Transcript Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

MASFAA Conference
November 7, 2012
Authority
Provisions of New SAP Regulations
School Requirements
Definitions, Terms & Conditions
Evaluations
Best Practices
Appendix
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• Program Integrity
regulations:
– Published October 29, 2010;
– SAP requirements:
 New requirements effective
July 1, 2011
 All SAP requirements
consolidated into one
regulatory provision –
§668 (see Appendix)
• New SAP regulations:
– Bring requirements up to date
(last revised in 1983);
– Make terminology more
consistent;
– Eliminate repeated, sequential
use of probationary periods;
and
– Present a more structured,
comprehensive and consistent
approach.
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• Continued flexibility for
institutions to establish SAP
policies for distinct categories of
students.
• Evaluation within defined
categories must be consistent
and may include:
– Full-time or part-time enrollment;
– Undergraduate or graduate level;
or
– Different undergrad standards
for freshmen, sophomores,
juniors, and seniors regarding
GPA and pace requirements at
each grade level.
– Increased flexibility if
institutions monitor SAP more
often than annually.
– Definitions of “warning” &
“probation,” including
descriptions & conditions
surrounding those statuses.
– Measurement of a student’s
progress at each evaluation:
 Annually, each payment
period, or less often than
each payment period, but
must occur at the end of a
payment period.
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• Incorporate the terminology
used in the regulations;
• Clearly explain the conditions
of each term;
• Clearly outline required
elements:
– GPA (i.e., qualitative
standard);
– Pace of progression to ensure
completion within the
maximum time frame (i.e.,
quantitative standard);
– How a student’s GPA & pace
are affected by incompletes,
withdrawals, repetitions, or
transfers of credit;
– How an institution must count
transfer hours accepted for
program completion as both
hours attempted & hours
completed;
– Specific elements & process
required for appeal; and
– How a student can reestablish
eligibility.
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Financial Aid Warning
Financial Aid Probation
• Status assigned to a student
• Status assigned to a student
who fails to make SAP at an
who fails to make SAP, has
institution that evaluates SAP
appealed, and has had
at the end of each payment
eligibility for Title IV aid
period.
reinstated.
• Student can continue to receive • Institutions can impose
Title IV aid for one payment
conditions for student’s
period.
continued eligibility to receive
• No appeal necessary for this to
Title IV aid.
occur.
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• Appeal can be approved only if
the school:
• Process by which a student, who
– Has determined student will be
is not meeting SAP, petitions the
able to meet SAP standards after
institution for reconsideration of
the subsequent payment period;
eligibility for Title IV aid.
or
• Must specify the conditions
– Develops an academic plan with
under which student may appeal.
the student that, if followed, will
ensure the student is able to
• Appeal must include:
Appeal
– Why the student failed to make
SAP; and
– What has changed that will allow
the student to make SAP at the
next evaluation.
meet SAP standards by a specific
point in time.
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Academic Plan
cumulative GPA);
– Achieving minimum coursespecific grades;
– Enrolling in and demonstrating
academic success in certain
courses.
• If one payment period is
insufficient to meet minimum SAP
standards, school may consider a
long-range academic plan.
• Plans should be tailored to
• Plans should be developed by
individual student needs.
several offices, such as:
• Elements that may be part of
– Academic advising, counseling,
academic plan include:
registrar, residence life, academic
– Registering for fewer credit hours;
– Achieving a minimum GPA at end
of the probationary period (a termspecific GPA indicating upward
movement from a very low
colleges, academic departments,
student support, student life,
student development, etc. as
appropriate
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Pace
•Defined as the student’s progression to ensure completion within the
maximum time frame
•Must be measured at each evaluation
•A graduated pace standard is still permitted, such as:
1st term – 50%; 2nd term – 60%; 3rd term – 70%, etc.
•Pace calculation: Cumulative # of credit hours completed
÷ Cumulative # of credit hours attempted
= Pace/Quantitative Progress
•Other requirements (see Appendix)
Maximum Time Frame
•Restricted to 150% of the published length of the student’s program
(see additional details in Appendix)
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• Evaluation at end of
• Program shorter than two
payment period for AY or
years
shorter AYs
• Program longer than two
• End of each payment period
years
– GPA of at least C
or at least annually
– Academic standing consistent
• Determine when a warning
for graduation
period is required
• Notifications to students
–
–
–
–
Loss of eligibility
Financial aid warning
Financial aid probation
Academic plan requirements
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• Policy is at least as strict as the policy the institution applies
to a student who is not receiving Title IV aid.
• Policy provides for consistent application of standards to all
students within categories of students, e.g., full-time, parttime, undergraduate, and graduate students, and educational
programs established by the institution.
• Policy must define the following elements:
– GPA or other comparable assessment measured against a norm;
– The pace at which a student must progress to complete the program
within the maximum time frame;
– Process for incompletes, withdrawals, repetitions, and transfer of credit
from other schools;
– Frequency of SAP evaluation; (continued next slide)
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•
Policy must define the following elements (cont’d):
– SAP Warning (applicable only if school’s policy places student on
financial aid warning);
– SAP Probation (applicable only if school’s policy places student on
financial aid probation);
– SAP Appeal (applicable only if school’s policy places student on
financial aid probation); student must appeal before probation
granted;
– Process for schools that evaluate SAP at the end of each payment
period;
– Process for schools that evaluate SAP annually or less frequently
than the end of each payment period; and
– Required SAP Notifications.
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•
Is the policy evaluated periodically to ensure its effectiveness and
appropriateness?
•
Is the policy published in appropriate institutional literature and/or on
the institution’s web site?
•
Is the policy provided to prospective students by posting it on an
Internet web site or by sending publication or other documents via the
U.S. Postal Service or e-mail?
•
If the written policy is only distributed to students via a web site is notice
sent to these students informing them of the exact web site address for
the SAP policy and does the notice state that a written copy will be
provided upon request?
•
Is the policy made available to appropriate faculty advisors, counselors,
and other institutional personnel and are they familiar with it?
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• Are the following addressed in SAP Policy?
− Non-punitive grades (WD, W, etc.) and repeated courses
− Audited and pass/fail courses
− Withdrawal and nonattendance
− Incomplete grades
•
Does the policy address transfer credits in determining SAP?
• Is the SAP policy for students receiving federal student aid at least as
strict as the policy used for students not receiving federal student aid?
• Are the evaluation periods or increments established not to exceed the
lesser of one academic year or one-half the published length of the
education program?
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• If the institution has an academic policy that allows for academic
amnesty or renewal, does SAP policy clearly indicate that any such
academic amnesty does not apply?
• Does the policy define qualitative and quantitative measures such as:
maximum time frame, GPA, and completion rate, and are they
consistently applied?
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•
Has the institution chosen to allow for an appeal process for students
with mitigating circumstances, and if so, has it explained what
circumstances may be considered?
•
How are students notified of the appeal process?
•
Does the policy identify the appropriate official(s) who approve the
appeals?
•
What constitutes documentation for an appeal?
•
How are students notified of appeal decision?
•
What office tracks appeals?
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•
Is the procedure evaluated periodically to ensure its effective and
efficient.
•
Are the student records reviewed in a timely manner at the end of each
defined evaluation period or increment?
•
Does policy address how data on SAP evaluations are maintained for
statistical review?
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• Are they included as a condition of a financial aid warning status, a
financial aid probation status, or the approval of an appeal at the
school’s option?
• Do they state the number of payment periods until student may come
into SAP?
• Do they allow for:
− Registration for fewer credit/clock hours
− Registration in specified courses
− Certain term grade point average requirements
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• Do they have clear minimum standards?
• Do they allow for revisions?
• What constitutes a contract violation and what happens when a
contract is violated?
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Challenges we faced:
• Qualitative –vs- Quantitative
• Warm and Fuzzy -vs- Standards and Expectations
• Student Retention -vs- Reality
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• Reiterates SAP policy.
• Multi Semester.
• Clearer Goals.
• Special Program
Identification.
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•Utilize your software.
•Talk with other institutions.
•Forge relationships.
•Don’t feel guilty.
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Joan Crissman, Assistant to the President for Strategic
Development
EC Group, LLC: www.ecgroupllc.org
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (202) 257-6457
Kevin DeRuosi, Financial Aid Administrator
Salem State University
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (978) 542-6112
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• Previous SAP requirements & references included in
three separate regulatory sections:
– Administrative Capability §668.16(e)
– Student Eligibility §668.32 (f)
– Satisfactory Progress §668.34
• Now all requirements are consolidated into §668.34,
with cross-references in §§668.16(e) & 668.32(f)
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• Pace (cont’d from slide 9)
– Institutions are still not required to include remedial coursework in
calculation of pace.
– Institutions should carefully consider how any remedial courses are
defined in terms of completed and attempted hours, and
appropriately describe how these courses enter the calculation of
pace for SAP purposes.
– SAP policy must describe how the pace calculation will be affected
by course incompletes, withdrawals, repetitions, and transfer of
credits from other institutions.
– Credit hours accepted from another institution toward the student’s
educational program must count as both completed and attempted
hours in the calculation of pace.
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• Pace (cont’d)
– Regarding changes of major/academic program,
schools have flexibility to determine how they impact
SAP:
 School policy could say that only credits counting toward the
student’s current major are considered in the calculation of
pace and the maximum time frame.
 A more stringent policy might restrict a change in major to
two or three times and not have credits specific to the earlier
majors count against maintaining SAP; or
 Provide that major changes before a certain point in the
student’s program (e.g., before the third year in a four-year
program,) do not impact SAP.
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• Maximum Time Frame (cont’d from slide 9)
– For credit hour programs, the maximum time frame cannot
exceed 150% of the published length of the educational
program, measured in credit hours;
– For clock hour programs, the maximum time frame cannot
exceed 150% of the length of the educational program, as
measured by the cumulative number of clock hours
required for completion, and expressed in calendar time.
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• A student’s academic progress must be evaluated at the
end of each payment period if the educational program
is either:
– One academic year in length or shorter than an academic year
• For all other educational programs, the institution may
evaluate SAP at the end of each payment period or at
least annually to correspond with the end of a payment
period.
• Institutions must be sure to know when they may use a
financial aid warning period based on the frequency of
their SAP evaluation periods.
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• Institutions that evaluate SAP each payment period
should notify students that they –
– May lose eligibility for Title IV aid;
– Can be placed on financial aid warning for one payment period;
– Must make SAP or can be placed on financial aid probation after
an appeal.
• Institutions that evaluate SAP each payment
period after financial aid probation should notify
students that they –
– Must be making SAP, or
– Are successfully following an academic plan.
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• Institutions that evaluate SAP less often than each
payment period should notify students that they –
– May lose eligibility for Title IV aid;
– May be placed on financial aid probation after an appeal;
– Must be making SAP or successfully following an
academic plan, after serving a probationary period.
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• For programs shorter than two years
– Students must have an academic standing consistent
with graduation standards.
• For programs longer than two years
– Institutions have flexibility in defining the GPA
requirement of their SAP policy.
– At the end of the second academic year, the student
must have –
 GPA of at least a “C” or its equivalent; or
 academic standing consistent with the institution’s
requirements for graduation.
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Repeated Coursework
• Restricts number of times a
student may repeat a course
and receive Title IV financial
aid for it.
• Must be considered in an
institution’s SAP policy as it
relates to the definitions of:
Notifications
• Results of a SAP review that
impact the student’s eligibility.
• Describe the specific elements
required to appeal SAP.
• If no appeal process, must
describe how a student
reestablishes eligibility.
– Completed hours and
attempted hours; and
– The impact of the repeated
coursework on a student’s GPA.
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•
Preamble to the Program Integrity Final Regulations, October 29, 2010, p. 66879
https://www.ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR102910Final.html
•
Satisfactory Academic Progress Reviews for Students in Clock Hour Programs, EAnnouncement, June 6, 2011
https://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/060611SAPReviewforStudentsinClockHrs.html
•
Program Integrity Questions and Answers - Satisfactory Academic Progress
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2009/sap.html
•
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policies & Procedures & FSA Assessments, for 2010-11
and prior, and 2011-12 award year and beyond
http://ifap.ed.gov/qahome/qaassessments/sap.html
•
NASFAA 2011 Training Materials -- Satisfactory Academic Progress
http://www.nasfaa.org/training/archives/Satisfactory_Academic_Progress__2011_Workshop_Kit.aspx
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