Academic progress is considered satisfactory when a student passes a class. Generally, this means that a student receives the grade of A, B, C or D. Students who fail a class with an F or withdrawal, or receive an incomplete, cannot count that class toward their satisfactory academic progress report.
Colleges require that a student completes a certain number of credits to remain eligible for state and federal student aid. Students should have received 24 passing credits the year before. Also, students are allowed to attempt 180 credits for their initial Bachelor’s degree. If students exceed the 180 credits, they will not be eligible for financial aid. If a student decides to change his major, for instance, he might find that he’s nearing the 180-credit limit. These students can file an appeal to attempt to continue receiving financial aid. Financial aid allows for a specific number of semesters or quarters of aid for the first degree, and then a possibility of further aid with a Master’s degree. For postgraduate work, financial aid is available for the first attempted 75 credits. Most financial aid is available for full-time students, which means that undergraduate students should be taking 12 credit hours per semester, and graduate students need to take six credits a semester.
Most schools require students to maintain at least a 2.0 on a 4.0 grade point scale. A student’s grade point average is measured at the conclusion of the previous school year. For instance, the student’s grade point average for the spring semester in 2010 would count for eligibility in the 2010 to 2011 school year. If students don’t meet the satisfactory academic progress requirements, their financial aid is put on hold, and will be cancelled. Some students, though, might consider claiming mitigating circumstances and go through an appeal process.
Students working on a Master’s degree could have different grade point average requirements. For instance, California State University requires a 3.0 of its graduate students.