Students receiving Federal student financial aid must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) at Tulane to remain eligible for Federal Title IV Aid. All students who receive federal financial aid are expected to complete a minimum percentage of attempted credit hours and maintain a minimum grade point average each semester to maintain satisfactory academic progress. The Financial Aid Office evaluates SAP after the completion of each semester (Fall, Spring, Summer). Federal regulations require that the SAP standards applied to students receiving financial aid also apply during terms when a student is not receiving federal financial aid. All semesters of enrollment, including summer, are considered when evaluating SAP even if no federal aid was received during a term.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) tests three components (discussed in more detail below):
1. A qualitative component: grade point average and/or academic standing
2. An incremental quantitative component: completion rate of credit hours earned versus attempted.
3. An overall quantitative component: maximum time for the completion of a student's academic program
Evaluation Criteria
Courses with grades of "W" (withdrawn), "I" (incomplete), "WF" (withdrawn with failure), "UW" (unofficial withdrawal), "U" (unsatisfactory), “XX” (ungraded), and/or "F" (failed) are counted as courses attempted but not earned and count toward the maximum time frame. Any courses dropped after the published “Last Day to Register/Add” deadline (per the Tulane Registrar’s academic calendar) are also counted as attempted coursework in compliance with federal regulations. Transfer credit hours (accepted for the student's academic program or degree) are counted as credit hours attempted when measuring the maximum time frame to complete the degree or certificate program and establishing benchmark points for the qualitative standard, but do not impact the grade point average evaluated. When a student begins enrollment and earns zero credit hours (including cases where the Tulane Financial Aid Office can identify that attempted hours were removed from the student’s academic transcript after the start of the semester), the student will be identified as having attempted hours contained in the semester.
Guidelines for repeated coursework, if allowed, remedial coursework, if required, and/or English as a Second Language (ESL) coursework, if offered, are specified in the catalog of each academic division. Satisfactory Academic Progress status will include repeated, remedial, and ESL coursework, unless determined otherwise by the Tulane Financial Aid Office. Courses graded solely on a Pass/Fail basis that are accepted toward the academic program are included when measuring academic progress. Audited courses count as unearned credit hours in the evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative standards.
Both qualitative and quantitative standards begin anew for students switching academic levels (such as seeking a graduate or professional degree after completing an undergraduate degree). Dissertation, dissertation research, and practicum courses which are recognized by Tulane as being full-time status.
The Tulane Financial Aid Office will attempt to reevaluate a student's Satisfactory Academic Progress status when grades are changed or reported after an evaluation has taken place. However, reevaluation adjustments may not always occur automatically and therefore students should make a special request to the Tulane Financial Aid Office for a reevaluation of their SAP status when they become aware of a grade change or additional submission of grades. In such cases, grades must be reflected on Tulane's student records system prior to a review of a student's status. For any grade change (for example, a prior grade of "I" incomplete or “XX” ungraded changed to a traditional letter grade), a student is responsible for notifying the Tulane Financial Aid Office of such a change and requesting a reevaluation of their Satisfactory Academic Progress. Note that a review due to a grade change is not considered an appeal and may not always result in eligibility for federal student aid (for example, if a processing deadline has passed).
Three SAP Standards
1. Qualitative – Grade Point Average and Academic Standing:
Students academically dismissed from their academic program are automatically designated as failing to meet Tulane's Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and are no longer recognized as pursuing a credential eligible for financial aid. A GPA is not calculated for the MD program, and a null or zero GPA for an MD student is acceptable. Otherwise, as a student progresses through their academic program, his or her cumulative GPA must meet the following benchmarks:
• If aggregate attempted and transferred credit hours are less than 30, and the midpoint of the academic program has not yet been reached, then the cumulative GPA must be at least 1.75.
• If aggregate attempted and transferred credit hours are greater than 30 and less than 48, and the midpoint of the academic program has not yet been reached, then the cumulative GPA must be at least 1.85.
• If aggregate attempted and transferred credit hours are 48 or more (or the midpoint of the academic program has been reached), then the cumulative GPA must be at least 2.00. A student's cumulative grade point average (GPA) must be at least 2.00 (or the equivalent) at the midpoint of their academic program. The midpoint of an academic program is defined as 48 credit hours OR one-half of the necessary completed credit hours as stipulated in the catalog of the respective academic division, whichever is less. Every attempted and transferred credit hour counts towards the midpoint measurement.
2. Quantitative –Completion Rate:
Students are required to successfully complete at least two-thirds (67%) of their overall attempted credit hours. The Completion Rate is calculated by dividing the total earned credits by the total attempted credits.
Total Earned Credits / Total Attempted Credits = Completion Rate
See the section “Evaluation Criteria” above for a discussion of attempted vs. earned credits.
In addition, a student who enrolled must earn more than zero hours for a semester which contains attempted hours (or contained hours identified as having been attempted).
3. Quantitative Maximum Time Frame:
A student's maximum time frame for completion of their academic program must not exceed 150% of the primary program length specified in the catalog of each academic division. This means that a student's attempted and transferred credit hours cannot exceed 150% of the credit hours necessary for completion of their primary degree or certificate. The maximum time frame is not increased for dual-degree or combined degree candidates. Maximum Time Frame is always based on the program length associated with a student's primary academic program. (a student may appeal SAP suspension based on their pursuing dual-degree or combined degrees).
Automatic Warning Semester
Students who fail to meet one or more of the requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress will be notified through the Tulane University Gibson Online student self-service portal and allowed one automatic Warning Semester associated with their next semester of enrollment to restore their satisfactory academic progress standing unless they have been academically dismissed. During the Warning Semester a student will be awarded Federal financial aid for which they have applied and are otherwise eligible. A student is not allowed to receive consecutive Warning Semesters of Federal aid. A Warning Semester assignment is not contingent on the student's application for federal student aid.
Appeal for Probationary Semester*
Students who fail to meet one or more of the requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) at the conclusion of their Warning Semester enter SAP suspension status and are not eligible for federal student aid. A student who is denied federal aid because of a failure to meet SAP standards after the Warning Semester may appeal this determination by completing a Satisfactory Academic Progress Suspension Appeal Form and submitting their complete appeal to the Financial Aid Office. *
The deadline to submit a SAP appeal is 5:00 PM on the Tulane Registrar’s published “last day for a 25% tuition refund” date for the semester that the appeal is being submitted. Appeals submitted after this date may not be considered for the current term.
An appeal must be based on significant mitigating circumstances that seriously impacted academic performance (for example, serious illness or injury of the student, or death of a relative). In the SAP Appeal, a student is expected to demonstrate an understanding of what SAP measure/s were failed and what has changed that will allow the student to meet SAP at the next SAP evaluation. Please note that submittinga SAP appeal does not guarantee continued eligibility for Federal aid, as an appeal may be denied.
Notification of the appeal decision should take place within ten business days of the beginning of the semester for which an appeal is made, or ten business days from the receipt of the appeal by the Tulane University Financial Aid Office, whichever is later.
If an appeal for a probationary semester is denied by the readers, the student will be notified and the decision is final for that semester. The student may re-establish eligibility to be considered for federal aid for a subsequent semester by taking action that brings him or her into compliance with the qualitative and quantitative components of Tulane's SAP standard. Subsequent appeals will be automatically denied until the student has earned at least six more Tulane GPA/quality hours than the total earned when the prior SAP Appeal was denied.
If a student's appeal is approved by the readers, the student will be notified** and given an additional probationary semester. During the probationary semester, the student will be considered academically eligible to receive federal aidthe student has applied for and is eligible for.
Once a probationary semester has concluded, the student may re-establish eligibility to be considered for federal aid for their next semester of enrollment by either 1) taking action that brings him or her into compliance with the qualitative and quantitative components of Tulane's SAP standard or 2) demonstrating in a timely fashion the meeting of the specific academic plan and standards for a Probationary Semester as established by the Appeals Readers.
A student who has met neither of the above conditions may appeal the determination of SAP suspension to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Readers, but such an appeal will be automatically denied until the student has earned at least six more Tulane GPA/ quality hours than the total earned by the conclusion of the probationary semester.
Click here for Tulane SAP Appeal
* SAP appeals for academic dismissal require documentation indicating the academic dismissal has been reversed
