Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum Graduation/Retention GPA of 2.00. Graduate Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.00.

All students must complete 67% of the cumulative hours attempted from all institutions. The SE Financial Aid Office will calculate the attempted hours based off the census hours (hours enrolled in at the end of the Drop/Add period). Attempted hours include all withdrawals (W), administrative withdrawals (AW), incompletes (I), failed courses (F), and all passed courses. Earned hours will include all passed courses. Remedial courses will not count as attempted or earned hours.

Earned Hours/Cumulative Attempted Hours x 100 = Percentage Completed Example: (12hrs/36hrs) x 100 = 33.3%

Southeastern Oklahoma State University offers Bachelor’s degrees and Master’s degrees.  Students must complete the four-year 124 hour Bachelor’s degrees within a maximum of 186 credit hours.  Additional Bachelor’s degrees must be completed within a maximum of 240 credit hours.  Master’s degree students will only be allowed up to 150% of their program.  For example, a 30-hour program will on be allowed up to 45 hours.  Only two undergraduate degrees are allowed with federal funding.  Students are allowed to switch majors, but no additional credit hours to the maximum time frame will be permitted.  All attempted hours will be calculated in the maximum time frame.  Students that meet or exceed the maximum number of hours will be denied federal financial aid funding.  If it is determined that the student will not be able to receive a degree within the maximum time frame, the Department of Education requires the financial aid office to terminate funding immediately..

Students are required to submit a transcript to the Admissions office from all previous schools attended.  All hours transferred to the Southeastern transcript, including withdrawals, will be considered for Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Good Standing: For a student to be in good standing with Southeastern Oklahoma State University Financial Aid Office, they must meet the 2.0 Graduation/Retention GPA after the 2nd academic year and complete 70% of the classes attempted. If a student is on denied status, they must be meeting both the GPA and Pace requirement before they receive federal aid. This may require completing hours on their own without federal assistance.

Financial Aid Warning: Students who fail to meet the GPA requirements or the pace of completion requirement, but have a reasonable possibility to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress the next semester will be placed on financial aid warning for one semester and continue to receive Title IV Funds and/or State Grants. Each student will be notified by email or University mail of the financial aid warning status. Students must meet all Satisfactory Academic Progress standards to get back in good standing with the financial aid office. Students can only be on financial aid warning for one semester. A student whose GPA is between a 1.00 and 1.99 for the semester, but has a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above will be automatically placed on financial aid warning.

Financial Aid Probation: Probation is for students who have been on financial aid suspension and have an approved appeal on file. Probation is for students that have a reasonable possibility to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress within one semester. It will only be allowed for one payment period. If a student does not meet SAP the semester following his/her probation, he/she will be placed on financial aid suspension.

Financial Aid Suspension: A student will be placed on financial aid suspension if he/she:
1.      Fails to meet SAP standards after being placed on financial aid warning for one semester.
2.      Will not be able to meet SAP standards within one semester.
3.      Has met the maximum time frame for their degree program.

Students on Financial Aid Suspension are not eligible to receive Title IV funds and must attend without federal or state financial aid assistance.  Students will be removed from financial aid suspension upon meeting all Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.  Students may also appeal a decision of the Southeastern financial aid office if there is extenuating circumstances that caused the student to fail SAP Standards.

The appeal must be submitted in the Appeal Worksheet form:

Your appeal must explain the following:

1. Satisfactory Academic Progress standard that was not met
2. The reason for the deficiency
3. What has changed to allow the student to succeed
4. Proper documentation attached to the form.

If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on financial aid probation or on an academic plan (see below). A student cannot appeal for a second decision for the same reason or if they failed to meet the requirements of an academic plan. Students will be notified of the decision through student email. Appeals of the loss of financial aid for an extenuating circumstance may include, but are not limited to death in the family, illness, hospitalization, and other extenuating circumstances.

Academic Plan is for students who have been on financial aid suspension and have an approved appeal on file. If a student is placed on an academic plan, the student must meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress in a specified time set forth within the academic plan. If the student does not meet this academic progress, the student will be placed on financial aid suspension and will not be allowed to receive financial aid until Satisfactory Academic Progress is met. Before an academic plan can be processed in the financial aid office, all official transcripts must be submitted to the SE Registrar’s Office.

Zero Credit Semesters: Each of the following will result in an automatic denial of federal financial aid and the student receiving a denial notice for the next semester. Each student will have the option to appeal the denied status unless the student was on an academic plan.

1. 1. All Failed/Unofficial Withdrawal/Unsatisfactory: Students who stop attending class and receive all failed/unsatisfactory grades will be considered unofficially withdrawn at their last date of academic activity and will be denied federal aid for the next semester. This last date of academic activity will be provided by instructors when submitting final grades for each class to the Registrar. The SE Financial Aid Office will perform a Return of Title IV calculation based off this last date of academic activity.
   2. Completed Full Semester with All Failed Classes: Students who complete (attend through the last day) the semester are considered to have earned the “F” and are not obligated to repay federal monies.
   3. Official Withdrawal: Students who officially withdraw from all courses in one semester through the SE Registrar’s Office will receive all W’s for that semester. Students who officially withdraw will have a Return of Title IV calculation performed to determine if any refund or payback is due.

Repeat Courses: Students will be allowed to take repeat courses. A student can take a failed course until passed, but keep in mind failed classes will hurt the student’s pace of completion. A student can also retake a previously passed course, but he/she is only allowed to retake it one time. A student cannot retake a class that has been passed twice and is reflected on his/her transcript and get financial aid funding for that class.