Student Financial Services announced changes, effective immediately, that will be made to their Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards, which determines a student's eligibility for financial aid. Students were alerted in an e-mail sent Friday.
According to Yvonne Hubbard, director of Student Financial Services, the two main adjustments include a year-long "probation" period for students who fall below the minimum GPA or credit hour requirements, and a new policy by which all University students, whether they are receiving financial aid or not, will be notified when they are no longer meeting the requirements, Hubbard said.
"All students have to be notified if they are not meeting that standard because, for example, if they are not receiving financial aid now but wanted to receive it next year, they would have still had to meet that standard," Hubbard said.
The introduction of the probationary year addresses the fact that previously, a student who fell below the academic requirements necessary to receive aid would have a summer term to bring up his or her GPA or number of total credit hours, Hubbard explained.
Melvin Miller, associate director for Student Financial Services, said the new probation period will allow a student to have one full academic year to make the needed progress, which he says he believes is more supportive and student-sensitive.
The Financial Services Office slightly altered its minimum GPA and credit hour requirements to align their policies with the standards set by each school within the University, Miller said.
Miller said the Department of Education requires that the Student Financial Services' policy towards academic requirements be as strong as, if not stronger than, the minimum standards required under the University's policy.
"Our policy was much more lenient than the school's policy, so we wanted to bring our GPA requirement up to speed with the University's requirement," Miller said.
For example, Miller pointed out that the University requires a minimum GPA of 2.0 to complete a study program, so the Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards will now require a fourth year to hold a 2.0 GPA to be eligible for financial aid.
Miller said the process is underway to send courtesy e-mails to all University students alerting them of these policy changes, which are taking effect this semester. In May, the Financial Services Office will contact all students not meeting the GPA or credit hour requirements, and in August, those students unable to improve their academic standing through summer school will receive notice that they have one year to bring up their GPA or number of completed credit hours in order to be eligible for financial aid, Miller added.
"I don't think we're going to have any students who find challenge with any of the changes we've made," Miller said. "And if they do, we have some other options in place to help them."
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