The U. S. Department of Education requires that all students who receive financial aid must make progress toward their program of study. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is the measure of a student's overall progress. Adventist University of Health Sciences has created the following requirements to comply with the federal regulations. Students who fail to meet these requirements may not receive financial aid, including loans.

A student's entire academic history will be reviewed for the purposes of determining SAP, including credits not paid for by financial aid. Whether a student is considered to be making satisfactory academic progress depends on his or her cumulative grade point average (GPA), successful completion of courses (credit hours), and maximum time limits to complete his or her course of study. Students must meet all the requirements listed below:

Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement

A student must maintain an overall GPA of 2.00 at the end of each trimester. The GPA is calculated on Adventist University courses. If a student repeats a course, the policies regarding repeated courses will apply.

Cumulative Completion Requirement

A student must successfully complete (with letter grades A, B, C, D) a minimum of 67% of the cumulative credits attempted, combining all Adventist University credits and all transfer credits added to Adventist University of Health Sciences transcript. The percentage of earned credits is calculated by dividing all earned credits by all attempted credits.

• Attempted credits are defined as the credits for which the student is enrolled. All courses are considered attempted credits whether or not the course is completed. Grades of F, course withdrawals (W or WF), audits, pass/no pass, deferred grades, incompletes, in progress, or grades not submitted by the instructor are considered attempted hours.

• Earned credits are defined as the sum of credits for which a student has earned a minimum grade of "D-" (0.70). Audits, deferred grades, failures, incompletes, in progress, withdrawals, or grades not submitted by the instructor are not earned credits. Passing credits received for pass/no pass courses are considered earned credits. Failing grades in pass/no pass courses are considered not earned. Changes in the GPA due to the completion of the incomplete or deferred grade are taken into account for aid eligibility at the next appointed evaluation time.

• Repeated credits These credits are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned credits. Financial aid is available for the initial time a course is taken and one retake.

Maximum Time Limit Requirement (Pace)

Students must complete their program in no more than 150% of the published length of the educational program. Part-time enrollment and summer enrollment count in the maximum time frame calculation. At evaluation time, if it is clear that a student cannot mathematically finish his program within the maximum time frame, he becomes ineligible for aid. For example, the Associate of Science degree in Nursing requires 72 credits. The student must complete the program within 108 total credits attempted. Credits used in this calculation include those accepted for transfer and those attempted at Adventist University. If a student changes his or her course of study, only the hours from the previous course of study that will count toward the student's new degree requirements are included in the calculation of attempted and earned credits.

Consortium Agreement

Students who are receiving financial aid under a consortium agreement must submit their transcripts from the other institution within three weeks after the end of the term. These credits will be counted as attempted and earned in the calculation.

Evaluation of Academic Progress

A financial aid recipient's satisfactory academic progress is evaluated after each trimester. Students meeting the SAP Policy will continue to receive aid.

Financial Aid Warning

A student not meeting the cumulative GPA or the completion requirements will be placed on financial aid warning automatically for one term only during the next trimester of enrollment and is eligible to receive aid during the warning trimester. The student will receive a letter of financial aid warning. At the end of the warning trimester, the student must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy to continue to receive aid. If a student does not meet the SAP Policy, he or she can submit an appeal to be considered for financial aid probation status.

Financial Aid Suspension

Students who do not meet the cumulative GPA and completion rate requirements are no longer eligible for financial aid until they have taken classes, using their own funds, and have raised their cumulative GPA and completion rate to meet the above requirements. The student will receive a financial aid suspension letter. Students who have been suspended may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility and must submit a written appeal with documentation by the first day of classes.

Financial Aid Probation

The student who does not meet SAP and has used the Financial Aid Warning trimester and has successfully appealed may continue to receive financial assistance during the financial aid probationary period. At the end of the financial aid probationary period, the student will:

• Be removed from the financial aid probationary status because both cumulative GPA and completion rate requirements are met; or

• Be suspended from receiving assistance from federal, state, and institutional sources and will receive a financial aid suspension letter.

Appeal Procedure

A student has the right to appeal a suspension of financial aid once, based on extenuating circumstances, such as, but not limited to, illness, death of a family member, and natural disaster(s), etc.

• Appeals must be submitted in writing to the Financial Aid Appeal Committee using the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Form. A student must make sure to put in details why he or she did not meet SAP and what has changed to allow him or her to meet SAP at the next evaluation period.

• Documentation verifying the special circumstances should be attached (for example, doctor's letter, third-party letter, etc.).

• An Academic Progress Plan is also required, and it must be reviewed and signed by the student and his or her academic advisor.

Once the Financial Aid Appeal Committee considers the appeal, notification of the decision will be sent to the student within two (2) weeks of the date the appeal was received or after the trimester final grades have been posted. If the appeal is granted, the student will receive aid for the financial aid probation trimester. At the end of that trimester and subsequent trimesters, the student's academic progress will be reviewed. If the conditions of the appeal are met, the student will continue to be eligible for aid. If the conditions of the appeal are not met, the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid until SAP is met.