Federal regulations require institutions of higher education to establish minimum standards of satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for students receiving Title IV federal aid. All college course work must be considered, regardless of whether the student received federal financial aid at the time.
Financial aid at University of Lynchburg is awarded to students for the entire academic year or summer session. If an aid recipient’s grade point average falls below the minimum standards during the award year, the recipient will be placed on financial aid warning for the subsequent semester or school term. If a student on warning fails to meet the standards of satisfactory academic progress outlined below, the student will be ineligible for financial aid for the subsequent enrollment period and will not receive consideration for aid again until the standards have been met. A student may attend summer school to meet the standards of satisfactory academic progress to regain eligibility. The student should notify the Office of Financial Aid when standards for satisfactory academic progress have been met.
The standards for determining progress at University of Lynchburg are composed of three separate measurements. These measurements are: grade point average (qualitative), incremental progress (quantitative), and accumulated hours (maximum timeframe). A student whose average drops below the minimum requirement will be placed on financial aid warning for the subsequent semester.
GPA requirements for financial aid recipients | |
---|---|
Undergraduate Hours Earned | Minimum Required Cumulative GPA (4.0 scale) |
0-18 | 1.00 |
19-36 | 1.60 |
37-54 | 1.70 |
55-72 | 1.80 |
73-90 | 1.90 |
90+ | 2.00 |
Graduate/Advanced Degree Student | 3.00 |
Incremental Progress
University of Lynchburg students must complete at least 67% of all hours attempted towards graduation. * Repeated courses and courses with a grade of W, F, I, IP, NG or E will count as attempted coursework and not as completed coursework. This should be kept in mind when planning a schedule to assure completion in enough credit hours to be considered making incremental progress. Students repeating a course, previously passed may do so only once. A course repeated more than once will not be included when determining enrollment status.
* A grade of S/NC or Z will not be counted in attempted coursework; they are not eligible for financial aid.
Accumulated Hours
Students that receive financial aid at University of Lynchburg are allowed up to 150% of the published credit hours needed to graduate in their program. For example, if the chosen program requires 124 credits to graduate, the student must complete their degree within 186 attempted hours. For example a graduate program that requires 60 hours is allowed up to 90 credits to graduate.
Review Process
If after the warning period, a student is denied financial aid for failure to meet any of the above standards for satisfactory academic progress, the student may request an appeal of the decision. Such a request must be caused by one of the following reasons:
- the death of a relative of the student;
- an injury or illness of the student; or
- other special circumstances
If the appeal is approved, a student will receive financial aid on a probationary status and an academic plan may be required. At the end of the semester, the student will be evaluated according to the SAP Policy to determine if financial aid will be awarded for the next semester.
Please make your appeal request in writing and it should be addressed to the Financial Aid Review Committee, c/o University of Lynchburg, Office of Financial Aid, 1501 Lakeside Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24501.
If you have questions, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at 434.544.8228.
Revised 2/2016