Satisfactory Academic Progress
* The information stated below is subject to change.
The United States Department of Education, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, and Ball State University require that students applying for federal, state, and some institutional funds demonstrate satisfactory academic progress. The programs at Ball State University affected by the satisfactory academic progress policy include:
Graduate or undergraduate students receiving aid from or intending to apply for aid from any of these programs must demonstrate satisfactory academic progress or face denial of aid from these sources.
Continuing or returning students applying for aid from these programs for the first time must have demonstrated earlier progress in order to receive aid. Satisfactory academic progress is checked each semester. No financial assistance, including Stafford Loans and PLUS Loans, will be reinstated for prior terms in which the student was not in compliance with this policy. Academic clemency does not apply to financial aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Satisfactory academic progress for financial aid is defined as
(a) maintaining a grade point average consistent with university graduation requirements,
(b) staying on pace to graduate, and
(c) completing a degree within a maximum time frame.
A student failing to maintain any one of the three progress measures cannot receive aid from financial aid programs subject to Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Students can check their academic progress in Banner Self-Service at http://my.bsu.edu. After entering login information, select the SSB-Self Service Banner link. Once in SSB, select Financial Aid, then Eligibility and then the Academic Progress tab.
Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirement
A student’s grade point average must meet or exceed the university academic progress policy (see full policy). Students will be notified by the Office of Registration and Academic Progress if they are placed on probation or denial for failing to maintain the GPA requirements. Students placed on probation have an opportunity to improve the GPA. Failure to do so in the required timeframe will result in disqualification from the university. Disqualified students are not eligible for financial aid. Even if the student is reinstated by the Office of Registration and Academic Progress through an appeal, students are not automatically eligible for financial aid. Students can complete a separate appeal for financial aid, but there is no assurance the appeal will be approved simply because the student is allowed to re-enroll. See Appeal Procedures below for more information on appealing your denial of financial aid.
Pace to Graduation Requirement
A student is required to earn 67% of cumulative hours attempted to stay on pace to graduate. Pace is calculated by dividing cumulative hours earned by cumulative hours attempted. Pace is measured at the end of each semester. Students who do not meet the pace requirement at the end of each semester will be placed on financial aid warning for the following semester. After the warning semester, students will need to have regained pace (earning 67% of cumulative hours attempted) or financial aid will be denied.
PLEASE NOTE: Students who receive grades of incompletes because of studying abroad, independent learning courses or for other reasons may fall below the 67% pace requirement. As a result, they may lose their financial aid eligibility until grades have been earned for those courses.
Example 1: A student enrolled for 12 hours his first semester of attendance but earned only 6 hours and had a GPA consistent with university graduation requirements. Although the necessary GPA has been met, pace was not maintained (6 cumulative hours earned divided by 12 cumulative hours attempted equals 50%). This student would be placed on financial aid warning the following semester.
Example 2: The above student enrolled for and completed 14 hours during the warning semester with a GPA consistent with university graduation requirements. This student is now off financial aid warning because the student regained pace (20 cumulative hours earned divided by 26 cumulative hours attempted equals 76%).
Example 3: A student who just finished the warning semester has a pace of 65% and a GPA consistent with university graduation requirements. This student would not be eligible for financial aid because pace is not at 67%.
Maximum Timeframe Requirement
Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree or associate’s degree are expected to complete degree requirements within a maximum time frame based on attempted hours (including transfer hours and advanced standing hours). Students will be ineligible for financial aid once they reach their maximum time frame or it has been determined they cannot complete their degree within this time frame. This time frame is 180 attempted hours for students seeking a bachelor's degree and 90 attempted hours for students seeking an associate’s degree. Therefore, eligibility for aid from sources listed previously is limited to the same time frames. Exceptions: Indiana Frank O’Bannon Grant, Indiana National Guard Supplement and Indiana Twenty-First Century Scholars Award are limited to eight semesters for students who are working on a bachelor’s degree. The Indiana Child of Veteran and Public Safety Officer Supplemental Grant is limited to 124 attempted hours. Graduate students need to complete their degree within the time frame specified by their academic department.
Students enrolled in a second undergraduate degree program who have reached their maximum time frame will need to appeal. If an appeal is granted, only the hours required to earn the second degree will be used in extending the maximum time frame.
Other Important Considerations
Incompletes (“I” grades) will not count toward progress until such time as the grade and hours earned are posted. At that time, hours completed will count for the period of original registration. If you are denied financial aid due to not maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress, you may not receive aid retroactively for the term(s) you are attending while finishing the incomplete. You will need to contact The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid when the final grade is posted by the Registrar's Office.
Grade Changes need to be reported by the student to The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid once the grade has been posted by the Registrar's Office.
Withdrawals (“W” grades) will not count toward progress and as a result, will negatively affect a student’s pace, as well as count against the maximum time frame.
Course Repetitions will count toward progress without penalty but will not extend the maximum time frame established for undergraduate students.
Add/Drop hours are locked in at the end of the add/drop period for purposes of satisfactory academic progress. The add/drop period for the Fall, Spring, and Summer Semester ends the fifth day of the semester. The add/drop period for First Summer Semester and Second Summer Semester ends the third day of the semester.
Transfer and Advanced Standing Hours will count toward both earned and attempted hours. Attempted hours are used in calculating the maximum time frame.
Periods of Enrollment with no Financial Aid -- Satisfactory Academic Progress is a measurement of a student’s academic progress regardless of whether or not aid was received in a particular enrollment period.
Denial Policy
Students who are denied financial aid due to GPA and/or pace can regain their financial aid eligibility once they have raised their GPA to be consistent with university graduation requirements and/or have earned hours to put them back on pace to graduate (earned 67% of cumulative hours attempted). Students can also regain their financial aid eligibility through the appeal process explained below.
Students who have reached their maximum time frame can only become eligible for financial aid again if they have an appeal granted.
Students who were academically dismissed from the university and have been reinstated by the Registrar’s Office are still ineligible for financial aid and must submit an appeal to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.
Appeal Procedure
Students who are denied financial aid may appeal if they have documented extenuating circumstances such as an illness, a death in the family or other personal and family difficulties. If an appeal is granted, the student is put on a probationary status for one semester. The student has this one semester to raise the GPA to be consistent with university graduation requirements and/or to be back on pace to graduate. An appeal is not likely to be approved if it is not mathematically possible for the student to regain eligibility in this probationary semester. However, in instances where a student has extreme circumstances and the student cannot regain eligibility in one semester, the student’s academic advisor must submit an academic plan that includes the courses the student needs to graduate or to regain eligibility requirements. The plan must include the number of credit hours for each course, the semester in which the course is to be taken and the student’s expected graduation date. If the appeal is approved, progress will be measured each semester to ensure continued compliance with the plan. Failure to meet the plan requirements will result in a denial of financial aid.
Receipt of aid is contingent upon funds being available at the time of the request for reinstatement of aid. To file an appeal, complete the “Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal” and submit it to our office. The priority date for fall semester appeals to be submitted is July 1. The priority date for spring semester appeals to be submitted is November 15.