Financial Aid - Standards of Academic Progress

To be eligible for financial aid, a student must make satisfactory academic progress each year. This means that a student must complete a certain number of credits each year and maintain a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) after completing a minimum of 30 college credits. This policy ensures the student’s intention of completing their program of study and moving toward the goal of graduation.

In order to continue to receive Federal and Institutional financial aid, all students must successfully complete 66% of all credits attempted. In addition, all students are required to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA. See chart below:

Credits Earned:	Required Cumulative GPA:
30-59	1.75
60 and up	2.00

The maximum time frame for completion of undergraduate or graduate programs cannot exceed 150% of the published program length for a full-time student. For undergraduate students, the minimum credits needed for graduation is 120. Therefore, a student would have a maximum time frame of 180 attempted credits to complete the program before the student would lose their eligibity for Federal and Institutional financial aid. For graduate students, the maximum time frame would be 54 attempted credits before the student would lose eligibility for Federal and Institutional financial aid.

Academic progress for each student will be measured in May or at the end of the summer session. If a student does not meet the satisfactory standards of academic progress, they will be notified by mail regarding the cancellation of financial aid funding.

Appeals may be based on extenuating circumstances. The student must be able to demonstrate that the extenuating circumstance had a direct impact on the student’s academic performance. The student must put their request in writing and submit it to the Director of Financial Aid. The student may be asked to provide supporting documentation of the situation.

If an appeal is approved, an academic waiver will be granted. This will allow the student’s financial aid to be reinstated for one academic year only (except the PHEAA state grant). The student must comply with any and all conditions attached to the waiver of the academic policy.

Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Authority (PHEAA) requires recipients of the PHEAA state grant to complete a minimum of 24 credits for every two semesters of full-time grant assistance received or a minimum of 12 credits for every two semesters of half-time grant assistance received. No academic waivers will be granted for the PHEAA state grant program by Chestnut Hill College. A student may appeal directly to PHEAA concerning extenuating circumstances.