UMUC Policies

Policy 220.30 - Financial Aid - Satisfactory Academic Progress - Undergraduate

These guidelines have been developed in accordance with federal financial aid statutes and regulations governing student eligibility. Students who receive financial aid must demonstrate financial need and make satisfactory academic progress as determined by University of Maryland University College pursuant to federal law.
Financial aid recipients are required to be in good standing and to maintain satisfactory academic progress toward their degree requirements for each semester in which they are enrolled. In addition to meeting the academic standards outlined in UMUC Policy 158.00 Academic Level of Progress, financial aid recipients are required to meet the satisfactory academic progress standards outlined in this policy. Satisfactory academic progress for financial aid recipients, as described below, is evaluated annually, in June. Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, as described below, may result in cancellation of financial aid awards, and the student may have to repay any funds already received. Students who are in Financial Aid Probation status will also be evaluated following the fall session.

UMUC's institutional requirements for minimum SAP requirements for financial aid recipients are defined as follows:

Minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA).
The student must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0
Minimum completion rate.
The student must maintain a minimum cumulative completion rate of two-thirds of credits attempted (66%).
Maximum Timeframe to Completion—Federally mandated maximum timeframe to complete the program/degree.
The student must complete his or her educational program within a time frame no longer than 150 percent of the published length of the educational program, as measured by credits attempted and including transfer credits (for example, the student must complete his or her program after attempting a maximum of 180 credits for a 120-credit program).

Federal regulations require that UMUC track the academic progress of financial aid recipients from the first date of enrollment at UMUC, whether or not financial aid was received.
Students who do not earn their degree within the maximum timeframe to completion, outlined above, will be placed in Financial Aid Denied status, not Financial Aid Probation. No financial aid will be disbursed for the student during subsequent semesters/periods of enrollment unless the student has made an appeal of the Financial Aid Denied status and the appeal (described in section VI) is granted.

Treatment of W, I, AU, F, S, P, RT, H and G Grades; No Grade Reported; and Repeated Course Work

Course withdrawals (W) after the drop/add period are not included in the GPA calculation, but are considered a noncompletion of attempted coursework.
Incomplete (I) grades are not included in the GPA calculation and are considered a noncompletion of attempted coursework until the I grade is replaced with a permanent grade and academic progress can be re-evaluated.
An audit (AU) grade or a course taken out of sequence grade (H) is not considered attempted coursework but is included in completion rate determinations.
A satisfactory grade (S), a passing grade (P) or a repeat through transfer grade (RT) is treated as attempted credits, which are earned but not included in calculation of the GPA.
F grades will be treated as attempted credits that were not earned, and so will be included both in the calculation of the GPA and minimum completion rate. This is true for both F grades (failure, academic) and for FN grades (failure due to nonattendance).
If a G grade (grade pending) or no grade is assigned, for any reason, it will not be included in the GPA calculation and will be considered a noncompletion of attempted coursework until a grade is assigned and academic progress can be re-evaluated.
The highest grade earned in a course that is repeated will count in the GPA computation, but every repeated attempt will be included in the completion rate determinations. No financial aid can be disbursed for a repeated attempt if the student already has achieved a passing grade for that course.

Undergraduate students who fail to meet the minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA standard or fail to complete at least two-thirds of cumulative credits attempted will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for the subsequent semester/period of enrollment.
Financial aid is received during the probationary period.

Undergraduate students who, while on Financial Aid Probation status, fail to maintain the minimum completion rate of 66 percent and/or fail to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 will be placed in Financial Aid Denied status for the following semester/period of enrollment. No financial aid will be disbursed during subsequent semesters/periods of enrollment until the student is removed from Financial Aid Denied status.
Undergraduate students who do not earn their degree within the maximum timeframe to completion will also be placed in Financial Aid Denied status. No aid will be disbursed during subsequent semesters/periods of enrollment unless the student has made an appeal and the appeal is granted for that semester/period of enrollment (section VII of this policy describes appeal procedures). There are no exceptions to this requirement.

Reinstatement of financial aid after a student is placed in Financial Aid Denied status is achieved in one of the following ways:

The student submits a written letter of appeal in accordance with the appeal process, and the Financial Aid Appeals Committee grants the appeal. The student is placed on Financial Aid Probation for the semester/period of enrollment rather than in Financial Aid Denied status.
The student attends UMUC, pays for tuition and fees without the help of student financial aid, and does well enough in the coursework to satisfy all the satisfactory academic progress standards. The student regains aid eligibility. Students who are in Financial Aid Denied status for failure to graduate within the maximum timeframe to completion cannot regain eligibility this way. Students who are beyond the maximum timeframe to completion cannot regain financial aid eligibility except on a semester/period of enrollment–by–semester/period of enrollment basis through the appeal process.

Appeal Process
1. The student must submit an appeal of Financial Aid Denied status in writing to the Financial Aid Office.
2. The Financial Aid Appeals Committee will review the appeal and notify the student in writing of their decision after the Appeals Committee meets and makes its determination.