Monitoring the Minimum SAP Requirements

At the end of each semester (including summer), the registrar and Student Financial Services review the student’s record to determine whether the student is meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. Academic/Financial Aid action notices are distributed after final grades are reported for the semester, and students are notified via a student's Rochester Christian University email address if an Academic/Financial Aid action has been taken. Incomplete grades are included in the review at the end of each semester and are not re-evaluated until the next SAP review period.

Academic/Financial Aid Actions for All Students

1. Academic/Financial Aid Warning: All students who fall below the SAP standards during a given semester are placed on Academic/Financial Aid Warning for the following semester. Undergraduate students on Academic/Financial Aid Warning cannot take more than 13 credit hours and are limited to no more than 7 RCU Online hours in any session. Students are encouraged to spend an average of two hours per week in the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE lab), Rochester Christian University’s academic support and resource center, working with an ACE tutor on designated assignments. Graduate students on Academic/Financial Aid Warning cannot take more than 9 credit hours in a semester. To clear all academic/ financial aid actions, students must meet all three SAP requirements. Students on Academic/Financial Aid Warning are eligible for financial aid.
2. Academic/Financial Aid Suspension: Students who do not meet the minimum SAP standards the semester after being placed on Academic/Financial Aid Warning or students who do not adhere to the Probation Plan set for them by their academic adviser the semester after being placed on Academic/Financial Aid Probation are placed on Academic/Financial Aid Suspension. Students placed on Academic/Financial Aid Suspension who believe that they have faced extraordinary circumstances may appeal to the SAP Appeals Committee. An SAP Appeal Self-Assessment form must be submitted to the SAP Appeals Committee by the deadline outlined in the student's SAP letter. Appeals submitted after the deadline will be considered for the following semester. If a student does not appeal or appeals and is denied, the student may take classes at their own expense at Rochester Christian University or at another regionally accredited institution and may appeal again after the suspension semester is completed. If the student does not enroll in courses while on suspension after a suspension appeal is denied, they must wait a full calendar year before appealing again and must complete a re-enrollment application. Students who are on Academic/Financial Aid Suspension may enroll for up to 6 hours of credits during the suspension semester or 3 RCU Online  credits per session; however, they are not eligible for financial aid from federal/state or university sources.
3. Academic/Financial Aid Probation: Students who do not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards the semester after being placed on Academic/Financial Aid Warning will be placed on Academic/Financial Aid Suspension. However, the student may appeal this placement and, if successful in the appeal, be granted Academic/Financial Aid Probation if it is determined that SAP standards can be met after one semester. An SAP Appeal Self-Assessment form must be submitted to the SAP Appeals Committee by the deadline outlined in the student's SAP letter. Appeals submitted after the deadline will be considered in the following semester. If a student appeals and is denied, the student may appeal again after a full calendar year and must complete a re-enrollment application. Undergraduate students who are granted Academic/Financial Aid Probation cannot take more than 13 credit hours and are limited to no more than 7 RCU Online  hours in any session. Students on probation are encouraged to spend an average of two hours per week in the ACE lab working with an ACE tutor on designated assignments. Graduate students on Academic/Financial Aid Probation cannot take more than 9 credit hours in a semester. Students on Academic/Financial Aid Probation have one semester to return to good standing. To clear all Academic/ Financial Aid actions, students must meet all three SAP requirements. Students on Academic/ Financial Aid Probation are eligible for financial aid. If a student with an approved appeal does not enroll for the subsequent semester for which the Academic/Financial Aid Probation status is effective, the student will remain on Academic/Financial Aid Probation and the academic plan will be re-evaluated at the point of return.
4. Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan: Students who are placed on Academic/Financial Aid Suspension and successfully appeal but cannot reasonably return to good standing in one semester may be placed on a Probation Plan. Students who are granted Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan cannot take more than 13 credit hours and are limited to no more than 7 RCU Online hours in any session. Students on a Probation Plan are encouraged to spend an average of two hours per week in the ACE lab working with an ACE tutor on designated assignments. Graduate students on Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan cannot take more than 9 credit hours in a semester. Students must also develop a Probation Plan with an academic adviser charting their course to success that includes semester GPA goals and the number of credits enrolled. To clear all Academic/Financial Aid actions, students must meet all three SAP requirements. Students on Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan are eligible for financial aid. If a student with an approved appeal does not enroll for the subsequent semester for which the Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan status is effective, the student will remain on Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan and the probation plan will be re-evaluated at the point of return.

Students may remain on SAP action for four consecutive semesters. Academic Dismissal occurs at the end of the fourth semester if the CGPA is still below 2.00 for undergraduate students or 3.00 for graduate students. Students whose CGPA at the end of any semester is below 1.00 (D average) may be dismissed immediately and unable to re-enroll for a full calendar year. For details, see Dismissal

Academic/Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Process

To be placed on Academic/Financial Aid Probation or Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan, rather than Academic/Financial Aid Suspension, a student must complete an SAP Appeal Self-Assessment Form. In the student’s SAP letter, the student will receive an outline of how to appeal the assigned academic action, a link to complete an appeal form, and a deadline for the appeal to be considered after any semester end date in which the student is placed on academic action.  Student appeals are reviewed on the basis of injury, illness, death of a relative or other special circumstances.  If the appeal is approved and the student is determined to be able to meet SAP standards by the end of the subsequent payment period, the student will be placed on Academic/Financial Aid Probation without the need for an academic plan. If the appeal is approved and it is determined that the student will need more than one semester to meet SAP standards, the student will be placed on Academic/Financial Aid Probation Plan. The probation status and, if required, the probation plan is reviewed after each semester. All appeals are reviewed and approved/denied by the SAP Appeals Committee.

The appeal form that the student will submit to request an appeal for the assigned academic action includes the following required submissions:

• Term requesting appeal
• Category or Categories of SAP in which the student did meet the standard (GPA, CCR, 150% duration)
• Obstacles and/or special circumstances the student believes prevented them from meeting the standards
• Support resources used by the student
• Plan of action and explanation of what has changed in the student’s situation that will lead to SAP at the next evaluation and/or attainment of academic plan requirements

Once the student’s appeal is received by the SAP Appeals Committee, the student’s academic adviser, coach (if applicable) and resident director (if applicable) may submit a recommendation on the electronic appeal response form. All committee members will review the student’s appeal and recommendation(s) and make an approval or denial decision based on the submissions. The committee chair will notify the student of the appeal decision by 5pm on the Tuesday following the appeal deadline for students appealing for the semester immediately following their suspension. Students appealing after taking at least one semester off must submit the appeal no later than 30 days prior to the start of classes for the semester in which they plan to return and will be notified no later than 2 weeks prior to the start of classes.

Committee decisions are final. The appeal decision will outline the student’s options of enrollment and payment for enrollment, based on approval or denial. For more information, please contact sapappeal@RochesterU.edu.

Programs Affected

Students on Academic/Financial Aid Suspension may not receive financial aid including, but not limited to, the following programs:

• Federal Aid (Pell Grant, Supplemental Grant, SMART, Work Study, Stafford Loans, Parent PLUS Loan, Grad PLUS Loan)
• Any institutional scholarships
• Any private/endowed scholarships with GPA or SAP requirement, if the student fails to meet the requirement

Repeated Courses

Courses that are repeated for which the student previously received a grade of “F” or “W” will count in the calculation of hours attempted. The grade from the first attempt will not be included in calculating the CGPA.

Courses that are repeated for which the student previously received a passing grade will count ONCE toward determining financial aid eligibility during the semester taken, and all repeated coursework will count toward cumulative attempted hours. 

Example 1: A student takes four 3-credit hour courses in a given semester (12 credit hours total). One course is a repeat (ONCE) of a successfully completed course. Subsequently, the financial aid determination for that semester will be based on 12 credit hours. 

Example 2: A student takes four 3-credit hour courses in a given semester (12 credit hours total). One course is a repeat of an already repeated successfully completed course. Subsequently, the financial aid determination for that semester will be based on 9 credit hours.

Change of Degree Goal

A student wishing to change their degree goal should meet with their academic adviser for a recommendation. The SAP determination for the new degree will include the grades and credits attempted/earned that can be transferred into the new degree.

Additional Degree

Students wishing to seek an additional degree should receive degree approval from the Office of the Registrar and from the appropriate dean and then notify Student Financial Services to make a determination of eligibility for the additional program of study. The SAP determination for the degree will include the credits attempted/earned that can be transferred into the additional degree.