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Satisfactory Academic Progress

Capital University has academic standards that students must achieve to maintain good academic standing. Additionally, to participate in federal financial aid programs (Federal Direct Stafford Student Loans, Federal PLUS and GRAD PLUS Loans, Federal Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work Study), Capital University is required to take steps to implement, make public, and monitor the standards for satisfactory academic progress to ensure students are eligible to receive federal funds. (A minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) is also required for students to remain eligible for institutional aid when applicable.) The following standards are for financial aid purposes at Capital University.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is based on three components:

Cumulative (GPA) Requirement
Students must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of a 2.0 at the end of each semester (or its equivalent for Pass/Fail/Marginal courses and not have earned more than one Fail/Marginal in successive terms).

  • Repeated courses and failed courses will also count towards the cumulative GPA.

Pace of Progression
Students must satisfactorily complete 67% of all attempted credits to accomplish pace of progression and be considered as meeting this element of satisfactory academic progress. Pace of progression is calculated by dividing the cumulative total credit hours earned by the cumulative total credit hours attempted. Pace of progression will be evaluated at the end of each Semester. Attempted hours will include grades of F, W, I, and NP, but these grades will not count as earned hours. Transfer credit received will be included in both the attempted and earned credit hours.

  • Repeating courses will add to the total number of attempted hours but will only count as earned hours when a passing grade is received.
  • Students cannot repeat a course(s) they have previously passed to simply improve their cumulative grade point average (CGPA).

Example:  15 attempted credit hours x .67 = a minimum of at least 10 credit hours earned. (Students that have earned the minimum number of credit hours will be meeting pace.)

Maximum Timeframe
Students must be able to complete their program within the maximum timeframe to be considered as meeting satisfactory academic progress. Maximum timeframe is defined as graduating before accumulating 150% of the attempted credit hours required for completion. Maximum timeframe will be evaluated at the end of each semester.  

By program:

  • Undergraduate = 186 credit hours (124 credit hours required for graduation)
  • JD = 134 credit hours (89 credit hours required for graduation)
  • MBA/Graduate = 54 credit hours (36 credit hours required for graduation)

Transfer credit hours are included in the maximum timeframe calculation.

Repeated courses, failed courses and withdrawals will also count toward maximum time frame.

SAP Review
At the end of each semester, Capital University will review cumulative GPA, pace of progression, and maximum timeframe for each student enrolled in that semester. Depending on the student’s status relative to these factors, the student’s satisfactory academic progress for academic standing and financial aid purposes will be determined as follows:

Good Standing: Applies to any student who met the 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement, met pace of progression (67%), and has not exceeded the maximum total attempted hours allowed for their program.

Financial Aid Warning: Applies to any student who fails to meet the requirements of pace of progression, cumulative GPA, and/or timeframe listed above for the semester. A warning letter will be sent at the end of the semester to the student to indicate why he or she is receiving a warning and what must be done within the next semester to meet SAP. If the student fails to meet the requirements, his or her federal, state, and other types of financial aid will be suspended for future semesters. The student must bring his or her hours and/or cumulative GPA back into good standing to regain financial aid eligibility. A student cannot have two consecutive semesters on Financial Aid Warning.

Financial Aid Suspension: Applies to a student who has not met the requirements for cumulative GPA, pace of progression, has reached maximum timeframe after the warning period, or has been dismissed from the University. This student is not eligible for federal, state, and/or other types of financial aid until he/she meets the requirements in each of the three areas listed above or completes and is approved for a SAP Appeal.

Financial Aid Probation: Applies only to a student who has failed to meet SAP requirements and has had an appeal approved. A student may be on probation for one semester only. If a student has not met the SAP requirements above, he or she should work with a Financial Services Advisor to understand what options exist to regain financial aid eligibility.

Financial Aid Academic Plan: This status applies to any student who is required to have an academic plan as part of a SAP appeal. Student must meet all goals as outlined by the plan. The student continues to remain eligible for federal and state financial aid, but does not meet the definition of a SAP-eligible student. Students who do not meet all goals as outlined by the plan, at the least, will have their aid suspended and should work with their financial aid counselor to understand what options exist to regain financial aid eligibility.

SAP Appeal Process

  • A student who is not meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements will receive a SAP Suspension notification sent to their Capital University email account which details the SAP suspension status.
  • A student who wishes to appeal his/her unsatisfactory academic progress determination must submit a SAP Appeal to the Financial Aid Office.
  • SAP appeals are reviewed based on the extenuating circumstances and other circumstances beyond the student’s control that prevented him or her from achieving satisfactory progress.
  • Each student’s circumstance is reviewed on an individual basis.
  • Based on the appeal, if the student should be able to meet the SAP standards by the end of the subsequent semester, the student will be placed on probation without an academic plan.
  • If it is determined, based on the appeal, that the student will require more than one semester to meet progress standards, the student will be placed on probation and an academic plan will be developed for the student.
    • Academic Plans must be completed with a financial aid counselor. 
    • Progress toward the plan will be monitored at the end of each semester to ensure the student is meeting the requirements of the plan. 
    • Students must also appeal to change their academic plan.  The student must explain what has happened to make the change necessary and how they will be able to make academic progress.
  • SAP appeals will be reviewed as they are received to determine next steps and/or the appeal outcome.
  • To receive aid in a term of “Suspension” status, appeal requests should be received by week 11.
  • Appeals may take up to 14 days for processing. Students will be notified of the results of the appeal via their Capital University email account.

Summary
Students are encouraged to review these standards. It is important that the student have a clear understanding of his/her individual progress and financial assistance. The University recognizes that circumstances and conditions regarding these standards may require discretional judgment. Examples of such conditions include changing majors or career objectives, as well as various personal reasons. Students who have any questions regarding SAP or these conditions should contact their financial aid counselor or the financial aid office.

Capital University Funds Academic Progress Policy
To remain eligible for CAPITAL AID, students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA which varies depending on the scholarship:

  • Collegiate Fellowship and Brockman scholarships:  3.0
  • Global Ambassador and Music Ambassador scholarships:  3.0
  • Capital Scholars and Battelle scholarships:  2.5
  • All other Capital aid:  2.0

This GPA requirement will be evaluated at the end of spring semester.  Students not meeting the GPA requirement are able to appeal to maintain their institutional aid.  

All Capital aid is available for only up to eight semesters.  Students may appeal for additional semesters. Appeals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and no funding is guaranteed.