SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID RECIPIENTS

All students at The University of Alabama who receive federal financial aid must make satisfactory progress toward completion of their degrees within a reasonable period of time. The University’s standing committee on financial aid has approved the following standards defining satisfactory progress, in accordance with regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Education:

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

An undergraduate student is considered to be making satisfactory progress if he or she

• is admitted and enrolled as a degree-seeking student
• meets the minimum scholastic measures required for financial aid recipients
• maintains measurable progress toward the completion of the degree
• completes degree requirements within a reasonable length of time

Minimum scholastic requirements. In order to maintain the minimum scholastic requirements, the student must maintain the minimum GPA indicated below according to the number of credit hours earned (including transfer credit).

Credit hours earned	Required UA GPA
0–30	1.5
31–60	1.7
61–90	1.9
91 or more	2.0

Measurable progress requirement. In order to maintain measurable progress toward the completion of their degrees, students must successful¬ly complete 67 percent of all University of Alabama credit hours attempted. (Hours attempted include repeated courses, dropped courses, withdrawals, and incomplete courses.) This measure becomes effective when a student has attempted 24 University of Alabama credit hours.

• Example A: If you attempted 32 credit hours and successfully completed 26 of those hours, dropped 3 hours, and failed 3 hours, your completion rate would be as follows:

26 completed hours ÷ 32 attempted hours = 81.2% completion rate

You meet the measurable progress component of this requirement.

• Example B: If you attempted 32 credit hours and successfully completed only 20 of those hours, and either dropped, failed, repeated, received incompletes for, or withdrew from the other 12, your completion rate would be as follows:

20 completed hours ÷ 32 attempted hours = 62.5% completion rate

You do not meet the measurable progress component of this requirement and, therefore, are not eligible for financial aid.

Reasonable length of time requirement. At The University of Alabama, a reasonable length of time for the completion of a degree program is generally defined as no more than 150 percent of the normal time required to complete a degree program. Coursework that transfers into a degree program will adjust the time frame accordingly.

• Example A: If your degree requires that you complete 120 credit hours, your reasonable length of time will be as follows:

120 credit hours x 150% = 180

You will be within your reasonable length of time during your first 180 hours of attempted coursework.

• Example B: If your degree requires that you complete 120 credit hours and you have transferred 54 credit hours, your reasonable length of time will be as follows:

120 credit hours – 54 transfer hours = 66 x 150% = 99

You will be within your reasonable length of time during your first 99 hours of coursework attempted at The University of Alabama.

A student who is working toward a degree level he or she has already completed or exceeded (i.e., second bachelor’s degree) will have his or her reasonable length of time established at no more than 67 percent of the normal length of the program minus any coursework that transfers into the program.

• Second bachelor’s degree example: If your new bachelor’s degree requires 120 credit hours and your dean counts 98 hours from your first degree toward your second degree, your reasonable length of time will be as follows:

120 credit hours – 98 previous hours = 22

You will be within your reasonable length of time during your first 22 hours of coursework attempted on your second degree.

REINSTATEMENT OF FINANCIAL AID ACADEMIC ELIGIBILITY AND APPEALS OF DECISIONS

A student who becomes ineligible for financial aid because he or she does not maintain satisfactory progress toward completion of his or her degree may reapply for financial aid when he or she has cleared the deficiency and is again progressing satisfactorily according to the requirements outlined above. When mitigating circumstances are involved, a student may appeal a decision that he or she has not complied with the academic requirements for financial aid.

In order to appeal, the student must do the following:

• Make an appointment with an academic advisor to establish a personal academic plan for success
• Visit the Center for Teaching and Learning to document resources to be used in the academic plan for success if you did not meet the minimum scholastic requirement.
• Write a letter of appeal to Student Financial Aid requesting reinstatement—explaining the reason(s) why satisfactory progress is not being made and providing a copy of the academic plan for success and any documentation that supports the rationale for the appeal, including strategies discussed with the CTL—if applicable.
• Submit the letter of appeal to Student Financial Aid with the supporting documentation mentioned above.

The appeal will be reviewed by an appeal board and a decision made within two weeks. Appeals may be accepted without provision, or they may be accepted provisionally, entailing a probationary period in which the student must earn a given number of credit hours. Appeals may also be denied. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate any appeal for financial aid eligibility. Appeals for academic reinstatement granted by the University registrar or the Office of Undergraduate Admissions do not constitute reinstatement of financial aid eligibility.

WITHDRAWAL FROM THE UNIVERSITY

For information about withdrawing from courses or from the University, and the impact of withdrawal on federal financial aid, see the sections “Student Records and General Academic Policies” and “Tuition and Other Expenses” of this catalog.