Financial Aid Policies

SAP is evaluated by the School of Medicine Office of Financial Aid (SOM FAO) and the Central Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA) at the end of each spring semester. Students on financial aid probation with an academic plan will be evaluated at the end of each payment period. Additional reviews may occur following changes in enrollment status, extended leaves of absence, or program modifications.

Determination of SAP for financial aid eligibility is based on three criteria: (1) a qualitative standard (academic performance), (2) a quantitative standard (pace of progression), and (3) maximum time of completion. Students must meet all three standards to maintain financial aid eligibility.

To meet the qualitative standard for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), a student must demonstrate acceptable academic performance as evidenced by the successful completion or remediation of required courses and clerkships in the MD curriculum.

Determination of SAP for financial aid purposes is separate from and independent of academic standing or promotion decisions made by the School of Medicine. A student may be permitted to continue enrollment in the MD program while not meeting criteria for good academic standing and may nevertheless meet SAP standards for financial aid.

For SAP purposes:

• Grades of Unsatisfactory (Fail) are considered unsuccessful attempts until the requirement is remediated and recorded as satisfactory.
• Successfully remediated coursework or clerkships are considered satisfactory for the qualitative SAP standard.
•  Academic deficiencies do not automatically result in failure to meet SAP unless they lead to unsuccessful completion, dismissal, suspension, or failure to meet SAP standards.

A student will not meet the qualitative SAP standard if failure of a course or clerkship remain unresolved.

M1 & M2 Qualitative Standards

During the first two pre-clerkship years, students’ academic performance will be measured on a Pass (Satisfactory)/Fail (Unsatisfactory) grading structure. Students will not receive an official GPA. To meet the SAP qualitative standard, a student must pass all classes with a grade of Satisfactory. Students will not be permitted to continue to the next grade level until all classes for the academic year are passed.

M3 & M4 Qualitative Standards

During the last two clerkship years, students’ academic performance will be measured using a GPA scale. The grading structure is: A, B, C, F.

· A= 4.0

· B= 3.0

· C= 2.0

· F= 0.0

To meet the SAP qualitative standard, a student must have a minimum GPA of 2.0.

Students must progress toward degree completion at a pace that ensures completion within the maximum time frame. Students must successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted credits in the program.

Pace is calculated as: Completed Credits ÷ Attempted Credits = Pace

Attempted credits include:

• Passed courses
• Failed courses
• Withdrawn courses
• Repeated coursework

Remediated courses may count as attempted credits each time they are attempted.

Graduate and Professional students are not considered to be making SAP once their Total Attempted Hours reach the maximum number permitted for their degree program, or it is apparent they will be unable to complete their degree before reaching the Maximum Total Attempted Hours permitted for the program.

Students must complete the MD degree within 150% of the published program length. The minimum number of credits to graduate for the MD degree is 356 credits. 150% is equivalent to 534 maximum credits.

For the standard four-year MD program, the UGA School of Medicine requires that students complete the program within six academic years of enrollment.

Following SAP evaluation, students will be assigned one of the following statuses:

Meets SAP: Students meeting SAP may continue to receive Title IV Aid.

Financial Aid Suspension: Students not meeting SAP standards will become ineligible for Title IV aid. Financial aid is revoked because the student failed to meet one or more of the school’s SAP requirements (GPA, pace, max time frame). The outcome of financial aid suspension is that a student becomes ineligible for federal/state aid until the student successfully appeals or meets SAP standards.

Financial Aid Probation: Financial Aid Probation is a status assigned by an institution to students who fail SAP, but who have successfully appealed and have their eligibility for Title IV aid reinstated. Financial Aid Probation is defined by regulation 668.34(b) and cannot be altered or modified.

The student may be placed in Financial Aid Probation if the SOM FAO and OSFA find that the student’s appeal circumstances were sufficiently mitigating, and if:

• If the SOM FAO and OSFA have approved a Financial Aid Academic Plan, the student will be placed on Financial Aid Probation for one semester. Students placed on Financial Aid Probation can still receive any federal or state financial aid for which they are otherwise eligible.
• At the end of the semester on Financial Aid Probation, the student must again be meeting either all SAP criteria or must be meeting all the requirements of his or her SOM FAO and OSFA-approved Academic Plan in order to continue to be eligible for financial aid.
• Students whose appeals are approved will continue to be reviewed at the end of each semester to determine if they are meeting all SAP requirements, or are meeting all the requirements of their approved Academic Plan.

Federal student aid regulations permit (but do not require) colleges to establish a SAP Appeals Policy. Furthermore, if an institution chooses to implement a SAP policy which permits appeals, it is left solely to the institution to specify when and how such appeals will be permitted as well as how many times a student may appeal.

SOM FAO and OSFA have established the following SAP Appeals Policy and Procedures to assist students who failed to maintain SAP due to mitigating circumstances.

Students may appeal to the SOM Financial Aid Office and Central OSFA by:

• using the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal form to initiate an appeal setting forth their mitigating circumstances, and
• providing any supporting documentation which confirms the occurrence or circumstances, and
• explaining how the situation has been resolved or stabilized; thereby, enabling the student to now be academically successful, and
• providing any supporting documentation which confirms the situation has been resolved or stabilized.

Students must have an extenuating circumstance for SAP Appeal consideration. A purely academic challenge- such as finding a course too difficult or poor time management- does not qualify as grounds for an appeal.

When the SOM FAO and OSFA do not approve a student SAP appeal based on its determination that the student did not have sufficient mitigating circumstances, the student may request further consideration by the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee through Central OSFA.

To request further consideration by the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee, the student needs only to send the SOM FAO a signed written request (or e-mail from their UGA Mail account) which will be forwarded to Central

OSFA for review. The decision of the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee is final.

It is important to note that all stipulations and requirements of a SOM FAO and OSFA-approved Academic Plan are final and are not subject to further consideration by the University’s Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee.

Academic Plans

The SOM FAO and OSFA’s review of student SAP appeals will include consideration of and possible approval of an individual student academic plan.

The SOM FAO and OSFA may work with students on a case-by-case basis to identify an academic plan designed to get the student back on track and become academically successful. This is the purpose of an academic plan. Depending on the individual student’s situation, an academic plan may be as simple as a mathematical calculation by SOM FAO and OSFA that specifies the percentage of coursework the student must now successfully complete, the minimum grade point average the student must earn each semester, or the maximum number of hours in which the student may enroll in a specified semester. Typically, the SOM Student Progress Committee (SPC) will create an academic plan for the student which will be used for the evaluation of SAP.

Students for whom SOM FAO and OSFA grant an appeal with an approved academic plan can receive the federal or state financial aid for which they are otherwise eligible as long as they strictly adhere to their approved plan. Students on an SOM FAO and OSFA-approved academic plan will be evaluated following each semester of enrollment and his or her failure to meet ALL the requirements of the academic plan will result in immediate loss of financial aid eligibility.

Repeat Year

For students repeating a year, at the end of the first term of the probationary period, the SOM FAO will request a review from the Student Progress Committee (SPC) to determine whether the student has made satisfactory improvement to warrant the additional financial aid disbursements for a second term of financial aid probation. Students who have not made sufficient progress in the first term of the financial aid probation will not receive subsequent financial aid disbursements. Students may not receive financial aid for a year or semester repeated for the second time (3rd attempt).

Notification

Students are notified in writing via their UGA email of SAP evaluations, status changes, and appeal decisions.

Student Dismissal

Students dismissed from a graduate or professional program are not considered to be making SAP.

Withdrawn, Repeated, or Failed Coursework

All hours attempted, and all grades received for courses taken more than once count in the student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress calculations.

Dual / Joint Graduate/ Professional Degrees

All requirements for the degrees, including the thesis/dissertation and final oral/written examination, must be completed within the maximum timeframe permitted for the degree program comprised of the greater number of credit hours.

Additional Professional and Graduate Degrees

Students who have graduated with a masters, doctoral, or professional degree who wish to pursue another degree at the same level are still limited to the number of Maximum Total Attempted Hours applicable to a single degree at the same level.