To remain eligible for financial aid at CU-Boulder, you must make satisfactory academic progress toward your degree. Satisfactory academic progress is a federal government requirement, and is measured by a number of factors, including the following:

You must pass (with a grade of D- or better) at least 67 percent of the credit hours you attempt during your academic history at the University of Colorado at Boulder. This means that every class in which you receive a grade of W, IW, IF, or F decreases your rate of completion.

Example: If after two semesters you have registered for 32 credits and of those you receive a grade of W in two 3-credit courses, and a grade of IW in two more 3-credit courses, your completion rate at the end of the second semester is 62.5 percent. At that time, you are in violation of the satisfactory Academic Progress Policy and lose your eligibility to receive aid for subsequent terms. We urge you to calculate your own completion rate to determine if you will be in violation. If you are in violation, stop by the financial aid office to receive information on the appeal process. You can calculate your own completion rate by dividing your earned credits (all classes in which you have earned a grade of D- or better, including a grade of P) by your attempted credits. In the example above, you satisfactorily completed 20 credits of the 32 attempted, so 20/32 = 62.5 percent.

Once you have attempted at least 23 credits (undergraduates) or completed two semesters (graduate level or professional students), the Office of Financial Aid examines your completion rate and determines future eligibility.

You must maintain a certain cumulative grade point average on the Boulder campus. Any course work taken on other University of Colorado campuses, or at other postsecondary institutions does not count toward your eligibility. At the end of any term in which your Boulder campus grade point average is less than 1.00, you are ineligible to receive financial aid. Otherwise, the Office of Financial Aid reviews your Boulder campus GPA at the end of four terms (two terms for graduate students). At that point and thereafter, if your Boulder campus GPA is less than 2.00, you are ineligible to receive financial aid.

You may receive financial aid for only a limited period of time. For undergraduates, eligibility for financial aid is terminated after you have attempted 180 semester credit hours (for most majors you are only required to earn 120 hours to graduate), including all transfer hours, whether or not they count toward the degree or major. This is the same for all double-degree majors as well.

You can avoid violating the satisfactory Academic Progress Policy in three ways:

1. Complete at least 67 percent of all attempted course credits.
2. Maintain a GPA of at least 2.00.
3. Understand your degree requirements and plan your course enrollment so that you can earn your degree in a satisfactory period of time. Limit is defined above.

Before the beginning of each term, all financial aid applicants are reviewed for eligibility in relation to the satisfactory academic progress standards explained above. If you fail to meet any one of the standards, you receive written notification and are not be eligible to receive financial aid for any future enrollment periods. If you feel there is an error in your records, or if there were exceptional circumstances that interfered with your ability to meet the standards, you may submit an appeal to the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee in the Office of Financial Aid.

If you intend to appeal, you should stop by the financial aid office to find out exactly what information is required.

Examples of Required Documentation:

1. You must provide a personal statement outlining the circumstances that prevented you from making satisfactory academic progress toward your degree. If your transcript shows that you had difficulty for more than one semester, you must explain the circumstances pertaining to each of those terms. You must also tell how you have resolved those difficulties.
2. You must document your situation. For instance, if you had an illness that prevented you from attending classes, you must prove you had the illness by submitting a statement from your doctor or by providing photocopies of medical bills or statements containing a description of the illness and the date(s) that indicate when you suffered from that illness.
3. If you submit your appeal during a semester for which you are enrolled and more than half that semester has passed, you are required to submit statements from all your current professors showing that you are making good progress in your classes.
4. If you did not meet the required GPA or completion rate you must consult with an academic counselor in your department, your college dean, or visit the Academic Advising Center and provide documentation of that visit.
5. If you have reached your limit for attempted credit hours and wish to appeal to extend your aid eligibility, you must provide a copy of a degree audit verifying your expected graduation date.
6. Your appeal must have documentation sufficient to pass review by federal examiners.

Appeals must be submitted within four weeks from your violation notification. Appeals are reviewed as quickly as possible, but it could take up to two weeks for an answer depending upon our appeal volume at the time. In all cases, the outcome of your appeal depends upon the nature of the circumstances causing the violation, how well that is documented, and how well you have demonstrated you are now making good progress toward earning your degree.

Though separate from the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, the Last Date of Attendance policy is similar. At the end of each semester the Office of Financial Aid receives a report of students who were awarded and disbursed aid but whose records show all Fs for the semester. Often students who receive all Fs stopped attending class but did not withdraw from the University.

If you enroll as a nondegree student through the Division of Continuing Education, please note that there are additional requirements to meet in order to remain eligible for financial aid. You are required to enroll in and complete a minimum of 6 credit hours.

Your cumulative and semester GPA must be a minimum of 2.00. This includes the GPA from any of the other CU campuses (Denver, Colorado Springs, or Health Sciences Center) you have attended.

You must complete all courses you attempt (you cannot withdraw after the drop/add deadline). If you receive an IW, IF or W for any class during a term in which you received nondegree financial aid, you are no longer eligible for financial aid as a nondegree student.

Please consult the University of Colorado at Boulder Catalog for academic policies and graduation requirements.