This information is provided as a guide and is subject to change without notice to comply with federal, state, and institutional policies.

Federal regulations require institutions to develop policies that insure that students who receive financial aid are progressing toward graduation. The school's satisfactory academic progress policy must include both a qualitative measure (such as the use of a cumulative grade point average) and a quantitative measure (such as a maximum time-frame for program completion) to track student progress. The SAP policy must be at least as strict as the policy for students who do not receive federal student aid funds.

Qualitative Measure
According to the Federal Student Aid Handbook, a school may establish its own satisfactory progress standards; however, these standards must at least meet the minimum standards required by law and regulations. For the qualitative standard, the law specifies that by the end of the second academic year (measured as a period of time, not by the student's grade level), the student must, in general, have:

• a "C" average or its equivalent, and
• an academic standing consistent with the requirements for graduation from the program.

If a school determines that a student has maintained standards, even though his or her grade average falls below a "C," the school must be able to document that the student's average is consistent with the academic standards required for graduation from the program.

Quantitative Measure
According to the Federal Student Aid Handbook, to quantify academic progress, a school must set a maximum time frame in which a student is expected to finish the program. For an undergraduate program, the maximum time frame may not exceed 150% of the published length of the program measured in academic years, academic terms, credit hours attempted, or clock hours completed, as appropriate. For instance, if the published length of an academic program is 60 credit hours, the maximum time frame established by the school must not exceed 90 attempted credit hours.  Students in the Certificate programs--Fire Management, Library and Information Science Technology, and Sign Language Interpreting--must also make progress toward the completion of their programs. Students will be reviewed after each semester to ensure that they are progressing toward graduation. A student must maintain a "C" average each term and maintain a 67% completion rate. Maximum timeframe may not exceed 150% of any program. The published length of the Fire Management Certificate program is 24 hours, not to exceed 36 hours. The published length of the Library and Information Science Technology Certificate program is 18 hours, not to exceed 27 hours. The published length of the Sign Language Interpreting Certificate program is 48 hours, not to exceed 72 hours.