Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

Scholarship renewal

Merit scholarships are renewable annually as long as you maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Fine arts scholarships are also renewable annually as long as you maintain SAP and follow the specific expectations of your fine art scholarship. 

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and the State of Iowa, require that each student maintain satisfactory academic progress toward their degree objectives to be eligible for federal and state financial aid. In compliance with prescribed regulations, Cornell College has established guidelines that are designed to ensure students successfully complete courses and advance toward degree objectives. These requirements serve as standards against which to evaluate student progress, grade point average and overall time period in which a student must complete their program.

Cornell College’s SAP policy applies to all students who want to establish or maintain financial aid eligibility. These standards apply to a student’s entire academic transcript, including terms for which financial aid was not applied or disbursed. These standards require that students successfully complete a specific number of credit hours each academic school year and maintain a minimum grade point average as defined by standards. These are minimum standards that must be attained.

The academic progress of financial aid recipient is monitored at a minimum of once each academic year. Students should contact the office of Financial Assistance and Planning with questions regarding the intent and/or interpretation of these standards.

SAP Standards

Cornell College has developed standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress cited in the academic catalogue. 

Your academic standing can impact your eligibility for federal, state and institutional financial aid. So, it is imperative you understand and familiarize yourself with the SAP standards. 

Satisfactory academic progress is based on the quality of your academic performance, which is represented by the following factors:

• Your GPA, a qualitative review of your progress.
• Your Pace: a quantitative review of progress which is represented by the total number of credits successfully completed toward your degree compared to the total credits you have attempted.

Your Responsibilities

The Cornell College Satisfactory Academic Progress standards apply to all students who wish to establish or maintain financial assistance eligibility. It is the responsibility of all students to be familiar with these standards. The standards apply to each student’s entire academic record at Cornell, whether or not the student received financial assistance for previous terms of enrollment. All federal and state grants, loans, work-study, and Cornell College scholarships and grants, are subject to the following Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. Specific aid programs or department standards may require more than these minimum standards.

Completion Rate (Pace) and Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements

Full time students (students attempting 3 or more credit hours each semester) must progress according to the following schedule:

These credit hours must be earned during the academic year (fall and spring semesters) however, if a student does not meet these required hours, they may be earned during the following summer session(s). It is the responsibility of the student to notify the Financial Assistance and Planning Office if they complete courses during the summer and would like for us to review their progress.

Failure to achieve the above standards will result in the loss of financial aid eligibility until the completely cumulative hours meet the minimum standards or the student has submitted a successful appeal. Loss of aid is not the same as academic warning, probation or suspension, which is handled by academic affairs.

Part-time students must successfully complete two-thirds of the credit hours they attempt. Students blending terms of full and part-time enrollment must achieve a cumulative total that satisfies the combined full and part-time standards.

Students will be notified by letter if they fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress and may be eligible to appeal the decision.

Maximum timeframe—150% Rule

The college’s published program length is 31 credits to complete a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Bachelor of Special Studies, or Bachelor of Music degree. The time frame to complete your degree is 150% [47 credits].  At the end of each academic year, a student’s credits earned are reviewed to ensure that satisfactory academic progress is occurring at the required rate. If, at the time of the official satisfactory academic progress review, Cornell College learns a student cannot complete their program within the maximum time-frame, the student immediately will become ineligible for federal, state and institutional aid for the upcoming year. Cornell College aid is not available beyond eight semesters of full-time attendance.  

Specific financial assistance programs may require higher minimum standards for GPA and Pace; additionally, an individual Cornell department may require the student to earn more credit hours or maintain a grade point average that is higher than required by minimum standards.

Incomplete Coursework, Grade Changes and Withdrawals

Failure to earn credit for courses due to receiving an F, W, WH, WR, NC, I, or IP are included as attempted hours for determining “Pace” toward graduation for purposes of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Financial aid may be revoked until a satisfactory letter grade has been assigned for incomplete courses.

If we receive notification of a grade change after Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) has been reviewed, we will recheck SAP utilizing the updated grade information.

The calculation of GPA for purposes of Academic Review and subsequent determination of federal financial aid eligibility does not include grades of Incomplete (I), Withdrawal (W), Withdrawal for Health (WH), Registrar’s Withdrawal (WR), No Credit (NC), Unsatisfactory (U) or grades for courses that have been transferred to Cornell College.

Changing Majors

When students change majors, all attempted coursework will be included when assessing academic progress. All coursework, regardless of changing majors, must be completed in a reasonable length of time, which is defined as not more than 150% of the credit hours required for graduation in that program.

Transfer Students

Transfer students will be assumed to be maintaining satisfactory academic progress at the time of admission. Transfer credits, accepted by Cornell, are counted as both attempted and completed hours for purposes of SAP.

Repeated Coursework

For repeated coursework, the original grade earned remains on the transcript and is not replaced by the subsequent grade. A repeated course does not gain the student an additional course credit toward graduation, unless the course description indicates that it may be repeated.

Appeal Process, Probation and Suspension

A student may submit an appeal, based on extenuating circumstances that resulted in failure to achieve the minimum completed credit hours and/or GPA requirements. All appeals MUST include information regarding why the student failed to make SAP, and what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow the student to demonstrate SAP after the next academic term of enrollment.

When filing an appeal, you may be required to include an academic plan established with the Academic Support and Advising Office. The plan MUST demonstrate how the student will progress both GPA and cumulative credits to get back on track in seeking his/her degree.  This academic plan must include details for each term/semester from the time of the appeal until the student will meet SAP or graduate with their intended degree program.  The student must be able to demonstrate that it is reasonably likely to get back on track towards successful program completion while staying within the 150% rule. 

If you are required to include an academic plan with your appeal, the Academic Support and Advising Office will review the student’s appeal and academic plan and notify the Financial Aid Office of its completion.  An appeal committee will review the student’s request and notify the student of their decision.

If a student is granted an appeal, they will be placed on Financial Aid Probation, and their financial aid eligibility will be reviewed each semester for continued aid eligibility until minimum SAP requirements have been achieved. For full time students, failure to complete a minimum semester GPA of 2.00 and complete 3 credits each of these semesters will result in immediate suspension of future financial aid. Part-time students must maintain a minimum semester GPA of 2.00 and complete at least two-thirds of the credits attempted in order to retain future financial aid.

Students will have the option to submit up to three appeals and recreate an academic plan, if appropriate at that time. The same requirements for the appeal, as described above, must be met.  If a student does not submit an appeal, or their appeal is not approved, they will not be eligible to receive financial assistance the following academic term.

Re-establishing eligibility
A student whose financial aid has been rescinded as a result of the preceding policies and procedures reestablishes eligibility when removed from Academic Probation by the Academic Standing Committee.  A student who has lost financial assistance eligibility can regain eligibility by making up deficiencies while not receiving aid.  It is the student’s responsibility to notify the office of Financial Planning and Assistance to request aid reinstatement when this has been accomplished.

Students that have left the college may re-establish financial assistance eligibility after spending one semester or more away from Cornell while attaining credits somewhere else that are transferrable toward the completion of their degree at Cornell with at least a 2.5 GPA.