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Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is a policy required by Federal and State financial aid regulations for all students receiving financial assistance through these programs. The policy is intended to ensure students are progressing towards degree completion and applies to students attending full-time and part-time in all degree seeking programs. All students who receive federal and/or state financial aid must be working toward an eligible degree and be in good academic standing (as defined by this policy) to be eligible for aid. Lee University will utilize the policy below in determining federal and state financial aid eligibility. Progress will be evaluated at the end of the academic year. To ensure that students are making progress, the following requirements have been established:
I. Definitions
- Academic year is fall, spring, and summer.
- Attempted hours are defined as any course which appears on the transcript.
- Satisfactory grades are A, B, C, D, and P.
- Unsatisfactory grades are W, F, NC, or I.
II. Progress Standards
- Pace of Progression Standard: Both undergraduate and graduate students must satisfactorily complete 67% of all hours attempted.
- GPA Standard: Undergraduate students must maintain the following cumulative grade point averages to be considered making satisfactory progress.
| Total Hours Attempted | Minimum Required G.P.A. |
|---|---|
| 0-29 | 1.5 |
| 30-59 | 1.7 |
| 60 and above | 2.0 |
Graduate students must maintain a grade point average consistent with the academic standard of the graduate program.
- Maximum Hours Standard: Any undergraduate student who has attempted 180 hours or more (or greater than 150% of the published program length) will not be making progress. To remain eligible, students must complete their degree within 150% of the time for the published program length. For example, most undergraduate degrees require 120 credit hours x 150% maximum timeframe = 180 maximum credit hours. A student becomes ineligible for federal aid when it becomes mathematically impossible to complete the program within 150% of its length.
- Transfer students: All transferable credits will be counted toward the maximum number of hours allowed to be eligible for financial aid. Satisfactory progress will be evaluated at the end of the first academic year attended at Lee University.
- Repeat, Remedial, and ESL courses will be evaluated consistent with the academic standards of the University.
- Change in major: All course work appearing on Lee’s transcript will be included in the evaluation process regardless of the association with the current declared major.
III. Review of Eligibility
Satisfactory academic progress is reviewed annually (at the end of the academic year) for all financial aid applicants to ensure that they meet the required qualitative, quantitative, and maximum time frame standards as outlined in Section II. Applicants who do not meet the standards outlined in Section II will be notified by email to their Lee University email address.
IV. Removal from Financial Aid - Suspension
- A student who fails to meet any of the above standards of progress will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension.
- Removal from financial aid does not prevent the student from enrolling at Lee University if:
- the student has an alternative method of payment and
- if the student meets the academic requirements to re-enroll.
V. Appeals
Students placed on Financial Aid Suspension can appeal to the Financial Aid Office. Reasons that may be acceptable for the appeal are:
- serious illness or accident on the part of the student;
- death, accident, or serious illness in the immediate family;
- other extenuating circumstances directly affecting academic performance.
The appeal must be submitted in writing and explain the circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the SAP standards, how those circumstances are different now, and include a plan for success moving forward. Supporting documentation is required. These will be reviewed weekly by the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Committee. Students will be notified in writing of the Appeal Approval or Appeal Denial.
VI. Reinstatement of Financial Aid
- If an appeal is approved, the student will be granted one semester of Financial Aid Probation. An Academic Plan will be established by the committee. The plan will be designed to address the academic deficiency to ensure the student is making progress toward his/her degree. The student can continue to receive financial aid during this one semester of probation. Eligibility will be reviewed at the end of the term of probation. At that time the student must either be meeting the overall standards or meeting the terms of their Academic Plan. Students not meeting one of these standards will be allowed to appeal again if new extenuating circumstances existed.
- A student who is removed from financial aid and/or whose appeal has been denied may be eligible to have his/her financial aid reinstated if he/she enrolls without federal financial aid and is able to reestablish the minimum progress standards or the terms of the previously established Academic Plan. It is the student’s responsibility to inform the Financial Aid Office if the requirements have been met.
Rights and Responsibilities of Financial Aid Recipients
There are certain rights and responsibilities students must adhere to in order to receive monetary awards.
Student Responsibilities:
- It is the students’ responsibility to attend class. Class attendance is vital to being successful in college and maintaining eligibility for aid. Confirming enrollment simply means the student is entering into a financial agreement with the University.
- It is the students’ responsibility to complete and submit all necessary documents in the required time frame. Financial aid will not disburse until all required documents are completed and submitted.
- To ensure timely communication, students should consistently check their Lee email, Portico account, and campus post office box. If phone, address, or other contact information changes, notify the Financial Aid Office.
- Financial aid recipients must be enrolled at least half-time in an eligible degree program. In certain cases, students who are less than half-time may be eligible for the Pell Grant. Only credit hours that count toward the declared degree will count toward aid eligibility.
- Financial aid recipients must maintain satisfactory academic progress to retain eligibility for aid.
- Financial aid recipients must maintain good standing within the university community. The Financial Aid Office reserves the right (on behalf of Lee University) to review and cancel any financial aid award in the event of academic, financial, or disciplinary misconduct on the part of the recipient.
- Students anticipating funds from sources other than the Financial Aid Office should notify the office as soon as possible. This includes scholarships, loans, etc. The university may reduce awards if total aid exceeds the cost of attendance.
- Students receiving institutional funding are required to comply with chapel attendance policies. Students who have been on chapel probation for three or more consecutive months and are on chapel probation at the end of the semester will forfeit any university-funded scholarships for which they would have otherwise qualified during the following semester.
- If family/individual situations change during the school year, students should notify the Financial Aid Office. Students may qualify for a special conditions revision. Examples of changes would be death, loss of job, significant out of pocket medical expenses, etc.
- Students must reapply for financial aid each year by submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The application opens on October 1.
Student Responsibilities - When Graduating or Withdrawing:
- Students planning to withdraw or drop any course work should notify the Financial Aid Office prior to doing so to determine impact on aid eligibility. Students may be required to repay part, or all of the financial aid received.
- Graduation or withdrawal may impact eligibility for future financial aid.
- All loan recipients must assume repayment upon leaving school or dropping below half-time. Prior to graduation or withdrawal, an exit interview should be completed to ensure full understanding of loan terms and repayment provisions (including deferment options).
Lee Financial Aid General Policies:
- The Financial Aid Office will process financial aid requests without regard to race, religious affiliation, gender, age, or disability. All funds are subject to individual student need as well as the availability of funds.
- Institutional Scholarships (including academic scholarships and employee tuition discounts) can be applied toward only one off-campus study program during a student’s enrollment at Lee. This includes intercultural studies internships, student teaching (distance placement), the Semester Study Abroad: UK program, and Global Perspectives trips.
- Off-campus study programs that are directly sponsored by Lee University and led by Lee University faculty are the only study programs eligible for institutionally funded aid.
Homeschooled Students
Under the student eligibility provisions of section 484(d)(3) of the Higher Education Act, a student who does not have a high school diploma or GED is eligible to receive Title IV, HEA program assistance if the student “completes a secondary school education in a homeschool setting that is treated as a homeschool or private school under State law.” Section 484(d)(3) imposes no age limitation on the eligibility of homeschooled students.
An “underage” homeschool student is considered to be “beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which the institution is located,” if that State does not consider that student truant once he or she has completed a homeschool program or would not require the student to attend school or continue to be homeschooled.
Global Perspectives
Credit hours earned from participation in a Lee University Global Perspectives trip may be considered as credit hours enrolled for purposes of applying for federal student financial aid. Credit hours earned for an individually arranged and approved study-abroad trip may be considered as credit hours enrolled for purposes of applying for federal student financial aid.
Students participating in an individually arranged collaborative study abroad trip should contact the Office of Global Perspectives for information regarding the required approval process. Students participating in a non-collaborative study abroad trip should contact the Academic Services Office for information regarding the required approval process. In the case of non-collaborative study abroad trips, a consortium or contractual agreement must be signed by all required parties for the hours to be eligible for consideration for federal student financial aid.