Federal regulations require that schools monitor the academic progress of each applicant for federal financial assistance and that the school certify that the applicant is making satisfactory academic progress toward earning his/her degree. This determination of progress must be made after each term and before the financial aid office disburses any federal aid funds for the subsequent semester.
Students who are aware of learning or other disabilities should immediately contact the Office of Disability Services so that appropriate accomodations can be made. A student with a documented disability and functional limitations is still held to the same academic expectations as other students. If the student is registered with the Office of Disability Services and receiving appropriate accomodations, the student should be able to maintain satisfactory academic progress for financial aid eligibility purposes.
Pursuant to Federal regulations, the following constitutes Loyola's policy on satisfactory academic progress for undergraduate students.
The majority of undergraduate programs require 120 hours for graduation. The maximum time frame for students in these programs is 180 attempted hours (120 x 1.5=180). Students whose programs require more than 120 hours for a degree will have a higher limit.
Grades of "W" are counted as courses attempted and count toward the maximum time frame. Transfer credits accepted for the student's academic program or degree are counted when measuring the maximum time frame to complete the degree or program. Loyola University New Orleans does not accept fo credit any transfer grades lower than "C".
The Office of Scholarships and Financial
Aid must count all prior credit hours attempted for determining the eligibility
for federal aid programs of students readmitted through the university's "academic amnesty" program.
Repeat and Delete Policy :
The university recognized the fact that many students were under a great deal of stress during the Spring I 2006 and Spring II 2006 semesters. The administration has approved a repeat and delete policy for failing grades that were received during those semesters. If these courses are repeated and successfully passed, the effect of the failing grade from these two semesters will be removed from your record. Note - the course and grade will still appear on your transcript, but will not average into your grade point average. Loyola's normal policy would be to average all coursework. The deadline for this exception is 2010 Spring.
Satisfactory Progress Definition
For a student to be considered as progressing normally, the student's ratio
of earned hours to scheduled hours must be no less than as shown on the
following table:
Scheduled hours are those hours for which students were still officially
registered at the conclusion of each semester's Add/Drop period.
When total scheduled hours are:
Earned Hours must be at least:
The qualitative standards for making progress will not normally be monitored by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, but by the several deans in accordance with the policies of each college. However, in accordance with federal regulations after the second calendar year of enrollment in a post-secondary educational program, the student must have at least a 2.0 cumulative g.p.a. to be considered making satisfactory progress. Students who do not meet this test will be ineligible to participate in federal financial aid programs until this deficiency is corrected.
Grade Changes:
Students must resolve all incomplete grades BEFORE the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid can make a final determination that they meet the satisfactory academic progress guidelines. Students must report any grade changes that impact their aid eligibility directly to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. Grade changes must be submitted to the Student Records Office by October 15 for fall semester aid applicants and by March 15 for spring semester aid applicants.
Procedures:
Each aid recipient's record will be evaluated at the end of the spring semester to determine that the student is meeting the standards described above. If the student has reached the maximum number of scheduled hours without earning the degree, the student must be excluded from further participation in federal financial aid programs.Federal regulations require that these standards apply to all students,even to first-time aid applicants who have previously enrolled at Loyola, or to those who have not been formally placed on probation.
Financial Aid Probation If the student has not reached the maximum number of scheduled hours and it is determined that the student has fallen below the completion ratio standards for satisfactory progress, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and notified that his/her continued eligibility for federal financial aid assistance is in jeopardy. Students who fail to maintain the required minimum GPA will also be placed on financial aid probation. Students will normally be allowed only one probationary semester during their academic program.
Students on financial aid probation will receive a separate letter that will outline the academic requirements the student must meet in order to receive aid for following semester.If the student on financial aid probation meets the terms of the probation, he/she will be permitted to continue to participate in the federal student aid programs for a subsequent semester. Students who have been placed on probation shall be considered to be making satisfactory academic progress for the purposes of receiving financial aid as long as the student continues to meet the academic requirements outlined in their probationary letter.
The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid will review the records of students who are on financial aid probation at the end of each semester.
If the student does not meet the terms of the probation, the student will forfeit eligibility for all federal financial aid programs.
Loss of eligibility due to lack of satisfactory progress:
A student who has lost eligibility to participate in federal student
aid programs for reasons of academic progress can regain that eligibility
only by enrolling at Loyola at his/her own expense and demonstrating that
he/she is capable of completing a semester without any failures, incompletes
or withdrawals and showing the ability to complete his degree requirements
in a more regular fashion. The mere passage of time will not ordinarily
restore eligibility to a student who has lost eligibility for failure to
make satisfactory progress.
If you do not have grounds for an appeal, or if your appeal is denied, you may still be able to regain your eligibility for future semesters. This is done by enrolling at Loyola at our own expense -- without financial assistance -- and negotiating a contract with the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, in advance, for the conditions under which eligibility may be restored.
Updated: October 10, 2008