Academic Progress Standards

For a student to receive financial aid and/or merit scholarships, regulations require satisfactory academic progress toward a degree. The following are the satisfactory academic progress standards for students seeking federal or institutional financial aid at Fairfield University.

Undergraduate Students

For students to be eligible for federal, state or university need-based financial aid, they must be in good academic standing and must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree. SAP is measured at the end of each academic year and is based on both pace of progression and academic performance at the time of measurement.

Pace of progression is determined by the total number of credit hours completed as a proportion of those attempted. Incomplete grades, repeated courses and course withdrawals that occur after the drop/add period are counted in the credit hours attempted. If the student has transfer credits, the credit hours are counted in both the credit hours completed and attempted. Students must complete at least 67% of the credit hours attempted in a year in order to receive financial aid in the following year.

Academic performance is measured by GPA including grades earned only in Fairfield University courses. In order to make SAP, students advancing from the first year to the junior year are expected to have a weighted cumulative GPA of 1.90 or better. At the end of junior year, students should have an overall weighted cumulative GPA of 2.00 or better.

For the purposes of both pace and academic performance, summer courses will be included as the trailing term of the academic year.

Undergraduate Minimum Cumulative GPA & Pace of Progression

Attempted Credits	Minimum Cumulative GPA	Pace of Progression
0 – 29	1.90	67%
30 – 59	1.90	67%
60 – 89	1.90	67%
90 – 120	2.00	67%

Overall, undergraduate students are eligible for university-based aid for up to eight consecutive semesters of enrollment; students may receive federal financial aid up to 150% (typically six years) of the normal time to degree completion. Repeated courses will be counted as part of the attempted and completed courses, and part of the 150% of normal time to completion.

Students who lose eligibility for financial aid as a result of failure to make pace of progression and/or maintain the minimum GPA may appeal to be placed on financial aid probation. This appeal must include the reasons for the lack of progress and the student's anticipated steps for improvement. In order to consider the appeal, the student will need to submit a completed SAP Appeal Form, a personal statement and an approved Academic Plan that will lead to achievement of SAP standards. If during the probation period the student has not successfully achieved satisfactory academic progress, the student may appeal with a modified academic plan. Probation may last for up to one academic year, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. While on probation, a student's progress will be monitored at the end of each semester. 

Graduate and Doctoral Students

These guidelines are in accordance with those required by federal regulations for recipients of a federal grant, work, and loan programs, including the Federal Graduate Parent (PLUS) Loan.

For students to be eligible for federal or state financial aid, they must be in good academic standing and must make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree. SAP is measured at the end of each academic year and is based on both pace of progression and academic performance at the time of measurement.

Pace is determined by the total number of credit hours completed as a proportion of those attempted. Incomplete grades, repeated courses and course withdrawals that occur after the drop/add period are counted in the credit hours attempted. Students must complete at least 67% of the credit hours attempted in a year in order to receive financial aid in the following year. If the student has transfer credits, the credit hours are counted in both the credit hours completed and attempted. These may differ from university academic and probation standards.

Academic performance is measured by GPA including grades earned only in Fairfield University courses. In order to make SAP, graduate and doctoral students advancing through their program are expected to have and maintain a weighted cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better.

For the purposes of both pace and academic performance, summer courses will be included as the trailing term of the academic year.

Graduate Minimum Cumulative GPA & Pace of Progression

Minimum Cumulative GPA	Pace of Progression
3	67%

Overall, graduate and doctoral students may receive federal financial aid up to 150% (typically 5 years) of the normal time to degree completion. Repeated courses will be counted as part of the attempted and completed courses and part of the 150% of normal time to completion.

Students who lose eligibility for financial aid as a result of failure to make pace of progression and/or maintain the minimum GPA may appeal to be placed on financial aid probation. This appeal must include the reasons for the lack of progress and the student's anticipated steps for improvement. In order to consider the appeal, the student will need to submit a completed SAP Appeal Form, a personal statement and an approved Academic Plan that will lead to achievement of SAP standards. If during the probation period the student has not successfully achieved satisfactory academic progress, the student may appeal with a modified academic plan. Probation may last for up to one academic year, unless there are extraordinary circumstances. While on probation, a student's progress will be monitored at the end of each semester.

All Students: Undergraduate, Graduate and Doctoral

Grades

Grades of F, W or credit/no credit do not count in calculating the minimum grade point average. Grades of I (Incomplete) temporarily will not be counted until the final grade is posted. Students must comply with the requirements to convert an incomplete to a permanent grade according to the requirements as stated in the university catalog. Students who do not receive a passing grade in any coursework, i.e. all F’s or combination of F’s and W’s may be required to return all or a portion of their financial aid if it is determined that the student stopped attending without notifying the University. Official documentation will be requested to determine when the student last participated in an academically related activity and financial aid will be returned according to federal, state and institutional policies. This may result in the student owing a balance to the University.

Withdrawals

Students who withdraw from all coursework or take a leave of absence prior to the start of a term and later enroll in a subsequent term retain the SAP status held during their last term of enrollment.

Transfer Student Course Evaluation

Transfer students are evaluated based on the number of units accepted at admission to determine their maximum time frame to receive financial aid.

Repeat Coursework

A student who receives federal financial aid (Title IV funds) must follow Repeat Coursework rules in order to be considered as meeting enrollment requirements for financial aid eligibility and satisfactory academic progress. The federal regulations are listed below:

• A student may repeat a previously passed course once
• A student may repeat a failed course until the student passes the course
• A student who passes a course, but does not meet the grade requirement established by the college or school, may only repeat the course one time
• A student who earns a passing grade in a course and chooses to retake the course a second time earning a grad of "F" or "W" may not take the course a third time
• A student may repeat a course as an independent study, special topics, film genre, etc., as long as the subject matter is different for each course and the institution awards new credit each time.

Notification

The Office of Financial Aid will notify all students who fail to maintain satisfactory academic progress. Students will be notified of their SAP status by their university email. 

Reinstatement of Financial Aid

To have financial aid eligibility reinstated, a student may make up the credit hour and/or grade point index deficiencies in a subsequent term without receipt of financial aid for that term. University aid is only offered (if the student maintains eligibility) for eight consecutive semesters.

Appeal Process

A student who believes his/her failure to meet SAP standards was due to extenuating circumstances beyond his/her control may appeal in writing to the Appeals Committee. Some examples of extenuating circumstances are:

• A student's serious illness or accident
• Death or serious illness in the student's immediate family
• Cancellation/discontinuance of a class by the University
• Other unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the student that caused the student to fall below the satisfactory progress standards

Students should submit:

• the completed SAP Appeal Form, including a personal letter, explaining the reason for the request and reason for their current academic status.
• an approved Academic Plan must be completed by the student and by an administrator from the appropriate Assistant Dean's Office. The Academic Plan can be obtained in the Assistant Dean's Office of any school or Academic Plan ‌online.

The SAP Appeal Form, personal letter, Academic Plan, and any other supporting documentation (if desired), should be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid (finaid@fairfield.edu) no later than July 1 (unless otherwise stated).

If an appeal for one semester of probationary financial aid is approved, a student's progress will be monitored at the end of each semester. If after the financial aid probation period the student has not successfully achieved the required minimum GPA for reinstatement of the full financial aid award, the student may submit an appeal letter to request an extended probationary period of financial aid. Financial aid probation may last for up to one year, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.

Unsatisfactory Academic Progress and Readmission to Fairfield University

All students classified as not making satisfactory (unsatisfactory) academic progress that either withdraw or are dismissed from the university and are subsequently readmitted must complete a Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal to apply for financial aid.

All merit scholarships awarded by Fairfield University are renewable for up to eight consecutive semesters of study provided the recipient earns the required minimum GPA for renewal. The GPA renewal requirement, which varies by level of award, is included in the initial award letter provided at the time of the student's admission to Fairfield and is measured at the end of each academic year.

Students who lose eligibility for merit scholarship as a result of failure to meet the minimum GPA requirement may appeal to be placed on merit scholarship probation. Students must submit:

• the completed SAP Appeal Form, including a personal letter, explaining the reason for the request and reason for their current academic status. The appeal form, personal letter, and any other supporting documentation (if desired), should be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid (finaid@fairfield.edu) no later than July 1 (unless otherwise stated).

If an appeal for one semester of probationary merit scholarship is approved, a student's progress will be monitored at the end of each semester. If after the merit scholarship probation period the student has not successfully achieved the required minimum GPA for reinstatement of the full merit scholarship, the student may submit an appeal letter to request an extended probationary period of merit scholarship. Merit scholarship probation may last for up to one year, unless there are extraordinary circumstances.