Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Standards for satisfactory academic progress (SAP) are used to determine individual students’ academic standing at the College, as well as eligibility for financial aid. Federal regulations require the College to establish, publish and apply standards for monitoring each students’ progress toward degree completion. Students not meeting these standards are placed on academic notice, which has implications for financial aid. The College of Wooster evaluates student progress at the end of each semester.
Consistent with federal regulations, the College specifies a qualitative and a quantitative standard for determining SAP. Student must meet the minimum thresholds of both standards to meet the SAP standards and to remain eligible for financial aid. The College monitors academic progress (both qualitative and quantitative standards) at the conclusion of each semester.
Qualitative Standard (Grade Point Average)
College and federal regulations require a qualitative standard, represented by a student’s grade point average (GPA).
GPA: A student must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0.
Quantitative Standard (Pace and Maximum Time Frame)
College and federal regulations also require a quantitative standard; the quantitative standard measures a student’s pace towards the successful completion of an academic program. Students must make sufficient progress to graduate within 150% of the time required to graduate in their respective program to remain in good academic standing and eligible for financial aid. At Wooster, assuming consistent full-time status, most programs are designed to be completed in 4 years. Therefore, a student enrolled full-time at Wooster must maintain sufficient progress to graduate in 6-years.
Pace: A student must complete at least 67% of credits attempted.
Definitions and Terms
The following definitions and terms apply to the qualitative and/or quantitative standards:
- Courses graded with a letter grade: All credits for courses in which a student receives a letter grade of ‘D’ or better are considered earned.
- Courses graded using a two-level system: All credits for courses in which a student receives a grade of ‘S’ is considered earned.
- Courses graded using a four-level system (Senior Independent Study 45200): All credits for courses in which a student receives a grade of ‘S’ or better are considered earned.
- Any repeated courses in which a student receives a ‘D’ grade or better, or a ‘S’ grade (or better in the case of 45200) are considered attempted and earned. Repeated courses with a letter grade of ‘F’ or ‘NC’ are considered attempted but not earned. Credit for a class will only count as earned one time (even if both grades are ‘D’ or better), and only the grade in the second course will count toward the cumulative GPA.
- Transfer credits from another institution that are accepted by The College are considered attempted and earned. Transfer credit is not used in the determination of the GPA.
- Incompletes are not factored into either the qualitative or quantitative SAP formulas until a grade is finalized.
- Students may withdraw from a class according to The College’s established withdrawal procedures. Withdrawals that are within these procedures are not factored into either the qualitative or quantitative SAP formulas.
- If a student withdraws from a course after the last day of an official withdrawal period (after 6 weeks of regular classes), the associated credits will be considered attempted and a grade of W will be recorded for the course. A student may only withdraw after the official withdrawal period (after 6 weeks of regular classes) by petitioning the Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement, and such petitions are normally only approved in the context of specific, extraneous circumstances.
Further details regarding the determination of Academic Notice Standing can be found in the College catalogue.
Notification
Students will receive an e-mailed letter from the Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement office notifying them if they are not meeting the SAP requirements and are on Academic Notice/Continued Academic Notice. The letter sent notifies students of their current Financial Standing for financial aid eligibility, as well as steps they need to take if they have lost aid eligibility and wish to appeal.
Financial Standing
Federal regulation and Wooster’s institutional merit financial aid policy mandate that students receiving federal and/or institutional merit financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by the Committee on Academic standards. Failure to do so will result in the student being placed on Academic Probation, and therefore Financial Aid Warning, for the following semester.
Financial Aid Warning
Students on Financial Aid Warning will remain eligible for federal and institutional merit financial aid during this semester. Students who do not re-establish satisfactory academic progress by the end of this semester will lose their federal and institutional merit financial aid eligibility for the following semester.
Loss of Financial Aid and Appeal Process
When on Academic Notice for two consecutive semesters, a student will lose their federal and/or institutional merit financial aid eligibility. Students should follow the appeal procedures, as outlined in the notification, and submit to the Dean of Curriculum and Academic Engagement/Academic Affairs and request to be placed on Financial Aid Probation.
Appeals should be completed as soon as possible, but no later than October 1st for the fall semester, March 1st for the spring semester. Please contact the Academic Affairs at (330) 263-2008 or via email at academicaffairs@wooster.edu with any questions. If the deadline is missed, students may appeal for a one-time extension. Any subsequent appeals must be submitted by the deadline.
Financial Aid Probation
If the appeal is approved, the student is placed on Financial Aid Probation and will remain eligible for federal and/or institutional merit financial aid during this semester. If the student makes satisfactory academic progress by the end of the semester and is removed from Academic Probation, they will be removed from Financial Aid Probation and continue to remain eligible for federal and/or institutional merit financial aid.
Appeal
Students who have lost their need-based financial eligibility by failing to maintain satisfactory academic progress may appeal, in writing, to the Committee on Academic Standards through the Dean of Students Office.
The appeal must explain the special circumstances why the student failed to meet satisfactory academic progress standards–illness or injury, for instance, or the death of a close relative–, what has changed to allow them to now meet satisfactory academic progress standards, and provide an academic plan showing how the student will re-establish satisfactory academic progress by a pre-determined specific point in time. If the Committee on Academic Standards accepts the student’s appeal, the student is placed on financial aid probation and remains eligible for federal, state, and College need-based financial aid during that semester and subsequent semesters if the student meets the requirements specified in the academic plan. If a student wishes to appeal the Committee on Academic Standards’ decision on their appeal request, the student should submit the appeal, in writing, to either the Dean of Students or Dean for Curriculum and Academic Engagement.
Re-Establishing Student Aid Eligibility
Students will be considered in good standing in regard to need-based financial aid and non-need based merit award eligibility when they again meet the minimum satisfactory academic progress and good academic standing standards as described in this policy statement, or upon acceptance of their appeal by the Committee on Academic Standards. Withdrawal or hiatus from the College for any period of time will not affect a student’s satisfactory academic progress standing. Students who apply for re-admission are required to submit an appeal in order to determine financial aid eligibility.