As required by Federal law, reasonable standards of satisfactory academic progress for maintaining financial aid eligibility have been established by Midwestern University for all degree granting programs. These standards apply to all students.

Purpose
To establish, publish, and apply reasonable standards of satisfactory academic progress for financial aid eligibility as required by federal law for all aid types, including federal, state, or institutional assistance and veterans' educational benefits administered by Midwestern University.

Policy
Federal regulations require that all students receiving Federal Title IV financial aid funds maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), which states that both qualitative (GPA) and quantitative (pace/maximum timeframe) measures must be met and maintained for continuous financial aid eligibility as outlined in the Midwestern University Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Eligibility.

Qualitative Measures

• • The GPA measurement is fixed. Midwestern University does not use the graduated measurement.
  • The Biomedical Sciences (M.A.) students are evaluated each quarter since the program is one year in length. All other programs are reviewed annually at the end of spring quarter.
  • All students must maintain at least a "C" average each year in their respective programs in order to progress (Midwestern University Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Eligibility).
  • Grades affect the cumulative GPA for summer courses taken at another institution used to advance to the next class level at Midwestern University. Grades from students matriculating into a program from another school do not affect the GPA.
  • If a Biomedical Sciences (M.A) student does not meet the minimum GPA standard at the end of a quarter, the student will be placed on financial aid warning. If a student does meet the standards at the end of the next quarter, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension with the right to appeal.
  • All other students that do not meet the minimum GPA standard by the end of spring quarter will be placed on financial aid suspension with the right to appeal. 

Quantitative Measures
The quantitative measure defines the pace at which all students must progress to ensure program completion within the maximum timeframe permitted. This period of time cannot exceed 150% of the published length of each program. The completion ratio is calculated by dividing the cumulative "successfully completed" credit hours by the cumulative "attempted" credit hours. Transfer credit hours are included in the completion ratio for all programs. Students must earn a minimum of 67% of the cumulative credits attempted (not including audited courses) at the time of evaluation, and all periods of enrollment are included regardless of whether or not the student receives financial aid. Pace is evaluated quarterly for the Biomedical Masters of Arts students and annually for all other students.

Grades of "W" (withdrawals) made after the first week of classes will be included in the number of attempted credit hours and calculated against the quantitative (pace) measure. Grades of "I" (incomplete) will be included in the number of attempted credit hours, but will not be included in the qualitative (GPA) measure.

Students are governed by the performance standards of the department in which students are enrolled. Programs longer than a year must meet both quantitative/qualitative measures on an annual basis; programs one year or less must meet both measures at the end of each quarter.

Maximum Time Frame
Midwestern University is a graduate/professional school. Maximum time frame is defined by the length of the program. Length of programs is measured in years for clinical programs and credit hours for non-clinical programs. See chart titled Midwestern University Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Eligibility below for specific timeframes by program.

Quarterly SAP Reviews
The quarterly SAP review process only applies to students enrolled in the Biomedical Science (M.A.) program. A financial aid warning is for one quarter (payment period) only. Any Biomedical Sciences (M.A.) students that are not achieving SAP for the first time at the end of a quarter are automatically placed on financial aid warning. Students are informed that they are still eligible for federal aid, but students must achieve a 2.75 GPA and/or 67% pace by the end of the quarter. If not, students will be placed on financial aid suspension with the right to appeal. Students are allowed one warning period.

Quarterly SAP Review Appeals
Any student placed on financial aid suspension will be notified of the loss of financial aid eligibility. Student must complete the SAP Appeal Form and work with the Program to come up with an approved academic plan. Both the SAP Appeal Form and approved Academic Plan must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Services, who will forward it to the University Financial Aid Committee for consideration. The University Financial Aid Committee will only review completed appeals; all required documentation must be included.

A student is limited to a maximum of one (1) appeal of financial aid status during the course of the student's enrollment in the Biomedical Science (M.A.) Program at Midwestern University. Students who do not attain satisfactory academic progress at the conclusion of the period of financial aid probation will be placed on financial aid suspension permanently and will not regain financial aid eligibility for the remainder of the student's enrollment in the Biomedical Science (M.A.) Program at Midwestern University.

Annual SAP Reviews (Multi-Year Programs)
If SAP is not achieved at the end of an academic year, federal aid eligibility will be suspended. Students cannot receive Title IV financial aid funds unless the suspension is successfully appealed and the student is placed on probation. A student on probation status may receive Title IV financial aid for a subsequent quarter. For students who need longer than one quarter (payment period), an Academic Plan is developed to help ensure that the student can meet SAP standards by a specific point in time. While programs have discretion to determine the length of the Academic Plan, students must be monitored at the end of each quarter to confirm all components as specified in the Academic Plan are being met. Probation statuses may be suspended and the student will lose eligibility for Title IV financial aid at the end of any quarter when an Academic Plan requirements are not met. Once Title IV eligibility is lost, students must continue at the individual's own expense until SAP requirements as set forth in this policy are achieved.

Annual SAP Review Appeals
Any student placed on financial aid suspension will be notified of the loss of financial aid eligibility. A student must complete the SAP Appeal Form and work with the Program to come up with an approved academic plan. Both the SAP Appeal Form and approved Academic Plan must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Services, which will forward it to the University Financial Aid Committee for consideration. The University Financial Aid Committee will only review completed appeals; all required documentation must be included.

A student in multi-year programs is limited to a maximum of two (2) appeals of financial aid status during the course of enrollment in any single program at Midwestern University that is not covered by the quarterly SAP appeals process above. Students who do not attain satisfactory academic progress at the conclusion of the second nonconsecutive period of financial aid probation will be placed on financial aid suspension permanently and will not regain financial aid eligibility for the remainder of the student's enrollment in that specific program at Midwestern University.

Financial Aid Probation
It is the policy that all students submit an Academic Plan with the SAP appeal application. Academic Plans are developed by Program Directors, faculty advisors, or the Office of the Dean. The student meets with the academic advisor regarding the Academic Plan throughout the academic year and also takes advantage of the tutoring services on campus.

Maximum Appeals
Any student placed on financial aid suspension will be notified of the loss of financial aid eligibility. Students must complete the SFS Appeal Form and work with the Program to come up with an approved Academic Plan. Both the SFS Appeal Form and approved Academic Plan must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Services, which will forward it to the University Financial Aid Committee for consideration. The University Financial Aid Committee will only review completed appeals; all required documentation must be included.

A student is limited to a maximum of two (2) appeals of financial aid status during enrollment at Midwestern University (Biomedical students M.A. are allowed a maximum of one appeal). Students who do not attain satisfactory academic progress at the conclusion of the second nonconsecutive period of financial aid probation will be placed on financial aid suspension permanently and will not regain financial aid eligibility for the remainder of their enrollment period at Midwestern University.

Regaining Eligibility
A student who chooses not to appeal or has an appeal denied has the option of attending at the student's own expense.  Students who attend at the student's own expense will be eligible to have aid reinstated after successfully completing the quarter (i.e., meeting SAP standards). Students in this situation should contact the financial aid office for counseling.

Treatment of non-punitive grades, repeated courses, audit courses, pass/fail courses, withdrawals and incompletes
Grades of "W" (withdrawals) made after the first week of class will be included in the number of attempted credit hours and calculated against the quantitative (pace) measure.

A student who has "W's" (withdrawals) for a quarter is considered withdrawn for Title IV purposes. 

Grades of "I" (incomplete) will be included in the number of attempted credit hours, but will not be included in the qualitative (GPA) measure.

Classes in which students are auditing cannot be included in the amount of credit or contact hours earned when determining eligibility for financial aid. In addition, the following grades will not be considered as credit or contact hours earned/attempted for purposes of awarding federal financial aid: "I" Incomplete, "IP" In-Progress, "F" Failure, or "W" Withdrawal or "WF" Withdrawal/Failing. Therefore, audited courses are not included in either the GPA or Pace.

Pass/Fail courses are included in both the attempted and completed hours, but not the GPA.

Repeated courses are included in the GPA and Pace (attempted and completed). A program usually only allows a student to repeat a course once.

Non-punitive grades are not addressed in Midwestern University policy. Courses assigned an "I" grade must be completed within 10 calendar days from the end of the final examinations for the quarter or they will be automatically converted to a grade of "F". An "IP" grade may be assigned when extenuating circumstances make it necessary to extend the grade completion period past 10 calendar days. Authorization of the College of Dean is required and the completion period should not typically exceed one quarter.