Muskingum College: Financial Aid

Students are expected to meet certain standards of satisfactory academic progress in order for financial aid to be renewed. The Satisfactory Academic Policy (SAP) policy for Muskingum College follows.

Federal and state regulations, and Muskingum College policy, require that students make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) in their course of study in order to be eligible to receive financial aid. Official standards of satisfactory academic progress for retention of financial aid at Muskingum are set by the Financial Aid Committee on Academic Progress. Membership in this committee consists of representation from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Office of the Dean of Student Life, the Director of Student Financial Services Operations, and the Senior Director of Admission and Student Financial Services.

All financial aid awards are made contingent on satisfactory academic progress. If the College makes an award and subsequently discovers that academic progress was not made, the award will be withdrawn.
Decisions regarding satisfactory academic progress for the retention of financial aid are made by the Financial Aid Committee on Academic Progress. Appeals of any decision made by this committee should be directed to the Vice President of Enrollment. Questions regarding satisfactory academic progress should be directed to the Office of Student Financial Services.
The satisfactory academic progress requirements stated are applicable to federal financial assistance (including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Stafford and Federal PLUS Loans) and Muskingum College aid. Programs run by state or private agencies are governed by the specific policies of those agencies.
Satisfactory academic progress is monitored upon the completion of the first two semesters of enrollment, and each semester thereafter. Summer term performance is evaluated for students whose satisfactory progress is in question at the conclusion of the spring semester.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

Muskingum’s satisfactory academic progress requirements for retention of financial aid have both a quantitative and a qualitative component. The quantitative element refers to the student’s actual progression toward a degree by measuring the number of credit hours attempted per term. The qualitative requirement relates to the quality of a student’s academic performance as measured by grade-point average.

Students should note that the satisfactory academic progress requirements are not the same as Muskingum’s definition of good academic standing, which requires a 2.0 grade average, both cumulative and for the most recent semester completed. The financial aid progress guidelines are minimum requirements which a student must meet to be eligible for financial assistance, provided that the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs has determined that the student is academically eligible to be enrolled at Muskingum. It is therefore possible for a student to be eligible for financial aid renewal but be dismissed for academic reasons, or for a student to be eligible to return to Muskingum, and even be in good academic standing, but be denied eligibility for financial assistance due to lack of satisfactory academic progress.

Quantitative Requirements

Students must successfully complete 67% of all coursework attempted at Muskingum. Credits earned in summer sessions are considered in evaluating satisfactory academic progress. Muskingum College considers four years of full-time study as the standard time frame to complete a baccalaureate degree program, and thus limits financial aid eligibility to six years of full-time study, which is 150% of the program length. Appropriate considerations are made for students whose standard program length is greater than four years, and for students who enroll part-time.

The following are considered when evaluating a student’s satisfactory academic progress:

Students in programs requiring 124 credit hours for graduation are eligible for financial aid during the first 186 attempted hours as an undergraduate (150% time frame). All attempted hours are counted, whether or not financial aid was received or the coursework was successfully completed.
An attempted course is one for which the student is registered at the end of the add/drop period.
Withdrawals, incompletes and failures are considered attempted but not earned hours.
Passing credits received for pass/fail courses are considered attempted and earned credits; failing grades in pass/fail courses are considered attempted but not earned.
Repeated courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours.
Audited courses are not considered attempted or earned.
Transfer credits, including those received prior to entering Muskingum College and those earned subsequent to entry, such as in off-campus study, do not count in the calculation of the GPA, but are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned credit hours.

Qualitative Requirements

Students must have achieved the stipulated minimum grade-point average in accordance with the categories of credit hours attempted:

Credit Hours Attempted Required Cumulative GPA

1-27 N/A

28-59 N/A

60-91 1.8

92+ 2.0

Satisfactory Academic Progress Administrative Action

Academic progress will be reviewed at the end of each academic semester, beginning at the conclusion of a student’s second completed semester at Muskingum. Students not meeting both the stated quantitative and qualitative requirements for the first time will be placed on Financial Aid Probation during the next semester of enrollment and will receive a letter of probation.

Probation and Suspension

A student may continue to receive financial assistance during the probationary period. At the end of the probationary period the student will:

be removed from probationary status because required standards are met, or
be suspended from receiving federal, state (when required), and institutional financial assistance. A letter of financial aid suspension will be sent informing the student that future enrollment will be at the student’s own expense until both qualitative and quantitative academic progress guidelines are met.

Summer term performance, where applicable, will be considered for students who are in either the probation or suspension status at the conclusion of the spring semester, and the student’s official SAP status in the fall term will reflect summer work.

Appeal and Reinstatement

Students may appeal the decision to suspend financial aid eligibility. Letters of appeal are to be directed to the Vice President of Enrollment, and must be submitted within two weeks of notification of suspension. Students will be notified of the outcome of the appeal review within two weeks of receipt of the student’s letter of appeal. Under normal circumstances a student's appeal of financial aid suspension will be only granted once in a student's academic career at Muskingum College.

Reinstatement of financial aid eligibility will occur immediately upon the student’s attainment of both the quantitative (credit hours attempted) and qualitative (GPA) benchmarks of satisfactory academic progress. Coursework taken away from Muskingum, including summers, will count toward meeting the quantitative requirement, but not the qualitative requirement.

Merit-Based Financial Assistance

Students must meet additional requirements in order to retain academic scholarships awarded by Muskingum College. Recipients of John Glenn, Presidential, Faculty, Science Division and Returning Student Scholarships must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average, and recipients of Special Acknowledgement Awards a 2.5, to ensure renewal of these awards. Students who fail at any time to remain in good academic standing as determined by the Office of the VPAA are subject to the immediate loss of their scholarship.

International Students

International students with International Scholarships must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average, and recipients of International Awards a 2.5, in order to retain these awards. International students with International Grants must maintain satisfactory academic progress.

12/1/07