Undergraduate Students
A student must meet all of the following requirements in order to be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP) for federal financial aid. ESU measures SAP annually at the end of the spring semester.
Qualitative Standard: Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
- ESU looks at the cumulative GPA that is considered to be in good academic standing. A 2.0 CGPA is required to maintain federal aid eligibility.
Quantitative Standard: Pass Rate
The Pass Rate is determined by the percentage of total attempted credits that were successfully earned.
- Students must successfully earn a minimum of 66.67% of the attempted credits.
- Pass Rate is calculated by dividing the cumulative credit hours earned by the total credits attempted.
Maximum Time Frame:
- Undergraduate students are limited to a total of 180 attempted credits towards their first undergraduate degree for financial purposes. This is 150% of total credit hours required to complete an Undergraduate Degree.
Program Completion
Once the student completes all the academic requirements for his or her program, the student is considered to have completed the degree program and is no longer eligible for further federal aid for that program.
Students who fail to meet satisfactory progress at the end of each academic year shall lose federal financial aid eligibility. If the student resumes satisfactory academic progress, the student shall regain federal financial aid eligibility as long as she/he maintains satisfactory academic progress.
Federal Financial Aid Appeal Process
- If, at the end of each academic year, a student is still not meeting SAP requirements, the student may submit an appeal based on extenuating circumstances. Examples of extenuating circumstances are personal illness or injury, a death of a close relative, or other special circumstances. The written appeal can be completed on the myESU portal http://www.esu.edu/students/enrollment_services/financial_aid/apply/academic_progress.cfm and must outline the reasons that satisfactory progress was not met, what has changed that will allow the minimum standards to be met and how the student plans to improve his/her academic progress (i.e. academic plan).
- If the appeal is approved by Satisfactory Academic Progress Committee, the student regains federal financial aid eligibility as long as she/he maintains satisfactory academic progress.
- If it is determined the student will require more than one payment period to achieve SAP standards, the student will continue to be on financial aid probation with an academic plan. The academic plan will be developed collaboratively with the student, the Academic Adviser or DAEL Adviser, and the Office of Student Financial Aid. The student’s progress will be monitored at the end of each subsequent payment period by all offices to determine if the student is meeting the requirements of the academic plan. If the student is meeting the requirements of the academic plan, the student will be eligible to receive federal aid as long as the student continues to meet the requirements and is reviewed according to the requirements specified in the plan.
- If the appeal is denied, the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid until s/he is meeting satisfactory academic progress standards.
Academic Forgiveness
All academic coursework taken by a student in attendance at East Stroudsburg University must be included in determining federal SAP. This federal SAP policy is exclusive of any East Stroudsburg University academic policy related to re-admission and GPA calculation.
Transfer Credits
Transfer credits accepted toward the student’s current program (including consortium agreements and Study Abroad courses) are counted in both cumulative credits attempted and cumulative credits completed. Grades earned in transfer credits are not included in cumulative GPA.