Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid
To qualify for federal financial aid a student must be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP). Click on the link below to view the policy.
SAP for financial aid is monitored on two standards:
- Qualitative: Cumulative GPA in your level of study (undergraduate, graduate, doctorate, etc.)
- Quantitative: Successful completion of a minimum of 50 percent of all credits
attempted in your academic transcript level in graduate/professional programs, and 67 percent of all credits attempted in the undergraduate level.
Items to Consider:
- Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress is not the same as academic progress required for graduation.
- Being declared ineligible for financial aid does not mean you have been academically dismissed from Regent.
- Any appeal of ineligibility is good for only one term. SAP must be reviewed each term.
Approval of an appeal will place the student on financial aid probation for the next term of enrollment. - No private loan funds, federal loans or grants may be paid to your account for a subsequent term until AFTER grades for the probationary period have been reviewed and your status determined to be satisfactory.
- Failure to meet the minimum standards again after an appeal was approved will place a student in ineligible status again.
The Appeal Form
Students wishing to appeal an ineligible status must complete a SAP Appeal Form. The form is available in Adobe .pdf format here 
or Microsoft Word format here 
. The form is to be submitted to the student's school of enrollment for review and is to be accompanied by a written statement outlining why the student did not meet the minimum standards and the plans of the student to meet the standards. See the form for further instructions.
For more information contact Central Financial Aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy
A student must be in an admitted/enrolled status as a regular student in a degree program and making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree in order to be considered for participation in financial aid programs (federal and/or private) administered through Regent's Central Financial Aid Office. Making satisfactory academic progress, for these purposes, means that a student must maintain a minimum prescribed cumulative grade point average (GPA) defined by the school, as well as proceed through the program at a pace leading to completion in a specified time frame. Satisfactory progress is measured at the end of each academic semester.
Minimum Requirements
A student achieving at least the minimums specified below will be considered to be making satisfactory academic progress.
Minimum Cumulative GPA of 2.00 (Law and Undergraduate), 2.50 (MDiv), or 3.00 (all other programs) in the student's current academic program transcript level.
Successful completion* of 50 percent of all credits attempted at a particular transcript level of graduate and/or professional programs of study (e.g., general graduate, law, M.Div., etc.), and 67 percent of all credits attempted at the undergraduate programs transcript level:
"Successful completion" is defined as credits finished with grades other than an F, I, IP, W, WF, WX, FX, NP, NG or AU at the time grades are posted for the term being reviewed and/or when the satisfactory academic progress review for the prior term is made.
For students enrolled in a master's, or the juris doctorate program, the student has been enrolled for no more than five calendar years from the beginning of the semester in which the program was initially begun, including periods of non-enrollment.
For students enrolled in a doctoral and M.Div. programs, the student has been enrolled for no more than seven calendar years from the beginning of the semester in which the program was initially begun, including periods of non-enrollment.
For students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program the time frame cannot exceed 150 percent of the published length of the program, which is measured in attempted credit hours, based upon the number of credits offered at Regent for the program. Therefore, the maximum duration of financial aid eligibility for students in this program is 180 attempted credit hours at Regent counted from the term/period the student originally begins the program, not to exceed five calendar years (six years, effective Fall 2008) from the beginning of the initial term/period including period of non-enrollment.
Students must be in otherwise good academic standing with Regent (as defined by Regent's academic policies). A student placed on academic probation is automatically on financial aid warning.
In the event that a student fails to meet any of the above criteria at the end of an academic semester/term, the student will be placed on "Financial Aid Warning" for the immediately following period of enrollment. That is, a student in this category may receive financial aid for the next term of enrollment, but must meet the above stated minimums by the end of that time period. The second time that a student fails to meet one or more of the requirements, the student will no longer be making satisfactory progress for financial aid purposes. As a result, he or she will be ineligible for financial aid offered through the Central Financial Aid Office, including federal and private loans, scholarships, etc., for the following academic term in which the student may enroll.
Appeal Procedures
If a student is found to be ineligible for financial aid because satisfactory progress requirements were not met, the student may appeal this decision to the dean of the school through the school's financial aid representative. Reasons for appeal may include such extenuating circumstances as prolonged illness, hospitalization, death of an immediate family member, etc. The appeal must be in writing and indicate the reasons why the minimum requirements were not met; What has changed in the students circumstances that would make it possible for them to achieve Satisfactory Academic Progress during this term; and what will be their academic plan to comply with the minimum academic standards?
The dean of the school (or designee) will review the appeal and determine whether suspending aid is justified. The student and Central Financial Aid Office will be advised, in writing, of the decision. The director of Central Financial Aid may consult with the dean of the school regarding the decision provided before Central Financial Aid clears an ineligible status.
Reinstatement
To reestablish satisfactory progress after being terminated from aid eligibility, a student must improve his/her academic standing to meet the designated standards.
Repeated Courses
When a course is repeated, the last grade points and credit hours earned replace the previous grade points and credit hours in computing the grade point average. Please refer to the university catalog for the method in which repeated courses in the School of Law are calculated.
Transfer Students
Courses that transfer students took at previous institutions prior to attending Regent are counted only in the number of hours successfully completed, i.e., they do not show up as hours attempted or in the GPA calculation, per the university's academic policy.
Periods of Non-enrollment
Periods of non-enrollment in a particular degree program have no effect on a student's SAP upon reentering for these purposes, except that the maximum five- to seven-year time limit still applies (as described in "Minimum Requirements" above). Any exceptions to the time limit due to periods of non-enrollment must be appealed to the dean of the school through the school's financial aid representative. See Appeal Procedures above.
Joint Degrees and Multiple Degree Programs
A joint degree student or student enrolling in multiple degree programs at different academic transcript levels (e.g., law and business, or a Master of Divinity degree program and a Master of Counseling degree program, etc.) will be evaluated for SAP based upon each transcript level. Failure to meet the standards on either academic transcript level will classify the student as not making satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes.
Students having academic records in multiple programs at the same transcript level will be evaluated based upon all grades at that level, regardless of current enrollment status in any of the programs. It is vital that students monitor their classification in each academic program to ensure accurate representation of their intended degree plans, especially as it relates to satisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes.
The maximum time limits as defined under "Minimum Requirements" above are still applicable to students in joint degree and/or concurrent multiple degree programs.
NOTE -The SAP policies are for financial aid purposes. They are required to ensure that recipients of federal student aid and other aid administered by the Central Financial Aid Office are meeting qualitative and quantitative progress toward their degree as required by program regulations and policies. A particular scholarship, grant, etc., offered through your school might have different individual award eligibility requirements unique to that particular award. Policy updated as of February 11, 2011
