Financial Aid is just one of the many resources college students have at their disposal when it comes to paying for their college tuition. At Kean University, a system has been put in place called the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy, which focuses on ensuring financial aid recipients are earning the credits they need to stay eligible for aid.

The Satisfactory Academic Progress policy states that all students that receive financial aid need to be in good academic standing, and making academic progression towards their degree, in order to continue receiving financial aid for the following semesters. Students' academic standing and academic progression will be checked at the end of each fall, spring and summer semesters to be sure they fall within the guidelines necessary to be considered for SAP.

For a student to maintain good academic standing, they need to meet or exceed the minimum cumulative grade point average required by the college for them to continue to be enrolled, and eventually graduate. For undergraduate students, that would be a 2.0 GPA, while for graduate students that would be a 3.0 GPA. Exceptional Education Opportunities (EEO) students should refer to their program guidelines to see what their grade point average should be.

Academic Progression is the second component within the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy. Academic Progression is determined by the pace of completion and maximum time frame.

First is the pace of completion, which is calculated by the number of credits students have completed divided by the number that were attempted for that semester. Classes from which students withdrew, or that were left incomplete, are considered attempted credits. Once calculated, the credit amount must equal or exceed 66.67 percent of the credits they were enrolled after the add/drop period to be considered on-pace for completion.

Credits from duplicated classes and redemption credits are counted toward pace of completion, but this is only allowed once, and students should know that this decreases their pace of completion. Something like advance standing hours, which include transfer and AP credit, are counted toward the hours attempted and the hours completed. Advance standing hours that are accepted as credit, like transfer and AP credits, are counted for both the hours attempted and the hours completed.

The second component of the Academic Progression is the maximum time frame. The maximum time frame involves multiplying the average number of credits a student must finish to complete their degree by 150 percent. The resulting number determines how many credit hours a student can take and still maintain their SAP. Students can only continue to receive financial aid as long as they do not exceed the credit hours determined by the maximum time frame calculations. Advanced standing hours are also included in maximum time frame.

Any students with disabilities, learning or otherwise, should be sure to contact the Office of Counseling and Disability Services to ensure the right accommodations are being made for them. This should allow for them to complete their Satisfactory Academic Progression without issue, once accommodations have been made.

For more information on which class credits are included in the SAP policy, and on how to proceed if one does not meet the requirements for SAP, students can visit the Satisfactory Academic Progress page on the Kean University website.