Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal 2.0

Students are not eligible to receive financial aid until they are in compliance with academic requirements. However, students have the right to appeal this policy if unusual mitigating circumstances were a factor in academic performance (i.e., an injury, illness, death of a relative etc.). All appeals must be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Services, stating the mitigating circumstance, supporting documentation, and a plan for academic success. Students will be notified of the appeal decision.

Appeal Approval: Students will be placed on a probation status if appeal is approved. If after the probation period of one semester of receiving federal and University funds it is seen that a student will not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards for the year, they will not receive an additional payment of financial aid. Students will be notified of this decision.

Appeal Denied: If an appeal is denied, students will not continue to receive federal and/or University funded assistance. Eligibility may be reinstated by successfully completing coursework that improves a student’s cumulative GPA and/or overall credits earned without receiving the assistance of federal and/or University funds. The Office of Student Financial Services should be informed of the student’s intention to do so, and supplied with a transcript of grades after the completion of courses. Remember that only courses taken at St. John Fisher University will affect a student’s GPA. Repeat courses which have been previously passed will not be counted. Students who lose eligibility for financial aid as a result of an insufficient GPA and/or number of credit hours at the end of an academic year can make up the deficiency by attending summer school at their own expense. Only courses taken at St. John Fisher University will affect a student’s GPA.

The penalty for not meeting state-approved criteria of good academic standing (i.e., criteria of “program pursuit” and “satisfactory academic progress”) is suspension of a student’s New York State financial aid award. The award will remain suspended until the student is restored to good academic standing by either:

• Pursuing for a period of one semester (or more) the program of study in which he or she is enrolled and make satisfactory progress toward the completion of his or her program’s academic requirements and meet the critieria for the next payment.

OR

• Establishing in some other way, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Education, evidence of his or her ability to successfully complete an approved program.

OR

• Be granted a one-time waiver. 

The second option above provides a way for students who have lost their awards and who either are transferring to another institution or who wish to return to college after an absence of at least a year to achieve good standing and thus to regain their awards. For such students, the detailed record of a student’s readmission to the institution, or admission to another institution, will be accepted as evidence of his or her ability to successfully complete an approved program.