Determining Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards for Graduate and

Professional Students

Agenda

• Michael Frechette- Rush University– Term based graduate review process

• Emily Osborn- Northwestern University– Part-Time annual review process

• Nathan Ernst- Midwestern University– Medical School annual review process

Rush University

Rush University

• Health professions university in Chicago• Four colleges: Medical College, College of Nursing,

College of Health Sciences, Graduate College• 2300 students• Mostly graduate and professional students• University part of larger medical center:

hospital and university combined

Challenges• Four different calendars with multiple start and end dates• Trimesters, semesters, quarters, and non-term• Students attend year round• Mixture of part-time and full-time students• SAP policy stricter than progressions policy for many

programs• Massive enrollment growth over last decade• Term review time-consuming

Term Review Policy• Besides Medical College, all other programs term review• Maximum timeframe 150% for both graduate and

undergraduate students• Qualitative Measure: For graduate students, cumulative

GPA must be at least 3.0 at the end of each term; 2.0 for undergraduates

• Quantitative Measure: For graduate students, must pass at least two thirds of all attempted credits at the end of each term with B or higher; C or higher for undergraduates

Term Review Policy (cont.)

• Withdrawals and incompletes count as attempted credit hours

• Dropped courses count only if dropped after census date

• Financial aid warning period• Appeals permissible• Documentation required: letter of appeal,

documentation of circumstances, plan of study, letter from advisor

Policy Improvements

• More formalized process for monitoring progress of medical students

• SAP Appeal Form• More automated review process that better

leverages existing technology

Northwestern University

Part-Time MBA program and School of Continuing Studies

Graduate programs

Northwestern University -Chicago Office of Financial Aid

• 7 different programs with 6 different calendars:– Medical School, Law School, Physician

Assistant Program, Physical Therapy Program, Prosthetics/Orthotics, School of Continuing Studies graduate and undergraduate and Part-Time MBA

– Quarter, Semester (2 different semester programs), Trimester, Annual (2 different annual programs)

Part-Time Programs-challenges

• Rolling admission-Students admitted each quarter and so the population is always in flux- Makes the process very manual

• Population is primarily working full-time– Registration is constantly changing, especially

with online programs, and we find many students struggle in the first few quarters

SAP Policies• Part-Time MBA students

– By maintaining a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

– By completing two-thirds of all units attempted per academic quarter.

– By completing their program of study within a specific time period.

• SCS students :– Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher– Complete two-thirds of all credits attempted per academic term– Complete program within a specified period of time

Appeal Process• If a student fails to meet the SAP requirements due to extenuating

circumstances such as a family member’s death, illness (of the student or immediate family member), etc, the student may submit a written appeal in a word document format. The appeal must be received by the Office of Financial Aid prior to the first day of the subsequent academic term.

• The written appeal should be in a word document format (i.e. not email) and explain any relevant extraordinary circumstances, address the reason(s) for failing to meet the minimum academic requirements, and offer some solution to the problems that affected prior academic performance. Supporting documentation, such as statements from academic advisers, professors, professional health care workers, etc., is also required. The appeal will be reviewed by a committee chaired by the Director of Financial Aid. All decisions made by the committee are final. Students will be notified if their appeal is granted or denied via an email to their NU email account.

Appeal Approved-StatusIf an appeal is granted, the student will be placed in one of two categories:1. SAP Probation• If a student is placed on SAP Probation after an appeal, he/she will be eligible for aid during

one additional academic term. During the probationary period, the student must meet all SAP requirements. If the student fails to meet SAP during their probationary period, their aid will be suspended without the ability to appeal. In order to reinstate federal financial aid eligibility after a SAP suspension, students must meet the criteria for reinstatement without the use of federal financial aid.

2. SAP Academic Plan• Students may be placed on an academic plan upon submission of a successful appeal. If it is

mathematically impossible for a student to resolve all deficiencies during one term of attendance and the student’s reason for appeal is appropriate according to federal regulations, the student may be placed on an academic plan with the end goal being to resolve all deficiencies. An academic plan varies in length and is determined by the SAP committee. It does not have to equate to the exact number of terms it would take a student to resolve all deficiencies. If the student is meeting the criteria identified in the SAP appeal approval at each quarterly review, the student’s academic plan may be extended.

On-Going Improvements• Hoping to make a very manual process (currently

running two separate reports to determine GPA and completion rate) automatic using existing system tools

• Continue to improve communications to students regarding maintaining SAP– The policy is on our website, but we found students were

not reading it (first time they heard about SAP was when they were suspended) and so we have also added it to our award notification email and that has helped

• Continue to work with departments to improve/better coordinate students struggling academically and how we can find/assist them earlier– The departments are now catching students who are

struggling before we do

Midwestern University

Midwestern University• Graduate-Level Programs Only – 2 campuses: Downers

Grove, IL and Glendale, AZ

• Six Colleges (AZ): Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Pharmacy – Glendale, College of Health Sciences – AZ, College of Dental Medicine-AZ, Arizona College of Optometry & College of Veterinary Medicine – 14 programs

• Four Colleges (IL): Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine, Chicago College of Pharmacy, College of Dental Medicine – IL & College of Health Sciences – 11 programs

Annual Review Policy• Maximum timeframe of 150% to complete program• Qualitative Measure:

Students must have the following grade point average:– 2.0 GPA: Dental, Pharmacy, & Medicine– 2.75 GPA: Biomedical Sciences, Occupational

Therapy, Physical Therapy, & Physician Assistant– 3.0 GPA: Clinical Psychology & Speech-Language

Pathology• Quantitative Measure: Students must pass 67% of

their cumulative credits attempted (excluding audited courses)

Annual Review Policy (cont.)• Withdrawals (after the first day) and Incompletes

will be included in the number of attempted hours and calculated against the quantitative measure

• Financial aid suspension period• Student has the right to appeal the financial aid

suspension• Documentation required: SAP appeal form and

approved academic plan• University Financial Aid Committee reviews appeal

and renders a decision on the appeal• If appeal is approved, student will be placed on

financial aid probation

Quarterly Review Policy• Maximum timeframe of 150% to complete

program

• Qualitative Measure: The quarterly SAP review process applies to students enrolled in the Biomedical Sciences (M.A.) program

• Quantitative Measure: Students must pass 67% of their cumulative credits attempted (excluding audited courses)

Quarterly Review Policy (cont.)• Withdrawals (after the first day) and

Incompletes will be included in the number of attempted hours and calculated against the quantitative measure

• Financial aid warning period – Student remains eligible for financial aid in the next quarter and no further action is necessary

• Student has the right to appeal financial aid warning

Quarterly Review Policy (cont.)• If SAP is not achieved by the end of the financial

aid warning period, student is placed on financial aid suspension

• Student has the right to appeal the financial aid suspension

• Documentation required: SAP appeal form and approved academic plan

• University Financial Aid Committee reviews appeal and renders a decision on the appeal

• If appeal is approved, student will be placed on financial aid probation

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Questions

Contact information

• Michael Frechette– michael_frechette@rush.edu

• Emily Osborn– eosborn@northwestern.edu

• Nathan Ernst– NERNST@midwestern.edu