Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by Congress, mandates that institutions of higher education monitor the academic progress of students who receive federal student aid. The University of Mary-Hardin Baylor has approval to participate in the Competency Based Education experiment under the Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI) Subscription Period Disbursement as described in the Program Participation Agreement effective June 2016.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor will follow the policy for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) established by the Financial Aid Office, except for approved modified Rules and Regulations under Subscription Period Disbursement, CBE Experiment Guide of July 2016. This policy will reflect those modified Rules and Regulations accordingly.
Modified Rules and Regulations for the ESI – CBE Experiment requires that SAP be reviewed after each six-month subscription period. This review will determine if the student is achieving two measures of quantitative progress (Payment Period SAP Evaluation and Aggregate SAP Evaluation) and grants a waiver of the qualitative standard (grade point average).
Terminology:
Subscription period: six-month calendar period of enrollment for a CBE student.
• Each subscription period will begin on the 15th day of the month and end 6 months later on the 14th day of the month.
Credit Hour Equivalents (CHE’s): One competency in a subscription period can be equal to a one to six credit hour class.
Competency: Students enroll in competencies for a subscription period.
Federal Financial Aid regulations require students to register for six or more credit hour equivalents. Students awarded Federal Financial Aid should work with their success coach to ensure the competencies for which they are registered equal six or more credit hour equivalents.
Payment Period SAP Evaluation:
This SAP measure will review the student’s progress within the subscription period immediately prior to the evaluation. If the student did not complete all competencies for which they were registered, the student would fail SAP and be placed on Financial Aid Warning.
Example:
• If a student registered for 4 (four) competencies for the subscription period, but only completes 2 (two) competencies, the student would fail to meet the Payment Period SAP standard and would initially be placed on warning.
• If a student registered for 2 (two) competencies for the subscription period and completes both competencies, the student would meet the Payment Period SAP standard.
Aggregate SAP Evaluation:
This SAP measure reviews the student's progress by dividing the aggregate credit hour equivalents completed at the end of the payment period prior to the evaluation by the total number of credit hour equivalents for the student to complete the program within the maximum time frame.
MyWay at UMHB degrees are 120 credit hours in length (after bridging competencies back to credit hours). Optimally, programs can be completed within 4 years. Therefore, the maximum time frame to complete a MyWay at UMHB degree is 6 years or 12 subscription periods for students attending full-time. The program should be completed within 12 years or 24 subscription periods for students attending half-time. Note: If program is not completed within 6 years, student may be required to adhere to the current degree program according to the current catalog year.
Examples of Full-Time Satisfactory Academic Progress:
Passing Aggregate SAP:
Enrollment Period
|
Registered CHE's
|
Completed CHE's
|
Total Earned CHE's
|
Required Completed CHE's
|
Aggregate SAP Status
|
1st 6 months
|
12 |
9
|
9
|
12
|
Failing
|
2nd 6 months
|
12
|
15
|
24
|
24
|
Passing
|
3rd 6 months
|
12 |
12
|
36
|
36
|
Passing
|
4th 6 months
|
12
|
15
|
51
|
48
|
Passing
|
* Data reflected above in columns two, three, and four is cumulative.
Failing Aggregate SAP:
Enrollment Period
|
Registered CHE's
|
Completed CHE's
|
Total Earned CHE's
|
Required Completed CHE's
|
Aggregate SAP Status
|
1st 6 months
|
12
|
12
|
12
|
12
|
Passing
|
2nd 6 months
|
12
|
6
|
18
|
24
|
Failing
|
3rd 6 months
|
12
|
9
|
27
|
36
|
Failing
|
4th 6 months
|
12
|
12
|
39
|
48
|
Failing
|
* Data reflected above in columns thwo, three, and four is cumulative.
Examples of Half-Time Satisfactory Academic Progress:
Passing Aggregate SAP:
Enrollment Period
|
Registered CHE's
|
Completed CHE's
|
Total Earned CHE's
|
Required Completed CHE's
|
Aggregate SAP Status
|
1st 6 months
|
6
|
3
|
3
|
6
|
Failing
|
2nd 6 months
|
6
|
9
|
12
|
12
|
Passing
|
3rd 6 months
|
6
|
6
|
18
|
18
|
Passing
|
4th 6 months
|
6
|
9
|
27
|
24
|
Passing
|
* Data reflected above in columns thwo, three, and four is cumulative.
Failing Aggregate SAP:
Enrollment Period
|
Registered CHE's
|
Completed CHE's
|
Total Earned CHE's
|
Required Completed CHE's
|
Aggregate SAP Status
|
1st 6 months
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
Passing
|
2nd 6 months
|
6
|
0
|
6
|
12
|
Failing
|
3rd 6 months
|
6
|
3
|
9
|
18
|
Failing
|
4th 6 months
|
6
|
6
|
15
|
24
|
Failing
|
* Data reflected above in columns thwo, three, and four is cumulative.
Financial aid for the next subscription period will not be disbursed until all prior academic grades have been posted.
Warning Period
In the first subscription period after SAP has not been met, students will be sent notification to inform them that they are not meeting SAP. The notification will include SAP requirements, steps necessary to meet SAP in the upcoming subscription period, and the consequences for failing to meet SAP at the end of the warning period.
During the warning period, students may continue to receive financial aid. At the completion of the warning period, students who do not meet SAP are ineligible for financial aid. The UMHB Financial Aid Office will notify students at the end of the warning subscription period if they failed to meet SAP. The notification will include information concerning the loss of financial aid for the upcoming subscription period due to failure to meet Payment Period SAP Evaluation or Aggregate SAP Evaluation.
Probation Period
If a student is placed on financial aid Suspension, he/she has the option of appealing the Suspension through the SAP appeal process. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on financial aid Probation for the next subscription period. The student must bring his/her SAP eligibility to Good Standing status during the Probation subscription period or again be placed on financial aid Suspension. While on Probation, the student may continue to receive financial assistance if he/she is otherwise eligible.
Suspension
If a student under a Warning or Probation SAP status fails to meet SAP eligibility requirements during the subscription period, the student's status will be placed on Suspension and the student is
NOT eligible for federal, state, or institutional financial aid during the next semester he/she attends the university. A student who is placed on financial aid Suspension may appeal this decision through the SAP appeal process.
SAP Appeal Process
Step One: Students who choose to follow the appeal process must:
• Submit appeal to the UMHB Financial Aid Office.
o Student must state why he or she failed to meet SAP requirements.
o Student must state what has changed so that he or she will meet SAP at the next review (subscription period).
Step Two: The UMHB Financial Aid Office will:
• Review the appeal.
• Send results of appeal to the student.
o Approved appeals include:
Approval and terms of reinstatement of financial aid eligibility.
• Possibility of meeting SAP in next payment period (subscription period).
• Possibility of an academic plan over an extended period of time.
Consequences for not meeting terms of approval.
o Approved appeals will result in financial aid being awarded for the subscription period.
o Denied appeals include:
Reasons for denial.
What the student must do to meet SAP.
o Denied appeals will not be awarded financial aid until SAP is met.
Step Three: Students must continue to meet terms, as established, until SAP is met in order to continue receiving financial aid on a probationary basis. Once SAP is met, student is no longer considered to be on probation. Failure to maintain SAP thereafter will result in student receiving an additional warning for the upcoming payment period (subscription period).
The Assistant Director of Financial Aid – CBE Programs will also work with the CBE Success Coaches to assist students during this process.
Transfer Credits
Accepted transfer credit hours will be included in the SAP calculation for the next payment period (subscription period).
• Hours considered in the next evaluation period will follow receipt and review of transcript.
• Incoming transfer students transfer in, meeting SAP.
• Transfer credits accepted by The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor are included in the Aggregate SAP Evaluation.
Repeating Classes
Under the Modified Rules and Regulations of ESI Subscription Period, enrollment in a unique competency cannot be counted in more than one subscription period. If a student is enrolled for the same competency in more than one subscription period, the student is not eligible to receive Financial Aid for that competency for the second subscription period.
Withdrawing from the University / Failure to Earn a Passing Grade
Withdrawing from all competencies during a subscription period or failure to earn a passing grade in all competencies attempted during a subscription period may cause all or part or your financial aid to be returned based on a Return to Title 4 aid calculation. Initially enrolled competencies and final GPA are reviewed for satisfactory academic progress at the conclusion of each subscription period.