SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS STANDARD  

In order to be eligible to receive financial aid from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), a student must be making satisfactory progress toward the completion of his/her degree in a manner that ensures that the degree will be achieved in no more than 6 years of full-time attendance.  A student who is no longer maintaining satisfactory academic progress will no longer be entitled to the receipt of aid.  In order to be deemed making progress, a student must: 1)  Successfully complete 75% of their attempted credits for each academic year at MCLA; 2)  Earn an overall minimum GPA of 1.75 after attempting their first two semesters, regardless of enrollment status; and 3)  Maintain a "C" average (2.0) after he/she has attempted 4 semesters or more, regardless of enrollment status.

 The following chart provides an example of MCLA’s credit requirement: 

Credits For Year	Credits        Fall and Spring	Credits Required
30 24 18 12	15 + 15   12 + 12     9 +  9     6 +  6	=    23 =    18 =    14 =      9

 

MCLA students who earn credits at other institutions cannot have those credits calculated as "credits successfully completed" unless an Off Campus Study Approval Form has been processed by the MCLA Registrar's Office.   A student's academic progress will be measured at the time of his/her application for financial aid and again after the spring semester.  Credit bearing skill courses and repeated courses are calculated in the determination of Satisfactory Academic Progress.  A semester (or course) in which the student withdraws is counted as an attempted semester (or course) and must be used in determining Satisfactory Academic Progress.  In addition, a student who regains Satisfactory Academic Progress halfway through the academic year will be eligible for only the following semester of aid eligibility.  Students beginning their attendance in January will be evaluated after the spring semester (1 semester of attendance) at the same time as other students and must have earned at least 75% of their attempted credits. 

PROBATION - Any student who has completed their first 2 semesters and their GPA is between 1.500 and 1.749 or any student who has completed 4 semesters or more and their GPA is between 1.750 and 1.999 at the time of review, will be placed on financial aid probation for the upcoming semester and will not be required to file an appeal with the Financial Aid Office.  However, students must achieve an overall 1.75 GPA and 2.000 GPA, respectfully, by the end of that semester in order to maintain financial aid eligibility for the following term.  This financial aid probation period is only available once during the student’s enrollment. 

INCOMPLETES -Any student whose satisfactory progress is pending due to “Incomplete” grades will be given the six-week period into the following semester to complete the coursework.  Their financial aid award will be placed on hold until a grade is posted and satisfactory progress can be determined.  College Work-Study awards are also placed on “Hold” and the student cannot begin working until academic progress is determined. 

PART-TIME STUDENTS –The same standard (as shown above) is used for calculating satisfactory progress for part-time students as for full-time students.   Part-time students must be making satisfactory progress toward completion of his/her degree in a manner that ensures the degree will be achieved in no more than 12 years of part-time attendance.

 READMIT STUDENTS -For those students who had a prior progress problem, withdrew and are readmitted to MCLA, at least six credit hours must be transferred in order to be in compliance with the standard.  These students are placed into a Probation status and are checked after their incoming semester.  If they have attended 4 semesters, they must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 at the end of the probation period.                                          

APPEALS - Any student who loses their financial aid eligibility because of the Satisfactory Academic Progress standard may appeal to the Financial Aid Appeals Committee (composed of the Financial Aid Director, the Financial Aid Coordinator, the Registrar, and one student representative) if he/she believes that exceptional circumstances led to the failure to meet the standard.  The appeal must be in writing and must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office within two weeks of the date the student receives notification of his/her loss of financial aid eligibility.  Students whose appeals are denied and those that did not appeal will be monitored and re-evaluated after their current semester to determine if they are in compliance and have regained their aid eligibility for the following semester.