REVIEW AND COMMUNICATION
A review will be made at the end of each payment period to determine if the student meets the criteria. Students who fail the components will receive an email communication.
QUANTITATIVE (PACE) - UNDERGRADUATE
In order to maintain financial aid eligibility, all students must complete at least 67% of the total credit hours attempted cumulatively. Courses that are accepted as transfer credits are counted as attempted and earned when calculating PACE.
Cumulative number of credits a student successfully completed
Cumulative number of credit hours a student attempted
QUANTITATIVE (PACE) - GRADUATE
In order to maintain financial aid eligibility, all students must complete at least 75% of the total credit hours attempted cumulatively. Courses that are accepted as transfer credits are counted as attempted and earned when calculating PACE.
Cumulative number of credits a student successfully completed
Cumulative number of credit hours a student attempted
QUALITATIVE (GPA) - UNDERGRADUATE
In order to maintain financial aid eligibility, all students are required to maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
QUALITATIVE (GPA) - GRADUATE
In order to maintain financial aid eligibility, all students are required to maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA.
MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE TIME (150% RULE)
Students shall remain eligible for financial aid if they complete their program before attempting 150% of the total number of credits required for the program. The college uses credit hours to determine Maximum Timeframe. For example, a student pursuing an undergraduate degree at Virginia Union University (which requires at least 120 credit hours for completion) may attempt a maximum of 180 credit hours or 150% of the length of the program during his /her tenure at the University. (150% X 120= 180). A student pursuing a graduate degree at The Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University (which requires at least 135 quarter hours for completion in the Master of Divinity degree program and 90 quarter hours for completion in the Master of Christian Education degree program) may attempt a maximum of 202 credit hours for MDIV and 135 credit ours for MACE or 150% of the length of the program. Transfer credit officially accepted as coursework for the program in which the student is enrolled shall be included in this calculation.
Failure to meet either Quantitative (PACE) and/or Qualitative (Cumulative GPA) will result in the student being non-compliant with the SAP Policy. If a student is suspended or expelled from the University, for any reason, the student will not be eligible for Federal aid until the minimum SAP standards are met.
FINANCIAL AID SUSPENSION
Failure to meet either Quantitative (PACE/Maximum Timeframe) and/or Qualitative (Cumulative GPA) will result in the student being non-compliant with the SAP Policy. In those cases, students may be placed on Warning or Suspension. Students may appeal Suspension and if approved, be placed on Probation. Removal from financial aid does not prevent students from enrolling at the university without financial aid if, based on their academic standing with the university, they are otherwise eligible to continue their enrollment. However, in the event that a student is suspended or dismissed from the university for poor academic performance, his/her eligibility for financial aid is suspended until he/she is eligible to enroll again at the college.
FINANCIAL AID WARNING
Students failing to meet the requirements of the Satisfactory Academic Progress guidelines will be placed on financial aid warning for one semester/term. Students on warning are allowed to receive financial aid for the next enrolled payment period. While on warning, if the student does not make SAP, they will lose their aid eligibility for the following enrolled payment period. If the student becomes ineligible for Federal Financial Aid, the student can appeal the decision by following the guidelines as set forth in the Financial Aid Appeal Process.
FINANCIAL AID APPEAL PROCESS
Students who have their federal financial aid eligibility suspended for failure to make SAP may submit a formal appeal. The appeal request will be considered if the student has suffered undue hardship such as death of an immediate family member, injury or illness, or other special circumstances as determined by the financial aid administrator or designee. GPA, PACE and/or Maximum Timeframe can be appealed. Students requesting an appeal must submit the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form with appropriate documentation to the Office of Financial Aid explaining the circumstances which affected the student’s academic performance, including what has changed to allow the student to regain SAP.
All appeals should be submitted in writing with supporting documentation to the attention of the Director of Financial Aid, Virginia Union University, 1500 N Lombardy St., Richmond, VA 23220. Appeal letters must be received by the Office of Financial Aid no later than the end of the semester for the Fall and Spring semesters. For Students attending Summer school, appeal letters must be submitted by June 15th. In some instances, an interview may be scheduled for the student to address any questions concerning the appeal request. The appeal request will be addressed by the Office of Financial Aid and all decisions are final.
The financial aid appeal letter should:
- Include the student’s name, address, phone number, and student ID number
- Include the appropriate documentation relating to the situation that caused the student not to meet the SAP guidelines (injury or illness, death of family member, or other special circumstances)
- Clearly state why the student was not able to make SAP
- State what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow the student to demonstrate his/her ability to meet SAP in the next payment period
- Detail what the student will do differently academically if they are granted an appeal to continue matriculation at VUU.
If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation. During the student’s matriculation, the student will not be allowed to successfully appeal more than three (3) times. Once a decision has been rendered, no further information will be considered.
As part of the appeal approval process, the student will required to develop an Academic Success Plan (ASP) that is completed between the student and his/her academic advisor. The Academic Advisor will monitor the student during the plan period. If the appeal is granted, the signed ASP must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office prior to any aid being disbursed. The ASP must be followed as it is written. Modifications to the ASP will only be accepted with appropriate signatures and must be delivered to the Financial Aid Office and approved by the Director or designee, prior to the change being implemented.
FINANCIAL AID PROBATION
Only students whose appeals have been granted will be placed on Financial Aid Probation. Financial Aid Probation is for the next enrolled payment period only unless it is determined by the academic plan that the student may need a longer probation period. At the end of the next payment period, all enrolled students on probation will have their academic record reviewed to determine if they have met the requirements for SAP and/ or the requirements of their academic plan.
RE-ESTABLISHING SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS
Students must meet the guidelines established for SAP as stated above in order to regain eligibility to receive Federal Financial Aid.
Cumulative grade point average can only be increased by completing courses at Virginia Union University. Sitting out for a semester is not sufficient to re-establish aid eligibility. Eligibility is only re-established when the student becomes compliant with the quantitative and qualitative measures required for Federal SAP guidelines.
WITHDRAWALS (W, WO, WF) and NA
These grades will be included as credits attempted and will have an adverse effect on the student’s ability to maintain satisfactory academic progress.
INCOMPLETE (I GRADES)
Incomplete grades are processed in the SAP calculation as attempted courses and may affect eligibility. If the Incomplete grade causes a student to lose financial aid eligibility, the student will not be awarded aid until the Incomplete grade is removed. A student who has incomplete grades must remove them within sixty (60) days of enrollment (i.e., if classes start on August 15, grades must be in Registrar’s Office by October 15) to be considered for financial aid eligibility in subsequent terms or it will be converted to a grade of “F”. Grade changes will be accounted for during the next SAP evaluation period. The successful completion of a course is defined as receiving one of the following grades: A, B, C, or D. Courses with grades of F, FA, I, and W will not qualify in meeting the minimum standard.
REPEATED COURSES
Repeated coursework will be counted as attempted hours each time the course is taken and the student is receiving financial aid for that course. Financial aid recipients may repeat a failed course as many times as necessary to pass the course, but each course repeat will count as an attempted course in the quantitative calculation for SAP. A financial aid recipient may repeat a passed course only once and receive financial aid for that repeated course.
CHANGE OF MAJOR
A student may change from one major to another during attendance at the University. Students who change from one major to another are still expected to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress and complete the course work within the time frame or hour limitation stated unless an appeal is approved.
CONSORTIUM/CONTRACTUAL COURSEWORK
Courses taken under a written agreement will be included in both qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (PACE/Max Timeframe) components of SAP.
TRANSFER COURSEWORK
Transfer students will be evaluated on the number of semester hours transferred in plus the hours and the GPA earned while in attendance at Virginia Union University.
COMPLETION OF DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
For coursework offered in modules, students may complete degree requirements early in a module that ends prior to the end of the payment period/semester. In this case, quantitative and qualitative measures, and final graduation approval, will not be determined until end of semester SAP processing and the student is considered enrolled until the end of the payment period/semester.
The SAP policy is published annually in the university catalog and located on the university website. Additional information can be found by visiting the university’s Financial Aid Office.