Admissions

Graduate SAP

Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Federal regulations require schools to monitor the academic progress of each applicant for federal financial assistance and that the school certify that the applicant is making satisfactory academic progress (SAP).  Students who meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements maintain their eligibility for federally funded programs.

Students must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a degree in order to continue in the program and to continue to receive federal, state and institutional financial aid. “Satisfactory Academic Progress” is defined as passing all program requirements, maintaining pace of progression to complete their degree and completing their program of enrollment within the published timeframe.  Students who do not meet the minimum standards will find their financial aid eligibility in jeopardy.

Basic Academic Requirements

Be admitted and enrolled for the purpose of obtaining a degree;

Be continually progressing toward your degree;

Be in good academic standing

Complete degree requirements per the published curriculum layout for their program of enrollment

This policy applies to all students within each category of students regardless of program i.e. Title IV recipient, non-Title IV recipient, full-time, part-time, undergraduate, masters and graduate students.

Qualitative Standards

Student are expected to pass all courses each quarter in order to stay in good standing for federal student aid programs.  All credits attempted are included in the calculation when determining satisfactory academic progress, even if the attempted credit/course was not funded using Title IV Aid.

Quantitative Standards

The quantitative component has two parts, (1) Required completion of courses and (2) Maximum timeframe.

Completion of coursework measures the rate of progress toward the degree, based on how many credits were successfully completed out of all credits attempted.   A successful attempt is defined as a course in which a passing grade is earned. 

The maximum time frame is defined as 150 percent of the published length of the program. Students must complete their program(s) of enrollment within the published timeframe.  The maximum lengths of study depend on the degree(s) you are pursuing.  All credits attempted are included in the SAP calculation, even if the attempted credit/course was not funded using Title IV Aid.

SAP Status

Using the qualitative and quantitative measures of progress, a student may be placed in one of the following SAP statuses:

Warning

Students who fall below SAP standards will be placed in ‘Warning’ status.

  • ‘Warning: Academic warning status occurs when a student earns a term GPA of 2.95, and/or a cumulative GPA of 2.85, or receives two or more grades of “C” in a term. While on a warning status, a student is expected to meet with an academic advisor to develop a plan to address the concern.

Note: Students in ‘Warning’ status may be eligible for financial aid.

Probation

Students who fall below SAP standards will be placed on ‘Probation’ status.

‘Probation’: Students are placed on academic probation when they:

  • Earn a term GPA of below 2.75 and have a cumulative GPA below 2.80; or
  • Earn failing grades of “D” or “F,” including clinical rotations; or
  • Fall below full-time status for more than one term (unless on an approved deviated track)

Note:  Students in ‘Probation’ status may be eligible for financial aid.

  1. Students will receive a Financial Aid Probation letter and a temporary hold will be placed on their financial aid award package. This hold extends to all types of aid including federal work-study and student employment programs, and any non-federal or grant aid certifications or awards.
  2. When placed on academic probation, a student must meet with an academic advisor in the Center for Academic Success to sign an academic contract within one week of notification. The academic contract will identify needed resources, including but not limited to remedial work, additional coursework, tutoring, or repeating course(s); and requires that the student improve their GPA and not fail any other courses during the probationary period.
  3. Students are not eligible for financial aid until a current academic contract is on file and/ or a written release has been received from the Registrar’s Office.
  4. Once documentation of a contract has been received the suspension of aid will be lifted, but the student will remain on financial aid probation until all issues have been resolved.
  5. If at the end of the student’s probationary period they have yet to fulfill the contract requirements or receives additional failing grades, they will be placed on ‘Suspension’ status.

Suspension

Students who fall below SAP standards are placed on ‘Suspension‘ status when they:

  • Earn a term GPA of below 2.60 and have a cumulative GPA below 2.75; or
  • Earn two or more failing grades of “D” or “F”; or
  • Fail two or more clinic rotations, entrance exams, or exit exams; or 
  • Fall below full-time status for more than one term (unless on an approved deviated track)
  • Fail to fulfill the academic contract, or deemed not making satisfactory academic progress.

Note: Students in ‘Suspension’ status are NOT eligible for financial aid.

Academic suspension occurs when a student is ineligible to enroll at the university for a specified period of time. Suspension status is noted on the student’s official transcript.

A student has the right to appeal an academic suspension to the Academic Review and Appeals Committee, as outlined in the student handbook. If a student appeals and their suspension is overturned, that student will be placed into a probation status and may re-establish their eligibility for financial aid.

‘Near Maximum Timeframe’ status

  • Once you near completion of your degree(s), you will be placed in ‘Near Maximum Timeframe’ status.   This status means you are approaching the maximum timeframe for your degree program.

Note:  Although you may still be eligible for aid, you may want to plan your coursework to complete your degree within the maximum timeframe.

‘Reached Maximum Timeframe” status

  • Once you have completed all coursework required for your degree(s), you will be placed in ‘Reached Maximum Timeframe’ status.

Note:  You are NOT eligible for financial aid and will be required to personally pay for any additional coursework/charges to your student account. However, if extenuating circumstances prevented you from meeting the timeframe requirements, you may file a Financial Aid appeal, contact the Director of Financial Aid.

Incompletes and course repeats

  • Incompletes do not count in number of courses completed until the course is graded.
  • Incomplete grades must be converted to a passing grade by the end of week two of the following term, after which time they are automatically converted to failing grades.

Course Repeats


Students may repeat courses, however, there is a limit to the number of times financial aid will pay for repeat courses. Students may receive Title IV aid for any repeat course as long as the student has never passed the course. Once a student has passed a course, the student may receive Title IV aid for only one retaking of that course. A student may not receive Title IV aid for any second or subsequent repeat of a passed course, and a second or subsequent repeat of a passed course may not be counted toward the student’s enrollment status for Title IV purposes.
Repeat courses will be calculated in attempted term and completed credits. Once a student earns a passing grade in a course the repeated course grade replaces the prior grade.


Withdrawals


A student may withdraw from courses. A student that withdraws after the add/drop period will receive a W grade on their transcript for the dropped course(s) and withdrawn courses will count toward attempted credits. Withdrawals do not count towards the term or cumulative GPA.


Transfer Credits


NUNM accepts transfer credits from other institutions. Transfer credits that are accepted by the other institution count towards both attempted and cumulative earned credits. Transfer credits do not count towards term attempted credits.

Concurrently Enrolled Students

Concurrently enrolled students who fail to maintain SAP in one program will need to follow the SAP policies in place for their given situation.  Students who fail to maintain SAP in one program and then decide to withdraw from that program may not find their SAP issues amended and will be subject to the decisions of the Associate Academic Dean and/or Dean for their program of enrollment.

‘Not for Degree Credits’ and Audited Coursework

Courses that are not required for degree completion or audited courses are ineligible for aid.

Notification of Eligibility

The minimum progress standards will be checked after each term of enrollment (summer, fall, winter and spring).  If you do not meet the minimum requirements AND you have been placed in either ‘Suspension’ or ‘Reached Maximum Timeframe’ status, refer to the ‘”Appeals” or “Reestablishing” section.

Appeals

If extenuating circumstances prevented you from meeting the requirements, you may file a Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (FSAP) Appeal. The appeal requires you to provide information and documentation of extenuating circumstances for specific terms of study. All requests for a FSAP appeal must be done in writing and submitted to the Director of Financial Aid within 10 days from the notice of suspension of aid eligibility. Financial aid appeals are NOT the same as academic appeals. Financial Aid Appeal forms are provided by the Financial Aid Office. Students are ineligible for financial aid while academically suspended from NUNM. Should the Director approve the Financial Aid SAP Appeal, the student will be placed in Financial Aid Probation.

Re-establishing

If you do not appeal or your appeal is denied, you must enroll in the maximum number of credits required for your program of enrollment in order to demonstrate your ability to maintain satisfactory academic progress within the term you are attempting to reestablish your eligibility.  You are personally responsible for paying for all charges incurred during this time.  At the end of the term we will review your grades to determine whether you have successfully completed the necessary course requirements to regain your eligibility for federal financial aid.