Academic Progress Appeal Form

STUDENT FINANCIAL AID ACADEMIC PROGRESS APPEAL FORM

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Federal regulations require that Kent State University review the academic progress of students who apply for and/or receive federal financial aid. The purpose of this review is to measure whether a student is making satisfactory progress toward his or her educational goals. The criteria are GPA, percent completion and maximum time frame (each are explained below). This policy is specific to federal regulations regarding financial aid; it is not the academic standards for your college. This policy does not prevent enrollment, but does prevent the awarding of federal financial aid. For the full Satisfactory Academic Progress policy please visit www.kent.edu/financialaid/sap. Students should login to their Flashline account to the transcripts section under the Student Tools & Courses tab to view their GPA, earned hours and attempted hours information. The purpose of the appeal is to show that there were extenuating circumstances that lead students to not meeting the standards and that federal financial aid should be awarded on a one-semester basis.

Undergraduate applicants for federal programs must maintain the following standards:

Grade Point Average (GPA):
GPA is based on the cumulative Kent State University GPA.

Freshmen: Minimum 1.25 cumulative GPA
Sophomores: Minimum 1.50 cumulative GPA
Juniors and Seniors: Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA
After attending Kent State for two calendar years, all students must have a 2.00 cumulative GPA regardless of grade level. Remedial coursework is included in the GPA calculation. The requirement for graduation is a 2.00 cumulative GPA and the graduated scale is designed to get the student to that point.

Percent Completion:
Percent completion is calculated by dividing overall earned hours by overall attempted hours. The following completion rates must be met in order to demonstrate progress toward degree completion.
Freshmen students: 50% overall completion rate
Sophomore students: 60% overall completion rate
Junior and Senior students: 67% overall completion rate
Transfer hours are included in the percent completion calculation. Grades that are attempted but not earned include W, F, NF, SF, IN, IP, U, NR, and Z grades.
Maximum Time Frame (MTF)
Undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor’s degree may be considered for financial aid to a maximum of 180 overall attempted hours. Undergraduate students pursuing an associate degree may be considered for federal financial aid to a maximum of 97 overall attempted hours. Students pursuing an undergraduate certificate may be considered for federal financial aid to a maximum of 29 overall attempted hours.
- Overall institution attempted hours even if the student changes majors
- Overall transfer hours
- Attempted hours are counted for all terms, even those semesters during which the student did not receive financial aid as well as those waived under academic amnesty policies
- Remedial, repeated and forgiveness hours will be included in the overall attempted hours calculation
Students who have reached the maximum time frame limit and who have completed coursework to graduate but have not yet received their degree cannot continue to receive further financial aid as an undergraduate.

The Student Financial Aid Office will notify students who do not meet the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress policy after the end of the spring semester or when our office receives FAFSA results. To view your status:

Log into FlashLine
Click Student tab in left column
Under Finances click on Financial Aid
Click Financial Aid Status
Select the “Award Year” from the drop down box and click Submit

If extenuating circumstances contributed to the student’s non-compliance with the SAP policies, the student may appeal the denial for federal financial aid by submitting a Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal. Examples of extenuating circumstances are: medical issues, death of a family member, etc. The appeal is an online form that you complete, print, sign and submit to your campus’ financial aid representative. In an appeal, a student must explain the circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the SAP policy standards and explain what has changed that will allow the student to meet the standards at the next evaluation. Supporting documentation must be provided.

Students who do not appeal or who are denied by the committee, or are not in compliance with the standards after one semester will not be eligible for federal financial aid until their academic record is once again in compliance with the Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress. Neither paying for their classes out-of-pocket nor sitting out for an enrollment period is sufficient for students to re-establish eligibility for federal aid. Students in compliance prior to the end of the academic year must notify their campus’ Student Financial Aid Office in writing by submitting an appeal.

If you have documentable extenuating circumstances, please click the button below to go to the Satisfactory Academic Progress appeal form. For additional options, students can review the Bursar Office payment options at www.kent.edu/bursar or review alternative loan information. Alternative loans are student loans by private companies, not the Federal government. For alternative loan information visit Fast Choice at https://choice.fastproducts.org/FastChoice/home/305100/1.

Complete the Academic Progress Appeal Form