Satisfactory Academic Progress

According to federal regulations and University of Richmond (UR) policy, students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to receive federal and institutional financial aid. Some private loan programs also require SAP. Evaluation of students’ progress for financial aid purposes is made annually at the end of the spring term to determine financial aid eligibility for the following year (summer term, fall term, and spring term).

The standards of academic progress outlined here are for the purpose of evaluating eligibility to continue receiving financial aid. They do not replace or modify academic standards required for continued enrollment at the University of Richmond.

Institutional Financial Aid

Institutional financial aid is available during the fall and spring terms; institutional aid is generally not awarded for summer term.

Receipt of institutional financial aid requires all of the following:

• full-time enrollment (9 hours or more)
• a minimum UR cumulative grade point average (GPA) on hours earned as outlined below:

• and meeting the SAP requirements for federal aid (see below).

Students may be considered for aid through their sixth term of enrollment (prorated for transfer students). Only fall and spring terms are counted toward the six term limit (prorated for transfer students); summer term is not counted.

Students not meeting the SAP requirements for institutional financial aid at the end of the spring term will not be eligible for any additional institutional financial aid in subsequent terms of enrollment until the standards are met. Denial of aid under this policy may be appealed by the student, in writing, to the Director of Financial Aid within 30 days of notification that the student is no longer eligible for institutional aid. A student’s appeal must include information regarding why the student is not meeting the SAP requirements for institutional aid and what factors have changed that will allow the student’s academic progress to improve by the next evaluation. The student will be notified of their SAP status based on the merits of the appeal. If the appeal is not granted, the student will be notified of the decision and will be financially responsible for their educational expenses.

Federal Financial Aid

The Higher Education Act requires that colleges and universities establish minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students receiving federal aid. When assessing SAP for federal financial aid, the University will review all terms of enrollment at UR as well as transfer work accepted toward JD degree requirements at UR, whether or not the student received financial aid during those terms.

SAP is checked annually at the end of the spring term. Students must meet both of the following requirements:

• have completed 67% of all attempted coursework, (including transfer work and pass/fail courses), and
• have achieved a cumulative grade point average, depending on the number of units earned, as follows:

In addition, students must complete the requirements for a law degree within the 150% maximum timeframe allowed. That is, as the JD program requires 87 hours to complete, the maximum number of hours attempted to complete the program cannot exceed 130.5 hours, including transfer work and pass/fail courses. Successful completion of a class means receiving one of the following grades for the class: A, B, C, D or P.

Incomplete coursework, withdrawals, and course repetitions impact SAP in the following ways:

• Incomplete coursework (grade = Y) is not included in the GPA or in the number of credits earned but is counted as attempted credit. Temporarily incomplete coursework (grade = I) is included in the GPA and in both earned and attempted credit.
• Courses from which a student withdraws are not included in the GPA or in the number of credits earned but are counted as attempted credit.
• Repeated courses are counted only one time as earned credits. However, credits for each course taken, including all repeated courses, are counted as attempted credit. All grades earned in repeated courses will be calculated in the cumulative GPA.

Students not meeting the SAP requirements for federal financial aid at the end of the spring term will not be eligible for any additional financial aid until the standards are met. Denial of aid under this policy may be appealed by the student, in writing, to the Director of Financial Aid within 30 days of notification that the student is no longer eligible for aid. Appeals will be considered for the following circumstances: the death of a relative of the student; an injury or illness to the student; or other special circumstances. A student’s appeal must include information regarding why the student is not meeting the SAP standards and what factors have changed that will allow the student’s academic progress to improve by the next evaluation.

Successful appeals will lead to one of two SAP statuses: Financial Probation or Eligible for Financial Aid. A student may be placed on ’Financial Probation’ for the subsequent enrolled term if it is determined that he/she can regain eligibility after one term. A student may be found ’Eligible for Financial Aid’ based on an academic plan that outlines future academic progress for the student as established by the Director of Financial Aid. The student will be notified of their SAP status based on the merits of the appeal. If the appeal is not granted, the student will be notified of the decision and will be financially responsible for their educational expenses.

View the full policy.