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To be eligible for financial aid at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, students must meet all qualitative and quantitative standards of the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy below, even if no financial aid was previously received. If a student does not meet all of the three requirements below, then they will be designated as not meeting SAP. All SAP notices are sent to the student's official UAM e-mail account.

The Financial Aid Office evaluates SAP at the end of the Fall, Spring and Summer terms. All sessions within the summer term will be evaluated as one term. Those students not meeting the requirements stated below will be placed on Financial Aid Warning. The student may continue to receive financial assistance during the warning period. If the satisfactory academic progress standards have not been met at the end of the warning period, the student will be DENIED assistance from federal, state, and institutional sources. Students admitted to UAM on Conditional Academic Standing will be placed on Financial Aid Warning.

Qualitative Standards:

Students must earn a minimum cumulative and term grade point average (GPA) of 2.00. Any student who earns a 0.00 GPA for a term due to earning all F's, completely withdrawing or a combination thereof, will be placed on Financial Aid Denial immediately with no warning period.

Students must successfully complete 67% of cumulative hours attempted (The formula for this is shown below). Cumulative hours attempted include hours earned, remedial hours earned, repeated hours, and grades of W, F, and I. Cumulative hours earned do not include grades of W, I, AU, or F.

Quantitative Standard:

Students must graduate within 150% of the credit hours required for their program of study. A student will lose eligibility for federal aid when they have attempted more than 150% of the hours required for their program of study.

• All hours attempted for degrees earned at other institutions are considered to be posted to the student’s transcript.
• If at any point, it becomes mathematically impossible for a student to complete their program of study within the 150% timeframe, the student will lose eligibility for federal aid. Pursuit of a second degree will not increase the maximum timeframe for federal aid eligibility.
• All enrollment periods count toward the maximum time frame, regardless of a change in degree or major.
• Courses that are repeated will count towards attempted hours each time the course is repeated, but will be counted as hours earned only once.

Example: Most Bachelor’s Degrees at UAM require 120 credit hours; therefore, eligibility is limited to 180 (120 x 1.5) attempted hours, or 150%. Associate Degrees and Technical Certificates require less hours, so eligibility for those programs will be limited to fewer attempted hours.

Students Ineligible to Receive Financial Aid Due to Not Meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress:

During the period of financial aid ineligibility, students can continue to attend UAM (unless placed on academic suspension); however, they will need to secure other financial resources (work earnings, assistance from family/friends, private loans, etc.) to cover their educational costs. Courses taken during periods of financial aid in eligibility are factored into the evaluation of students’ Satisfactory Academic Progress.  Changes in SAP status due to grade changes will be evaluated in the subsequent payment period, unless students notify the Financial aid Office of the grade change by emailing finaid@uamont.edu.

Financial Aid Appeal Process:

NOTE: Permission from the academic appeals committee for a suspended student to enroll does not by itself reinstate that student’s financial aid eligibility.

A student who has been placed on Financial Aid Denial will NOT receive federal, state, or institutional aid until one of the following conditions is met: (1) The student comes into compliance with the policy; or (2) The student submits an appeal form to the Financial Aid Office that includes the specific extenuating circumstance (with documentation) causing the student to not meet SAP, and what has changed that will allow the student to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress during the subsequent payment period.  

It is encouraged for students to include in their appeal, resources on campus designed to assist them with challenges they may face while pursuing their degree at UAM. Some of these student-centered services include:

• Academic Advising
• Counseling Center
• Student Special Services
• Student Health Services
• Tutoring Center
• Career Services

An appeal may be approved only if the student will be able to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards after the subsequent payment period; or the student is placed on an Academic Recovery Plan (see below) developed by the Academic Advising Office that if followed, will ensure that the student is able to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress standards by a specific point in time.

Academic Recovery Plans

Students needing an Academic Recovery Plan as a condition of their SAP Appeal approval will be contacted by the Academic Advising Office to develop their plan. The Academic Advising Office will submit the completed Academic Recovery Plan to the Financial Aid Office on the student's behalf.  The Financial Aid Office will monitor the student's adherence to the Academic Recovery Plan for continued financial aid eligibility in subsequent payment periods. Failure to adhere to the conditions outlined in an Academic Recovery Plan will result in ineligibility for financial aid.

Changes to Academic Recovery Plans: If a student needs to revise their existing SAP Academic Recovery Plan (due to withdrawals, drops, registration changes), they are required to contact the Academic Advising Office to submit a Request to Amend Recovery Plan. If approved, the amended plan will be sent to the Financial Aid Office for review.

Appeal Form:

Students must request a link to the financial aid appeal form provided by the Financial Aid Office. The decision of the Financial Aid Appeals Committee is final.