In order to be eligible for continued receipt of financial aid, Federal policy requires the establishment of qualitative and quantitative measures of incremental progress toward the completion of degree requirements.  For financial aid purposes and in order to maintain satisfactory progress toward degree completion, students must meet both quantitative and qualitative measures at specific measurement points.  Transfer students who have credit hours accepted by UMass Dartmouth toward UMass Dartmouth degree completion requirements will have those hours calculated into the quantitative measure of progress. Administrative credit remedial courses (those that do not count toward degree requirements) are excluded from satisfactory academic progress determination.  Repeated courses are included in the measurement of satisfactory academic progress.  The Financial Aid Services office will measure incremental progress toward degree completion annually at the end of the academic year in June.  The Financial Aid Services office will notify students who fail to meet the progress requirements listed below.  Such students have the option to satisfy the requirements in one of two ways:

·         Taking program-related courses (at their own expense) to raise either the credit hour or grade point average requirement, or both.

·         Requesting a waiver of the requirements due to mitigating circumstances.  Students who wish to have the requirements waived due to mitigating circumstances (including, but not limited to, medical issues, family difficulties, documented waiver or addition by Dean to program/major credit requirements) should write a letter to the Director of Financial Aid detailing reasons for failure to meet the requirements. Students who receive this waiver will receive notification of the requirements necessary to bring the hours or grade point average into compliance at the next incremental measurement period. 

Students who fail to meet the requirements will be ineligible for all financial aid programs, including Federal, state, institutional, and private alternative loan programs, until the student is once again in compliance.  If the requirements are met due to one of the two options listed above, the student may receive financial aid for the following academic year.

QUALITATIVE COMPONENT

  At Each Annual Measurement Period

   _____________________________

   Students with this number

   of completed credits            0-30      31-60    61-90    91-above

   Must have at least

   this minimum cumulative

   grade point average:            1.500    1.700      1.850    2.0                          

A 2.0 cumulative grade point average is required for graduation.

QUANTITATIVE COMPONENT

For an undergraduate program, the maximum credits attempted cannot exceed 150% of the published credits required for completion of that program.   For example, students could not attempt more than 180 credits in a 120 credit hour program.

A student who has completed all of the coursework for his or her degree or certificate but has not yet received the degree or certificate cannot receive further financial aid for that program.

At each annual measurement period, students must have completed at least 67% of all courses attempted.  The calculation of credits successfully completed does not include grades of W, I, F, NC, AU, IP, and NR.