To be eligible to receive financial aid at VCU, students must make satisfactory academic progress. SAP is a combination of qualitative and quantitative components. SAP is measured by:
- GPA. Graduate students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA.
- Completion rate. The completion rate is measured by the number of credit hours earned divided by the number of credit hours attempted. All students must successfully complete at least 67 percent of all credit hours attempted (withdrawals, incompletes and repeated courses also are considered attempted credit hours). VCU rounds up to the whole number of 67 percent when the completion rate is 66.5 percent or above.
- Overall progress toward degree/certificate. Overall progress is measured by the number of credit hours attempted divided by the number of credit hours necessary to complete the degree or certificate program. Students who need financial aid funding may attempt no more than 175 percent of the hours required to complete their degree or certificate program.
The Office of Financial Aid will perform a periodic SAP review for students who receive or apply for financial aid. The reviews are typically performed at the end of the spring semester and must be completed at least once per academic year.
Students will be alerted with warning letters, whenever possible, to provide them with notice that their financial aid may be in danger of being suspended. When students fail to meet SAP requirements, they will receive suspension letters indicating that they are ineligible to receive further financial aid. Students whose eligibility for financial aid has been suspended may submit an appeal if mitigating circumstances prevented the student from maintaining SAP.
For more detailed information about the VCU satisfactory academic progress policy, visit the Office of Financial Aid website.