Office of Student Financial Aid

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

Students must make Satisfactory Academic Progress towards earning a degree as stipulated in the chart below to receive financial aid at ISU from the following federal programs: Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Work Study, Perkins Loan, Subsidized Stafford Loan, Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and Parent PLUS Loan.  Some additional grants and scholarships may also use part of the SAP standards as minimum criteria for receipt of funding.

SAP Evaluation

1.       SAP is calculated annually after the spring semester following the student’s first term of enrollment as a regular degree-seeking student or at the point of awarding aid as a degree-seeking student.  Some additional non-degree students may be calculated for SAP based upon funding or program rules.

2.       Quantitative (hours attempted and earned) and qualitative (cumulative GPA) SAP progress is measured.

3.       Changes in major may alter your SAP status, which is based upon the current degree level pursued.

4.       Students meeting the standards listed above when calculated will be in SAP GOOD STANDING.

5.       SAP SUSPENSION will be required for students who do not meet the requirements shown above.  Eligibility for the aid programs listed above will be suspended immediately.  (See Appeals)

6.       Rules are applied uniformly to all students for all periods of enrollment whether or not aid has been received previously.

7.       Students will be considered to be on SAP PROBATION if they are considered to be on academic probation.  Students in this status may continue to be eligible for aid.

8.       Students will be considered to be on SAP SUSPENSION if they are academically dismissed from ISU.  (See Appeals)

9.       Eligibility is reestablished after the student improves their academic record to meet the minimum standards or an appeal due to unusual and/or mitigating circumstances is approved.

10.    Students are held responsible for knowing SAP eligibility criteria and their status at the end of each semester.  Please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid if questions arise.

Grades

1.       All courses taken at ISU and those taken elsewhere, which are recognized by the ISU Office of Registration and Records as related to the current degree pursuit are counted as hours attempted regardless of grade assigned.  This includes courses such as incompletes, failed, dropped or are withdrawn after the 7^th day of class each term.

2.       Only courses earning grades recognized by the ISU Office of Registration and Records as acceptable for progressing toward degree completion will be counted as earned.  (Example: A, B+, B, C+, C, D+, D, S, and P)

3.       Courses shown as failed, incomplete, withdrawn, dropped or concluded with no grade submitted count as hours attempted and not earned.  Additional courses with non-passing results are counted similarly.

4.       All courses designated as repeated for grade improvement count as hours attempted, but only count once if passed as hours earned.

5.       Courses attempted repetitively for credit count as both hours attempted and if passed as hours earned.

6.       Audit and Non-credit classes are ineligible for financial aid and do not count in SAP calculations.

7.       The official institutional GPA determined by the ISU Office of Registration and Records is used for all qualitative measures.

Additional Earned Credits and Remedial Classes

1.       Credit hours earned by testing or other non-standard means are counted in the SAP calculations as both hours attempted and earned.  This includes hours earned from Credit by Exam, CLEP and CEEB tests, AP Courses, Foreign Language Placement, Work Experience Credit, and Military Experience Credit.

2.       All credit hours attempted through International Student Exchange Program (ISEP), Study Abroad, the Indiana College Network (ICN) and through Consortium Agreements with other institutions count in both attempted and earned calculations.

3.       Remedial classes count in both attempted and earned hours calculations even though credits may not apply toward completion of degree requirements.  They may also impact GPA calculations.

Transfer Students

1.       Transfer students with no grade history at ISU will enter on SAP PROBATION and will be considered for freshman grade level aid only.

2.       Complete academic transcripts must be submitted to the Office of Admissions or the School of Graduate Studies for any academic work attempted at other institutions before the end of their first semester at ISU.  A standard SAP calculation including this work and ISU hours will be run at the next scheduled increment.

3.       Students making SAP will have aid eligibility recalculated relative to their new grade level.

4.       Students failing SAP will be placed on SAP SUSPENSION and lose eligibility for further aid.  (See Appeals)

5.       Students can request to have their transfer hours evaluated early in their first term, but will be held accountable for the SAP calculation results immediately.  

Former ISU Students Returning To Complete Their Degree Pursuit

1.       Former ISU students who were not enrolled at ISU for the most recent regular semester (fall or spring) will re-enter on SAP PROBATION or SUSPENSION according to the following criteria:

2.       Those whose academic history demonstrates SAP GOOD STANDING will enter on SAP PROBATION and be allowed aid respective to their recognized earned grade level until the next scheduled SAP calculation.

3.       Those whose academic history would have justified SAP probation, suspension or who were on appeal when they last attended will re-enter on SAP SUSPENSION.  (See Appeals)

4.       Complete academic transcripts must be submitted to the Admission’s Office for any academic work attempted since their last ISU enrollment before the end of their first semester back.  A standard SAP calculation including this work will be run at the next scheduled increment.

Academic Renewal

1.       Federal regulations forbid eliminating hours included in an Academic Renewal from SAP calculations. 

2.       Quantitative SAP calculations for these students will include their full academic history.

3.       Courses shown in both academic history and also as Academic Renewal Transfer Hours will only be counted once.

4.       Repeated courses in this category will all be treated as hours attempted and if passed as hours earned.

Appeals and Reinstatement

1.       SAP SUSPENSION may be appealed if unusual and/or mitigating circumstances affected academic progress.  Such circumstances may include a severe illness or injury to the student or an immediate family member, the death of a student’s relative, student activation into military service or other circumstances as deemed appropriate for consideration by the SAP Appeals Committee.

2.       The student must submit a typed letter and a completed SAP Appeal Form to the Office of Student Financial Aid explaining in detail why they failed to meet the minimum academic standards, what unusual and/or mitigating circumstances caused the failure and how their situation has improved.

3.       The SAP Appeals Committee written response will be made available to the student in four business days after submission.  Students choose between having the response mailed or being available for pick-up.

4.       Any appeal approvals will give the conditions and timeframe for maintaining aid eligibility.

5.       All decisions of the SAP Appeals Committee are final.

6.       Students who raise their cumulative standards to equal or exceed the minimum requirements will be reinstated to SAP GOOD STANDING from that point forward.