Satisfactory Academic Progress

Undergraduate Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Linfield University is mandated to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the academic progress of financial aid recipients. The standard is cumulative and includes all periods of enrollment, even those in which the student did not receive financial assistance. All financial aid is awarded with the understanding that the student will maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Linfield monitors satisfactory academic progress annually for programs lasting longer than one year. For programs lasting one year or less, Linfield monitors SAP at the end of each payment period.

In order to maintain SAP the student must:

Have a grade point average that meets the minimum requirements for continuation of study at Linfield
Earn a minimum number of credits for each academic year, and
Be on pace to complete all degree requirements within a specified time frame

In the event a student’s performance is found to be unsatisfactory, the student is placed on financial aid suspension and Linfield University’s Office of Financial Aid notifies the student of their status to their Linfield University email account and by mailing a letter to the student’s home address.

Qualitative standard

Students are expected to maintain at least a 2.00 cumulative grade point average (GPA). Students with less than a 2.00 cumulative GPA will be placed on academic probation and have one semester to improve their academic record before being suspended from Linfield University. GPA requirements are monitored by the registrar’s office and is fully described in the Linfield University course catalog under Academic Policies and Procedures. Students on academic probation are eligible to receive financial aid.

Quantitative standard

Full-time students must complete at least 12 credit hours per semester, 24 credit hours by the end of the academic year if attending both fall and spring semesters. Minimum credit requirements per semester obligate students to be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester in order to retain full-time financial aid eligibility.

Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credits per semester will be held to the following. Students may enroll and receive financial aid at three-quarter time status for financial aid (9-11 credits), half-time status for financial aid (6-8 credits), or less than half-time for financial aid if Federal Pell Grant eligible (1-5 credits). For students only receiving federal loans and no federal grants attending part-time (6-11 credits) they must complete at least 6 credits per semester/term, 12 credits minimum by the end of the academic year. Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credits receiving a Federal Pell Grant must complete the minimum for their enrollment status to meet SAP, for example, if the student is enrolled in 6 credits for fall semester, half-time, and 10 credits for spring semester, three-quarter time, and are receiving Federal Pell Grant funds they must complete at least 15 credits (fall 6 + spring 9) by the end of the academic year. Any student dropping below half-time attendance may lose eligibility for any financial aid. All credit hours must be completed at Linfield University, through an approved consortium agreement or through a foreign study program approved by the college.

‘No credit’ designations such as “W” (Withdrawal), “I” (Incomplete) and “IP” (In Progress) are considered attempted but not considered satisfactory completion of a course for the purposes of financial aid. Course grades of “I” (Incomplete) require a contingency grade and are treated as both attempted and completed credits if there is a contract on file with the registrar’s office with a contingency grade of D or better. If the contingency grade is an “F”, or if no contract is on file with the registrar’s office, the “I” will be treated as attempted but not completed successfully. Students are required to complete the course requirements within the time prescribed by the university.

Maximum time frame

Matriculated students are eligible to receive federal financial aid for a maximum of 150% of the time required to complete a degree or certificate program.

For example: a minimum of 125 credits are required to earn a baccalaureate degree. The maximum number of credits for which a student may be eligible to receive federal financial aid is 187.5 (125 x 150%).

All credits attempted are included in credits toward completion and are considered in the calculation for maximum time frame eligibility. Repeated courses (along with the original attempt) must be counted towards the maximum time frame. Students may receive federal financial aid one time for retaking previously passed coursework. Students who have attempted more than 150% of the credits required for their program of study are not considered to be making SAP and are ineligible for financial aid. Also, a student is ineligible when it becomes mathematically impossible for a student to complete their program within 150% of the length of their program. All transfer credits accepted by Linfield will be included when determining maximum timeframe eligibility as both attempted and completed.

Pace of progression

Pace is required to ensure students complete their program of study within the maximum time frame. Pace is calculated by dividing cumulative credits successfully completed by cumulative credits attempted.

For example: Cumulative Credits Successfully Completed_______ ÷ Cumulative Credits Attempted_________ = _________%. (Example: 56 ÷ 70 = 80%)

Students must have an overall completion rate of 66.67% or more or financial aid is suspended. Remedial coursework can be excluded.

Unsatisfactory academic progress

Students that do not meet SAP standards are placed on financial aid suspension and are no longer eligible for institutional or federal financial aid.

Appealing financial aid suspension

Students failing to achieve SAP requirements are given the opportunity to appeal the suspension of their financial aid. The appeal letter must be in writing to the attention of the Office of Financial Aid with documentation of the extenuating circumstances. Appeal letters and supporting documents may be faxed, scanned and emailed to finaid@linfield.edu, mailed or submitted in person to the Office of Financial Aid. Extenuating circumstances that may be considered include personal illness or accident, serious illness or death within immediate family or other circumstances beyond the immediate control of the student.

The appeal letter must include:

The reason why the student failed to make SAP
What has changed since that time that will allow the student to make SAP at the next evaluation of appeal is approved

The student is notified of the appeal decision to their Linfield University email account and to their home address, all decisions are final. An appeal that is approved allows the student to receive one semester of financial aid on financial aid probation status. After financial aid probation, the student must be making SAP or successfully following an academic plan.

Please note: students academically suspended from Linfield must appeal the Student Policies Committee to return. Upon approval, the Office of Financial Aid will be notified and will use that appeal and decision for consideration as an appeal of financial aid suspension.

Financial aid probation

Full-time students must complete at least 12 credits. Students attending less than full time must meet the requirements established by the quantitative standard of evaluation, which will use enrollment as of the census date. After financial aid probation, the student must be making SAP or successfully following an academic plan as part of a continued probation for the following semester. If the student is not meeting SAP and is not following an academic plan as part of a continued probation, the student will be suspended from financial aid and need to either appeal again or re-establish their eligibility.

Continued financial aid probation with an academic plan

Students that mathematically cannot meet SAP standards within one semester due to GPA, but are continuing to meet other SAP standards or students with an exceptional circumstance that led to them not being able to meet all SAP standards within one probationary term, may be considered for a continued financial probation with an academic plan. This will allow the student additional time to meet SAP standards. The same enrollment requirements of financial aid probation will apply for the continued probation semester.

Re-establishing financial aid eligibility

Students that are placed on financial aid suspension can reestablish financial aid eligibility. A student that does not submit an appeal or is denied an appeal must, without the benefit of financial aid, successfully complete at least 6 credits in one semester/term with a semester GPA of 2.00 for reinstatement. The student may then reapply by written appeal to request financial aid for the following semester.

Graduate, OCE and RN-to-BSN Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

In order to maintain SAP the student must:

Have a grade point average that meets the minimum requirements for continuation of study at Linfield
Earn two-thirds (66.67%) of all attempted credits for each academic year, and
Be on pace to complete all degree requirements within a specified time frame

Qualitative standard

Quantitative standard

Full-time students must complete at least two-thirds (66.67 %) of all attempted credit hours each academic year. Students attempting 24 credits within an academic year would need to complete a minimum of 16 credits to meet the two-thirds requirement. All credit hours must be completed at Linfield University, through an approved consortium agreement or through a foreign study program approved by the university.

‘No credit’ designations such as “W” (Withdrawal), “I” (Incomplete), and “IP” (In Progress) are considered attempted but not considered satisfactory completion of a course for the purposes of financial aid. Course grades of “I” (Incomplete) require a contingency grade and are treated as both attempted and completed credits if there is a contract on file with the registrar’s office with a contingency grade of C- or better. If the contingency grade is an “F”, or if no contract is on file with the registrar’s office, the “I” will be treated as attempted but not completed successfully. Students are required to complete the course requirements within the time prescribed by the university.

Maximum time frame

Matriculated students are eligible to receive federal financial aid for a maximum of 150% of the time required to complete a degree or certificate program.

For example: A minimum of 40 credits are required to earn a Master of Science in Business degree. The maximum number of credits for which a student may be eligible to receive federal financial aid is 60 (40 x 150%).

Pace of progression

For example: Cumulative Credits Successfully Completed_______ ÷ Cumulative Credits Attempted_________ = _________%. (Example: 56 ÷ 70 = 80%)

Students must have an overall completion rate of 66.67% or more or financial aid is suspended. Remedial coursework can be excluded.

Unsatisfactory academic progress

Students that do not meet SAP standards are placed on financial aid suspension and are no longer eligible for institutional or federal financial aid.

Appealing financial aid suspension

Students failing to achieve SAP requirements are given the opportunity to appeal the suspension of their financial aid. The appeal letter must be in writing to the attention of the Office of Financial Aid with documentation of the extenuating circumstances. Appeal letters and supporting documents may be faxed, scanned and emailed to finaid@linfield.edu, mailed or submitted in person to the Office of Financial Aid. Extenuating circumstances that may be considered include personal illness or accident, serious illness or death within immediate family, or other circumstances beyond the immediate control of the student.

The appeal letter must include:

The reason why the student failed to make SAP
What has changed since that time that will allow the student to make SAP at the next evaluation of appeal is approved

Financial aid probation

Student must complete two-thirds of all attempted credits for their probation semester with a 2.0 GPA. After financial aid probation, the student must be making SAP or successfully following an academic plan as part of a continued probation for the following semester. If the student is not meeting SAP and is not following an academic plan as part of a continued probation, the student will be suspended from financial aid and need to either appeal again or re-establish their eligibility.

Continued financial aid probation with an academic plan

Students that mathematically cannot meet SAP standards within one semester due to GPA, but are continuing to meet other SAP standards, or students with an exceptional circumstance that led to them not being able to meet all SAP standards within one probationary term, may be considered for a continued financial probation with an academic plan. This will allow the student additional time to meet SAP standards. The same enrollment requirements of financial aid probation will apply for the continued probation semester.

Re-establishing financial aid eligibility

Financial aid definitions

Financial aid appeal – Process by which a student who is not making SAP petitions for reconsideration of financial aid eligibility. Appeal must include 1) reason why student failed to make SAP, and 2) what has changed that will allow student to make SAP at the next evaluation if appeal is approved. Appeal is submitted to the Office of Financial Aid.

Financial aid probation – Status assigned to student who has successfully appealed their financial aid suspension. Student may receive financial aid for one payment period while on financial aid probation status.

Financial aid warning – Status assigned to student enrolled in a 1 year or less certificate program who fails to make SAP after one payment period/semester. Warning status lasts for one payment period/semester and does not require action (such as an appeal) by the student. The student is eligible for financial aid during their financial aid warning status.

Continued financial aid probation with an academic plan – Status assigned to a student who has successfully appealed their financial aid suspension, but will need more than one semester in order to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress. A student may receive financial aid for more than one payment period while on continued probation status.