Appendix B: Standards of Progress for Financial Aid
Satisfactory Progress Policy | NCAA Eligibility Requirements | Veterans' Standards of Progress | Financial AidSatisfactory Progress Policy
Federal financial aid regulations require students to make satisfactory progress to remain eligible for financial aid. Financial aid programs affected by this policy include Federal Pell Grants, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal and Michigan Work-Study, Federal and Michigan Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Federal PLUS Loans, Michigan Competitive Scholarships, the Michigan Adult Part-time Grants, Michigan Tuition Incentive Program, Academic Competitive Grants, and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants.
This policy defines the minimum requirements for financial aid eligibility at Michigan Tech. Note that other types of financial aid (e.g., scholarships) may have more stringent requirements.
Students who do not meet the GPA requirements after any semester are not considered to be making satisfactory progress, and the affected financial aid for subsequent semesters will be canceled with the following exception: students who do not meet the GPA requirement after their first semester at Michigan Tech will be placed on financial aid probation and will remain eligible for financial aid for one semester. Students not meeting the schedule of credits passed after spring semester are not considered to be making satisfactory progress. Both GPA and credits passed requirements must be met for aid to be reinstated.
Requirement 1. Minimum Grade Point Average
Every student must maintain, at the end of each semester, a cumulative grade point average of at least
| 1.70 as a freshman (0–29 credits) |
| 1.80 as a sophomore (30–59 credits) |
| 2.00 as a junior (60–89 credits) |
| 2.00 as a senior (90 or more credits) |
| 2.00 as a postgraduate student |
| 3.00 as a graduate student (MS, PhD) |
Requirement 2. Minimum Credits Passed
Every student must adhere to the following schedule of credits passed, even if the academic major is changed. Audited courses (U or V) do not count toward credits earned. Transfer students, see below for additional information.
Credits Earned at Michigan Tech
Full-Time
Semesters at Michigan Tech |
Undergraduate Student
|
MS Student |
PhD Student
|
| 1 | 9 | 4 | 4 |
| 1.5* | 13 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | 18 | 8 | 8 |
| 3 | 28 | 12 | 12 |
| 4 | 38 | 16 | 16 |
| 5 | 49 | 20 | 20 |
| 6 | 60 | 24 | 24 |
| 7 | 71 | 28 | 28 |
| 8 | 82 | 32 | 32 |
| More than 8 | — | no aid | — |
| 9 | 94 | no aid | 36 |
| 10 | 106 | — | 40 |
| 11 | 118 | — | 44 |
| 12 | 130 | — | 48 |
| More than 12 | no aid | — | — |
| 13 | — | — | 52 |
| 14 | — | — | 56 |
| More than 14 | — | — | no aid |
Eligibility Defined
All students, regardless of whether they are receiving aid, have a limited number of semesters for which they are eligible for such aid. For example, undergraduates who have attended Michigan Tech for 8 full-time semesters may be eligible for another 4 semesters of aid, regardless of whether or not they have received aid in the past. Every semester an undergraduate student is enrolled for 12 or more credits at the end of the official add period counts as a full time semester. If an undergraduate student is enrolled for 6-11 credits, the full-time semesters increase by one half. Full-time semesters will not increase during the semesters undergraduate students carry fewer than 6 credits.
Associate Degree Students—The undergraduate schedule of credits passed applies to students in associate degree programs. If the full-time semesters exceed 6, the student is not considered to be making satisfactory progress. Appeals based on the fact that some credits earned at Michigan Tech were used for a previous degree should be presented to the Financial Aid Office.
Students with Transfer Credit—The appropriate schedule of credits earned applies to students with transfer credit, with one additional step. The total number of credits transferred to Michigan Tech is divided by 15 to calculate full-time transfer semesters. That number is then subtracted from the total number of full-time semesters of eligibility at Michigan Tech to determine the number of semesters of eligibility remaining. If the combination of full-time semesters at Michigan Tech plus the full-time semesters calculated from transfer credit exceeds the maximum allowed (12), the student is not considered to be meeting satisfactory progress requirements for financial aid. Example: A student who is transferring 60 semester credits to Michigan Tech would have 4 full-time transfer semesters (60 credits/15=4 semesters). The student in this example would have 8 full-time semesters of eligibility remaining (12 semesters maximum minus 4 calculated transfer semesters=8 semesters of remaining eligibility).
Students Working on Second Undergraduate Degree—Undergraduate students who have received their first bachelor's degree from another institution are considered to be making unsatisfactory progress when their full-time Michigan Tech semesters exceed 6. Michigan Tech undergraduates seeking a second bachelor's degree must follow the schedule of credits passed for undergraduate students.
Appeals and Reinstatements
Because financial aid dollars are applied to the first billing each semester, and the progress status is not determined until semester-end grades are processed, necessary adjustments will appear on a subsequent billing of the semester following a change of progress status.
If completion of temporary grades (I or X) or other transcript changes (e.g., grade changes) warrant reinstatement, the student should notify the Financial Aid Office by the end of the semester following unsatisfactory progress.
Students not meeting the satisfactory progress requirements because of mitigating or extenuating circumstances may request reinstatement of financial aid by submitting a Satisfactory Progress Appeal Request Form along with the specified documentation. This form can be obtained from the Financial Aid Office or downloaded from the Financial Aid Office website. Appeals should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office no later than Tuesday of the first week of the semester following unsatisfactory progress. If a student's appeal is approved, when appropriate, the full-time semesters will be adjusted allowing continued eligibility.
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NCAA Eligibility Requirements
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) requires that student-athletes be in good academic standing and maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a baccalaureate degree to remain eligible to represent an institution in intercollegiate athletics competition. The following table lists the total number of credits that must be complete and the minimum cumulative GPA that must be attained by a student-athlete at Michigan Technological University by the end of each academic year to meet NCAA eligibility requirements.
Division I — Men's Ice Hockey:
- Must declare a major by the start of the third year to be eligible to compete.
- Student-athletes must be in good standing with the University (not withdrawn or suspended).
| Entering 2nd Year of Collegiate Enrollment | Entering 3rd Year of Collegiate Enrollment | Entering 4th Year of Collegiate Enrollment | Entering 5th Year of Collegiate Enrollment |
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Division II
A student-athlete must pass at least 24 credit hours of college work during the two (2) previous semesters or have an average of 12 credits each term attended (summer school can only account for 25 percent of the 24 credits) and maintain the following grade point average:
GPA Requirements
1.80—After completion of 24 semester credit hours.
2.00—After completion of 48 semester credit hours, or thereafter.
Six Credit Hours Eligibility Requirement
All student-athletes currrently enrolled must successfully complete at least six semester hours in the previous regular academic term of full-time enrollment to be eligible to participate in the next regular academic term. Student-athletes not meeting the satisfactory progress requirements because of mitigating or extenuating circumstances may request reinstatement by writing a letter of appeal to the Athletic Department, care of the Compliance Office, within one week of notification of loss of eligibility.
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Veterans‘ Standards of Progress
The veterans' standards of progress are the same as for all other university students as listed under Academic Policies and Procedures.
- All students receiving veterans’ benefits must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.00. Failure to maintain that GPA will result in the student being placed on probation. A student will be allowed two terms, including the summer session, to raise the cumulative GPA to that required for graduation to come off probation. If the student fails to remove himself or herself from probation, the US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) will be notified in writing. Requests for reinstatement of VA benefits will be made only after a veteran has been removed from probation and has attained a cumulative GPA of 2.00 (on a 4.00 scale).
- Student veterans not registered by the fifth day of instruction will be terminated from benefits.
- All student veterans receiving benefits must schedule a minimum of 12 credits of their major core requirements to receive full benefits.
- Repeated courses are authorized for student veterans receiving benefits only if the course being repeated is a major, minor, or core requirement. Repeating a non-failing grade is not considered VA certifiable.
- Two-year technology courses are not authorized for certification for student veterans enrolled in a four-year program.
- All accepted applicants who are requesting veterans' benefits will be given credit for previous training, where appropriate. The total length of time will be reduced proportionately toward completion of degree requirements. All students receiving veterans' benefits must submit transcripts and other documents showing credit for previous training to the Admissions Office by the end of the first term of enrollment. Failure to do so will result in no further certification for veterans' benefits until those transcripts have been provided.
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Financial Aid
For scholarship information, go to the Financial Aid website at www.mtu.edu/finaid
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