The Adler School of Professional Psychology

Grade Point Average (Overall GPA)

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy requires that students maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in order to remain eligible for federal financial aid. If a student drops below a cumulative GPA of 3.0 they will be placed on a financial aid warning. Once a student is on a financial aid warning, they may continue to receive federal financial aid, but will be expected to meet the minimum standards (3.0 cumulative) in the following term. However, the student will be expected to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress until the end of the warning term in order to continue to receive financial aid for future terms.

Cumulative (Overall) Progress

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy contains a quantitative component, meaning that students are required to make steady progress toward a degree by completing at least 70% of all attempted credit hours. For example, if a student has attempted 30 credit hours total, then they would be expected to complete at least 21 of these credit hours in order to comply with the minimum quantitative standards (Note: all transfer credits figure into credit hours attempted calculation). If a student does not successfully complete at least 70% of all credit hours attempted, they will be placed on a financial aid warning at the end of the term. Once a student is on a financial aid warning they may continue to receive federal financial aid for the following term. However, the student will be expected to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress until the end of the warning term in order to continue to receive federal financial aid for future terms.

Timely Degree Completion

All qualified Psy.D. students receiving federal financial aid are eligible for a maximum of 10 years of federal financial assistance from the initial date of registration. All qualified Master students receiving federal financial aid are eligible for a maximum of 5 years of federal financial assistance from the initial date of registration. All qualified Certificate students receiving federal financial aid are eligible for a maximum of 2 years of federal financial assistance. Students who reach the maximum enrollment limit for receiving federal financial aid would need to file a financial aid appeal.

FINANCIAL AID WARNING AND SUSPENSION

When a student fails to meet one or more of the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, they are placed on a financial aid warning at the end of that term. Once a student is on a financial aid warning they may continue to receive federal financial aid for the following term. However, the student will be expected to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress until the end of the warning term in order to continue to receive federal financial aid for future terms. Failure to meet the requirements after the warning term will result in a financial aid suspension.

Students on a financial aid suspension will have all federal financial aid cancelled for future terms. Once a student's financial aid eligibility has been suspended, notification will be sent to the student stating the reason and the procedure for appealing the decision. Federal financial aid will not be reinstated unless the student’s appeal is granted.
FINANCIAL AID APPEAL PROCEDURE

To appeal, a student must submit all required documents listed below within ten days of the date of the email notification of warning or suspension that was sent to the student. If no appeal is filed within the ten-day appeal period, the decision becomes final, and the student is not eligible for future appeal.

1. 
   A signed and dated letter to the Director of Financial Aid describing the specific reason(s), events, or circumstances that prevented the student from meeting the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements
   
2. 
   A Corrective Action Plan to improve Satisfactory Academic Progress
   
3. 
   Documentation of a discussion between the student and the student’s academic advisor regarding the Corrective Action Plan (This documentation must be signed by the academic advisor.)
   
4. 
   Documentation of an extenuating circumstance (examples include, but are not limited to, student illness, family illness, or death in the family.)
   

Once the Financial Aid Appeals Committee has reviewed the appeal and made their determination, the student will be notified via email of the decision. The Financial Aid Appeals Committee’s decision is final. Students may submit multiple appeals, but the reason or rationale of the appeal must be different than previous Satisfactory Academic Progress appeals submitted by the student. If the Financial Aid Appeals Committee approves the appeal, the student will be eligible to receive federal financial aid for the following term and will be on financial aid probation. When appeals are approved, the committee will require that the Corrective Action Plan be maintained each term. If at any time the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy is not maintained, the student’s federal financial aid will be permanently suspended.

The Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy applies to students receiving federal student aid through the following programs:

Federal Direct Stafford Loans

Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

Federal Work Study

All state and federal military benefits

COURSE IN PROGRESS

Satisfactory Academic Progress cannot be calculated until 2 weeks after the term ends. At this time final grades should be posted to students’ transcripts. If a student has a Course In Progress (CIP) on his/her transcript this means that no grade was assigned to the course. If a student is missing a grade (s) for any term financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress cannot be calculated. Due to the Department of Education regulation the Office of Financial Aid must put a hold on all future federal financial aid disbursements and student refund checks until a passing grade is posted.

REPEATED COURSES

Students who receive a grade of a W, D, or F may repeat the course one time only and still receive federal financial aid. Both grades will be calculated in their financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress cumulative grade point average and overall hours attempted/completed.

AUDITED COURSES

Audited courses do not affect students’ GPA or overall cumulative Completion Rate. Audited courses are not covered by federal financial aid funds.

NO CREDIT, NO PASS

A No Credit grade (NC) or a No Pass grade (NP), for financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress, is considered a failing grade on a program requirement; these grades can result in both a dismissal and/or administrative withdraw. Both NC and NP grades will not be calculated into a student’s cumulative GPA or overall Completion Rate. Receiving these types of grades could result in a full or partial return of financial aid funds. If a student receives NC or NP for a program requirement, the student may repeat the class one time only and still receive federal financial aid.

INCOMPLETES

An Incomplete grade (I) for financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress will calculate into a completion rate as credit hours attempted but not successfully earned. A student will have until the last day of the following term to successfully complete and earn a passing grade of A, B, C, P, IP or CR. If a student does not complete or earn a passing grade by the end of the following term an “F” grade will be posted.

READMITTED STUDENTS

Students who have been readmitted will need to be in compliance with financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy to be eligible for federal financial aid funds.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

A Leave of Absence (LOA) is a temporary interruption in a student’s program of study. LOA refers to the specific time period during a program when a student is not in attendance. In order for a financial aid recipient to be approved for an LOA, the student must follow the Adler School’s LOA policy as outlined below:

1. 
   The student is required to use the official Request for Leave of Absence form, provided by the Office of the Registrar, and include on the form the reason for the LOA request.
   
2. 
   In order for the Office of Financial Aid to approve an LOA status, the student must provide documentation of extenuating circumstances (i.e. medical, death, divorce).
   
3. 
   There must be a reasonable expectation that the student will return from the LOA.
   
4. 
   The school must approve the student’s request for an LOA in accordance with the school’s policy. Since federal regulations are very clear that LOA is only to be granted for a specific set of circumstances, any leave not approved as an official LOA by the Director of Financial Aid will be reported to the National Student Loan Data System as a Withdrawal.
   
5. 
   The LOA together with any additional leaves of absence must not exceed a total of 180 days in any 12-month period. Please note that 180 is less than two (2) academic terms at the Adler School. After 180 days have passed, the LOA automatically becomes a withdrawal and any unearned Title IV funds will be immediately returned, causing the student to owe balance. The student’s failure to return from a LOA may have an effect on the student’s loan repayment terms, including the expiration of the student’s grace period.
   

Students are required to speak with the Office of Financial Aid before requesting a Leave of Absence (LOA) in order to receive full explanation of the procedure and the results of the LOA.
WITHDRAWAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE WITHDRAWAL

If a student withdraws from all classes or drops below half-time enrollment, during the 100% or 50% drop period, all financial aid funds are returned.

If a financial aid recipient finds it necessary to withdraw from all classes after the 50% drop period, the Office of Financial Aid, as well as the student, may be required to return part or all federal financial aid funds. The Adler School is required to determine the earned and unearned portions of Title IV aid as of the date the Office of Financial aid is notified through a completed and signed Request for Student Withdrawal form available through the Office of the Registrar.
Up through the 60% point in each payment period or period of enrollment, a prorated schedule is used to determine the amount of Title IV funds the student has earned at the time of withdrawal. After the 60% point in the period of enrollment, a student has earned 100% of the Title IV funds he or she was scheduled to receive during the period.
Students are required to speak with the Office of Financial Aid before withdrawing from any or all courses in order to receive full explanation of the procedure and the results of withdrawal.
If the student is administratively withdrawn, after review by the Student Comprehensive Evaluation Committee (SCEC), a Return of Title IV calculation will be performed in order to determine the percentage of federal financial aid the student is allowed to retain for the term; any remainder will be canceled and the student will owe a balance. If a student is under review by SCEC, the Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to hold the student’s federal financial aid funds until a final decision is made. After the final SCEC decision is made, the Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to return part or all of a student’s federal financial aid. As a result, the student will be responsible for any remaining balance.

HOW SPECIFIC GRADES CAN HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID ELIGIBILITY

The chart below illustrates how specific grades can determine a student’s eligibility to receive federal financial aid and how it can affect a student’s financial aid satisfactory academic progress. Please review the last column to be sure your financial aid eligibility is not in jeopardy.

Grade Earned	Affects Overall Credits Attempted	Affects Overall Credits Completed	Affects Overall GPA	May Negatively Impact Financial Aid Eligibility
A	√	√	√
B	√	√	√
C	√	√	√	√
D	√	√	√	√
F	√	√	√	√
CR (for a 1+ credit hour class)	√	√
CR (for a 0 credit hour class)
NC (for a 1+ credit hour class)	√	√		√
NC (for a 0 credit hour class)				√
I	√	√		√
IP	√	√
*CIP (missing grade)	√	√		√
P	√	√
NP				√
W	√	√		√
TR	√	√
**AU

*The Office of Financial Aid will not disburse funds until a grade is posted for the student.

**All audited classes are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Financial Aid Disbursement Timeline

To ensure that student loan refund checks are distributed each semester in a timely manner, the Office of Financial Aid calculates students' financial aid budgets the week prior to the start of a term. In order for students to receive their financial aid disbursements in a timely manner, we strongly recommend that financial aid recipients finalize their course registration at least two weeks prior to the start of a term. Students may add courses after his/her financial aid budget has been calculated and any necessary loan reductions have been made, the student may contact the Office of Financial Aid to request additional funds.

Debt Management and Loan Counseling

Recipients of financial aid attend at least one Debt Management Seminar prior to graduation. Seminars are offered each term by the Office of Financial Aid. Federal regulations stipulate that all students awarded Direct Stafford Loans must complete an online entrance loan counseling session before their loans can be disbursed. Additionally, an exit loan counseling session is required upon graduation or withdrawal from the Adler School of Professional Psychology.

International Students - Chicago Campus

International students are eligible for Alternative Loans. Alternative Loans are approved based on credit ratings and require a co-signer, who is a U.S. citizen. Students should also contact their appropriate government and provincial agencies to find out about additional sources of aid to help cover expenses while completing their course work.