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Home > Financial Aid > Satisfactory Progress Requirements for Financial Aid Recipients (as of January 2008) To answer your initial questions about satisfactory-progress requirements, click here: Satisfactory Progress FAQs. Federal and state regulations mandate that an aid recipient must make satisfactory academic progress toward completing his/her degree or certificate. This requirement applies to the aid recipient’s entire period of attendance at Whitworth, even though, during some semesters, financial aid may not have been received. Satisfactory academic progress includes the following:
Overall progress is reviewed at the end of each spring semester for those attending the traditional 15-week-semester programs at Whitworth. For those in an accelerated evening program the overall review takes place after the summer semester ends. A minimum semester-credit requirement of six credits for full-time undergraduate students (or 50 percent completion of attempted credits for part-time and graduate students) is reviewed after each semester. Failure to complete the required minimum of attempted credits for a semester will result in suspension of aid for the next semester. See “Minimum Credit Requirement” for more information. Students who complete the minimum number of their attempted credits but fail to maintain satisfactory progress for any other reason will be granted one semester of aid eligibility on a probationary status. To regain eligibility due to deficient credits, 75 percent of the attempted credits for the previous academic year plus the probationary term (or the term without aid) must be completed. Failure to regain eligibility after the probationary semester will result in suspension of aid for the upcoming semester. Students will be notified if they have not maintained satisfactory progress; however, it is the student's responsibility to monitor his/her own progress. MINIMUM GRADE POINT AVERAGE Each academic year students must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 or greater. Only the higher grade earned is counted in the grade-point average when a course is repeated. Transferred credits, including those received during consortium study, do not count in the calculation of the GPA, but they are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours. MINIMUM CREDIT REQUIREMENT While there is a minimum semester-credit requirement of six credits for full-time undergraduate students (or 50 percent completion of attempted credits for part time and graduate students), for the full academic year all full-time undergraduate students must finish at least 18 credits after attending fall and spring semesters (9 credits if the student attends just one semester for the academic year). The 18-credits-per-year requirement is based on 75 percent completion rate of the full-time enrollment minimum level of 12 credits for two semesters. If fewer than 6 credits are completed in the fall semester, the full-time undergraduate student is ineligible for aid for the spring semester. All part-time and graduate students receiving financial aid must complete at least 75 percent of the credits that they attempt (rounding up to the nearest full credit) for the academic year as a whole, in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress, and they must complete at least 50% for each semester. Whitworth’s undergraduate academic scholarships are awarded for four consecutive years of full-time study only. In order for a student to finish his/her degree within four years, s/he should finish at least 30 credits or more each year. Transfer-scholarship recipients will be eligible to receive institutional scholarships based on the class standing they are assigned upon admission and evaluation by the registrar’s office (i.e., a junior transfer student will have two years of scholarship eligibility). Incompletes, withdrawals, failed classes, credits by examination, non-credit remedial courses and audits do not count as completed credits. Earned credits received for pass/no pass courses, remedial and ESL coursework do count toward the minimum credit requirement but are not included in the cumulative grade-point average. Students who drop credits during the 100-percent refund period will have their awards revised to reflect the charges, and the new enrollment status will be considered as the attempted credits for the semester. MAXIMUM TIME FRAME Students are eligible to receive financial aid until they have attempted a maximum of 150 percent of the minimum number of credits required for the degree or certificate (189 credits for undergraduates), or completed all the coursework to receive their degree or certificate. Transfer students will be evaluated based on the transfer credits accepted toward the degree and credits attempted at Whitworth. Attempted credits include any repeated courses. A course may only be repeated twice. Students with double majors and students who change majors are still held to this timeframe requirement. Any student who has reached the timeframe limit and needs additional time to complete his or her degree may submit an appeal form to the Whitworth Financial Aid Appeals Committee for an extension. Forms are available in the financial aid office or on the web at www.whitworth.edu/financialaid/forms. The appeal should explain why the degree could not be completed within the timeframe allotted and should indicate how much additional time will be needed. The student must attach documentation from his/her advisor that substantiates the appeal. Attempted credits are defined as the number of enrolled credits as of the last day of the 100-percent refund period of each term attended at Whitworth University. The number of accepted transfer credits is included when the financial aid office confirms a student’s eligibility based on the timeframe requirements. REINSTATEMENT OF ELIGIBILITY Students who are no longer eligible to receive financial aid because of lack of satisfactory progress may submit a Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress Appeal Form to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee, care of the financial aid office. These forms are available in the financial aid office or on the web at www.whitworth.edu/financialaid/forms. Appeals will be reviewed for circumstances beyond the student's control that prevented the student from maintaining satisfactory progress, and, whenever possible, should include documentation from a doctor, relative or academic advisor that supports the student’s appeal. If a student expects a repeated course to modify his/her grade- point average, the student should contact the registrar’s office before writing an appeal, in order to determine the effect the repeated course could have on the cumulative GPA. If the appeal is denied, the student’s aid will be suspended. Please note that an Educational Review Board decision to reinstate a student does not mean that a student will once again be eligible for financial aid. Educational Review Board decisions are distinct and separate from those of the financial aid office. A student can raise his or her GPA and/or satisfy credit deficiencies by taking additional coursework at Whitworth University without receiving financial aid. For example, a student may finish at least 75 percent of her total attempted credits from the previous academic year and the semester without aid or may get her cumulative GPA up to the required level. A student can eliminate credit deficiencies, but not GPA deficiencies, by successfully completing coursework at another institution and transferring the credits to Whitworth University. Transfer credits used to satisfy credit deficiencies cannot be credits that were earned prior to the term in which the student incurred the deficiencies. Financial-aid reinstatement awards are based on available funds; therefore, students might not receive their original financial-aid award. FINANCIAL-AID SATISFACTORY-PROGRESS RECORDS Financial-aid satisfactory-progress records are kept in the student’s financial-aid file. These records do not appear on the student’s permanent academic record (transcript) in the registrar’s office. FOR MORE INFORMATION... Contact the Whitworth Financial Aid Office:
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