Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

Federal Financial Aid regulations require that all financial aid recipients progress at a reasonable rate toward achieving a degree or certificate. Corban University uses the same policy in regard to its institutional aid. Progress is measured by: (1) the student’s cumulative grade point average, (2) pace of progression (the number of earned credits in relation to attempted credits), and (3) the maximum time frame allowed to complete the academic program. These requirements apply to all semesters regardless of whether or not the student received financial aid. Progress is reviewed at the end of each semester.

  1. Cumulative Grade Point Average: Undergraduate students who drop below a 2.00 cumulative GPA do not meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Graduate students who drop below a 3.00 cumulative GPA do not meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Effective Summer of 2023, the semester GPA requirement was removed. Students may receive further communication from Financial Aid Office if their semester GPA falls below 2.0 GPA.
  2. Pace of Progression: Students who fail to complete the required 67% of cumulative credits attempted do not meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress.
  3. Maximum Time Frame: Students must complete their degree within 150% of the published program length. Program length is based on the number of credits required for a degree. Students are no longer eligible to receive financial aid if it becomes mathematically impossible to complete their degree with 150% of the credits required for their program.

Students who do not meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) at the end of a semester will automatically be placed on Financial Aid Warning for the following semester. Financial aid may still be received during the warning semester. At the end of the warning semester the student must have achieved satisfactory academic progress, or they will lose all eligibility for financial aid. The loss of financial aid eligibility may be appealed; appeals that are approved will result in one semester of Financial Aid Probation or the approval of an Academic Plan which may cover a longer period so student can attain satisfactory academic progress at a measurable point in the future (ex: two semesters). The Academic Plan should be created by the student and his/her academic advisor and/or the Student Success department. Refer to the Academic Plan template and samples for guidance on constructing this plan. The Financial Aid Office will need to approve the Academic Plan. Please see more information about these standings below. Notification of SAP standings will be communicated to the students to their Corban e-mail account.

Financial Aid Probation: Students may receive financial aid during the semester they are on probation. If the student has met SAP at the completion of that semester, the financial aid probation will be removed. Failure to meet SAP standards at the end of a probation semester will result in Loss of Eligibility.

Loss of Eligibility: Students lose eligibility for all federal, state and institutional aid, including grants, scholarships, loans and work-study. Donors or administrators of private outside scholarships often request to be notified of the student’s SAP standing as a condition of their award. Private student loan lenders may allow a student who is not meeting SAP standards to receive those specific funds. If a student successfully completes a termination semester without receiving financial aid and meets the SAP standards, the student will then regain financial aid eligibility. Loss of Eligibility may be appealed; appeals that are approved will result in one semester of Financial Aid Probation or the approval of an Academic Plan which may cover a longer period so student can attain satisfactory academic progress at a measurable point in the future (ex: two semesters).

Financial Aid Appeals: Students notified that they have not met SAP standards can appeal the loss of financial aid eligibility. The appeal must be made in writing and accompanied by supporting documentation. Appeals must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office within 7 calendar days of the date on the notification letter. However, appeals received prior to the first week of the term will be considered for that term. The appeal must include the following information:

  1. Student’s full name
  2. Statement detailing the reason(s) for not meeting satisfactory academic progress standards.
  3. Explanation of what has changed so satisfactory academic progress standards will be met in the future and what plan is in place to ensure success.

The Director of Financial Aid and an appeals committee will review student appeals. Appeal approval will result in one semester of Financial Aid Probation and/or the creation of an Academic Plan. The appeal decision is final and cannot be appealed to another individual, group or U.S. Department of Education.

Financial Aid Probation: Appeals that are granted Financial Aid Probation allow the student to receive financial aid for one semester. The student may be subject to course and/or credit limitations during the probationary semester. A student not meeting SAP standards at the end of a probation semester will be placed on Financial Aid Termination. The student has the right to appeal again, but the appeal becomes less likely to be approved with each occurrence.

Academic Plan: For appeals approved when it is not possible for a student to meet SAP standards after one semester, the student will be required to submit an Academic Plan to be allowed more than one semester of Financial Aid Probation to reach SAP standards. The academic plan will specify a number of semesters the student has to meet Corban’s SAP standards, academic support measures the student will take during this time and academic progress measurements for each semester of the academic plan. Students on an Academic Plan will have their progress reviewed each semester. Those failing to maintain the terms of their Academic Plan will be placed back on Financial Aid Termination. At the end of an Academic Plan, the student will have regained SAP standards and will be removed from Financial Aid Probation.

Repeated Courses: Courses in which the student received a grade of “F” may be repeated and may be eligible for financial aid. Other courses in which the student received a passing grade may be repeated once and may be eligible for financial aid. When a course with a passing grade has been repeated, subsequent repeats of the course will be excluded from the total number of credits for the semester when determining financial aid eligibility. Credits attempted in repeated courses will be included in the cumulative credits attempted and GPA for SAP determination.

Withdrawn Courses: Withdrawn courses count towards the cumulative credits attempted for SAP determination. Students may retake courses from which they have withdrawn. When retaken, these courses will be included in the total number of credits for the semester and cumulative GPA for SAP determination.

Incomplete Courses: Courses assigned an incomplete grade are included in the cumulative credits attempted and in the maximum timeframe for SAP determination. These credits cannot be counted as earned credits until a final grade is assigned. At that time, they will also be included in the GPA calculation. Audit Courses: Audit courses receive no credit and do not influence grade point average. They are not counted in credits attempted and are not eligible for financial aid.

Remedial Courses: Remedial courses will be included in the total number of credits for the semester when determining financial aid eligibility and SAP standing. Pass/Fail courses are not calculated in the cumulative GPA but will be included in credits attempted for SAP determination.

Transfer Students: Transfer credits are calculated into the credits attempted for SAP determination but are not factored into the cumulative GPA. Any transfer credits accepted into a student’s educational program will count as both attempted and completed credits when determining a student’s pace of progression.

Summer Semester: Students enrolled in the summer semester will have SAP evaluated again at the end of the semester.

Readmitted Students: If a student is placed on financial aid warning or loses financial aid eligibility and does not return the following semester, they will remain in the same SAP standing if they return at a later date. When a student withdraws or is dismissed from Corban University and is later readmitted, the credits attempted and completed prior to the withdrawal/dismissal will be included when the student’s SAP standing is evaluated.

NWCCU ACCREDITATION

Corban University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU) and completed a Year-Seven Comprehensive (Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness (EIE)) in 2022 for continued accreditation. The comprehensive self-study was followed by an onsite evaluation in October 2022. In February 2023, Corban received reaffirmation of its accreditation for 7 years. Corban University’s last Mid-Cycle Evaluation was fall 2018, and its Policies, Regulations and Financial Review (PRFR) was completed in fall 2021. As of our most recent evaluation, Corban University is compliant with the Standards, Policies, and Eligibility Requirements of the NWCCU.