Satisfactory Academic Progress & Financial Aid

Official 2009/2010 Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy | Download Now

Summary of the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy Effective Fall 2008

Who is affected | All applicants for state and federal student financial aid are evaluated. Recipients of some alternative loans and scholarships must meet these policy requirements.

What is evaluated | • Maximum time or credit limit for completion of degree or program of study and • Grade point average for PSU courses, according to student level and • Percentage of attempted PSU credits with passing grades (completion rate)

Details | The specific requirements for undergraduate, postbaccalaureate and graduate students are given below. Students who meet these requirements are in good standing.

Summary of Requirements

Graduate Maximum Time Limit

Graduate students concurrently working on more than one graduate degree or program will have the limit for the program with the longest maximum time frame.

Other Requirements

• Students who withdraw from all classes within the University's published add/drop period two times in an academic year will be placed in a Suspended eligibility status immediately after the second withdrawal.


• For graduate students, at least 67% of all credits enrolled each academic year must be in graduate level courses. This will be measured at the end of each summer term. Graduate students who have not met this requirement will be placed in Suspended eligibility status.

How Evaluation is done

• All terms of enrollment at PSU are reviewed, regardless of whether financial aid was received for that enrollment. For undergraduate maximum credit limit, all PSU attempted credits plus all accepted transfer credits are counted.


• Completion rate is calculated by dividing earned credits by attempted credits for courses taken at PSU


• Earned credits are courses with grades of A, B, C, D, P. Grades of IP for graduate Research, graduate Project, Thesis or Dissertation are counted as earned credits.


• Attempted credits are courses with grades of A, B, C, D, F, I, IP, M, NP, P, W, X and Y.


• Students who meet all components of the policy will be in Good Standing and eligible to continue receiving aid. See chart below for consequences of not meeting requirements.

When evaluation is done

• Student status is reviewed at the end of each term of enrollment for all components of the policy. At the end of the term, students who do not meet requirements will be either in a Warning status or a Suspended eligibility status.


• Students in Warning status will be notified of their status and ARE ELIGIBLE to receive aid.


• Students in Suspended eligibility status will be notified of their status and are NOT ELIGIBLE to receive aid.

Appeals

• Students whose eligibility has been suspended for failing to meet any component of the policy may appeal. Appeals are submitted in writing to the Office of Student Financial Aid. The student must document special or unforeseen circumstances that interfered with the completion of their coursework or in meeting any other part of this policy.


• Appeals must be submitted by the end of the second week of the term for which the student is seeking reinstatement of aid. Appeals submitted after this deadline will be reviewed but late petitions may result in loss of funding for the term.

Academic Progress Status Update | Download Now

Students can submit this form to indicate that additional grades have been posted to their transcript. This may clear up a Satisfactory Academic Progress problem that prevents aid from disbursing.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Petition | Download Now

This petition is for students whose eligibility for financial aid is in Suspended status due to any of these reasons:

1. having passing grades for less than 67% of attempted credits (low completion rate);
2. having a cumulative PSU GPA that is below 2.00 for undergraduate or post-baccalaureate students or 3.00 for graduate students;
3. totally withdrawing twice within the Add/Drop period during the academic year; or
4. failing to meet the requirements imposed when a previous petition was approved.

Maximum Credit Limit Appeal | Download Now

There is a maximum enrollment limit for students receiving federal student aid, based on degree or program of study (see the Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for details). You can use this form to request an extension of aid if you have reached the enrollment limit for your degree or program of study.

Graduate Academic Progress Petition | Download Now

Graduate students must take courses that apply to their degree or certificate. At least 67% of all credits enrolled each academic year must be in graduate level courses. This petition is for students who have not met the requirement of enrolling in graduate level credits for at least 67% of their total enrollment for the academic year.