Undergraduate Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress 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) which commenced 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. 

Federal student aid programs that are included in this policy are:

• PELL Grants
• SEO Grants
• Federal Direct Subsidized Loans
• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal Direct Parent PLUS 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 aid will be reviewed and evaluated each term by records in the Registrar's Office. This SAP policy applies to all continuing undergraduate students at Seton Hill. 

The policy is composed of two parts:

1. Grade Point Average (Qualitative Standard)
   Grade point average minimum requirements are based on the number of earned credits as outlined below:
   • 1-29 cumulative credits earned 1.00 cumulative GPA
   • 30-59 cumulative credits earned 1.50 cumulative GPA
   • 60-89 cumulative credits earned 1.75 cumulative GPA
   • 90+ cumulative credits earned 2.00 cumulative GPA
     
     
2. 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). 

To meet the requirements of the SAP policy, students must meet both standards as previously described. Students who meet both requirements will be considered to be in compliance with 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 federal 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 aid), and what options are available to the student. 

Any student who fails to meet the SAP standards after this "warning" term will be notified by letter by the Financial Aid Office. Students have the right to file an appeal of her/his SAP failure. Details on how to appeal will be included in the letter. Students will be required to 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 aid for one subsequent term. Students will be required to meet specific requirements as part of the appeal approval (e.g. attendance at tutoring sessions, usage of the Writing Center services, 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 aid will not be continued until the SAP standards are met in a future term. 

Any questions on the federal financial aid SAP policies should be directed to the Financial Aid Office at (724) 830-1010 located in room 104 in 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 in the Seton Hill University Catalog.

Pennsylvania State Grant Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy 

The Pennsylvania State Grant program sets its own standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students receiving a Pennsylvania State Grant. This policy requires that a full-time student must earn a minimum of 24 new credits within an academic year. For part-time students who receive a Pennsylvania State Grant, the minimum number of credits earned in an academic year must be 12 new credits. Any courses repeated with a previous grade of D- or higher are not counted as new credits earned. If a student withdraws or fails a course, the credits earned in a repeated course can only be counted once toward Academic Progress.  Students who have not achieved Pennsylvania State Grant SAP will be ineligible for Pennsylvania State Grants until they have earned additional credits to demonstrate Pennsylvania State Grant SAP. Typically this is achieved in the subsequent term.

Any additional credits must be non-developmental and must be earned from an approved Pennsylvania State Grant or Federal Title IV institution in order to be considered toward Pennsylvania State Grant SAP. The Financial Aid Office must review official college transcripts with final grades to determine Pennsylvania State Grant SAP for students whose most recent Pennsylvania State Grant(s) was received while at another institution. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that an official transcript from a prior institution(s) is mailed to the Financial Aid or Registrar's Offices. Pennsylvania State Grant received 10 or more years prior to the current academic year are exempt from the Pennsylvania State Grant SAP review. 

For additional information on the Pennsylvania State Grant Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy, visit www.pheaa.org or contact the Pennsylvania State Grant program at 1-800-692-7392. 

NCAA Athletic Scholarship Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Any 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 full-time student must earn a minimum of 24 credits in each academic year. A minimum of 9 of these credits (24) must be earned during each of the traditional academic calendar terms (fall and spring). It is permissible to earn the deficient credits in a summer term as long as the deficient credits do not total more than 6. All athletic scholarship recipients are required to maintain good academic standing 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 Executive Athletic Director Chris Snyder, (724) 830-1895 or csnyder@setonhill.edu.

Graduate Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress 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) which commenced 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. 

Federal student aid programs that are included in this policy are:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS 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 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:

1. Grade Point Average (Qualitative Standard)
   Cumulative 2.5 GPA at the end of each term
   
   
2. 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 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). 

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 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 federal 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 aid), and what options are available to the student.



Any student who fails to meet the SAP standards after this "warning" term will again be notified by letter by the Financial Aid Office. Students have the right to file an appeal of her/his SAP failure. Details on how to appeal will be included in the letter. Students will be required to 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 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 aid will not be continued until the SAP standards are met in a future term. 



Any questions on the federal financial aid SAP policies should be directed to the Financial Aid Office (724-830-1010) located in room 104 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 in the Seton Hill University Catalog.