Satisfactory Academic Progress, as outlined in federal financial aid regulations, requires that all students receiving federal financial aid make progress toward a degree. All colleges must have policies that ensure students are making this progress both qualitatively and quantitatively. At LMU, starting with the fall 2011 semester, we have established the following Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy that will be reviewed following each semester, including the summer term.
Students who fail to maintain satisfactory progress may not receive the following types of financial aid: Federal Direct Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, other aid involving Title IV funds, or any other assistance for which satisfactory progress is a requirement. These policies apply only to eligibility to receive financial aid. A student is considered to have made satisfactory academic progress provided they pass at least 67% of the cumulative credit hours attempted and have not exceeded 150% of the time enrolled in an academic program (see Maximum Time Frame section).
Students must also earn a certain cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) determined by their Academic program to maintain financial aid SAP. Students enrolled in most Graduate programs at LMU must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Some exceptions may apply. Please refer to the LMU school catalogs at lmunet.edu/academics/catalogs for detailed information on specific programs. A student whose academic performance drops below the minimum standards will be placed on financial aid warning. A student can retain financial aid while on warning for one semester, but must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress by the end of that semester or be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.
A student is considered to have made satisfactory academic progress provided they pass at least 67% of the cumulative credit hours attempted. For instance, a student who attempts 18 credit hours must complete at least 13 of those credit hours to make satisfactory academic progress. A student whose academic performance drops below the minimum standards will be placed on financial aid warning. A student can retain financial aid while on warning for one semester, but must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress by the end of that semester or be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.
Course repetitions may have a negative impact on pace (resulting in course failures), but will not extend the maximum time frame established for professional students in the following programs: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and Doctor of Medical Dentistry. Attempted and completed Osteopathic Medicine credits at LMU will not be counted in the quantitative SAP calculation for students pursuing a Master's Degree in Biomedical Science.
No student will be eligible to receive financial aid for more than 150% of the published program length. This time is measured by the number of credit hours attempted. For example, a student seeking an MBA degree requiring 30 credit hours cannot receive aid for more than 45 attempted hours (30 x 150% = 45). Please refer to each specific graduate catalog to see the published length of the program. Transfer credits will be evaluated, and those that count toward the student's current academic program will be counted as both attempted and completed hours. Failing a class or withdrawing from a class, whether passing or failing, can affect SAP. SAP will be reviewed at the end of each semester.
Students who are on Financial Aid Suspension may appeal this decision to the LMU Executive Director of Student Financial Services. The appeal must be made in writing and explain why the student failed to meet SAP, as well as the changes that will enable the student to meet SAP at the subsequent evaluation. An approved appeal would typically contain an extenuating circumstance beyond your control, along with supporting documentation. This letter should be sent to: Executive Director of Student Financial Services, 6965 Cumberland Gap Parkway, Harrogate, TN 37752. The Executive Director will review the appeal along with any additional recommendations from appropriate faculty or staff members to determine if the student will be able to meet SAP standards by the subsequent evaluation. If the Executive Director does not approve the appeal, the student may take classes at their own expense to try to regain SAP. If the appeal is approved, an academic plan will be developed to help the student meet SAP standards within a specified timeline to graduate from a program. At the end of each subsequent semester, the student must be following the approved academic plan. The academic plan must detail exactly what courses are required for the student to complete their intended program of study at LMU.
All Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress notifications will be sent in two ways: a letter will be mailed to the student's home address, and an email notification will be sent to their LMU email address. These notifications will be sent no later than four weeks after the end of the academic term reviewed.
To regain eligibility, you must graduate and advance to a new academic level.
To regain eligibility, take courses at your own expense in a subsequent term or terms and meet the standards according to the cumulative credit hours completion ratio outlined above under the heading Quantitative. Once you have taken the courses and earned passing grades, you will need to notify the Office of Student Financial Services.
To regain eligibility, complete courses at your own expense and raise your cumulative GPA to the acceptable standard. Once you have completed the course and raised your GPA, you will need to notify the Office of Student Financial Services to evaluate the coursework taken to see if financial aid can be awarded.
