Federal regulations require a student to maintain satisfactory academic progress in the course of study he/she is pursuing in order to receive federal financial assistance. The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy standards are applied consistently within all institutionally-defined categories of students (undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level students) and enrollment levels (full-time and part-time), regardless of whether the student previously received financial aid.
In order to comply with these regulations, the University of Nebraska at Omaha has established the following Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements
Satisfactory Academic Progress standards are reviewed annually after the final posting of Spring semester grades and apply to a student’s entire academic record. Students returning to UNO following a withdrawal or dismissal will be evaluated upon receipt of the electronic Student Aid Report. To maintain eligibility you must meet the following criteria:
- Grade Point Average (GPA) Standard You must be in “good academic standing” at UNO. For undergraduates, this is defined as having an earned UNO cumulative GPA of at least 2.00. For graduate students, this is defined as having an earned UNO cumulative GPA of at least 3.00.
- Pace of Progression You must have successfully completed (“D” grade or higher) at least 67% of the total credit hours for which you have attempted at UNO, plus any transfer hours accepted from other schools, upon completion of the Spring semester.
- Maximum Time to Degree Completion Undergraduate students must complete degree requirements within 180 attempted credit hours, Graduate students must complete degree requirements within 70 credit hours at the graduate level and Doctoral students must complete degree requirements within 125 credit hours. For this requirement, students will be suspended from financial aid eligibility the semester following the semester their attempted hours exceed their limit.
Attempted hours include both hours attempted at UNO and any transfer hours accepted from other schools you have attended. All credit hours for repeated courses will be included in the attempted hours calculation. Also, if the number of credit hours you still need to graduate, in addition to the number of hours you have already attempted exceeds the maximum attempted hour total above, your aid eligibility will be cancelled.
A course retaken beyond the first retake of a previously passed course cannot be included in the credit hour total when determining the total number of hours for disbursement of aid. “W” grades are not considered in this retake calculation, even though they are considered in the completion rate calculation in #2 above.
Please be aware of how each of the following affect your GPA and Pace of Progression
Impact of earning an incomplete grade: An Incomplete course counts as credit hours attempted but will not count as credit hours completed/earned until a passing grade has been assigned. An incomplete grade such as a withdrawn course can negatively affect a student’s Pace and financial aid eligibility.
Impact of withdrawing from a course: Withdrawing from a course counts as credit hours attempted but will not count as credit hours completed/earned. A withdrawn course can negatively affect a student’s Pace and financial aid eligibility.
Impact of repeating courses on GPA and Pace of Progression: Repeating a course counts as attempted credit hours for each time the course is taken. If credit is earned (repeats as well), it will also count as completed/earned credit hours in Pace and Maximum Time to Degree Completion calculations. However, a course retaken beyond the first retake of a previously passed course cannot be included in the credit hour total when determining the total number of hours for disbursement of aid.
Impact of transfer credits on GPA and Pace of Progression: only transfer credits accepted by UNO will be counted as both attempted and completed hours.
REINSTATEMENT OF ELIGIBILITY
Students who do not meet one or more of the SAP standards are no longer eligible to receive federal student aid and will be notified by email. Financial aid programs include, but are not limited to, all federal grants, loans and work-study, state grants, and most University of Nebraska at Omaha need-based grants and scholarships.
If you have incurred circumstances such as a death of a close family member, serious illness or injury to yourself, or other serious extenuating circumstances that you feel have significantly contributed to your academic situation, you may appeal the Grade Point Average Standard or Pace of Progression. Appeals will not be allowed for maximum credit hour issues or multiple retake issues.
APPEAL PROCEDURES
- All appeals are completed via your To-Do List in MavLINK.
- The appeal must provide a full explanation of why the standards were not originally met, and what changes you have made to ensure all SAP standards will be met in future semesters. Supporting documentation is required and can be uploaded via MavLINK after you submit the appeal.
- No more than three appeals will be allowed per student per entire academic career at UNO.
- Appeals and supporting documentation must be submitted by the following deadlines: Fall semester by October 1st, Spring semester by March 1st, and Summer semester by July 1st.
POSSIBLE APPEAL OUTCOMES
- Appeal Denied – If your appeal is denied, you will receive an email notification as to what steps you can take, if any, to regain your aid eligibility.
- SAP Probation – financial aid eligibility is reinstated for one semester only, with the expectation that all SAP standards will be met after that semester. Upon review, if all SAP standards are not being met in that timeframe, you will then become ineligible for aid.
- SAP Academic Plan – in cases where your appeal is approved, but it is not possible to meet all SAP standards in one semester, you will be prescribed an individualized academic plan. You will remain aid eligible as long as you continue to meet the plan. If you cease to meet the plan criteria before you meet the minimum SAP standards, you will then become ineligible for aid.
- ALL APPEAL DETERMINATIONS BY THE OFFICE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT & SCHOLARSHIPS ARE FINAL