Satisfactory Academic Progress

Students who receive federal financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward graduation. Financial assistance is disbursed to students who meet the following requirements:

UNDERGRADUATES

• Maintain a GPA of 2.0 or above during their enrollment at BYU.
• Students on grade warning status may continue to receive federal and institutional loans and grants. However, students whose status is probation or suspension are not eligible for aid.
• Complete all graduation requirements within 150% of the minimum hours required to complete your degree.
• Most BYU undergraduate require about 120 hours for a BA or BS degree. The maximum attempted hour limit for these students is 180 hours (which is 50% more than the 120 hours required).
• Your maximum hour limit includes all “attempted” hours, including hours for classes you repeated, and those for which you received a failing grade, a withdrawal, or incomplete.
• Undergraduates who accumulate 60 hours of non-progress grades automatically lose eligibility for federal and institutional aid.
• Transfer students are allowed to accumulate 150% of the minimum hours required to graduate after they arrive at BYU.
• Transfer students should speak with a financial aid counselor to review their transfer work and to determine how many hours are required to graduate from BYU.
• Successfully complete at least 70 percent of all attempted credits in which they are enrolled.
• Successful completion includes all classes for which the student receives a grade of A+ through D-.
• Non-progress grades are those which indicate: failing, withdrawal, incomplete, or that a course was repeated.

GRADUATES

• Graduate programs often require students to maintain a GPA higher than 2.0 to maintain SAP. In such cases, the higher standard established by the graduate program must be met to be eligible for federal and institutional financial aid.
• Graduate programs may also have additional SAP criteria, including but not limited to scholarly research, publication and minimum hours completed in a year. These additional requirements must be met in order to maintain SAP and receive financial aid.

APPEALS TO OVERRIDE LACK OF SAP AND RECEIVE AID

• Students who fail to maintain SAP requirements become ineligible to receive federal financial aid. Students seeking to regain eligibility may meet with a financial aid counselor to discuss steps to rehabilitate their status. Students with special or unusual circumstances may petition the Financial Aid Committee requesting an exception to policy.

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Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Professional Judgment Authority

The Higher Education Act provides authority for a financial aid administrator to exercise discretion in a number of areas when a student has special or unusual circumstances. This authority is known as “professional judgment.” It allows the aid administrator to treat a student individually when conditions exist that differentiate that student from a class of students. Professional judgment decisions must be made on a case-by-case basis as the result of examining a particular student’s unique circumstances.

Special or Unusual Circumstances

The Financial Aid Office can exercise discretion in certain areas when a student or his/her family has special or unusual circumstances that are not adequately addressed by the need analysis formula, regulations, or legislation. The Higher Education Act defines special circumstances as “conditions that differentiate an individual student from a class of students rather conditions that exist across a class.”

When such circumstances exist, the Act gives financial aid administrators the authority to exercise professional judgment in the following areas:

• Cost of Attendance (COA)
• Data elements used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
• Dependency Status
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Exceptions

The Financial Aid Office may exercise professional judgment to override SAP requirements when a student fails to meet academic standing or rate of progress requirements due to circumstances beyond the student’s control. These circumstances may include:

• Serious illness
• Accident or injury
• Medical or family emergency
• Death of a relative
• Federally-declared disaster
• Other personal crisis

To grant a professional judgment exception the Financial Aid Committee must determine that, absent the special circumstances, the student would have achieved satisfactory academic progress standards.

Request for Professional Judgment Consideration/Documentation

A student may request professional judgment consideration by submitting a petition to the Financial Aid Office. Students may submit petitions electronically through the VIP system. The Financial Aid Committee meets regularly to consider petition requests submitted by students.

The law gives a financial aid administrator the authority to request and use supplemental information when making a professional judgment decision. Such supplemental information is important because the special circumstances as well as the action taken must be documented in the student’s file.

When exercising professional judgment, the financial aid office must retain documentation of the student’s special or unusual circumstances. Third-party written documentation is preferred and includes items such as:

• Letters from doctors, lawyers, or other certified professionals
• Canceled checks
• Copies of bills
• Pay stubs
• Tax documents

The documentation must substantiate the special circumstances of the student which led to the professional judgment adjustment to his/her eligibility.

If you have additional questions regarding a potential appeal to the financial aid committee, you may schedule an appointment to meet with your financial aid counselor, please contact Student Services at (801) 422-4104.