Federal regulations require all institutions that administer Title IV student aid programs to monitor the academic progress towards degree completion of those students applying for and receiving those funds.  All Oberlin College students applying for Title IV Federal Aid must meet the criteria for academic progress stated in this policy.

The Federal programs governed by these regulations are the following:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal College Work Study
• Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant
• Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant
• Federal SMART Grant
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Federal Stafford Loans
• Federal Parent PLUS Loan

Satisfactory Academic Progress standards include the following three elements:

• Maximum time frame within which a degree must be obtained
• Minimum cumulative grade point average
• Minimum credits earned per academic semester

Maximum time Frame

Maximum Time Frame is defined as the required length of time it will take a student to complete a degree program based on full-time enrollment status.  For a student to remain eligible for federal aid, the student must conform to the time frame for completion of a Baccalaureate Degree (full time enrollment allowance is 12 enrolled semesters).

• Transfer Students:  Semesters accepted by the Oberlin College Registrar will be included as part of the maximum time frame towards completion of degree.  For example, if a student transfers in as a second-semester sophomore, s/he would have 8 semesters of federal aid eligibility remaining.
• Re-enrolling Students:  The prior Oberlin semesters and credits of a re-enrolling student are considered when determining maximum time frame.

Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average

Financial Aid recipients must maintain a pre-established cumulative grade point average per semester, to be eligible for financial aid.  The academic year begins with the Fall semester and ends with the Spring semester.  (See chart below for details)

Some students receiving financial aid may repeat courses, receive incompletes or withdraw from classes.  These topics are addressed below, with the information being consistent with the Oberlin College Course Catalog.

• Repeated Courses – For students matriculating fall 2004 and later, a student may repeat once a course for which a grade of D or F is received.  Both grades and both courses count in calculation of the GPA.  Only one of the courses counts as credit toward graduation.
• Incomplete Courses – An incomplete grade is a temporary grade, assigned at the end of a semester, to permit students additional time to complete work in a course.  Incomplete courses do not earn credit or influence the grade point in the semester in which the course is incomplete, however, the course grades are counted once concluded.
• Withdrawal Grades – A student may withdraw from a class per the established withdrawal procedures established by the Office of the Registrar.  Withdrawals and Pass/NP’s do not earn credit or get calculated into the cumulative grade point average.
• Transfer Students – Within the limits stated in the Oberlin College Course Catalog, credit earned at other fully accredited colleges and universities to be applied to the requirements for the Oberlin degree provided that the student received a “C” level or better and the coursework falls within the scope of a liberal arts curriculum.  Transfer credits count toward credits earned, however, they do not get calculated into the cumulative grade point average.

Minimum Credits Earned

Students must complete their academic programs and receive their degrees within a maximum time frame.  Listed below is the minimum number of credits a student must earn by the end of each full time academic semester.   (See chart below for details)

Semester	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Earned A&S Credits	8	18	30	42	54	67	80	94	108	112	112	112	NA	NA	NA
Earned Con Crediteds	8	18	30	42	54	67	80	94	108	120	124	124	NA	NA	NA
Earned DD Credits	8	18	30	42	54	67	80	94	108	122	136	150	152	152	152
Cumulative GPA	1.0	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67	1.67

 

Notice of Financial Aid Probation

A financial aid recipient who fails to meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress will be notified in writing by the Office of Financial Aid of his/her status.  Eligibility for the next academic semester will be determined following the fall semester.  Eligible aid recipients are allowed to continue to receive federal aid during a probationary period of up to the full time equivalent of one academic semester.  If a student is not enrolled in the following semester, his/her probationary period becomes effective with any subsequent period of enrollment and will consist of the full time equivalent of one academic semester.

We highly encourage any student who has been placed on Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Probation, to meet with a Financial Aid counselor as soon as possible.  The counselor can help determine what academic standards (Cumulative Credits earned and/or Cumulative GPA) and time-line must be met in order to remove the student from probation.

To be removed from financial aid probation, the student must make up the appropriate grade point and/or credit deficiency during the probationary period.  Failure to overcome the deficiency within the probationary period will result in the suspension of federal aid.  Students are allowed only one probationary period.  If a student who has been placed on probation and is subsequently reinstated fails to maintain the standards required, he/she will not be eligible for financial aid until the deficiencies have been removed.

Termination of Federal Financial Aid

Students on federal aid termination must make up the deficiency at their own expense.  Time frame and earned credits will continue during the termination period.

Right to Appeal

All Title IV aid recipients have the right to appeal a financial aid termination decision by submitting and appeal to the Financial Aid Committee with a written explanation of the following:

• How an error may have occurred
• How special circumstances beyond their control affected their academic performance
  • Special circumstances may include the following:
    • death in the family
    • seperation or divorce
    • severe accident or illness of the student or family member
    • extended hospitalization of the student
    • re-enrollment after a period of extended absence
    • other extreme circumstances as determined by the Office of Financial Aid
• You must also provide a detailed course of action including a time-line for attaining the applicable Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.

Appeals will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Committee.  All appeals must be filed no later than two weeks after the beginning of the semester.  Students will be notified of a decision within four weeks of submitting the appeal, and will be required to meet with a Financial Aid Counselor to discuss the requirements to attain Satisfactory Academic Progress standards.

Reinstatement of Federal Financial Aid

A student may be reinstated for federal aid after one or more of the following:

• Approval of an appeal by the Financial Aid Appeals Committee
• Successfully completing the deficiencies at one’s own expense

In cases of termination, the student will be required to notify the Office of Financial Aid with proper documentation when s/he is eligible for reinstatement.  Financial Aid can not be processed retroactively for any periods of enrollment for which the student’s aid eligibility was terminated.

Special Note Regarding Institutional Financial Aid

The information above regarding Satisfactory Academic Progress relates to Federal and State Financial Aid only.  Oberlin reserves the right to maintain or discontinue Institutional Financial Aid based on a student’s maintaining good academic and social standing with the Oberlin College and the applicable Dean’s Offices.