Office of Student Aid : Parents of Students : Parent Newsletter

Volume 5, Issue 5--September 2007

A Parent's Guide to Satisfactory Academic Progress--Maintaining Federal Student Aid Eligibility

In general terms, satisfactory academic progress standards for student financial aid purposes dictate that students must successfully complete a specific number of credits within a given period of time, regardless of whether or not the student received financial aid. Although the University's confidentiality policies do not allow us to release specific academic-related information to you without the written consent of your student, we encourage you to develop a general understanding of the student aid academic progress standard and to be aware of your student's rights and responsibilities as a recipient of federal student aid.

All universities that award federal student aid are required by law to have academic progress standards in place for all federal student aid recipients. The Penn State Federal Student Assistance (Aid) Academic Progress Standard encourages students to work toward an educational objective while completing their program of study within Penn State's recommended time-frame. Students who do not meet the student aid academic progress standard are not eligible for most forms of student aid. It is very important to note that the Penn State Federal Student Aid Academic Progress Standard is not the same as the academic standards set in place by academic departments at Penn State.

Penn State's Academic Progress Standard--The Basics

The academic progress standard requires that a specific number of credits be successfully completed each academic year. If these credits are not completed, students risk losing their student aid eligibility for future semesters.

What Aid Is Affected?

Federal Pell Grant

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

Federal Work-Study

Federal Perkins Loan

Federal Stafford Loan

Federal Parent PLUS Loan

Most University Aid Programs

Some Private, Alternative Educational Loans

What Aid Is NOT Affected?

Tuition remission for dependents of Penn State employees

Some University scholarships

Some outside scholarships

Student wage payroll earnings

State grants (note that state agencies establish their own academic standards)

Types of Student Status Pertaining to Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory

• Full-time students meet the minimum credit requirement each semester by successfully completing no fewer than 12 credits (for undergraduates) and no fewer than 9 credits (for graduate students).
• Part-time students maintain satisfactory academic progress by successfully completing all credits attempted.
• All students must finish their degrees within a set number of semesters.
• By completing course work in accordance with these standards, students are considered to have maintained satisfactory academic progress and are eligible for continued student aid assistance for upcoming periods of enrollment.

Probationary

• Undergraduate students who do not successfully complete the annual credit requirement are given a one-time probationary period in which to re-establish progress while still receiving student aid.
• At the end of the probationary period, students must have successfully completed a minimum of 12 credits per semester for full-time enrollment, or all attempted credits for part-time enrollment, in order to continue their aid eligibility.
• Students who do not successfully complete their probation year fall to unsatisfactory status.

Unsatisfactory (not student aid eligible)

• Students who do not make academic progress fall to unsatisfactory status and are denied student aid for any upcoming semesters until they have completed a minimum of 12 consecutive credits with at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA.
• Students cannot drop or fail any courses while working towards the 12 credit requirement.
• Students must contact the Office of Student Aid upon successful completion of the required credits to initiate the aid eligibility review.
• Students are encouraged to contact the Office of Student Aid to speak with an adviser if they feel an appeal is warranted.

Maximum Semesters of Enrollment

Full-time undergraduate students are expected to enroll for 15-18 credits each semester and successfully complete at least 80% of those credits each academic year in order to maintain student aid eligibility. By following this standard of credit completion, students should acquire the credits necessary to graduate from an associate degree in six semesters or less and a baccalaureate degree in 12 semesters or less. Students who require more than this number of semesters are no longer eligible for aid.

A student who needs additional semesters to complete his or her current degree can request an appeal from the Office of Student Aid.

Student Communication

Status notification letters or e-mails are sent to students regarding their academic progress at the end of each spring semester. Students can view their current status on their Student Aid Summary from the Students menu on eLion. However, it is ultimately each student’s responsibility to ensure that he or she is meeting academic progress requirements throughout each academic year.

Our office strives to make every student aware of our student aid academic progress standard. Comprehensive information about academic actions and their impact on student aid eligibility is available both from the Students Must Know section of our Web site and in our print publications. The official Federal Student Assistance Satisfactory Academic Progress Standard appears in its entirety under the heading "Financial Aid Standards" in The University Faculty Senate Policies for Students.