Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require that students make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to continue to receive Title IV federal financial aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

At Antioch College, students are expected to complete all degree requirements in 12 academic quarters. These requirements include completing 180 quarter credits and achieving a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 at the time of graduation.

Satisfactory Academic Progress is measured by the Office of Financial Aid at the conclusion of each academic year (end of Spring term). Per federal guidelines, Antioch College students must maintain the following standards to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress:

(1)    Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 by the end of the second academic year (qualitative evaluation)

(2)    Complete 60 credits by the end of their second academic year and maintain a cumulative course completion rate of 66.67% thereafter (quantitative evaluation)

(3)    Complete all degree requirements within 18 total academic quarters and 270 attempted academic credits (maximum timeframe)

Students not meeting any of these standards may lose their Title IV federal financial aid eligibility. Students that do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress and lose their Title IV federal financial aid eligibility are notified via email from the Office of Financial Aid.

Academic Policy and Review Committee: SAP Warnings

The Academic Policy and Review Committee (APRC) works with the Office of Financial Aid to issue SAP Warnings to students that are at risk of not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress. SAP Warnings are issued after the first five academic quarters, and after each Fall and Winter term thereafter. The table below provides the APRC’s recommended quarterly minimum standards in cumulative GPA and credits completed to achieve SAP by the end of the second year (typically the sixth academic quarter of enrollment).

Students are notified of SAP Warnings via email from the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, who chairs the Academic Policy and Review Committee. 

Financial Aid Appeal, Probation, and Reinstatement 

Students who have lost Title IV federal financial aid eligibility may appeal to have their Title IV aid continued for a probationary period. A financial aid appeal must be submitted to the Director of Financial Aid. The appeal must be based on the following criteria:

• Injury or illness

• Death of a relative

• Other mitigating circumstances

Students must submit the appeal letter to the Director of Financial Aid via email during the first week of the term, but are encouraged to submit their letters as soon as possible. The appeal must explain why the student failed to make SAP and what has changed in their situation that will allow them to make SAP at the next evaluation point. If the appeal is successful, the student will then be placed on Financial Aid Probation and will continue to be eligible for Title IV aid. In order for federal financial aid to be reinstated, the student must meet SAP at the next evaluation point or they will not be eligible for further federal financial aid. 

Other Requirements

Incomplete Courses

Courses for which a student receives an incomplete grade (IN) have no grade points and will have no effect on SAP grade point average evaluations. However, incomplete courses will count as credit attempted for the purpose of SAP evaluations for completion rate. All missing coursework must be submitted to the instructor no later than four weeks after the end of the term, or incomplete grades will be converted to an F and will be counted in the GPA at the next SAP evaluation. 

Withdrawals

Courses from which a student withdraws and receives a withdrawal indicator (W) have no grade points and will have no effect on SAP grade point average evaluations. However, withdrawn courses will count as credit attempted for the purpose of SAP evaluations for completion rate. Students that withdraw from courses due to a medical or family emergency and do not make SAP have grounds to file an appeal.  

Course Repetitions

Students who fail a course are permitted to repeat that course up to two times in order to earn a passing grade (three total attempts are possible). If a student repeats a course, any earlier grades earned for that course will be excluded from the student’s grade point average, but will remain on the transcript (followed by the indicator “R” for “repeated”). The most recent grade earned will replace the previous grade(s) and be included in the calculation of the GPA for SAP evaluations. However, all iterations of the course will count as credit attempted for the purpose of SAP evaluations for credit completion rate. Only the last iteration will count as credit earned if, in fact, the student successfully completes the course.

Course Repetitions and Federal Financial Aid

Federal regulations allow students to receive Title IV aid to repeatedly take courses for which they earned no higher than ‘F’ until a passing grade is earned, but students are eligible for Title IV aid to repeat courses for which they earned higher than ‘F’ only once. Even though all grades below ‘C’ are considered non--passing courses at Antioch College, courses for which a student has earned C−, D +, D, or D− can only be repeated once with financial aid eligibility, even if the student fails the course the second time it is taken.

Transfer credit

Credit hours accepted as transfer credit from another institution indicated by a transfer indicator (T) have no grade points and will have no effect on SAP grade point average evaluations. However, transferred courses will count as credit attempted and credit earned for the purpose of SAP evaluations for completion rate.

Pursuit of Second Degree

Students enrolled in a second undergraduate degree program are subject to the federal maximum time frame component for undergraduate study. The Office of Financial Aid will determine the maximum time frame for Title IV aid for students enrolling for a second undergraduate degree.

Courses for which Students are not Eligible for Federal Financial Aid

Students’ schedules may sometimes include courses for which they may not receive federal funds. The federal government will not provide funds for the following types of courses:

• Courses the student is auditing

• Courses in which the student previously received an incomplete, and is in the process of completing

• Courses the student is repeating for a second or greater time (see “Course Repetitions” above)

• ND and JA Block courses