• Full-time first-year freshmen are required to maintain a 1.5 cumulative GPA.  

• Part-time students with less than 24 credits are required to maintain a 1.5 cumulative GPA.  

• All other full-time and part-time academic levels are required to maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0. 

Students are expected to successfully complete all credits they enroll in for each term.  Generally speaking, full time students must complete 24 credits per academic year. Part-time and mixed enrollment student credit requirements are below.  

• If enrolled in 12 or more credits per term must earn 12 credits per term

• If enrolled in 9-11credits per term must earn 9 credits per term.

• If enrolled in 6-8 credits per term must earn 6 credits per term.

• If enrolled in 1-5 credits per term must earn ALL attempted credits.

TIME FRAME TO COMPLETE DEGREE

For financial aid purposes; a student enrolled in a program leading to an associate degree must complete the 60 required (72 for nursing) within a maximum of 90 credits taken.  Likewise, a student enrolled in a program leading to a bachelor’s degree must complete the 120 required credits within a maximum of 180 credits taken. 

Grade of Incomplete
Credits for a course in which a student has received a grade of incomplete are considered as not successfully completed. When the incomplete grade becomes a letter grade, a reevaluation of the number of credits earned is conducted to assess the student's successful completion of the required number of credits. It is the student's responsibility to inform the Office of  Financial Aid of such a grade change

Course Withdrawal
Credits for a course from which a student has withdrawn are not considered as completed. If because of course withdrawal a student has not earned the minimum required credits the student is considered as not having made satisfactory progress.

Remedial Courses With Credit
Aid is granted for a maximum of 30 credits of remedial work and credits earned are counted toward academic progress.

Repeated Courses
Aid is granted for repeated course work and the credits earned are counted toward academic progress.

Challenge/CLEP Credits
No aid is granted for credits which are earned by a student through a challenge/CLEP exam. However, credits earned in this manner will be included for the purpose of checking academic progress.

FAILURE TO MEET
ACADEMIC PROGRESS STANDARDS

In these provisions, probation and suspension refers only to financial aid probation and suspension.

The first time a student does not maintain progress, they will be given a one-time probationary period to re-establish progress while still receiving aid.  The probationary period is one year.  Those not making progress for the second time will be denied student aid.  This includes:

Students who are denied aid have the option of paying for classes using their own funds until SAP is achieved.  If a student has experienced circumstances beyond their control, the student has the right to appeal.  Contact the Office of Financial Aid directly to appeal. 

Summer Redemption
If a student falls short of the academic progress requirements, he/she may seek to earn good standing by enrolling in summer courses. Enrolling in classes at any Pitt campus can increase the student's GPA and total number of credits. If the student attends another institution, only the credits earned will apply; the GPA from those credits is not transferable. Discuss the specifics with your academic advisor before enrolling elsewhere.

It is the student's responsibility to notify the Financial Aid Office of credits taken during the summer and to request a review of his/her financial aid status.

THE APPEAL PROCESS

A student who had been denied aid because of failure to meet any of the criteria of the standards may petition in writing and provide documentation to the Financial Aid Committee.  The decision of the Financial Aid Committee is final.  If, while on appealed probation status, the student does not meet the standards of academic progress, the student will be placed on suspension without access to the appeal process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE GRANT

The State grant agency (AES/PHEAA) has separate guidelines for checking academic progress.  Full-time students are required to complete a minimum of 12 credits for each full-time PHEAA grant received or a minimum of 6 credits for each part-time PHEAA grant received in the most recent completed academic year. Students will be notified by AES/PHEAA if they are not making progress for their state grant. All appeals for this grant are handled through AES/PHEAA directly.