Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress Policy

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress toward a degree as stipulated in the chart below to receive financial aid at SWOSU from the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Work Study, Oklahoma Tuition Aid Grant (OTAG), Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan and Federal Parent PLUS Loan. Satisfactory Progress is measured by Pace (amount of hours earned/amount of hours attempted) and GPA (quality of work) and maximum hours allowed to complete a degree.

Description	Undergraduate Classes		Graduate Classes
Total Hours Attempted from All Institutions	1 - 30	31 - up	All
Minimum Retention G.P.A.	1.70	2.00	3.00
Minimum % of Total Hours Successfully Completed (Pace)	67%	67%	67%
Maximum Total Hours Attempted Allowed for Earning a Degree (Additional Undergrad. Work maximum includes all undergraduate hours. For Pharmacy, students must be accepted and enrolled in the Pharmacy program. Students must be accepted into a graduate program to receive aid for grad. hours.) Graduate Students may receive aid for additional Graduate Degrees based on Appeals Committee approval and for the number of published hours for degree completion.(i.e. students has 66 hours and two Masters Degrees could be approved by committee for an additional Masters Degree)	1.5 times the length of your Associate Program in credit hours 129 – 2nd Assoc. Degree 1.5 times the length of your Bachelor’s Program in credit hours 215 - Associate after Bachelor Degree 240 - 2nd Bachelor Degree 295 - Accepted Pharm. Doc. Majors		1.5 times the length of  your Master’s Program  in credit hours 66 - 2nd Masters including 48 for 1st Masters
Students must also have a 2.0 at the end of their second academic year or after four terms. Students enrolled in a program of study abroad approved for credit by Southwestern Oklahoma State University will  be considered enrolled at the home institution for Title IV Assistance.

S.A.P. Evaluation

1. S.A.P. is calculated each semester or when aid is first awarded for the year.
2. FINANCIAL AID WARNING will be given to students who in the previous term did not meet the requirements above. These students are eligible to receive aid for one semester.
3. FINANCIAL AID SUSPENSION will be required for any students on Warning who do not meet the requirements shown above. This status also applies to students who do not meet the requirements above and do not appeal. Students cannot receive funds from the aid programs listed above while not making S.A.P. (See Appeals) Students may reestablish aid eligibility by meeting the requirements above. Aid will be reinstated in the following term.
4. FINANCIAL AID PROBATION. This is available to students who have successfully appealed their S.A.P status after being on suspension. If an appeal is granted students remain eligible for one semester. Students cannot receive consecutive probation.
5. Rules are applied uniformly to all students whether or not aid has been received previously.
6. Eligibility is reestablished after the student improves their scholastic record to meet the minimum standards.
7. Spring students cannot receive aid for a fall term where they were calculated as not making S.A.P at the end of the fall term.
8. Financial aid will only pay for repeated courses twice if the course has a passing grade.

Transfer and Returning Students

1. Transfer students must submit all prior transcripts and have hours put online by the registrar before eligibility can be determined. All transfer hours accepted count toward the total hours attempted.
2. Transfer students who have completed one prior semester will be eligible for a Warning term if not meeting cumulative requirements.
3. Transfer and returning students who do not meet the conditions explained above are entered on financial aid suspension.
4. Students who left SWOSU with an approved appeal and return after non-attendance are considered to be on financial aid probation when they return.
5. Students who leave SWOSU in good academic standing and return after a period of non attendance and have not attended another institution are considered to be in good academic standing when they return.

Grades

1. For financial aid purposes, all grades of A, B, C, D, S, P, F, W, WP, WF, I, N, X and U are hours attempted.
2. Only grades of A, B, C, D, S, P and N are counted as hours successfully completed. CLEP classes count as hours attempted and completed. They have no grades assigned.
3. Audit classes are not eligible for financial aid and are not counted as Hours Attempted.
4. All classes attempted at all institutions are used in S.A.P. calculations.
5. Remedial classes count as hours attempted and completed but do not affect GPA.  Remedial classes may not account for more than 30 hours attempted for any Degree Plan.

Appeals

1. Financial Aid SAP suspension may be appealed. The student must submit a Request for Appeal to the Dean of Students at the Weatherford campus or Student Financial Services Officer at Sayre. Appeals must explain in detail why the student failed to meet the minimum academic standards, what mitigating circumstances caused the failure and how their situation has improved.
2. Students must submit a copy of their suspension letter along with their request for appeal to the Dean of Student’s Office.
3. The appeals committee will make a written response available to be picked up by the student.

Academic Plan

1. The appeals committee at the Weatherford or Sayre Remote Location may recommend an academic plan for some students.
2. The academic plan must bring the student up to academic progress by a certain point in time. Students who have academic plans will be evaluated each term to see that the academic plan is being met.
3. Students who do not meet the requirements of the academic plan are placed on suspension.
4. Students who are placed on suspension after not meeting the requirements of the plan may reestablish SAP by meeting the requirements above. Aid will be reinstated after the term when SAP is established.
5. Students on academic plan must complete all classes in the term. (Cannot have "Incompletes")
6. Students who appeal based on length must be meeting the other cumulative criteria (GPA and Completion Rate) to be approved.

Student Responsibility and Appeals

Students are held responsible for their S.A.P. eligibility criteria and their status at the end of each semester. If questions arise, contact the Office of Student Financial Services.

NOTE: The hours attempted shown on your grade record do not include withdrawals. To properly monitor your S.A.P. progress, manually count all credit hours earned and divide by the hours attempted on your academic record.

Students not meeting the satisfactory progress criteria may seek to appeal if extenuating circumstances affect academic performance.  Examples of extenuating circumstances are: prolonged illness under a doctor’s care or an illness or accident requiring hospitalization requiring a prolonged absence from class and death of an immediate family member or prolonged illness of a dependent. These circumstances are normally based on some unusual situation or condition, which prevented the student from completing the required hours. No appeal will be accepted without documentation.

The appeal may not be based upon the need for assistance or the lack of knowledge that the assistance was in jeopardy. If the appeal is denied, the student will be notified in writing and may resubmit an appeal only if they have additional supporting documentation for the initial appeal.

Students will be notified of appeal results by the Appeal Committee from the SWOSU Dean of Students Office within 10 business days of application.