Satisfactory Academic Progress relating to Financial Aid federal regulations require
that all students who receive 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.
Qualitative
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 aid 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 he/she passes at least 67% of
the cumulative credit hours attempted and has not reached 150% of 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 a Graduate
program at LMU, must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA (with the exception
of the Doctor of Jurisprudence, where a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA must be maintained).
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.
Quantitative - Hours Attempted vs Hours Earned
A student is considered to have made satisfactory academic progress provided he/she passes at least 67% of the cumulative credit hours attempted. For instance, a student who attempts 18 credit hours must complete at least 12 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 effect on pace (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, Doctor of
Medical Science or Master of Medical Science - Physician Assistant Studies.
Quantitative –Maximum Time Frame
No student will be eligible to receive financial aid for more than 150% of the published
length of the program. This time is measured by credit hours attempted. For example,
a student seeking a MBA degree totaling 36 credit hours cannot receive aid for more
than 54 attempted hours (36 x 150% = 54). Please refer to specific graduate catalogs
to see the published length of the program. Transfer credits will be evaluated and
those credits that count toward the student’s current academic program will count
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.
Appeals
Students who are on Financial Aid Suspension may appeal this decision to the LMU Executive
Director of Financial Aid. The appeal must be made in writing and explain why the
student failed to make SAP and what has changed that will allow the student to make
SAP at the next 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 Financial Aid, 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 next evaluation. If the Executive
Director does not approve the appeal, the student may take classes at his/her own
expense to try to regain SAP. If the appeal is approved, an academic plan will be
developed in conjunction with the Director of Academic Support in order to help the
student meet SAP standards in a specified timeline in order to graduate from a program.
At the end of the next 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.
Notification
All Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress notifications will be sent in two
ways: a letter will be sent to the student at the home address and an e-mail notification
will be sent to his/her LMU e-mail address. These notifications will be sent no later
than four weeks after the end of the academic term reviewed.
Regaining Eligibility Quantitative-Maximum Time Frame
To regain eligibility, you must graduate and advance to a new academic level.
Quantitative-Hours Attempted vs. Hours Earned
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 Financial Aid.
GPA
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 you
GPA, you will need to notify the Office of Financial Aid to evaluate the coursework
taken to see if financial aid can be awarded.