Satisfactory Academic Progress

These are the academic standards all undergraduate financial aid applicants and recipients must meet as well as post baccalaureate students in Occupational & Physical Therapy:

1. Students must maintain the minimum GPA requirements needed for continued enrollment as shown in the University catalog. Students whose grade point averages place them on academic probation are eligible for financial aid if they meet the hour requirements specified below.

2. Students are encouraged to plan their course load in order to complete approximately one-fourth of the graduation requirements each year. Financial aid eligibility is 150% of the published length of the program or 192 credits (at least 128 credits are required for graduation). If and when it is determined a student will not complete his degree program within a total of 192 credit hours, aid will be forfeit at that point.

  • Full-time students must register for and should successfully complete a minimum of 12 credit hours for each semester of enrollment for which full-time aid is received.*
  • Three-quarter time students must register for and should successfully complete a minimum of nine (9) credit hours for each semester of enrollment for which three-quarter time aid is received.
  • Half-time students must register for and should successfully complete a minimum of six (6) credit hours for each semester of enrollment for which half-time aid is received.

3. Students must successfully complete the minimum number of hours each semester as well as each year.

  • Full-time students must successfully complete at least six (6) credits for one semester and 24 credits for the academic year.
  • Three-quarter time students must successfully complete four (4) credits for one semester and 18 credits for the academic year.
  • Half-time students must successfully complete two (2) credits for one semester and 12 credits for the academic year.

Repeated courses or courses with a grade of I (incomplete), DG, F, AF, NA, NE or W (withdrawal) do not count toward the earned hours required for satisfactory program determination and may lead to FA warning or Suspension.

4. Every student’s progress will be evaluated as grades become available at the end of each semester. Financial Aid Warning will go into effect when the following occurs:

  • Full-time students complete less than 12 credits but at least six (6).
  • Three-quarter time students complete less than nine (9) credits but at least four (4).
  • Half-time students complete less than six (6) credits but at least two (2).

5. At the end of each semester, academic records are reviewed for all financial aid recipients to identify those who have not met the satisfactory academic progress standards. Students will receive notification if they are being placed on financial aid warning or suspension.

6. Financial Aid Warning allows a student one semester of continued aid at the end of which the total of hours successfully completed must equal the minimum required for both semesters of aid (i.e., FT=24, QT=18, HT=12). Students passing the requisite number of hours by the end of the warning period will be fully reinstated and the warning status dropped.

7. If students fail to successfully complete the minimum hours by the end of the semester of probation, they are placed on Financial Aid Suspension. Students not passing the minimum of any single semester of funding (i.e., FT=6, QT=4, HT=2) are placed on financial aid suspension immediately.

  • Students placed on financial aid suspension may submit a written appeal by the deadline specified in the notification (usually within two weeks of grades being available at the close of the semester) to the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal should contain:
    • An explanation of the extenuating circumstances that affected academic performance during the period in question.
    • The steps taken to correct the issues negatively impacting performance.
    • The academic plan intended to correct the failure to progress satisfactorily.

    The Director of Financial Aid will refer the appeal to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee who will review the student’s request and statement of extenuating circumstances as well as the student’s complete academic history. The student will receive written confirmation of the Appeals Committee’s decision within a week of the submission deadline. The decision is final.

  • Students that have appealed and been approved for reinstatement will be placed on Financial Aid Probation. On probation, an academic plan and timeline will be instituted based on the students appeal letter and the committees analysis of potential progress. Should the terms of the students academic plan not be met, the probation will end and the Financial Aid Suspension will be reinstated.

8. Students on financial aid suspension may be reinstated on probation after one year if they document satisfactory progress at Maryville or at another college or university during that period of time.

9. At the end of each academic year, the Financial Aid Office will survey each student not making satisfactory progress.

10. Students receiving institutional scholarship funding which carries an additional GPA requirement will be reviewed for credit hours progress each semester; however, the GPA will be monitored at the end of each academic year to determine renewability for the next academic year. If the GPA requirement is not met, the scholarship is forfeit. The student may appeal the loss of scholarship funding once, in writing within two weeks of the availability of spring semester grades.

* The use of the full-time specification throughout this document refers to the academic requirement of a minimum of twelve (12) credit hours and not the pricing requirement for Weekend & Evening College students, which establishes full-time charges for students taking 13-18 credit hours.

GRADUATE MEASURE OF ACADEMIC PROGRESS

These are the academic standards post baccalaureate financial aid applicants and recipients with the exception of Occupational & Physical Therapy:

  • 9=> hours = Full Time
  • 6-8 hours = Three Quarter Time
  • 3-5 hours = Half Time
  • 1-2 hours = Less than Half Time

For every semester a student receives aid, a student must successfully complete the minimum required for his or her academic status.  Students using aid who fail to complete the minimum credit hours required are on financial aid warning.  By the end of the next semester in which aid is received, the hours not successfully completed below the minimum must be made up.  If this is not done, aid is suspended until the student does make up the hours.

For example, if a student registers for and receives aid for half time attendance (3-5 hours), withdraws from a class and successfully completes the second class which is three hours, he or she would be expected to complete a minimum of seven hours in in the next semester should they again receive half time aid (3 for half time aid + hours to make up for the earlier shortfall).

Financial aid suspension ends the availability of aid until any hour shortfall is successfully completed and the progress toward the degree is back on track.  At the end of a semester in which a student is on academic warning if the hours have not been made up, the student may appeal if there are extenuating circumstances.

For example, if the program itself does not allow a student to take more than a half time course load in a semester, the advisor/program director can provide confirmation that the student may not take an additional course and why, then aid can be extended with the condition that the student is on extended “warning”.  If the student continues to use aid and another class is not successfully completed, aid is immediately suspended without further appeal.

In the event the student is not able to make up the hours because he or she is at a point in the program where academically, there is no option for taking an additional class (credit hours), an explanation of this may be provided by the advisor and/or program director for that student.  He or she will then be placed on Financial Aid Warning that will require continued successful completion of all course work to avoid immediate financial aid suspension at the point of not successfully completing another class.