Printed Version

Federal regulations require that schools monitor the academic progress of every student who is eligible for federal Title IV financial aid, which includes the Pell Grant, TEACH Grant, SEOG, Direct loan, Parent PLUS loan and Work Study. 

Federal standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP) include a qualitative (GPA) measurement, a quantitative (PACE) measurement, and a maximum time frame measurement. If any one of the measures is not being met, the student is not making SAP.  SAP is measured and reviewed at the end of each payment period, specifically end of fall semester, end of spring semester, and end of summer II- combining summer I and summer II courses.

Students who initially fail to meet either the GPA or PACE satisfactory academic progress requirements will be placed on financial aid warning; no action is required by the student.  Financial aid warning lasts for one payment period only, during which the student may continue to receive federal financial aid. Students who fail to meet the GPA and PACE satisfactory progress after the warning period will lose their federal aid eligibility unless they successfully appeal and are placed on financial aid probation, with or without an academic plan. (See the appeal process described below).                                                                                  

Students who have reached the maximum time frame are no longer eligible for federal aid; they are not eligible for financial aid warning or financial aid probation. (See time frame appeal below)

Students will be notified, in writing, by the Nazareth University Financial Aid Office if they have been placed on financial aid warning or financial aid probation. 

Qualitative Standard (GPA):

Students (full or part-time) are required to maintain the following cumulative GPA

* Students in the first year of college are evaluated as freshman even if they have advanced class standing due to college-level credits earned in high school.

Quantitative (PACE) Standard:

Undergraduate students must complete a minimum percentage of cumulative attempted credits, or PACE. PACE iscalculated by dividing the cumulative credit hours earned by the cumulative credit hours attempted.  Students must maintain a minimum pace of 66.667%.

Maximum Time Frame:

Undergraduate students are limited to a total of 180 attempted credits.  Students will not be eligible for financial aid warning or financial aid probation once they have reached their maximum time frame.  Nazareth University counts all attempted credits and all completed credits in the cumulative totals. Students who have changed their degree program or are pursuing a second degree may submit an appeal request to the Financial Aid Office to request consideration for a one-time extension of the maximum time frame.

Program Completion:

Once the student completes all the academic requirements for their program, the student is considered to have completed the degree program and is no longer eligible for further federal aid for that program.

Academic Amnesty:

All academic coursework taken by a student in attendance at Nazareth University  must be included in determining federal SAP. This federal SAP policy is exclusive of any Nazareth University  academic policy related to re-admission and GPA calculation. Federal SAP regulations do not recognize any provision for academic amnesty or renewal.

Transfer Coursework:

All transfer credits (including consortium agreements and study abroad courses) accepted by Nazareth University are counted in both cumulative attempted credits and cumulative earned credits.  Grades earned in transfer credits are not included in the cumulative GPA.

Incomplete Coursework (I):

Formalized grades which are received and posted by the Registration & Records Office prior to the start of the next semester will be included in the federal SAP requirements review. The finalized grade will determine the cumulative credits earned and effect on the cumulative GPA. 

Formalized grades which are not received prior to the start of the next semester will be factored into the students SAP calculations at the time of the next formal SAP evaluation. The (I) grade that is not yet resolved is neither counted in the cumulative attempted credits nor cumulative credits earned nor counted in the cumulative GPA.

Incomplete coursework that is not resolved by the specified date on the student’s incomplete petition form will result in an (F) grade.  (See F grade treatment below)

Withdrawn Coursework (W):

Courses that are dropped during Add/Drop period will neither be counted as credits attempted nor credits earned nor counted in the cumulative GPA.

Withdrawn coursework that occurs after the Add/Drop period of the term will result in a (W) grade. Courses with a (W) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted. Zero credits are earned. The grade is not factored in the cumulative GPA calculation. 

An Immediate Leave of Absence taken after the first week of the semester (up through the 10^th week of the semester) will result in (W) grades.

Satisfactory (S), Unsatisfactory (U), (Pass/Fail) Coursework:

Courses with a Satisfactory (S) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted and cumulative credits earned. The grade will not be factored in the cumulative GPA.

Courses with a Unsatisfactory (U) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted. Zero credits are earned. The grade will not be factored in the cumulative GPA.

Audit (AU) Coursework:

Courses with a Audit (AU) grade are neither counted in the cumulative credits attempted nor cumulative credits earned nor factored in the cumulative GPA.

Failed Coursework (F):

Courses with a Failed (F) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted. Zero credits are earned. The grade will be factored in the cumulative GPA.

Repeated Coursework (R):

Undergraduate students are eligible to receive federal financial aid for repeating a class one time. If a student received a grade for the first attempted class, those credits will be counted in the cumulative credits attempted and earned.  The credits for the repeated class will be counted as additional credits attempted only and zero credits earned.  The second grade will replace the first grade in the calculation of the cumulative GPA

Financial Aid Warning:

As stated earlier, a student failing to meet SAP standards, at the time of review, will be placed on financial aid warning for one payment period.  The student will be eligible for federal aid during the financial aid warning period and no further action is required by the student.

A student that meets SAP standards at the end of the financial aid warning term is eligible for continued federal aid.

A student that does not meet SAP standards at the end of the financial aid warning term will not be eligible for federal aid in subsequent terms until SAP standards are met or the student successfully appeals and is placed on financial aid probation with or without an academic plan.

(Note: Federal financial aid that has already been awarded for the subsequent term will be revoked and removed if the SAP review indicates that the SAP standards are not being met.)

Financial Aid Appeal Process:

If, at the end of the financial aid warning term, a student is still not meeting SAP requirements, the student may submit an appeal based on extenuating circumstances.  Extenuating circumstances would be considered personal illness or injury, a death of a close relative, or other special circumstances.  The written appeal must be sent to the Financial Aid Office. The written appeal must explain why satisfactory progress was not met and what has changed that will allow the minimum standards to be met. The appeal must be submitted by the deadline provided to the student.  Retroactive appeals are not permitted.

If the appeal is denied, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid in subsequent semesters until SAP standards are met.

Financial Aid Probation:

If the appeal is approved by the Federal SAP Committee, the student will be placed on financial aid probation, with or without an academic plan, and will be eligible for federal financial aid during the probationary period.

• If it is determined by the SAP Committee that the student should be able to achieve the SAP requirements by the end of the probation semester, the student will be placed on financial aid probation without an academic plan.  The student will be eligible for federal aid for the probation semester.  If at the end of the probation semester, SAP standards are still not being met, the student cannot appeal again nor will he be eligible for federal aid until SAP requirements are achieved.
• If it is determined by the SAP Committee that the student would benefit from an academic plan or may require more than one payment period to achieve SAP standards, the student will be placed on financial aid probation with an academic plan.  The individualized academic plan will be developed by the Academic Advisement Center and any other identified academic advisors.  The student’s progress will be monitored at the end of each subsequent payment period by the Financial Aid Office to determine if the student is meeting the requirements specified in their academic plan.  If the student is meeting the requirements of their academic plan, the student will be eligible to receive federal aid for the next payment period. If the student fails to meet their academic plan requirements at the end of semester review, the student must appeal again to be eligible for federal financial aid. After a Financial Aid warning, student's seeking their undergraduate degree can have up to 2 approved probations lasting no longer than 2 semesters each.  

Regaining Eligibility:

Students whose federal aid has been suspended due to not meeting SAP requirements will regain federal aid eligibility for future semesters upon meeting SAP requirements.

Note that the satisfactory progress guidelines for NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) aid differ from the federal satisfactory academic progress criteria.

New York State's "standards of program pursuit" require you to earn specified numbers of credits toward your degree or certificate and minimum cumulative specified grade point averages in each semester.

Non-HEOP Students
(Receiving 1st TAP Award in 2010-2011 and thereafter)

HEOP Students
(Receiving 1st TAP Award in 2006-2007 and thereafter)

*Only students enrolled in the HEOP program are eligible for ten TAP payments.  The maximum number of payments for all other students is eight.

*Incompletes cannot be included unless they are resolved to a passing or failing grade by the end of the following term.  Failing grades are included in the number of courses completed per semester.  Only passing grades are included in the number of courses earned.

**Note: "W" grades will not satisfy this requirement.  Grades for repeated courses, for which students have already received credit (D- , D, D+, C-) are excluded when calculating the semester hours required for TAP eligibility.  Full time students repeating a course for which they have already received credit must carry 12 additional credit hours to be eligible for certification for TAP and other New York State programs.  All students who have applied and been found financially eligible for TAP will be certified by the College if they are registered full time as of the TAP Certification Date.  (See Academic Calendar for the Fall and Spring semester TAP certification dates.)

Note: Students placed on probation or part-time status by the Academic Standards Committee who do not meet the minimum guidelines above will be subject to lost or reduced financial aid eligibility.

Loss of Good Academic Standing: Students who lose good academic standing in a term when they receive a state grant or scholarship are not eligible for an award for the next term.

Reinstatement of Good Academic Standing: Students who have lost good academic standing may restore this standing in one of the following ways:

1. Make up past academic deficiencies by completing one or more terms of study without receiving any state grants or scholarships;
2. Transfer to another institution; or
3. Be granted a waiver.

One-time Waiver: NYS permits students to receive a one-time waiver of the good academic standing requirement as an undergraduate and a one-time waiver as a graduate student.  Note: Students are required to maintain a C-Average (2.0 cumulative GPA) after receiving the equivalent of two or more full years of NYS aid.  Waivers of the C-Average requirement are separate from the one-time waiver and may be granted more than once if circumstances warrant.

Students may be eligible to receive a waiver for state aid if one of the following extenuating circumstances has resulted in failure to meet the stated requirements:

1. Death of a relative
2. Personal injury/illness
3. Other extenuating circumstance if it directly resulted in your failure to meet the NYS requirements.

To be considered for a waiver, you must submit a written appeal to the Director of Financial Aid.  The Academic Standards Committee reviews all appeal requests and makes the final decision.  If the waiver is granted, your NYS awards will be reinstated for the semester; however, your academic progress must improve to meet the minimum requirements prior to the start of the following semester.

All scholarships and grants require full-time attendance.  Nazareth merit scholarships are determined at the time of acceptance.  Merit scholarship renewal eligibility is reviewed annually based on Nazareth cumulative GPA.  If the minimum requirement is not met, one semester of probation is granted.  After the probationary period, if the cumulative GPA remains below the requirement, the scholarship will be reduced by 20% of the value.  If, after subsequent semesters, the cumulative GPA requirement is met, you may request full reinstatement of the award for future semesters.  Waivers of this policy are not granted.  Need-based grant renewal is reviewed annually based on demonstrated financial need as determined by the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

With the exception of the merit scholarships listed below, you must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 for all other Nazareth University scholarships/grants.  In addition, Room Grants require residency in on-campus housing and program-based awards require continued enrollment in the academic programs for which the award was granted.

Note: Students placed on probation or part-time status by the Academic Standards Committee who do not meet the minimum guidelines above may be subject to lost or reduced financial aid eligibility.

Printed Version

Graduate Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (SAP)

Federal regulations require that schools monitor the academic progress of every student who is eligible for federal Title IV financial aid, which includes the TEACH Grant, Direct loan, Graduate PLUS loan and Work Study. 

Federal standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP) include aqualitative (GPA) measurement, a quantitative (PACE) measurement, and a maximum time frame measurement. If any one of the measures is not being met, the student is not making SAP.  SAP is measured and reviewed at the end of each payment period, specifically the end of fall semester, end of spring semester, and end of summer B - combining summer A and summer B courses.

Students who initially fail to meet either the GPA or PACE satisfactory academic progress requirement will be placed on financial aid warning; no action is required by the student.  Financial aid warning lasts for one payment period only, during which the student may continue to receive federal financial aid. Students who fail to meet the GPA and PACE satisfactory progress after the warning period will lose their federal aid eligibility unless they successfully appeal and are placed on financial aid probation, with or without an academic plan. (See appeal process described below).                                                                                    

Students who have reached the maximum time frame are no longer eligible for federal aid; they are not eligible for financial aid warning or financial aid probation. (See time frame appeal below)

Students will be notified, in writing, by the Nazareth University Financial Aid Office if they have been placed on financial aid warning or financial aid probation. 

Qualitative Standard (GPA):

Graduate students (full or part-time) are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.

• In addition to cumulative GPA requirements, graduate students in selected programs (e.g., Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology) will not meet SAP requirements if they do not meet specific departmental standards related to “C” grades earned and/or clinical performance. At the end of each payment period (as identified above), department chairpersons will notify Financial Aid of any student in this circumstance.

Exception: Doctorate of Physical Therapy students, specifically DPT.PT students in the fifth year of enrollment, will be considered as meeting Standards of Academic Progress if they receive an (S) - Satisfactory grade in each of the two clinical classes during the summer term. (These two clinical classes are only graded as (S) or (U) and therefore will not compute a GPA for this first summer of graduate work for DPT.PT students.)

Quantitative (Pace) Standard:

Graduate students must complete a minimum percentage of cumulative attempted credits, or PACE. PACE iscalculated by dividing the cumulative credit hours earned by the cumulative credit hours attempted.  Students must maintain a minimum pace of 66.667%.

Maximum Time Frame:

Graduate students must complete their degree requirements in five calendar years from the date of matriculation. Students will not be eligible for financial aid warning or financial aid probation if they have reached their maximum time frame. Appeals to the maximum time frame may be requested. Graduate students who matriculate into a different graduate program begin a new five-year academic year time frame only if the new program is in a different school (i.e., students moves from a graduate program within the Nazareth University School of Education into a graduate program within the Nazareth University College of Interprofessional Health and Human Services).

Program Completion:

Once the student completes all the academic requirements for their program, the student is considered to have completed the degree program and is no longer eligible for further federal aid for that program.

Academic Amnesty:

All academic coursework taken by a student in attendance at Nazareth College must be included in determining federal SAP. This federal SAP policy is exclusive of any Nazareth College academic policy related to re-admission and GPA calculation. Federal SAP regulations do not recognize any provision for academic amnesty or renewal.

Transfer Coursework:

All transfer credits (including consortium agreements and study abroad courses) accepted by Nazareth College are counted in both cumulative attempted credits and cumulative earned credits.  Grades earned in transfer credits are not included in the cumulative GPA.

Incomplete Coursework (I):

Formalized grades which are received and posted by the Registration & Records Office prior to the start of the next semester will be included in the federal SAP requirements review. The finalized grade will determine the cumulative credits earned and effect on the cumulative GPA. 

Formalized grades which are not received prior to the start of the next semester will be factored into the students SAP calculations at the time of the next formal SAP evaluation. The (I) grade that is not yet resolved is neither counted in the cumulative attempted credits nor cumulative credits earned nor counted in the cumulative GPA.

Incomplete coursework that is not resolved by the specified date on the student’s incomplete petition form will result in an (F) grade.  (See F grade treatment below)

Withdrawn Coursework (W):

Courses that are dropped during Add/Drop period will neither be counted as credits attempted nor credits earned nor counted in the cumulative GPA.

Withdrawn coursework that occurs after the Add/Drop period of the term will result in a (W) grade. Courses with a (W) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted. Zero credits are earned. The grade is not factored in the cumulative GPA calculation. 

An Immediate Leave of Absence taken after the first week of the semester (up through the 10^th week of the semester) will result in (W) grades.

Satisfactory (S), Unsatisfactory (U), (Pass/Fail) Coursework:

Courses with a Satisfactory (S) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted and cumulative credits earned. The grade will not be factored in the cumulative GPA.

Courses with an Unsatisfactory (U) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted. Zero credits are earned. The grade will not be factored in the cumulative GPA.

Audit (AU) Coursework:

Courses with an Audit (AU) grade are neither counted in the cumulative credits attempted nor cumulative credits earned nor factored in the cumulative GPA.

Failed Coursework (F):

Courses with a Failed (F) grade are counted in the cumulative credits attempted. Zero credits are earned. The grade will be factored in the cumulative GPA.

Repeated Coursework (R):

Graduate students are eligible to receive federal financial aid for repeating a class one time. If a student received a grade for the first attempted class, those credits will be counted in the cumulative credits attempted and earned. The credits for the repeated class will be counted as additional credits attempted only and zero credits earned.The second grade will replace the first grade in the calculation of the cumulative GPA

Financial Aid Warning:

As stated earlier, a student failing to meet SAP standards, at the time of review, will be placed on financial aid warning for one payment period.  The student will be eligible for federal aid during the financial aid warning period and no further action is required by the student.

A student that meets SAP standards at the end of the financial aid warning term is eligible for continued federal aid.

A student that does not meet SAP standards at the end of the financial aid warning term will not be eligible for federal aid in subsequent terms until SAP standards are met or the student successfully appeals and is placed on financial aid probation with or without an academic plan.

(Note: Federal financial aid that has already been awarded for the subsequent term will be revoked and removed if the SAP review indicates that the SAP standards are not being met.)

Financial Aid Appeal Process:

If, at the end of the financial aid warning term, a student is still not meeting SAP requirements, the student may submit an appeal based on extenuating circumstances.  Extenuating circumstances would be considered personal illness or injury, a death of a close relative, or other special circumstances.  The written appeal must be sent to the Financial Aid Office. The written appeal must explain why satisfactory progress was not met and what has changed that will allow the minimum standards to be met. The appeal must be submitted by the deadline provided to the student. Retroactive appeals are not permitted.

If the appeal is denied, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid in subsequent semesters until SAP standards are met.

Financial Aid Probation:

If the appeal is approved by the Federal SAP Committee, the student will be placed on financial aid probation, with or without an academic plan, and will be eligible for federal financial aid during the probationary period.

• If it is determined by the SAP Committee that the student should be able to achieve the SAP requirements by the end of the probation semester, the student will be placed on financial aid probation without an academic plan.  The student will be eligible for federal aid for the probation semester. 

• If it is determined by the SAP Committee that the student would benefit from an academic plan or may require more than one payment period to achieve SAP standards, the student will be placed on financial aid probation with an academic plan.  The individualized academic plan will be developed by the student’s academic advisor.  The student’s progress will be monitored at the end of each subsequent payment period by the Financial Aid Office to determine if the student is meeting the requirements specified in their academic plan.  If the student is meeting the requirements of their academic plan, the student will be eligible to receive federal aid for the next payment period. If the student fails to meet their academic plan requirements at the end of semester review, the student must appeal again to be eligible for Federal Aid. After a Financial Aid warning, student's seeking their graduate degree can have 1 approved probation lasting no longer than 2 semesters. 

Regaining Eligibility:

Students whose federal aid has been suspended due to not meeting SAP requirements will regain federal aid eligibility for future semesters upon meeting SAP requirements.

Any student enrolled in a Student Access and Achievement Program (HEOP, Excel, Young Scholars), who fails to meet institutional, federal, and/or state satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements toward degree completion and/or is limited to part-time enrollment and who loses institutional, federal and/or state funding (e.g. Pell, SEOG, Perkins, Direct Loans, NYS TAP, etc.) will not receive increased funding by the institution.

Students have the right to submit an appeal for federal and New York State funding based on extenuating circumstances.  Their appeal will be reviewed by the appropriate appeals committee.  Any student who is not granted an appeal by the committee will lose federal, and/or NY State aid and Nazareth University will not be responsible for providing institutional aid to supplement the costs of attendance.

All Nazareth University scholarships/grants require full-time enrollment.  Waivers and appeals of this policy are not granted.

For complete institutional/federal/state renewal requirements please refer to Financial Aid Renewal Requirements