Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress
Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to remain eligible to continue as regularly enrolled students of the university and to remain eligible for Title IV/HEA funding. (Title IV/HEA is federal student financial aid, such as Pell Grants and federal direct loans.)
The University enforces SAP requirements in compliance with the U.S. Department of Education requirements, but also to serve as a guide in determining whether or not Neumont is the right educational program for a student at the time.
All students, whether or not they receive Title IV/HEA funding, are subject to the SAP standards outlined in this catalog. SAP is measured for all students at the end of each academic quarter. Satisfactory Academic Progress is determined by measuring the student’s cumulative grade point average (cGPA) and the student’s pace toward completion of their academic program.
If a student fails to meet the required standards of SAP, which are outlined in the SAP tables included in this section, he or she is placed on Financial Aid Warning (“Warning”) or Financial Aid Probation (“Probation”). Students enrolled in all education levels (undergraduate and graduate) are subject to SAP standards as outlined in the SAP tables.
The elements of Satisfactory Academic Progress are as follows:
- Cumulative grade point average
- Pace (rate of progress), including maximum time frame
Neumont University uses progressive cGPA and pace standards. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in their first three quarters have lower cGPA and Pace requirements than students in their fourth quarter or later. This system gives students time to adjust to the rigors of college or a graduate program.
For information on how a student’s cGPA and pace of completion are affected by course incompletes, withdrawals, retakes/repetitions, or transfers of credit from other institutions, see the Grading System and Progress Reports unit in the Academic Information section of the Course Catalog.
In some cases, the number of credits a student must take to meet SAP in a Warning or Probation quarter is so large that the course load may be unmanageable. In these cases, it may not be in the best interest of the student to register for a course load they are unlikely to successfully manage. These students may be encouraged to register for a credit load that is below what is necessary to meet SAP, and pursue a two-quarter path to meeting SAP standards; a notation is then made in the student’s academic plan.
If the student earns a Warning/Probation term GPA of 2.67 or better and passes 80% of the credits they attempt they are eligible for a quarter of Probation (to follow a Warning or Probation quarter).