Appendix J - Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy for Financial Aid Recipients

POL-U7600.01

The primary purpose of financial aid programs is to help students successfully complete their degree or certificate program in a timely manner. Students are required to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements while earning their degree or certificate programs to receive aid. Financial aid programs include grants, tuition and fee waivers, work study employment, need-based and non-need-based loans, and scholarship programs. Specialized academic progress requirements associated with specific scholarship programs may exceed the general policy requirements outlined below. Questions about the academic progress requirements of individual scholarship programs should be directed to the Scholarship Center.

The academic progress of all students is measured on a quarterly basis. Financial aid recipients failing to meet academic progress requirements for aid programs will be among the first to receive word that their academic goals are at risk. Students placed on financial aid warning or suspension under the satisfactory academic progress policy will be notified immediately following the quarter in which warning or suspension occurs. Notification may be delivered via email to the student’s official WWU email address. Financial Aid staff will inform students in this situation of a number of specific, on-campus resources to help them meet satisfactory academic progress requirements.

Failure to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements will result in financial aid warning or suspension. Students whose aid is suspended may petition for aid reinstatement. Reinstatement is not guaranteed. Students whose petitions are approved will be placed on financial aid probation.

General Policy Requirements

1. Maintain the required grade point average (GPA).
2. Successfully complete the minimum number of credits associated with the enrollment status for which aid was received.
3. Maintain Pace: successfully complete at least 80 percent of cumulative, attempted credits; and 
4. Complete your degree or certificate within the maximum allowable timeframe.

1. Grade Point Average Requirements

Students must meet the scholarship standards of the University to remain eligible for financial aid. University scholarship standards include maintaining at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA. The GPA requirement is monitored quarterly. Scholarship standards allow for a limited number of quarters during which an undergraduate student may improve his or her cumulative GPA to the 2.00 minimum requirement. Students dismissed from the University for not meeting the scholarship standard will also have their financial aid eligibility placed in suspended status. There is no financial aid warning period after university dismissal. Scholastic standards for undergraduate and graduate students are fully described in the University Catalog.

2. Minimum Credit Requirements

The Financial Aid Department reviews academic progress at the end of each quarter for all students. To establish and maintain financial aid eligibility, all students must successfully complete the minimum number of credits associated with their enrollment level at lock (see “Changes in Enrollment” on page 4). The following grades do not indicate successful completion of academic credit: F, Z, U, NP, K, W, I, X, XM, NX, SW and audited classes or absence of a grade.

If a student’s coursework does not meet minimum requirements, the student will be placed on financial aid warning or financial aid suspension, depending upon the extent of the credit deficiency.

Students with a revised grade must first confirm that the Registrar’s Office has made the grade change and then notify the Financial Aid Department of the change in writing. Correspondence courses must be completed within the term for which they were registered to count toward completed credits. Credits earned for repeated coursework may count toward current quarter academic progress requirements in some cases. Contact the Financial Aid Department if you plan to repeat a course. In general, you may receive aid for repeating a previously passed course once and receive aid for repeating a failed course that fulfills degree requirements until it has been passed.

Students who fail to meet the minimum credit requirement for a given quarter will be placed on financial aid warning or suspension for the next quarter. Students whose appeals for financial aid reinstatement have been approved will be placed on aid probation.

3. Pace

Students must successfully complete at least 80 percent of their cumulative attempted credits to meet financial aid pace requirements. Attempted credits are defined as all credits that appear on the academic history record. These credits include repeated, failed, incomplete, withdraws, and transcripted transfer credits. The pace requirement is monitored on a quarterly basis. Students failing to meet the pace requirement will be placed on financial aid warning and are allowed one quarter to successfully complete sufficient credits to meet the pace requirement and regain good satisfactory academic progress standing. Students failing to meet the pace requirement at the end of the warning period will have their financial aid eligibility placed in suspended status.

4. Maximum Attempted Credit Requirements

Students receiving aid are allowed to attempt a specified number of credits in order to complete their degree or certificate program. As soon as it is clear that a student will not graduate within this period, the student becomes ineligible for aid. Western determines whether students have reached or exceeded their maximum attempted credits limit by totaling the number of credits they have attempted. Attempted credits are defined as all credits that appear on the academic history record. These credits include repeated, failed, incomplete, withdrawals (including XM), and accepted transfer credits. If the Financial Aid Department learns that graduation is imminent, aid eligibility must be calculated and limited solely to enrollment in courses required for graduation. Second majors and elective minors are not eligible to be funded with financial aid unless they are included in the official university registration record.

Undergraduate students

• May attempt up to 125% of the minimum credit requirements for their baccalaureate program of study, as defined in the University catalog. No additional allowance is granted for concurrent completion of a double major or an elective minor, unless it is included in the official university registration record.

Graduate Students

• May attempt up to 125% of the number of credits required by their graduate plan of study. Graduate students are advised to consider limiting their enrollment to the courses appearing on their Plan of Study for aid purposes. Additional coursework beyond the 125% limitation cannot be funded and may jeopardize continued financial aid eligibility under the maximum attempted credit requirement.

Post-baccalaureate Students Pursuing a Second Undergraduate Degree or a Certificate Program

• May attempt up to 125 percent of the credits required for the completion of the degree or certificate program.

Financial Aid Warning

Undergraduate students who were previously in good standing for financial aid satisfactory academic progress purposes but have not met the following requirements will be placed on financial aid warning if they did not:

• Meet the minimum credit requirements but successfully completed at least half-time enrollment status (6 credits for undergraduates, 4 credits for graduates); or
• Meet the pace requirement.

Financial Aid Suspension

Financial aid suspension is an aid-ineligible status whereby aid for future quarters is canceled and processing to calculate future aid eligibility is placed on hold until eligibility is regained.

Students will be placed on financial aid suspension if they do not:

• Successfully complete at least a half-time quarterly enrollment (6 credits for undergraduate and post baccalaureate students; 4 credits for graduate students); or for students who enroll less than half-time, all attempted credits;
• Meet the GPA scholarship requirement, resulting in academic dismissal from the University;
• Meet the minimum quarterly credit requirement, while in financial aid warning status;
• Meet the pace requirement, while in financial aid warning status; or
• Meet the maximum timeframe requirement.

Petitions for Reinstatement of Aid Eligibility

Students placed on financial aid suspension may petition for aid reinstatement if unusual circumstances beyond their control prevented them from meeting satisfactory academic progress requirements. Reinstatement is not guaranteed.

Petitions must:

• Explain why the student was unable to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements;
• Describe what has changed that will allow the student to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements at the next evaluation;
• Provide an academic plan to re-establish pace if the suspension resulted from failure to meet the pace requirement; and
• Provide a Graduation Evaluation and indicate the number of remaining credits required to complete the degree or certificate if the suspension resulted from exceeding the maximum attempted credits.

If a student’s petition for financial aid reinstatement is denied, the student may re-petition after having successfully completed a full-time quarter without the benefit of financial aid. The full-time credit load is 12 credits for undergraduate students and 8 credits for graduate students.

Part-time students may contract with the Financial Aid department in advance for the required number of credits necessary to re-petition for aid reinstatement.

Students unable to reinstate their financial aid eligibility using the above options and who have been unable to attend Western for a full academic year may re-petition for aid reinstatement. Petitions for reinstatement must explain why the student has been unable to reinstate using the above options and how continued ineligibility would constitute an undue hardship.

Financial Aid Probation

Financial aid probation is an aid-eligible status for a given quarter that allows students who failed to meet satisfactory academic progress requirements and who have appealed and had aid eligibility reinstated, to receive aid. The Financial Aid Department will specify conditions for such students to receive continued financial aid.

If eligibility for financial aid is reinstated, the amount of financial aid the student receives is subject to the availability of funds. As a result, it is possible that some funds originally awarded will not be available for the reinstated award.

Students placed on financial aid warning, suspension, or probation will be notified after the end of the applicable term. Notification will be delivered via e-mail to the student’s official WWU e-mail account.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Financial Aid department if updated or corrected information becomes available that may re-establish their eligibility for financial aid. 

Withdrawals

Aid recipients withdrawing from all coursework will lose their aid eligibility and may, based on the date of withdraw, be required to repay the financial aid they have received. Students are considered as having unofficially withdrawn from the University if they have received a combination of the following grades for a given quarter: F, Z, U, NP, W, X, XM. Aid recipients having unofficially withdrawn may be required to repay all, or a portion of their tuition and fees and financial aid for the applicable quarter.

Applicants who withdraw from Western must also provide requested FAFSA verification documentation within 90 days of the request or no later than 30 days after their last day of enrollment, whichever is sooner, or forfeit their ability to receive any aid they otherwise may be eligible to receive.

Specific Requirements for Alaska Loan Recipients

Satisfactory academic progress requirements for continued receipt of Alaska Student and Alaska Family Education loans differ from those associated with federal and Washington State programs:

• Full-time attendance is required for most Alaska Loan programs. Although the Alaska Supplemental Education Loan may allow for less-than fulltime attendance, students considering less-than fulltime attendance are urged to consult the Alaska Commission on Post-secondary Education because state residency and future loan eligibility may be jeopardized by such enrollment.