About the Policy

All students who apply for federal financial aid (including but not limited to the Pell Grant, Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, Nursing Loan, Parent PLUS, Graduate/Professional PLUS, Federal Work Study, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant programs) and the KY CAP Grant must meet the University of Louisville's Satisfactory Academic Progress policy standards regardless of whether they have ever applied or received financial aid in the past.

Post-baccalaureate students and those seeking a second undergraduate degree or certification should be aware that assessment of their satisfactory academic progress status will be based on criteria established for undergraduate students.

Graduate students and students seeking a second graduate degree will be assessed according to the criteria established for graduate students.

Dental, Law, and Medical students are considered to be maintaining satisfactory academic progress if they are allowed to continue to enroll in their respective program. All students are evaluated for Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each spring term.

Policy Components

Component 1: Grade Point Average (GPA)

GPA is a qualitative measure used to evaluate the progress of undergraduate students that have earned 60 or more credit hours. A cumulative overall (not program) GPA of 2.0 or better is the SAP requirement. Graduate students are considered to be meeting the GPA requirement of the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy as long as they continue to be allowed to enroll.

Component 2: Financial Aid Earned Hours(FEH)

FEH is a quantitative measure used to evaluate if students have earned the minimum number of hours for which they were awarded financial aid.

Undergraduate students who receive federal financial aid based on at least half-time enrollment are expected to earn a minimum of 6 hours for each semester or 12 hours total for the fall and spring combined. If you also enroll for the summer term, then you are expected to complete a minimum of 6 hours for the term and a total of 18 hours for the academic year. Undergraduate students who receive aid based on less than half time enrollment are expected to earn the actual number of hours for which their aid was disbursed. Graduate students who receive federal aid based on at least half-time enrollment are expected to earn 4.5 hours each semester or 9 hours total for the fall and spring combined. If you also enroll for the summer term then you are expected to complete a minimum of 3 hours for the term and a total of 12 for the academic year. If you attend one fall or spring term and a summer term, then you are expected to complete 12 hours as an undergraduate student and 7.5 hours as a graduate student.

Component 3: Financial Aid Years of Eligibility(FAYE)

FAYE is an index establishing limitations on the cumulative length of time that a student may be enrolled in a degree program and receive consideration for federal financial aid awards. Full-time undergraduate students may earn up to, but not more than, 144 hours* toward the completion of a Bachelor's degree. Graduate students may earn up to, but not more than, 54 hours* toward completion of a Master’s degree, 90 hours* for a Specialist degree (Ed.S) and 108 hours* for a Doctoral degree. After these hours are earned, the student will be denied future aid and will have to appeal in order to have aid reinstated.

*NOTE: Any hours earned at another institution, whether as part of a degree or not, that are accepted as transfer hours at U of L are included as part of the total maximum hours a student may earn for FAYE.

Important Note: Developmental courses will count towards overall hours earned.

• For free academic assistance, such as tutoring, please contact the REACH Office.
  

Reinstatement of Aid by Clearance

If you fail to meet any one of the three components of the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, federal financial assistance will be denied until you have complied with the terms of the SAP policy and have submitted a clearance form. You may only submit a clearance during the summer term if there is a late grade from the spring term or if you used the spring term to clear a SAP hold. You are not able to clear a SAP hold by using one summer session for a future summer session.

1. Raised his/her GPA to a 2.00, if an undergraduate with 60 or more earned hours.
2. Completed the deficit number of hours at his/her own expense; if classes were taken at another institution a transcript or grade report may be required
3. Changed academic career (i.e. from undergraduate to graduate or graduate to a professional degree program)

• Satisfactory Academic Progress Clearance Form (adobe pdf) 
• Satisfactory Academic Progress Clearance Form (electronic version)
  
  

Reinstatement of Aid by Appeal

Anyone who is denied financial assistance has the right to appeal. The Student Aid Committee reviews each appeal individually.

To initiate an appeal, you must submit a financial aid appeal form (adobe pdf) with an attached letter containing the reason(s) for the appeal, along with any supporting documentation such as doctors' statements, letters from academic advisors, etc.

The committee reviews appeals within 10 business days. Appeals may be approved, denied, or deferred for additional documentation. Students will be notified by mail of the decision or you may login to ULink and check the "To Do List" for the decision.

The committee reserves the right to approve appeals for one semester at a time or to add special requirements such as maintaining a certain GPA. The decision of the committee is final.

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