Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid Recipients

Federal regulations require each College to establish and consistently apply both a qualitative and quantitative method of measuring a student’s progress toward degree/program completion. Students are required to meet such standards in order to be eligible for federal, state, and institutional aid programs. These standards measure a student’s performance in the following three areas: completion rate, cumulative Bellin GPA and maximum time allowed. The following is the SAP policy applied to all students enrolled at and receiving financial aid (Title IV and Non-Title IV aid) from Bellin College regardless of enrollment status, program of study, etc. Please note: that SAP standards for financial aid are separate from academic standards set by the College.

General Guidelines

• Unless otherwise noted, all students regardless of enrollment status or program are subject to identical standards under this policy.
• SAP will be checked by the Director of Financial Aid at the end of each enrollment term, including summer and interim terms.
• Students may be placed on financial aid warning or probation but not on academic probation or visa versa. See the student handbook for more information on Academic Probation.
• Only those transfer courses included on the official credit evaluation AND courses taken while enrolled at Bellin College (including those taken at and transferred from other institutions) as part of the current degree program are used in the SAP calculation. Courses accepted for transfer from any other institution and used to meet Bellin College degree requirements are included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Time Frame calculations. This applies to any courses taken at any institution other than Bellin College at any point prior to or during the student’s enrollment at Bellin College for courses used to meet degree requirements at Bellin College.
  • Transfer courses accepted at the time of admission will be included on the official credit evaluation completed by the Bellin College Admissions office as determined from official transcripts obtained as part of the admissions process. These courses will be counted as both attempted and earned.
  • Courses taken at another institution in any term while enrolled at Bellin College to be used to meet Bellin College degree requirements will be included in the Completion Rate and Maximum Time Frame calculations. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the Registrar receives an official transcript for all transfer courses upon completion of the course(s). An official transcript must be received within four weeks of completing the course (end of the applicable enrollment term). These courses will be counted as attempted and may be either earned or not earned based on the assigned grade (a grade of C or better is required to accept a course as transfer).

Summer and Winter Interim Terms

It is understood that not all students are enrolled in summer or interim terms. However, if a student enrolls during such a term, courses taken during these terms are included in the SAP calculations provided those courses are used to meet degree requirements at Bellin College. Graded Bellin College courses will be included in the earned/attempted ratio and included in the GPA calculation. Courses which are strictly clinical in nature (pass/fail) will count towards the credits earned/attempted ratio, but do not affect the GPA. Courses taken at other institutions to transfer to meet Bellin College degree requirements will be included in the earned/attempted ratio, but not affect the GPA. Students are responsible for ensuring that the Registrar receives the appropriate official transcripts as noted above.

Changes in Majors or Degrees

Bellin College currently offers four undergraduate degree programs: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Radiographic Sciences, Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Medical Sonography and Bachelor of Science in Radiation Therapy. Students are admitted into one program and certain courses taken within that program may not be acceptable towards credits in the other program. To date, no students have attempted to change majors. However, should this occur in the future, only courses used to meet degree requirements in the new program would be used to calculate the earned/attempted ratio and GPA.

Bellin College offers only bachelor’s degree programs and master’s degree programs in nursing. In order to move from a BSN program to a Graduate Nursing Program, a student must first complete the BSN and apply for admission into the Graduate Nursing. If admitted into the Graduate Nursing Program, SAP calculations for that student’s Graduate Nursing Program would only include courses taken within the Graduate Nursing Program.

Second Degree Students

It is very common for students who have bachelor’s degrees to enroll in a second-degree program in order to change careers. Students who are admitted with prior degrees may have many of the required courses needed to

fulfill degree requirements at Bellin College. An official credit evaluation completed by the Bellin College Admission Department and approved by the Registrar determines how many transfer courses/credits are applicable to the Bellin College degree program at the time of admission to Bellin College. Only those transfer courses included on the official credit evaluation and courses taken while enrolled at Bellin College (including those taken at and transferred from other institutions) as part of the current degree program are used in the SAP calculation. See General Guidelines for more information related to transfer courses. This applies to all students with prior degrees, including those who may have previously received a degree from Bellin College.

Completion Rate

Following each enrollment term, a student’s academic progress will be measured by comparing the cumulative number of attempted credits with the cumulative number of earned credits. This will include any course for which the student has remained enrolled past the add/drop period. A student will be expected to earn at least 67% of the cumulative credits attempted throughout the program in order to maintain satisfactory academic progress and complete degree requirements within the maximum time allowed.

The following will be considered when evaluating a student’s completion rate:

• Withdrawals, incompletes, and failures are considered attempted, but not earned.
• Passing credits received for pass/fail courses are considered attempted and earned credits. Failing grades in pass/fail courses are considered attempted, but not earned.
• Repeated courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned credits.
• Audited courses are not considered credits attempted or earned.
• Transfer credits used to meet Bellin College degree requirements are included in the number of attempted credits. Courses accepted for transfer into Bellin College will be counted as attempted and earned credits. See General Guidelines above for more information related to transfer courses.
• Enrolled credits at another institution for the purpose of transferring those credits to be used to meet Bellin College degree requirements (while enrolled in a Bellin College program) will be used in the Completion Rate and Maximum Time Frame calculations. Courses not successfully completed will be counted as attempted but not earned. This applies only to transfer courses attempted while concurrently enrolled in a program at Bellin College. Transfer courses accepted at the time of admission (prior to enrollment at Bellin College) will be counted as both attempted and earned.
• Periods of enrollment when a student does not receive federal aid (such as less than half-time or on financial aid probation) are included in the SAP calculation (Bellin College or transfer courses).
• Students who re-enter Bellin College will be reviewed for SAP based on all courses (transfer and previous Bellin College courses) accepted toward their degree program at the time of readmission. The Bellin College GPA will be used. Therefore, it is possible that a student who has been readmitted to Bellin College may be immediately placed on financial aid warning or probation.

Cumulative Bellin GPA

Grade point average (GPA) is a quantitative measure of academic achievement and is computed based on credits earned and grades achieved. Only grades for courses taken at Bellin College are used to compute the GPA each semester. GPAs are reviewed at the end of each enrollment term for all courses taken at Bellin College during that period. The GPA is on a 4.0 scale. See below to determine how the GPA is calculated. The Financial Aid SAP standards for GPA mirrors the expectations of Bellin College academic standards. Every student’s cumulative Bellin GPA will be checked at the end of each enrollment term.

• Undergraduate students: All undergraduate students will be expected to maintain a minimum cumulative Bellin GPA of 2.0 throughout the program in order to meet satisfactory academic progress standards. This standard mirrors the College’s minimum GPA requirement for graduation in an undergraduate program.
• Graduate students: All Graduate students will be expected to maintain a minimum cumulative Bellin GPA of 3.0 throughout the program in order to meet satisfactory academic progress standards. This standard mirrors the College’s minimum GPA requirement for graduation in a graduate program.

The following will be considered when evaluating a student’s cumulative Bellin GPA:

• Transfer credits are not included in the GPA calculation, only Bellin College courses.
• Pass/fail courses will not affect a student’s GPA calculation.

GPA Calculation

Financial Aid Warning

A student who fails to meet one or more of the SAP requirements noted in this policy will be placed on financial aid warning for the following enrollment term. Students that do not meet SAP standards will be sent a letter from the Director of Financial Aid informing him or her of the warning status within five business days of the date semester grades are finalized. While on financial aid warning, the student will remain eligible for federal, state, and institutional financial aid provided all other eligibility requirements are met. A student is allowed only one consecutive enrollment term while on financial aid warning. If SAP standards are met at the end of the warning enrollment term, the student will again be considered in good standing. If SAP standards are not met, the student will become ineligible for further financial aid and will sent a letter by the Director of Financial Aid within five business days of the date semester grades are finalized.