WHAT IS SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS?

“Satisfactory Academic Progress” is the term used to denote your successful completion of coursework toward a degree or certificate. For federal, state, and institutional aid, the University is required to monitor the progress of each student toward degree/certificate completion. These academic standards apply for all periods of enrollment at all colleges attended and regardless of whether or not aid was received for federal and state aid eligibility. If you fall behind in your coursework, or do not achieve minimum standards for grade point average and earned credits, you may lose your eligibility for all types of federal and state aid, and institutional aid administered by our office.

Scholarships have separate and distinct SAP standards. For information regarding the academic requirements for a specific scholarship, consult the scholarship award criteria page on the office’s Web site.

There are two components to the SAP standards – qualitative and quantitative. In other words, we have to measure the quality (grades) of your progress towards your degree and number of credits or timeframe taken towards your degree. Failure to comply with any requirement may result in a loss of aid eligibility:

Minimum University Grade Point Average (GPA) to be Maintained
The GPA is based on grades for credits earned at this University and does not include grades transferred from another institution. An undergraduate student is required to maintain a 2.0 cumulative UNR GPA or better. A graduate student is required to maintain a 3.0 cumulative UNR GPA or better for graduate level coursework. Students admitted into the professional degree in Education must maintain the UNR GPA tied to their required coursework (2.0 undergraduate and 3.0 graduate coursework).

Minimum Credit Requirement
You must earn a minimum number of credits each semester, applicable your degree, consistent with your enrollment/funding level and class standing. The professional degree in Education is considered a fifth-year undergraduate; thus requires 12 credits each semester. Graduate students must enroll for coursework at the 500 level or above to meet their credit requirement. Teaching assistantships do NOT count in the minimum credit requirement for the graduate students for all financial aid programs. Graduate students are paid only for graduate coursework. If a graduate student is required to take undergraduate coursework, those courses must be approved in advance.

ENROLLMENT/FUNDING STATUS	UNDERGRADUATE OR TEACHING CERTIFICATE	GRADUATE--Coursework must be 500 level or above.
Full time	12 or more credits	9 or more credits
3/4 Time	9 – 11 credits	7 – 8 credits
1/2 Time	6 – 8 credits	5 – 6 credits

Courses that are assigned a grade of “A” through “D” and “S” are included as credits earned. “S” is not calculated into the GPA. Course assigned grades of “I”, “W”, “F”, “AD”, “NR”, “R”, and “U” do not earn credit.

• Credit Courses through Extended Studies
  These courses may be semester-based or open enrollment. Semester-based credits count as part of your enrollment and are eligible for financial aid. Open enrollment credits are not counted as part of your enrollment and are not eligible for aid; these can be identified with a “C” in front of the course number and “X” to indicate the course is in progress. Credit earned for both types of courses may be used to correct a prior credit deficiency.
• Dual Enrollment
  You may only receive financial aid from one college, even if you are concurrently enrolled at more than one. Your enrollment status at the University only includes coursework that is listed in our semester class schedule. Exceptions may be approved in advance for students whose program requires coursework that are never offered at this University or in other limited circumstances. Completed coursework at another institution may be used to make up a credit deficiency.

Maximum Credits
You must complete your degree within a reasonable timeframe. Federal regulations limit funding to no more than 150% of the average length of the program. All attempted credits at this University and at all other institutions are counted in this limit, regardless of whether or not aid was received. There is no provision for “academic renewal” in which credits attempted and grades earned are excluded. The credit limit includes dual majors, changes in majors and second degrees. You may continue to receive aid until the maximum credit limit is reached – or – the requirements for the degree are completed, whichever occurs first.

For an undergraduate student, the limit is 192 attempted credits. A graduate student seeking a master’s degree may receive funding to a maximum of 70 attempted graduate credits for that degree; a doctoral student up to 120 attempted graduate credits (including all post-baccalaureate coursework). Eligibility for financial aid terminates at the end of the semester in which the credit limit is reached.

HOW DO REPEATED COURSES, DROPPED CREDITS, INCOMPLETE GRADES OR WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY AFFECT MY ELIGIBILITY?

Repeated Coursework
Credit is earned only once for most courses. Repeating a course for which credit was already earned will cause a “credit deficiency” if you are registered in the minimum number of credits for your enrollment status (see table). You must enroll for additional credits equal to the number of credits of the course that is being repeated to avoid a problem. For example, if you are a full-time student and 3 credits are considered “repeat”, you should be enrolled in 15 credits to avoid creating a credit deficiency.

Dropped Credits (You should consult with a financial aid advisor before you drop credits.)
After you receive financial aid and/or class begins for the semester, you may create a credit deficiency if you drop below the minimum credit requirement. If you drop individual credits during the 100% refund period, aid will be reduced to reflect the “new” enrollment/funding status and you may have to repay funds. Any refund is restored to the aid program(s). For example: if you are a full-time student in 12 credits then drop 3 credits during the 100% refund period, our office will adjust your enrollment status and aid to 3/4 time and you may owe a refund back to the University.

After the 100% refund period, dropping individual credits below the minimum credit requirement for your enrollment/funding status creates a credit deficiency. For example: if you are a full-time student enrolled in 12 credits then drop 3 credits after the 100% refund period, you will create a 3 credit deficiency.

100% Withdrawal from the University or Zero Credits Earned
If you completely withdraw or earn zero credits during a semester, you will be subject to the Return of Title IV aid calculation. Two distinct consequences happen – 1) you may be required to pay back all or part of the financial aid disbursed and 2) you will create a credit deficiency.

WHAT IS SAP PROBATION?

Freshmen Probation Policy
If you are classified by Admissions and Records as having attempted less than 24 credit hours who earns at least six credits with a minimum UNR GPA of 1.0 in the fall semester, you are placed on financial aid probation and may continue to receive financial aid for the spring semester. At the end of the spring semester, you must have earned the minimum number of credits for which funding was provided. For example: a full-time student is required to earn 24 new, non-repeated credits by the end of the spring semester. Any deficiency must be made up before further financial aid can be offered. Financial aid may not be received from any college while correcting a credit deficiency.

Once you have attempted 24 credits, you must have a cumulative UNR GPA of 2.0 or greater in order to remain eligible for state and federal financial aid. This policy does not apply to students that are academically disqualified from the University.

Mid-year Probation Policy for All Other Students
If you are an undergraduate student and earned at least six credits in the fall semester or a graduate student who earns at least five credits in the fall semester – AND – maintain the required cumulative UNR GPA, you may continue to receive your aid for the spring semester. At the end of the spring semester, you must have earned the minimum number of credits for which funding was provided. For example: a full-time student is required to earn 24 new, non-repeated credits by the end of the spring semester. Any deficiency must be made up before further aid can be offered. Financial aid may not be received from any college while correcting a credit deficiency.

HOW CAN I GET BACK MY FINANCIAL AID?

SAP REINSTATEMENT FORM
Once you earn the credits or GPA to regain eligibility, you must submit the SAP Reinstatement form to alert our office to review your progress. The SAP Reinstatement form is available on our Web site or from our office.

• If you have a credit deficiency, you must earn the number of credits required to make up your deficiency. Summer, transfer credits and extended studies credits earned after the deficiency occurred may be used to regain eligibility.
• If you have a GPA deficiency, you must earn credits at this University to raise your UNR GPA above the standard.

SAP APPEAL
If you feel there are unusual or tragic circumstances that contributed to the poor performance in a specific semester, you may submit a SAP Appeal with documentation. The SAP Appeal form is available on our Web site or from our office.