Federal regulations require the University of Minnesota's Office of Financial Aid to monitor the academic progress of students receiving aid. To maintain your eligibility for financial aid consideration, you must meet the standards set forth in this policy. Please read this information carefully for a description of the policy and how your academic progress affects your financial aid. You will be notified via your official University of Minnesota e-mail account if you are not meeting SAP standards.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

To be eligible for financial aid, you must meet UMC's Academic Progress Policy (see http://www.umcrookston.edu/campusinfo/policies/academicprogress.htm ), as well as three additional components: (1) credit completion ratio, (2) grade point average, and (3) maximum timeframe.

1. Credit completion ratio

You must earn at least 67 percent of the credits you attempt to maintain satisfactory academic progress. Each semester your academic progress will be determined by comparing the number of credits you attempted (including any course in which you were enrolled past the drop/add period) to those you actually earned. Note: Transfer credits from another institution will be included in both attempted and earned credits.

Credits earned include grades of A, B, C, D, S, P, T, Q, and R. Credits attempted include all of those previously listed, plus F, I, K, X, N, U, W, and blank. Repeated courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours. Remedial courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours. Credits taken while studying at another institution, (e. g., study abroad,) are considered credits attempted but not considered earned until they are accepted by UMC as transfer credits. Extended term distance education courses are considered attempted, but not earned until a grade is submitted. Audit (V) credits are not considered attempted or earned.

2. Grade point average

Your cumulative GPA must be 2.0 or higher. Your cumulative grade point average (GPA) will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Office at the end of your second academic year (fourth term of enrollment or 60 credits, whichever comes first) and each subsequent term thereafter. If you are in a certificate or second degree program, or you are taking prerequisite courses, your GPA will be checked after your first term of attendance. ( NOTE . The UMC Registrar's Office monitors your GPA each term of enrollment. If you fail to meet UMC's minimum GPA requirement and are suspended by the Registrar's Office you will also be suspended by the Financial Aid Office. You will not be eligible for Financial Aid.)

3. Maximum timeframe

You will not be eligible to receive financial aid once you have exceeded the SAP maximum timeframe (total attempted credits) of 150 percent of the published degree credits required to complete your program. If you exceed the timeframe before you have finished your studies, you must use your own funds to pay for your college expenses. An e-mail timeframe " warning " will be sent to your University e-mail account once your record shows you have attempted more than 125 percent of your degree or certificate credit requirements.

The following courses are included when determining the total number of credits attempted for timeframe: all University of Minnesota coursework credits, including those in which you received grades of I, N, F, W, X, K, NG, T (test) or blank, as well as any other credits and transfer credits that count toward your degree. Remedial, repeated, and distance education courses will be counted in determining maximum timeframe.

Financial Ad Probation

Cumulative GPA. The Office of Financial Aid begins to monitor your GPA at the end of your second academic year (fourth term of enrollment or 60 credits, whichever comes first). You will be placed on financial aid probation for one term if your cumulative GPA falls below 2.0. While on probation you may still receive financial aid. You only have one term of probation to raise your cumulative GPA to 2.0. If you fail to meet this standard by the end of the probation term you will be on financial aid suspension and no longer eligible for financial aid. You will remain on financial aid suspension until your cumulative GPA is 2.0 or higher. Once your cumulative GPA is 2.0 or higher you will be removed from financial aid suspension.

Credit Completion Ratio. You will be placed on financial aid probation for one term if your overall credit completion ratio drops below 67 percent. While on probation you may still receive financial aid. Once your overall credit completion ratio is equal to or higher than 67 percent you will be removed from probation. While on financial aid probation if you fail to complete 67 percent of the term credits attempted you will be suspended and will no longer be eligible to receive financial aid. You will remain on financial aid suspension until your overall credit completion ratio is equal to or higher then 67 percent.

Suspension (Financial Aid and Academic)

Your eligibility for financial aid may be suspended if you fail to meet the satisfactory progress standards set by the Financial Aid Office for financial aid recipients or the overall academic progress requirements for UMC. Both types of suspension are described here.

Financial aid suspension

While on financial aid probation if you do not attain the required cumulative GPA and/or do not successfully complete 67 percent of attempted credits, you will be placed on financial aid suspension.

While on suspension you are not eligible for most financial aid programs (exceptions include private loan programs such as Bremer Bank, CitiAssist, Collegiate Funding Services, Educaid, Campus Door, and outside assistance that do not require SAP). To regain your eligibility for financial aid you may attend the University, at your own expense, until you attain the required cumulative GPA and overall credit completion requirement of 67 percent.

If you failed to meet SAP standards due to unusual circumstances, you have the right to appeal your SAP suspension status (see section "Your right to appeal").

Academic suspension

If you have been suspended from UMC for not meeting the Academic Progress Policy, you are also not eligible to receive financial aid. Once you have been readmitted, you must complete the financial aid SAP appeal process. Your financial aid status and eligibility will be determined based on Financial Aid Office SAP standards through a review of your academic record.

Additional SAP requirements

· If you are enrolled in a dual degree program, are a student seeking a 2 nd degree, or changed majors numerous times, you may request an extension of the maximum timeframe provision of this policy. Such requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and must have a academic course plan signed by your academic advisor listing the classes you must take to complete your degree.

· Transfer credits accepted by the University of Minnesota, Crookston, will be included when calculating your maximum time frame, but not your GPA. This includes credits earned from foreign institutions.

· All credits attempted and earned at another University of Minnesota campus will be included when calculating your maximum time frame, GPA, and credit completion ratio.

· Your SAP is monitored, whether or not you receive financial aid. In the event that you do not meet minimum SAP standards, you will be notified only if you have applied for financial aid.

· If you are required to withdraw for military reasons, credit completion and maximum timeframe requirements will be waived for the semester of your official withdrawal.

· Credits earned while a Post Secondary Education Options (PSEO) student at the University of Minnesota will be included in GPA, credit completion and the maximum timeframe calculation. Credits earned while a Post Secondary Education Options (PSEO) student at another institution will be considered transfer credits and will be treated like other transfer credits.

· A student may repeat a course only once. When a student repeats a course, both grades for the course shall appear on the official transcript, the course credits may not be counted more than once toward degree and program requirements, and only the last enrollment for the course shall count in the student's grade point average. NOTE: The previous policy (prior to Fall Semester 2001) on repeating a course permitted a student to repeat a course as many times as he or she wished. The new policy permits repeating a course only once. Students who had already repeated a course under the "old" policy shall have the opportunity to repeat it one more time; the grade earned in the course the last time the student enrolls will be the one that counts in the grade point average.

Financial Aid Programs Included in SAP

Federal : Bureau of Indian Affairs Grant, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work-Study, Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, and Ford Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).

State : Minnesota State Grant (MSG) Program, Minnesota State Work-Study Program, Student Educational Loan Fund (SELF), Postsecondary Child Care Grant

University of Minnesota , Crookston : University and departmental need-based grants, scholarships (athletic, merit and specialty), work study, and loans

Other : Most private loans: Sallie Mae Signature Loan, TERI loans, U.S. Bank loans, Wells Fargo loans, and Key loans.

Your Right to Appeal

You may appeal your financial aid suspension if (1) unusual circumstances interfered with your ability to meet SAP standards, or (2) your record shows that you have reestablished eligibility by attaining the required GPA or credit completion ratio to meet SAP standards.

Unusual circumstances include, but are not limited to, illness, injury, death of a family member or personal crisis. You may also appeal to have your financial aid eligibility reinstated if, while on financial aid suspension, you attained the required GPA or credit completion ratio to meet SAP standards during a term or terms at your own expense. You must also submit a completed appeal form if you were readmitted after academic suspension from UMC.

To appeal for these reasons or other extenuating circumstances, explain in detail your situation on the SAP Appeal form, and attach all appropriate third-party documentation that supports your appeal.

SAP Appeal forms are available online at http://www.umcrookston.edu/people/finaid/forms/index.htm or for pick-up in the One Stop Student Service Center. Send your completed appeal with any required documentation to:

Financial Aid Office

University of Minnesota , Crookston

170 Owen Hall

2900 University Avenue

Crookston , MN 56716-5001

The Director of Student Financial Aid will review all petitions and render a decision within 10-weekdays of the receipt of the petition. If your petition is approved, you will be deemed to be making satisfactory academic progress and be eligible to receive UMC, federal, and state financial aid. The Director, at his/her discretion may, at the time of approval of a petition, may place you on financial aid probation until such time as you meet the required standards. While on financial aid probation if you fail to complete two-thirds (67%) of the credits attempted or fail to obtain a minimum of a 2.00 term GPA, you will be deemed to be not maintaining satisfactory academic progress and your financial aid eligibility will be suspended.

Deadlines. Appeals to reinstate eligibility during the current term must be received no later than the last day to cancel a class without special permission for that term. During the fall and spring semester this is the end of the eighth week of class. Refer to the term class schedule for the corresponding deadlines for May and summer terms. Appeals submitted after the deadline will be considered for reestablishing eligibility for subsequent terms only.

Appeal of a Denied Petition

If the Director of Student Financial Aid denies your petition, you may appeal this decision by submitting a statement in writing to the Office of Student Financial Aid within 10 weekdays of the date of notification. The request must state the grounds on which you believe the Director of Student Financial Aid clearly erred and offer preliminary argumentation to support your claims. Within 30-days of receipt of a written appeal the Director shall assemble a quorum (simple majority) of the UMC Financial Aid Committee to act upon the appeal. You will receive written notification of the date, time, and place of the appeal hearing and have the opportunity to explain your position. The decision of the Committee is final . If the appeal is approved by the Committee, you will be deemed to be making satisfactory academic progress and be eligible to receive financial aid.

The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid Eligibility will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Office January 1 st each year.