Award Terms & Satisfactory Academic Progress

Financial aid recipients must understand and agree to these terms and conditions.

• All financial aid is awarded subject to acceptance or readmission to the University.
• Financial aid funds must be used solely for expenses related to attendance at Ohio Dominican University. The University reserves the right to revise any portion of the Financial Aid Award if it is determined that the award is based on incorrect or misrepresented information, if funding of federal/state programs change or for any other reason necessary.
• The Financial Aid Office reserves the right on behalf of the University to revise and cancel an award at any time because of changes in financial or academic status. Students who receive financial aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the Financial Aid Office. Please refer to Satisfactory Academic Progress below for details.
• Recipients of financial aid are to notify the Financial Aid Office of any other scholarships, loans or employment benefits extended to them from sources outside of the University. An adjustment in your total financial aid may be made, if necessary.
• Financial Aid Awards are based on enrollment (credit hours) and housing status. This is indicated on your award notification. Please notify the Financial Aid Office if your enrollment or housing plans change. This could result in a revision of your Financial Aid Award.
• If you withdraw from school during a term, your aid will be adjusted according to Ohio Dominican’s Refund Policy. Students must officially withdraw by contacting the Registrar’s Office.
• Financial need will be re-evaluated each year. For the purpose of this re-evaluation, the filing of the FAFSA is required every year. It is the student’s responsibility to apply as soon as possible after October 1 each year. Ohio Dominican’s priority filing date is February 15.
• For students borrowing loan funds from the Federal Stafford loan program for the first time, it will be required that you complete entrance loan counseling as well as a master promissory note. Exit loan counseling will be required prior to graduating, withdrawing or transferring from Ohio Dominican University. Please refer to the Loan section of our website for details on these loan programs.
• If Federal Work-Study is part of your award, you may earn up to the amount listed through a campus job. It is your responsibility to secure employment. You may view job postings on our Work-Study website. The amount you earn will depend on your pay rate and the amount of hours you actually work. Students are paid bi-weekly.
• The total amount of aid that is received from all sources must not exceed the cost of attendance at Ohio Dominican. This includes tuition, certain fees, room and board, etc. If additional forms of aid are received at any time during the academic year, an adjustment to your financial aid award may be necessary.
• The University reserves the right to correct clerical or computational errors.

Special Circumstances

Families who have had significant changes in their financial status after the FAFSA has been filed are advised to submit a Special Circumstance Application to the Financial Aid Office. Depending upon the allowable circumstances, adjustments to the financial aid award may be made by the Special Circumstance Committee. 

Examples of common special circumstances include: 

• loss of a job;
• reduced wages;
• divorce or separation;
• death of parent;
• medical expenses not covered by insurance;
• tuition paid for other siblings in elementary or high school;
• parent in college;
• loss or reduction of income;
• and other unusual circumstances that might affect your ability to contribute to educational costs.

Read more about special circumstances.

Verification

Students may be required to verify the accuracy of the information entered on the FAFSA. The Department of Education randomly selects a sample of students each year to go through the verification process. If you are selected, a Verification Worksheet and other tax documentation will be requested by the Financial Aid Office. 

The verification process must be completed before financial aid can be credited to the student’s account. Your original financial aid award is an estimate and could change after the verification process is completed. Completing the paperwork requested in a timely manner will allow your family to plan financially for the upcoming academic year. You will receive a revised financial aid Offer Letter if your aid changes due to this process.  

Conflicting Information 

The Financial Aid Office is required to resolve any conflicting information in the student’s financial aid file or other related educational records prior to determining or disbursing financial aid funds. In many cases, additional documents will be requested from the student or family. Failure to resolve the conflicting information will eliminate financial aid eligibility. 

Enrollment Changes

To be eligible for certain aid types, you must meet the enrollment requirements for each program. For example, to be eligible for institutional, as well as some state and federal programs, a student must be taking at least 12 credit hours per semester. This is considered a full-time course load. For the Federal Stafford loan and Federal PLUS loan programs, a student must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours per semester (half-time). 

You may be eligible for the Federal Pell Grant in any enrollment category. Any change in enrollment during the academic year may cause changes in your financial aid award. The Financial Aid Office must adjust or void some aid types when it is necessary. These adjustments could result in your owing money to the University.  

Withdrawals

A student who withdraws during a semester must immediately inform the Registrar’s Office to complete the withdrawal process. Non-attendance does not constitute official withdrawal. If you withdraw from school during a term, your aid will be adjusted according to Ohio Dominican’s Refund Policy. You will need to complete Exit Loan Counseling if you borrowed Federal Student Loans. 

Federal regulations require institutions to establish a reasonable Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy for determining whether an otherwise eligible student is making satisfactory academic progress in his or her educational program. To be eligible for federal, state, and institutional student aid funds, a student must make reasonable satisfactory academic progress toward the attainment of a degree or certificate program. The Financial Aid Office at Ohio Dominican University reviews a student’s entire academic history to ensure timely progression toward graduation.

The SAP policy applies for all financial assistance programs including but not limited to:

• Federal Pell Grant
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
• Federal Work Study (FWS)
• Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
• Federal Direct Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)
• Federal Direct Graduate PLUS
• Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH)
• State Grants and Scholarships (Example: Ohio College Opportunity Grant)
• ODU Grants and Scholarships
• Private Alternative Loan Programs (as determined by the Lender)

Academic progress is assessed according to qualitative, quantitative, and maximum time frame measures that are described within this policy. All measures must be met for continued financial aid eligibility. SAP will be monitored after each semester for all students, regardless of enrollment status hours. 

Qualitative Measure

The cumulative grade point average (GPA) is the qualitative measure. GPA is rounded to the nearest thousandth. The minimum GPA requirement depends on a student’s academic level (undergraduate or graduate) and, for undergraduate students, credit hours attempted.

Quantitative Measure

The completion rate, which is the total number of credit hours successfully completed divided by the total number of credit hours attempted, is the quantitative measure. Completion rate is rounded to the nearest hundredth. For example: If a student has attempted to take 50 credit hours but only successfully completed 40 out of those 50 credit hours, the completion rate would be 80% (40/50 = 80%). When these measures are used, federal regulations require that a student’s entire academic history be considered; this includes semesters during which federal aid was not received by the student as well as all applicable transfer hours.

The following factors are considered when calculating students’ satisfactory academic progress:

• Withdrawals, withdrawal with a passing grade, withdrawal with a failing grade, and incompletes are considered attempted but not earned hours for completion rate and not included in the GPA.
• Failed courses, that have not been repeated, are considered attempted credit hours but are not earned hours for completion rate and are included in the GPA.
• Passing credits received for pass/fail courses are considered attempted and earned credits for completion rate but not included in the GPA.
• Repeated courses are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned hours for completion rate. The final grade earned will be included in the GPA.
• Audited courses are not considered credits attempted or credits earned for completion rate, and not included in the GPA.
• Transfer credits, credits taken at another institution and accepted at the University, are included in both attempted and completed hours for completion rate. This includes those received during College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) courses.
• Transient and cross-registration credits are included in both attempted and completed hours for completion rate and are also included in the GPA.
• Remedial courses, including English as a Second Language (ESL) courses, are included in the calculation of both attempted and earned credit hours for completion rate and are also included in the GPA.
• For second degree programs, credits accepted towards the new academic program are included in both the attempted and completed hours for completion rate.
• Grades and credit hours that have been eliminated through Academic Forgiveness at the University are included in both attempted and completed hours for completion rate and in the GPA calculation.
• Advanced Placement (AP) courses that have been accepted at the University are included in both attempted and completed hours for completion rate.

The use of the published length of an academic program and the number of credit hours attempted is the measure of maximum time frame. A student is expected to complete a degree/certificate program within a certain time frame. For both undergraduate and graduate programs, the time frame cannot exceed 150% of the published length of the program as measured by credit hours attempted. For example, if the published length of an academic program is 120 credit hours, the maximum period must not exceed 180 (120 x 1.5) credit hours. A financial aid alert will be sent at the end of each semester once a student in an undergraduate program has reached 150 attempted credit hours and a student in a graduate program has reached 120% of their published program length as measured in credit hours attempted until the maximum attempted credit hours has been reached; at that time, future aid will be suspended.
 

Academic progress is evaluated at the end of each summer, fall, and spring semester. Students meeting the standards listed previously, when evaluated, will be in GOOD STANDING.

Students not meeting qualitative or quantitative measures at the end of a semester will be placed on a WARNING status for one semester and will receive written notification from the Financial Aid Office. A student may continue to receive aid during the one semester WARNING period. If, after the WARNING semester, the student succeeds and meets all SAP measures, they will be in GOOD STANDING.

Undergraduate students who have attempted at least 150 credit hours or graduate students who have attempted 120% of their published program length will be placed on ALERT and receive written notification from the Financial Aid Office. A student placed on ALERT will continue to be eligible for aid. However, he/she should plan to complete his/her degree program before attempting 150% of the published length of the program.

If a student on WARNING does not meet all SAP measures at the end of the subsequent completed semester OR if a student on ALERT reaches 150% of the specific degree program length, he or she will be placed on SUSPENSION. Students who are placed on SUSPENSION are not eligible for any federal, state, or institutional financial aid.

Eligibility for any federal, state, or institutional financial aid may be regained by eliminating all satisfactory progress deficiencies at the student’s expense or by appealing the SUSPENSION and the appeal is approved. Periods of non-enrollment or paying for school at the student’s own expense does not automatically qualify a student to receive financial aid again in a subsequent semester.

Students who have been suspended due to a deficiency of SAP measures after the WARNING or ALERT period may appeal the suspension if extenuating circumstances prevented the student from making satisfactory progress. Extenuating circumstances include but are not limited to: serious personal illness or injury, death or serious illness of a family member, physical or mental health hardship, and other documented circumstances. A SAP Appeal Form and all supporting documentation must be submitted to ODU’s Financial Aid Office by the specified deadline in the student’s SAP SUSPENSION letter. Appeals received after the deadline will be considered at the discretion of the SAP Review Committee.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Applications may be submitted anytime but no later than the specified date for the semester in which the student plans to enroll. Deadlines for upcoming semesters are listed below.

• Maximum Time Frame
• Qualitative (Grade Point Average) or Quantitative (Completion Rate)
• Academic Plan Change Request