Satisfactory academic progress for US Federal Aid recipients

Overview

All students receiving US Federal Aid (subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS) at The University of Queensland must progress satisfactorily towards completion of a chosen academic program.

UQ is required by US Federal Law (34CFR 668.16) to define and enforce standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for students receiving US Federal Funding.

The guidelines have been established to encourage students to complete successfully academic programs for which US Federal Financial Aid is received and to be competitive in the US work place when they graduate.

Students are required to meet and also satisfy the US Financial Aid SAP requirements which require a higher standard of academic performance and are independent to the UQ academic progression rules.

Students receiving US Federal Financial Aid will be evaluated at the end of each semester. This evaluation process will consider the students progress under the following categories:

  1. Academic Standing
  2. Maximum Timeframe 

Students receiving US Federal Financial Aid, must also meet UQ academic progression rules.

In order to receive US Federal funds, students must meet minimum standards for the above mentioned components, and adhere to University Enrolment and Academic Progression rules and to Australian Immigration / visa legislation.

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Academic standing

Students in undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs:

  • Students must have a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 4.25 out of 7.00 or greater at the end of each semester.
  • US Federal Funding is only available to eligible students for a maximum of 150% of the official duration of a program, however it is intended that students complete within the official suggested time periods.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS):

  • First and second year MBBS Students must achieve a GPA of 4.00 /7.00. 
  • Third & Fourth year MBBS students must comply with the standard UQ SAP GPA requirement 4.25/7.00. 
  • US Federal Funding is only available to eligible Medical students for a maximum of 5 years, however it is intended that students complete within the official suggested time periods. 

The University of Queensland represents its grades in a scale of 1, being a fail, to 7 as the highest possible result. This website allows you to manually calculate your UQ GPA. 

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Maximum timeframe

An undergraduate student is entitled to receive aid for 150% of the allocated course time frame, providing they achieve the required GPA.

  • 3 year degree – eligibility for aid 4.5 years
  • 4 year degree – eligibility for aid 6 years
  • 5 year degree – eligibility for aid 7.5 years

Students should be advised that whilst federal eligibility may allow them to continue – individual academic progress rules and student visa restrictions may impact on the students’ ability to continue within the program.

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Remedial, non-credit courses and imcompletes

Non-credit courses will not be countered in assessing full-time hours. A student is required to achieve a grade on any deferred or supplementary assessment within 6 months of completing a class

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Notification

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be assessed for each student at the end of each academic term period, to determine your eligibility for continued awards of aid. You will be notified in writing if your Financial Aid is suspended. If so, you will be placed on probation and advised in writing by the University.

The University of Queensland can not waive the US Federal Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirement for any student to receive financial aid. However if your funding is suspended, an appeal procedure for verifiable extenuating or unforeseen circumstances is available.

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Financial Aid Probation and Suspension

The policy for Financial Aid Probation and/or Suspension is as follows:

  1. Students who fail to achieve the required GPA level commensurate with the longevity of their degree program, and their academic level within that degree structure, will be placed on Financial Aid probation for 1 semester/ 1 disbursement period.
  2. Students who have been placed on probation and subsequently meet the GPA requirements in the following semester will return to normal Financial Aid (SAP) standing.
  3. Students who have been placed on probation and do not meet the requirements will have their next Financial Aid disbursement suspended and will be ineligible to receive aid until such time as they achieve the required GPA.
  4. Students may appeal their suspension of aid, via written appeal to the UQ Financial Aid Director. Students who appeal will be informed of the FA Director’s decision in writing, which is final.

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Appeals

Students who have their eligibility for US Federal Aid suspended may appeal the suspension if one or more of the following circumstances exist:

  1. Death of a family member (parent, spouse, sibling, dependant child etc)
  2. The extended illness of the student – extended illness as defined as a documented chronic or recurring medical or emotional illness that causes the student to be absent from class at least 15 days or more
  3. The extended illness of a family member that places hardship on the student. Immediate family member includes parent, spouse, sibling, dependant
  4. Mitigating circumstances as determined by the Financial Aid Appeals committee.

All appeals must be received within ten days of receipt of the Notice of Suspension.

Students should submit an appeal to:

The University of Queensland
UQ International
Financial Aid Office
Level 2 JD Story Building (61)
St Lucia Q 4072
financialaid@uq.edu.au

Students must indicate in writing to the FA Director the reason (s) for failure to meet the necessary Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and why financial aid should not be suspended. All documentation to support the appeal is required at time of appeal submission.

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Financial Aid and UQ's Refund Process

The following information is an addendum to The University of Queensland refund guidelines (link is not working)  for students receiving US Federal Student Aid funds.

If a student who receives US Federal Financial Aid withdraws from The University of Queensland and is entitled to a refund of tuition fees paid for that period of enrolment, a determination will be made as to whether any of the refund money must be returned to the US Federal Financial Aid program.

Pro-rate refund calculations apply for any international student who is attending UQ and who withdraws within 60% of the payment period. If it is determined that refund money must be returned to the US Financial Aid program, the distribution of funds will be as follows:

  1. Federal Stafford Unsubsidized
  2. Federal Stafford Subsidized
  3. Federal PLUS

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IAS approved 22/07/2011

 

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