GPA and Pace Criteria

• Undergraduate Students: The Office of Financial Aid will review your progress in May of each year to verify your eligibility for aid for the next academic year. Students must successfully complete a minimum of 67% (two-thirds) of cumulative credit hours attempted.
• Graduate Students: At the University of Dayton, graduate and doctoral students who take advantage of federal student loans are expected to successfully complete at least 75 percent of their cumulative attempted credit hours and to maintain a 3.00 cumulative grade point average.
• Law Students: At the University of Dayton, law students who take advantage of federal student loans are expected to successfully complete at least 75 percent of their cumulative attempted credit hours and to maintain a 2.00 cumulative grade point average.

Successful completion of a course is defined as receiving a grade of A, B, C, D, _S or S. The grading marks of F, NC, I, W, X, IP or P and audited courses will not be considered as successful completion of a course. At the time of SAP review, you must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average. Cumulative grade point average is calculated as the total number of cumulative quality points divided by the total number of cumulative credit hours. Marks of CR, I, K, IP, P, S, _S, W, X and NC are disregarded in the computation of the cumulative GPA.

Maximum Timeframe

We will also measure the progress toward your degree completion by calculating the number of hours you have attempted in comparison to the published length of your program. Federal regulations require that students must not exceed a maximum timeframe of completion of 150%. For example, if your program requires 120 hours in order for completion, you must not exceed attendance of 180 credit hours. If you do not meet this requirement, your financial aid eligibility for the next year will be revoked and you will be notified by e-mail. Your SAP status will also be viewable via Porches.

Students who do not meet the required standards of GPA, Pace or Maximum Timeframe will lose their eligibility for financial aid. In order to regain your eligibility to receive federal student aid, you must satisfactorily improve your cumulative grade point average and/or make up the deficient credit hours at your own expense. You may either attend the University of Dayton or another institution, provided the credit hours can be transferred to the University of Dayton and provided that you do not receive any federal Title IV Funds while attending that institution.

If during the course of your academic career, you change your major/degree, this can be taken into consideration, if you are appealing the maximum time frame or cumulative grade point average requirement. A change of major/degree is not an automatic appeal approval.

Students seeking a second undergraduate degree are subject to the maximum timeframe component for undergraduate study. Once it has been verified that you are pursuing a second undergraduate degree, we will determine the maximum timeframe requirement for you.

If you have a grade of incomplete (grades of 'I', 'IP') in a course at the time the Satisfactory Academic Progress calculation is completed your aid eligibility can be affected. These letter grades count as attempted hours but do not count as earned hours and will negatively impact your academic progress. Once an incomplete grade is updated with a final grade, the cumulative GPA will be recalculated accordingly. If you have a grade changed after our review, please contact us and we will review your new progress based on the updates to your academic record.

If you repeat courses in accordance with university policy, those hours will be included as attempted hours. After a retake course is completed, the higher of the grades earned will be used in the calculation of the student’s cumulative GPA. In addition, you may only take a specific course and receive a passing grade twice and still receive federal aid for this course.

These courses are not considered in the calculation of your grade point average and are not included as part of the maximum timeframe.

Coursework that is transferred towards your degree will be included in both attempted and earned hours. Transferred coursework does not include a GPA and therefore is not included in the cumulative GPA.

Courses for which you enroll but do not complete will be counted as attempted hours. Summer Enrollment Progress is reviewed at the end of the academic year in May. If you are enrolled in summer class, we will review your grades upon completion upon request from you.

If there are extenuating circumstances that prevented you from making satisfactory progress, you may appeal our decision to withdraw your financial assistance. You will be asked to explain the reason(s) for your inability to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards. In addition, you’ll need to share with us what steps you’ve taken to ensure your ability to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards at the next evaluation point. Appeals will be reviewed within two weeks of receipt and you will be notified of a decision via email. Reasons for appeal that will be considered include medical conditions or serious personal or family circumstances that impacted your ability to meet standards. If an appeal is reviewed and approved, a student becomes eligible to receive financial aid under a status of 'Financial Aid Probation.' Students receiving aid under a status of Financial Aid Probation will be evaluated at the end of the first term in the new academic year.