Maintaining Financial Aid Eligibility
Graduate Students
Students wishing to apply for and receive Title IV assistance must meet specific academic progress requirements in order to maintain Title IV financial aid eligibility. Satisfactory academic progress requires a student to accumulate a minimum number of credit hours over a maximum time frame and a minimum cumulative grade point average for each period of attendance.
Satisfactory Academic Progress is determined by the following criteria:
• Quantitative Measurement
o Pace of Progression (Credit Hours)
• Qualitative Measurement (GPA)
o Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average.
Students must complete attempted hours according to the following (Quantitative Measurement):
• Completion of 67 percent of cumulative hours attempted,
*i.e., 12 hours attempted, 8 hours must be completed (8/12 = 67 percent).
• Grades of “I,” “W,” or “F” are considered as attempted hours.
• Transfer credit hours accepted by Lindenwood University will count as both attempted and completed hours.
• Once a student completes coursework for an “I” grade, or a grade is changed, academic progress will be reviewed again by the Student Financial Services Office.
Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (Qualitative Measurement).
Degree requirements must be completed within a maximum time frame. Federal law requires a maximum time-frame of no more than 150 percent of the published length of the graduate program. Hours earned at Lindenwood University and accepted transfer hours are included in this time frame.
SAP Monitoring
A student’s SAP will be evaluated at the end of each academic year. All periods of attendance will be included in this evaluation regardless of whether the student received financial aid. This evaluation will include a measurement of student’s progress set forth in the qualitative standards (GPA) and quantitative standards (credits).
If a student fails to meet the minimum requirements as stated in the qualitative and quantitative section, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension and will not be eligible for financial aid reinstatement until the minimum cumulative requirements of the policy are attained. A student can appeal the financial aid suspension.
Students placed on financial aid suspension will have their Lindenwood University Institutional Grant(s) reevaluated.
Withdrawal from the university has no effect on the student’s satisfactory progress upon re-entering.
A student has the right to appeal if student feels in compliance with the requirements of the satisfactory academic progress policy or believes that there are extenuating circumstances that occurred. Examples of extenuating circumstance are the death of a relative, an injury or illness to an immediate family member or student, or similar special circumstances that could affect the academic performance.
To appeal a financial aid suspension, the student must submit an appeal letter with supporting documentation to the Student Financial Services. Submission of an appeal is not an automatic approval. Student appeals submitted to Academic Services for academic suspension are not sent to Student Financial Services. Please be sure to submit a separate appeal letter to the Director of Student Financial Services, for review of the financial aid suspension.
If the appeal is denied, the student will be ineligible to receive Title IV aid until the academic requirements are met.
Probationary Periods
If the student’s appeal is granted, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and will have the next succeeding term of enrollment (semester or quarter) to meet the minimum requirements as stated above. At the conclusion of the term, the Office of Student Financial Services will ensure the student is now meeting the SAP standards in order to qualify for further federal financial aid funding. If the student is not making SAP standards again at that time, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension again and be required to submit a new appeal, including an academic plan.
Academic Plan
An academic plan will be completed between the student and academic advisor. The plan must include benchmarks that students will meet to ensure they are making progress to degree and will render the student eligible for aid again under SAP rules (Qualitative and Quantitative measures).
Re-establishing Financial Aid Eligibility without Appeal
If the student is allowed to attend Lindenwood University academically, they may continue at their own expense to attempt to improve completion rates and/or GPA issues. Once a student is back into compliance with SAP, they may contact the Office of Student Financial Services for review of reinstatement of their financial aid.