Students receiving financial assistance are required by Federal regulation to be making Satisfactory Academic Progress in order to continue to receive aid while enrolled at Villanova University.

Minimum Standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Assistance Applicants

Federal regulations require that an institution establish, publish, and apply reasonable standards for measuring whether a student, who is otherwise eligible for assistance, is maintaining satisfactory academic progress in his or her course of study. The standards must be the same or stricter than the institution's standards for a student enrolled in the same academic program who is not receiving financial assistance. Listed below is the complete statement of Minimum Standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial assistance recipients.

Maximum Timeframes for Completing Degree Requirements

• Students are expected to complete their program of study (degree) in the number of semesters indicated in the catalog. Transfer students and students changing programs are placed in an appropriate semester on the basis of credits transferred. Such students are expected to complete their degree according to the remaining semesters in their program plus one additional semester to allow for scheduling difficulties.
• The maximum time frame for completing Associate degree requirements is three years for full-time students and six years for part-time students.
• The maximum time frame for completing Baccalaureate degree requirements is six years for full-time students and twelve years for part-time students. Transfer credits earned at other institutions that are applicable to the student's program of study will be considered in determining the student's maximum time frame for program completion.

Students must make quantitative and qualitative progress toward their educational goals each academic year to receive assistance. The academic year consists of two regular semesters and the summer sessions.

Quantitative Standards

• Full time students must successfully complete a minimum of 24 credit hours each academic year. Students admitted in January must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credits during their first Spring semester.
• Students enrolled on a three-quarter-time basis (9-11 credits per semester) must successfully complete a minimum of 18 credit hours each academic year.
• Students enrolled on a half-time basis (6-8 credits per semester) must successfully complete a minimum of 12 credit hours each academic year.

Qualitative Standards

• Students must maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 calculated at the end of the academic year in order to be considered a student in good standing.

Measurement of Academic Progress Requirements

Academic progress will be measured in May of each year. Measurement begins with the Fall semester and ends with the last summer session. Students who were enrolled during the Fall and/or Spring semesters and failed to meet the qualitative and/or quantitative requirements for academic progress can attempt to complete additional credits and bring up their GPA during the summer sessions. However, only credits earned at Villanova University will affect the GPA. Credits taken at another university will only affect total credits. Upon completion of the additional credits, a new determination of academic progress will be made.

Transfer students are evaluated for academic progress in May, after the first Spring semester attended at Villanova University. Students who transfer in for the Fall semester are evaluated on their academic performance during their first Fall and Spring semesters. Students that transfer in beginning with the spring semester are evaluated on their performance during their first spring semester.

All financial assistance applicants are subject to the Satisfactory Academic Standards regardless of whether or not they received financial assistance previously.

Failures and withdrawals are courses attempted, not completed. Incompletes are not counted toward credits completed until after the course work is successfully completed and posted by the Registrar. Repeat courses will not count toward credits completed for satisfactory academic progress since the credits were already counted toward the quantitative standards the first time the course was completed.

When Minimum Standards of Academic Progress Are Not Achieved

A student who does not make satisfactory academic progress will be placed on financial assistance suspension until the requirements are met. The student will be notified in writing of the financial assistance suspension.

The student can appeal the decision to the Office of Financial Assistance. The appeal must be submitted in writing and specify the extenuating circumstances which prevented achieving satisfactory academic progress.

The following types of mitigating circumstances may be considered when a student appeals: extended illness, death in the family, and changes in educational objective. The Office of Financial Assistance may request additional documentation and/or require a personal interview with the student. After the review, the Office of Financial Assistance will notify the student in writing of the action taken.

If the Office of Financial Assistance determines that the Academic Progress Standards can be waived for one semester, the student will be placed on Financial Assistance Probation. At the end of the probationary semester, the Office of Financial Assistance will determine if academic progress requirements have been met. If requirements have been met, the probationary status will be removed. If academic requirements have not been met, the student will be placed on financial assistance suspension.

Once financial assistance has been discontinued, it will be reinstated provided:

• The student has successfully achieved the required number of credits and grade point average;
• The student has requested reinstatement in writing; and
• Funds are still available.

Reinstatement is not automatic. The student is responsible for making certain that the grades and credits completed have been properly posted with the Registrar prior to requesting reinstatement of financial assistance. Students are encouraged to file all financial assistance application forms by Villanova University's established deadline so that once reinstatement has been achieved, he or she can be considered for assistance as quickly as possible.

A student who is denied assistance based on qualitative or quantitative standards will be considered for assistance when standards have been achieved. Only Stafford and Plus Loans may be awarded retroactively to the semester(s) in which standards were not met.