scholarship or private education loan. 
  • If you are not meeting any of the SAP standards, you will receive a notice to your student email account. 
  • UVU students can receive incomplete grades. Incomplete grades will be counted as attempted, but not complete. If the incomplete grade changes to a failing grade, it will be considered attempted and not completed successfully.  Grades changed from an I to an A - D- will count as attempted and completed. 
  • When a student repeats a course, the most recent grade is used for the GPA calculation. All repeated courses are considered attempted hours and will count towards a student's maximum timeframe. If the student does not complete the repeated course, it will be counted as attempted and not earned, which may negatively impact their completion rate. 
  • If you withdraw from a course and receive a W grade, this will not impact your GPA, however, it will negatively impact both your completion rate and maximum timeframe. 

REINSTATING ELIGIBILITY

GPA & COMPLETION RATE STANDARDS

If you are failed for GPA and/or completion rate, you may reinstate financial aid eligibility one of the following ways:

  1. Attend without financial aid until your GPA and/or completion rate is meeting SAP standards.
  2. Complete an SAP appeal.

MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME STANDARD

If you are failed for maximum timeframe, you may reinstate financial aid eligibility one of the following ways:

  1. If you graduate from one program and enter a new program, new credit limits may apply, and the maximum timeframe violation may be cleared. Students must notify the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to determine if the SAP requirement can be cleared. 
  2. Complete an SAP appeal.

WARNING SEMESTER FOR SAP

GPA & Completion Rate Standard:
If you fail to meet the required minimum GPA and/or Completion Rate, you will be placed on a SAP Warning for one semester. You may still receive federal student aid during your warning semester.

If you attain the required GPA and/or Completion Rate standards by the end of your warning semester, you will no longer be on an SAP Warning. 

If you fail to meet the required minimum GPA and/or Completion Rate at the end of your warning semester, you will no longer be eligible for federal student aid. You may complete an SAP Appeal for reconsideration. 
Maximum Timeframe Standard:
There is NOT a warning semester if you have exceeded 150 percent of your program requirements. In order to be reconsidered for eligibility, you must complete an SAP Appeal.

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Probation & Academic Plan

Probation: If an SAP appeal is approved, and you need one semester to meet SAP standards, then you will receive a probationary semester in which you are still eligible to receive federal aid.

Students who are granted probation will receive an email to their student email detailing the requirements. If at the end of their probationary semester, the student is not meeting SAP standards, the student will lose their federal aid eligibility. If the student has extenuating circumstances that has caused them to fail the conditions of their probation, they may complete another SAP appeal.

Academic Plan: If an SAP appeal is approved, and you need more than one semester to meet SAP standards, then you may be placed on an academic plan.

Students who are granted an academic plan will receive an email to their student email detailing the requirements of their plan. If at the end of each semester, the student meets the conditions of their plan, the student will continue to remain eligible for financial aid.

I SUBMITTED MY APPEAL. NOW WHAT?

Review

Your appeal will be reviewed, and a determination will be made. You will receive an email notifying you of the decision.

Result

If your appeal is approved, you will receive your federal aid & an email with a detailed plan that will enable you to regain eligibility.

Next Steps

If you are on an academic plan, your SAP will be reviewed at the end of each semester. If you are meeting your individualized plan no action is required on your part. You will receive an email and continue to receive your financial aid. If you do not meet the terms of your plan, you will receive an email and will not be eligible for financial aid and may submit a new appeal.

 
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