Rush is able to best help you get the financial aid you need when you maintain good academic standing and a steady academic progression. Following are some of the key points you need to know to help you stay on track and eligible for assistance.
What is satisfactory progress?
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by Congress, mandates institutions of higher education to establish minimum standards of satisfactory progress for students receiving federal financial aid. These standards apply to all federal Title IV aid programs, including the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS Loan and Federal College Work-Study programs.
Accordingly, the Department of Education regulations require that Rush University’s Office of Student Financial Aid monitors the academic progress of all financial aid recipients toward the completion of their degree. This process is called Satisfactory Academic Progress, or SAP.
This SAP policy is enforced in conjunction with all other institutional policies and procedures, including the academic progressions policies of Rush University’s colleges and academic programs. For undergraduate and graduate students, the criteria below are checked at the end of each term. For medical students, the below criteria are checked annually at the end of summer term.
The Office of Student Financial Aid will factor in rounding up to two digits (66.67%) when calculating a student’s eligibility for meeting the minimum pace of completion requirements.
Enforcement
The Office of Student Financial Aid has the primary responsibility for enforcing the SAP policy. The Office of the Registrar and other Rush University offices that maintain student information relevant to the SAP policy shall provide such information, as requested by the Office of Student Financial Aid.
SAP Requirements
SAP requirements vary by academic level (undergraduate, graduate and medical students). Please refer to the appropriate section to find the requirements that fit your academic program.
Undergraduate Students
SAP for undergraduate students is monitored using three factors: maximum time frame measurement, pace of completion and cumulative grade-point average, or GPA. SAP is measured at the end of each academic term once final grades are submitted.
Maximum Time Frame Measurement
Students may attempt up to 150% of the credits it normally takes to complete the program. The total allowable attempted hours are calculated by multiplying the hours required to complete the degree at Rush (including the general education courses required prior to entry in the program) by 1.5 and rounding down to the nearest whole number. For example, for a program that requires 107 credit hours to receive a degree at Rush (including the general education courses required prior to entry in the program), a student may attempt up to 160 hours.
Pace of Completion (POC)
Students must successfully complete at least 66.667% of the courses they attempt. The Office of Student Financial Aid will factor in rounding up to two digits (66.67%) for the purpose of this calculation. This will be measured cumulatively over the course of the student’s program.
For the purpose of this measurement, all of the following are applicable:
- Successful completion is defined as a grade of A, B or C for a letter grade course or a grade of P for a course that is pass/fail or pass/no pass. These courses are counted in both the attempted and completed hours totals.
- All other grades, including incomplete grades, are counted in the attempted hours total but not in the completed hours total. If an incomplete grade is later converted to a grade that is considered to be a successfully completed grade, the pace of completion percentage can be recalculated. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Office of Student Financial Aid when an incomplete grade has been converted.
- Students who drop courses prior to the close of the published add/drop period for each term will not have those dropped courses counted in the total attempted hours. Dropped courses after the close of the published add/drop period will be counted in the total attempted hours.
- Repeated courses are counted as attempted hours during all attempts.
- Transfer credits (including the general education courses required prior to entry in the program) that count toward the student’s current academic program count as both attempted and completed hours. Students who change majors at the same degree level will only have hours that were previously attempted counted in their cumulative totals if they are applicable to the new academic program.
Cumulative Grade-Point Average
Undergraduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students who have a term GPA of less than 1.0 after their first term at Rush will be immediately placed on financial aid suspension.
Graduate Students
SAP for graduate students (including students in the Division of Translational Science) is monitored using three requirements: maximum time frame measurement, pace of completion and cumulative GPA. SAP is measured at the end of each academic term once final grades are submitted.
Maximum Time Frame Measurement
Students may attempt up to 150% of the credits it normally takes to complete their program. The total allowable attempted hours are calculated by multiplying the hours required to complete the degree at Rush by 1.5 and rounding down to the nearest whole number. For example, a student may attempt up to 169 hours for a program that requires 113 credit hours to receive a degree at Rush.
Please note: Non-degree certificate programs are approved by the U.S. Department of Education for financial assistance at a specific number of credit hours. Regardless of a student’s actual plan of study, maximum time frame is calculated using the number of hours for which the program was approved with the U.S. Department of Education.
Pace of Completion (POC)
Students must successfully complete at least 66.667% of the courses they attempt. The Office of Student Financial Aid will factor in rounding up to two digits (66.67%) for the purpose of this calculation. This will be measured cumulatively over the course of the student’s program. For the purpose of this measurement, all of the following are applicable:
- Successful completion is defined as a grade of A or B for a letter grade course or a grade of P for a course that is pass/fail or pass/no pass. These courses are counted in both the attempted and completed hours totals.
- All other grades, including incomplete grades, are counted in the attempted hours total, but not in the completed hours total. If an incomplete grade is later converted to a grade that is considered to be a successfully completed grade, the pace of completion percentage can be recalculated. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Office of Student Financial Aid when an incomplete grade has been converted.
- Students who drop courses prior to the close of the published add/drop period for each term will not have those dropped courses counted in the total attempted hours. Dropped courses after the close of the published add/drop period will be counted in the total attempted hours.
- Repeated courses are counted as attempted hours during all attempts.
- Transfer credits that count toward the student’s current academic program count as both attempted and completed hours.
- Students who change majors at the same degree level will only have hours that were previously attempted counted in their cumulative totals if they are applicable to the new academic program.
Cumulative Grade-Point Average
Graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Students who have a GPA of less than 2.0 after their first term at Rush will be immediately placed on financial aid suspension.
Rush Medical College Students (MD only)
SAP for professional students enrolled in the medical doctor program within Rush Medical College is monitored using three requirements: maximum time frame measurement, pace of completion and grade requirements. SAP is measured annually at the end of the summer semester once final grades are submitted.
Maximum Time Frame Measurement
M1 Students Effective Fall 2024:
Students may attempt up to 150% of the credits it normally takes to complete their program. The total allowable attempted hours are calculated by multiplying the hours required to complete the degree at Rush by 1.5 and rounding down to the nearest whole number. For example, a student may attempt up to 169 hours for a program that requires 113 credit hours to receive a degree at Rush.
M2, M3, and M4 Students Effective Fall 2024:
Maximum time frame will be measured based on an academic year for M2s, M3s, and M4s effective for fall 2024. Terms prior to fall 2024 will be included in the calculation. Students who were M2, M3, or M4 effective fall 2024 may attempt up to six years (11 semesters) to complete their academic program.
Pace of Completion (POC)
The Office of Student Financial Aid will calculate student pace of completion (POC) annually at the end of each summer semester. Students must successfully complete at least 66.667% of the courses they attempt. The Office of Student Financial Aid will factor in rounding up to two digits (66.67%) for the purpose of this calculation. This will be measured cumulatively over the course of the student’s program. Coursework prior to fall 2024 will not be included in this calculation for any student.
For the purpose of this measurement, all of the following are applicable:
- Successful completion is defined as a passing grade (i.e., Pass, High Pass, or Honors). These courses are counted in both the attempted and completed hours totals.
- All other grades, including deferred, grades assigned a “W”, and incomplete grades, are counted in the attempted hours totals, but not in the completed hours total.
- If a missing, deferred, or incomplete grade is later converted to a passing grade that is considered to be a successfully completed grade, the pace of completion percentage can be recalculated. It is the student’s responsibility to notify the Office of Student Financial Aid when a missing grade, deferred, or incomplete grade has been converted.
- Students who drop courses prior to the close of the published add/drop period for each term will not have those dropped courses counted in the total attempted hours. Dropped courses after the close of the published add/drop period will be counted in the total attempted hours.
- Repeated courses are counted as attempted hours during all attempts.
- If accepted by the academic program, all transfer credits that count toward the student’s current academic program count as both attempted and completed hours.
- Students who change majors at the same degree level will only have hours that were previously attempted counted in their cumulative totals if they are applicable to the new academic program.
Cumulative Grade-Point Average
The Office of Student Financial Aid will calculate student grade point average for the purpose of monitoring SAP annually at the end of each summer semester. Medical students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. Medical students who earn passing grades (i.e., Pass, High Pass, Honor) will be awarded 4.0 quality points in the calculation.
Students who earn non-passing grades, missing, deferred, or incomplete grades (i.e. DE, W, F) will be awarded no quality points. This calculation will not be published on the academic transcript but calculated by the OSFA for purposes of reviewing aid eligibility. Coursework prior to fall 2024 will not be included in this calculation for students.
Professional students enrolled at Rush Medical College are not allowed a financial aid warning period. Please see the suspension of financial aid eligibility section for additional information if a student does not meet any of the above-mentioned requirements.
Financial Aid Warning
Undergraduate and graduate students are allowed a financial aid warning period. Professional students enrolled at Rush Medical College are not allowed a financial aid warning period.
Undergraduate or graduate students (not including professional MD students) who fail to meet the requirements of this satisfactory academic progress policy will be placed on financial aid warning for one term, with the exception of undergraduate students who have a first-term GPA of less than 1.0 and graduate students who have a first-term GPA of less than 2.0. In this case, that student would immediately be placed on financial aid suspension.
Under financial aid warning, students will be allowed to continue on financial assistance during the warning period. Students placed on financial aid warning will receive a notification through their Rush email account. The notification will include SAP requirements, steps necessary to meet SAP in the upcoming term, and the consequences for failing to meet SAP requirements by the end of the warning period.
Students will be placed on financial aid suspension if they fail to meet the standards of this SAP policy after the one-term financial aid warning period.
Suspension of Financial Aid Eligibility
- Professional students enrolled at Rush Medical College who fail to meet the requirements of this SAP policy will be placed on financial aid suspension.
- Undergraduate students who have a first-term GPA of less than 1.0 and graduate students who have a first-term GPA of less than 2.0 will be placed on financial aid suspension.
- Students who still fail to meet the requirements of this policy after their single term on financial aid warning will be placed on financial aid suspension.
Students who are suspended from financial aid eligibility will be notified through their Rush email account.
Appealing Suspension of Financial Aid Eligibility
Under extenuating circumstances, a student may appeal the suspension of their financial aid eligibility. Appeals from other parties on behalf of the student will not be accepted. All appeals should be submitted to the Office of Student Financial Aid in writing or by email to financial_aid@Rush.edu. Each appeal should include the following items:
- Signed letter from the student indicating the reasons why the standards of this policy were not met and what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow satisfactory progress during the next evaluation period.
- An academic plan for the remainder of the student’s studies or appropriate remediation plan as provided by the academic program.
- Any supporting documentation the student feels would support the appeal (as appropriate).
The Office of Student Financial Aid will review the appeal and notify the student of the appeal review results. Students whose appeals are approved will be placed on a financial aid probationary period for one term or for an appropriate duration depending on the academic plan provided.
If applicable, the probationary period will be defined to include checkpoints that must be achieved in order for the student to remain eligible for financial assistance. Students failing to abide by the terms of their probationary period will be suspended from financial aid after the one-term probationary period or in the case of a multi-term probationary period upon failure to maintain the minimum requirements of the probationary period requirements.
The decision of the Office of Student Financial Aid is final, binding and not subject to further appeal.
Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility
A student’s eligibility for financial aid will be reinstated when the standards of the SAP policy as outlined above have been successfully met.