Addendum to the Catalog effective July 19, 2024
Federal regulations mandate that all students are required to conform to SAP standards as they work towards a degree in order for them to qualify to receive federal financial aid assistance through California Health Sciences University Title IV federal financial aid eligible academic programs.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (“SAP”) ensures that all students are able to complete their academic program in a timely manner while achieving and maintaining compliance with minimum academic standards.
The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy has three components:
- The student must maintain a certain grade point average or a comparative qualitative measurement against a norm (Qualitative measurement).
- The student must complete as certain percentage of all coursework attempted (Quantitative measurement).
- The student has a maximum timeframe to complete the program.
CHSU will use standard rounding rules when determining both the quantitative and qualitative components of the SAP review.
Affected Financial Aid Funds:
Title IV federal funds affected by this policy at CHSU include the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan and Federal Work Study program. Although not required by the federal government, all institutional fund are also governed by the SAP policy.
The Financial Aid Office will review academic records according to the schedule outlined below to determine if SAP is being achieved:
- College of Biosciences and Health Professions
- 1-Year Track will be reviewed at the end of each term
- 2-Year Track will be reviewed at the end of each term
- College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Will be reviewed at the end of each academic year
The Office of Financial Aid will notify the student if the student has failed to meet the standards of SAP and has lost eligibility for financial aid. If financial aid has been awarded for the subsequent academic year, the offer will be rescinded.
Qualitative Measurements
Graduate/Professional students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 and not be on Academic Suspension.
For programs longer than two academic years, a student, at the end of the second academic year must have a GPA of at least a “C” or its equivalent or have an academic standing consistent with CHSU’s graduation requirements.
The only grades that meet SAP standards are A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, H, RC (Remediated C), RP (Remediated Pass) and P. Withdrawal (W), Not Passing (NP), RF (Remediation Failed), and F grades are not passing grades. Incomplete (IC), In Progress (IP) and Remediation (Y) are temporary marks and are not included in the assessment of SAP. Remedial coursework must be included in the qualitative assessment of SAP. Courses attempted on a pass/fail basis count as attempts but are not factored into a student’s GPA for SAP purposes.
Grades are required when evaluating SAP. Students who have not been graded for a prior term of enrollment cannot be evaluated for SAP and therefore will be suspended from federal financial aid. Eligibility will be restored when the missing grades are reported, and the student is evaluated and meets the appropriate SAP standards.
Quantitative Measurements
Graduate/Professional students must complete at least two thirds of all units recorded on their official graduate transcripts from the time of first attendance in a graduate/professional program at CHSU. Thus, a student that enrolls in 18 units, and does not pass 4 units, but successfully completes the other 14 units, would be meeting this quantitative measurement but may not be meeting the qualitative measurement. This policy applies to cumulative units only. This standard is measured by dividing the total number of hours the student has successfully completed by the total number they have attempted. Courses in which a student remained past the add/drop period and earned a grade of “W” (or its equivalent) cannot be excluded from the satisfactory progress check.
Maximum Timeframe
Students must complete their educational objectives within a reasonable period of time. The maximum timeframe is no longer than 150% of the published length of the program. A student becomes ineligible at the point at which it becomes mathematically impossible for them to complete the program within 150% of its length.
SAP Notification
Any student found to not be meeting the SAP standards will be notified in writing by the Financial Aid Office that the student is being placed on either Financial Aid Warning or Financial Aid Suspension. Written notification will be sent electronically via the student’s CHSU email account and/or mailed to the last known address according to the Registrar’s Office.
Financial Aid Warning
Financial aid warning is a status CHSU will assign to a student who is failing to make satisfactory academic progress. This status is only available to students in the MSBS program as SAP is reviewed each payment period for that program. A warning status reinstates a student’s eligibility for one payment period without a student appeal.
Financial Aid Suspension
Students who do not meet the SAP standards at the time of annual evaluation will be ineligible to receive federal student aid funds for the subsequent semester (unless they submit an appeal and are placed on financial aid probation).
Unless academically dismissed, students may be permitted to enroll at CHSU while financial aid is suspended. Students denied federal financial aid may continue attending CHSU by funding their education themselves. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor his or her academic progress and be aware of their program requirements and SAP standards.
Financial Aid Probation
Financial aid probation is a status assigned to any student who fails to meet the SAP standards and has successfully appealed their Financial Aid Suspension. If it is determined that a student should be able to meet SAP standards by the end of the probation term an academic plan is not required. Students who will not be able to meet SAP standards after one payment period may be placed on probation and be required to follow the requirements of an academic plan. The student’s progress will be reviewed at the end of one payment period to determine if the student is meeting the requirements of the academic plan. Students who meet all SAP standards or the requirements of their academic plan will remain eligible for federal financial aid. Students who fail to meet the SAP standards or the requirements of their academic plan will again be suspended from financial aid eligibility and will be ineligible for federal financial aid going forward. Students may have plans that extend for more than one semester, but their progress will still be evaluated at the end of each semester to ensure that they have complied with their academic plan.
Regaining Eligibility for Title IV Funds
A student can regain eligibility by taking action that brings them into compliance with CHSU’s satisfactory academic progress standards, or be placed on warning, probation or have an agreed upon academic plan.
Appeal Process
Students who become ineligible to receive federal financial aid for failure to meet the SAP standards and have been notified of the Financial Aid Suspension status have the right to make a written appeal to the Director of Financial Aid. Students who appeal must demonstrate all of the following:
- That failure to meet the minimum standard was caused by extreme or unusual circumstances (corroborating documentation must be supplied), some of the mitigating circumstances can include:
- The student, spouse, dependent children have experienced illness that prevented class attendance; a death of an immediate family member; or some other extraordinary situation that prevented them from meeting the SAP standards.
- In cases of illness or disability, a letter of explanation is needed from a health care provider.
- In cases of death, the student must provide a copy of the death certificate or obituary notice.
- In cases of extraordinary circumstances, the student must provide a written explanation of the cause and how it was resolved. The student should provide as much supporting documentation as possible.
- Have completed an approved Alternate Progression Plan showing how they have identified and will resolve the issue(s).
- That the issue(s) will not affect their performance in the future.
Once an appeal has been submitted to the Director of Financial Aid and the APP has been verified as approved, the Director will have 7 business days to respond. The response will be in writing via their CHSU email and/or mail via the last known address on file with the Registrar’s Office with either an:
- Approval: The student is now on Financial Aid Probation
- Denial: The student is no longer eligible for federal financial aid
All decisions are final. If a decision has not been made by the time tuition is due, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the Business Office to discuss options on how to proceed.
Students may appeal for reinstatement and be placed on Financial Aid Probation a maximum of two times during their attendance at CHSU.
Academic Plan
Students seeking to appeal their financial aid suspension status who will not be able to be back in SAP compliance after one semester will be required to work with Academic Affairs to develop an academic plan. The academic plan is a written agreement between the student and CHSU that may extend the student’s eligibility for federal aid for one or more semesters during the designated probationary period. An academic plan will specify requirements that the student must meet or exceed each semester to maintain or regain federal financial aid eligibility. A student who fails to meet the requirements set forth in the academic plan will again be placed on financial aid suspension and will be ineligible for federal aid in future semesters until the student can meet the SAP standards.