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Graduate Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Policy
Federal and Seton Hill University
In accordance with the United States Department of Education (USDOE) Seton Hill University has established a Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic
Progress Policy (SAP) commencing with the 2011-2012 academic year. This federally mandated policy establishes the guidelines and regulations
under which a student may continue to receive federal student financial aid and Seton Hill University institutional aid.
Federal student aid
programs that are included in this policy are:
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
- Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans
- Perkins Loans
The policy mandates a review of a student's attempted and earned credits as well as the cumulative GPA at the conclusion of each term (fall, spring, and summer). All students who are or might be eligible for federal and/or institutional aid will be reviewed and evaluated each term by records in the Registrar's Office. This SAP policy applies to all continuing graduate students at Seton Hill.
The policy is composed of two parts:
- Grade Point Average (Qualitative Standard)
Cumulative 2.5 GPA at the end of each term
- Cumulative credits earned/cumulative credits attempted (Quantitative Standard)
Students are required to earn 67% of all credits attempted to meet the requirements of the
quantitative standard of the federal and institution SAP policy. All courses with a passing or
failing grade will be counted as credits attempted as well as all courses with a designation of W,
WF, WP, I, P, or U on the Seton Hill transcript. All courses with a passing grade will be counted
as credits earned. At the end of each term (fall, spring, and summer), each student will have a
completion rate calculated (number of credits earned/number of credits attempted).
| Example: | Cum Cr. Earned | Cum Cr. Attempted | Completion Rate |
| 6 | 9 | 66% |
| 12 | 15 | 80% |
| 18 | 24 | 75% |
| 24 | 39 | 61% |
To meet the requirements of the SAP policy, students must meet both standards as described
above. Students who meet both requirements will be considered to be in compliance with the
university SAP policy and the federal SAP policy to receive aid for the subsequent term.
All students who fail to meet either of the SAP standards at the end of a term will receive
a "Financial Aid Warning" letter from the Financial Aid Office. This letter will be sent via email
and USPS to the permanent home address. These students will continue to be eligible to receive
both federal and institutional aid for the subsequent term. At the end of the subsequent term,
if the student has not met the SAP standards, she/he will be notified in writing as to why he/she
has failed to meet the standards, the consequences (i.e., loss of federal and institutional aid),
and what options are available to the student.
Any student who fails to meet the SAP standards after this 'warning' term has the right
to file an appeal of her/his SAP failure. To do so, the student must log on to Griffin's Lair
under Forms and state in writing the reason(s) for the failure to meet the required
standards (e.g., death of a close relative, injury, illness, or other extraordinary circumstances
that prevented the student from attending classes and/or successfully completing the
coursework). The student must also state what has changed or will change that will enable her/
him to meet the SAP standards at the next evaluation. This appeal must be submitted within 5
days of receipt of the notification letter of failure to meet the SAP requirements. The student
must also submit supporting documentation to the Financial Aid Office, Seton Hill University,
Greensburg, PA 15601 of the circumstances related to the failure to make satisfactory progress.
Documentation could include items such as statements from medical personnel, records
from a medical facility, statements from faculty or administrators who have knowledge of the
circumstances, etc.
The Financial Aid SAP committee will respond to all appeals in one of the following ways.
Appeal Approval -
If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on financial aid
probation and will be eligible for federal and institutional aid for one subsequent term.
Students will be required to meet specific requirements as part of the appeal approval (e.g.,
regularly scheduled meetings with advisors, program directors, usage of the Writing Center,
enrollment in specific courses, etc.) All of these stipulations will be clearly stated in the
approval notification.
Appeal Denial - If the appeal is denied, the student will be notified in writing as to the reason
for the denial and what options are available to the student for future coursework. Federal and
institutional aid will not be continued until the SAP standards are met in a future term.
Any questions on the federal and/or institutional financial aid SAP policies should be directed to the Financial Aid Office (724-838-4293) located in room 108 of the Administration Building.
Please note that this is a financial aid satisfactory academic progress policy. Seton Hill University's "Good Academic Standing" policy can be found on page 24 of the Seton Hill University Catalog.
NCAA Athletic Scholarship Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Any graduate student who receives an athletic scholarship while attending Seton Hill University is bound by the NCAA Division II academic progress regulations. This policy states that a graduate student must be enrolled as a full-time student (9 graduate credits/term). All athletic scholarship recipients are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 at the end of each term of study. NCAA eligibility requirements are evaluated at the end of each term by the NCAA faculty representative and the Compliance Office. Appropriate notification will be sent to any student athlete who fails to meet the required standards and the consequences thereof.
Any questions regarding NCAA eligibility should be directed to Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance Nikki Babik, (724) 552-4351; Associate Athletic Director for Compliance and Internal Affairs Bruce Ivory, (724) 552-1714, or by mail to: Compliance Office, Room 404 Administration Building, Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA 15601.
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