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Title IV

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 covers the administration of the United States federal student financial aid programs. SUNY Oswego adheres to all Title IV policies related to satisfactory academic progress as described in Volume 1, Chapter 1 of the FSA Handbook.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

SUNY Oswego adheres to all Title IV policies related to satisfactory academic progress as described in Volume 1, Chapter 1 of the FSA Handbook.

Students receiving assistance from any Federal Title IV program [Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and higher Education (TEACH) Grant, Federal Work Study, or Direct Stafford/PLUS loans] must meet academic standards for satisfactory academic progress and good standing.

Academic Standards

The Title IV satisfactory academic progress standards are the same as the College’s academic standards. The academic review of all students’ progress each semester is the process used to determine student’s ability to continue to receive federal Title IV aid. The process is consistently applied to all students.

Qualitative and Quantitative Standards

The measures of satisfactory academic progress contain both qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative standard relates to the necessary grade point average requirements. The quantitative standard involves the credit hours a student completes each term as well as progress toward program completion. Students are considered to be in good standing and making satisfactory progress toward the degree for federal Title IV aid if they are permitted to continue enrollment at the College based on academic guidelines defined below.

Review Frequency

Oswego reviews satisfactory academic progress for all students each semester.

Academic Disqualification

Students who do not meet the College’s academic standards for satisfactory academic progress and good standing are considered “Academically Disqualified.” This disqualification determination and notification by the College is also considered determination and notification that a student is ineligible for continued federal Title IV aid. Students are notified by the Dean’s Office if they are academically disqualified.

Cumulative Grade Point Average - Undergraduate - Qualitative

Students receiving assistance from Federal Title IV programs [Pell Grant, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), Federal Work Study, Federal Perkins Loan and/or Direct Stafford/PLUS loans] must maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average required for matriculated students at Oswego based on their cumulative registered credit hours defined in the following chart. Depending on their initial eligibility criteria, students may need to maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA to continue to receive the Federal TEACH grant.

Cumulative registered credit hours*Disqualified with cumulative average belowMandatory semester off before appeal if cumulative average isSubject to internal review if cumulative average is
1st semester of attendance1.01AllNo review
Through 301.761.50 or lower1.51-1.75
Through 451.861.60 or lower1.61-1.85
Through 601.961.70 or lower1.71-1.95
61 or more2.001.80 or lower1.81-1.99

*The computation of the “Cumulative Registered Credit Hours” is defined as the total credit hours of all marking periods in which a student was registered. The computation of “Cumulative Registered Credit Hours” for transfer students includes the total number of transfer credit hours which apply to their Oswego degree program.

Semester Progress Toward Program Completion
Completed Semester Hours - Undergraduate - Quantitative and Qualitative

All students attending the College must obtain a semester GPA of at least 2.0 each semester. In any marking period a student who fails to complete or pass the required hours of work or obtain a GPA of 2.0 will be placed on Academic Warning.

An undergraduate student, who registers for 12 hours of work in any semester and is therefore a full-time student, must meet these requirements.

  1. A full-time student must complete (grades of A through E, P, F, H, S, U) 12 hours of coursework in each semester.
  2. A full-time student must earn a passing grade (A through D-, P, S, H) in:
    a. 9 hours of work during each marking period for the initial 60 registered credit hours in the degree program;
    b. 12 hours of work during each marking period after accumulating 61 or more registered credit hours.

C- Average After Two Years - Undergraduate - Qualitative

As shown in the above chart, students must have a 2.0 cumulative average after two years (60 credits).

Maximum Time Frame - Quantitative

Students receiving assistance from any Federal Title IV programs identified above may not receive financial aid to attempt more than 150% of the necessary credit hours for program degree completion. For example, given the length of most undergraduate programs at the College, students must complete their program in less than 184 attempted hours toward.

The undergraduate degree program of any full-time matriculated student is expected to be completed in eight marking periods. The undergraduate degree program must be completed within a maximum of twelve periods of full-time enrollment. Full-time enrollment is defined as any marking period in which the student registers for 12 or more credit hours.

To assure students who receive Title IV aid are aware of the need to complete their program in a timely manner, each student's cumulative percentage of credits successfully completed and credits needed to complete the program are calculated each semester. The College determines if a student can reasonably be expected to complete their program in 150% of the program length. If it is determined a student may have difficulty completing their academic program in the 150% time frame, they receive a written notice explaining the rule and encouraging them to seek academic assistance if necessary.

Mitigating Circumstances and Appeals for Disqualified Students

Oswego provides a process to appeal academic disqualification determinations. As part of the communication regarding academic disqualification, the Dean’s Office provides information to students about the academic appeal process. Disqualified students must petition the Dean’s Office for reinstatement and to have the academic standards temporarily waived if they feel they have unique circumstances that should be considered. This process involves a review by an academic committee. The process addresses both the reason and explanation for the student failing to make satisfactory academic progress and a description from the student of the steps taken to assure this situation will not recur. If the Dean's Office reinstates the disqualified student, the student is considered reinstated for the purposes of Federal Title IV aid eligibility as well.

At a minimum, the student must:

  1. Provide the reason and explanation for the student failing to make satisfactory progress.
  2. Provide an explanation of what steps have been taken to assure this situation will not be an issue in future terms.

Reinstatement subsequent to disqualification is never automatic. The appeal decision will be conveyed in writing to the student and will include the conditions under which the student is allowed to return to the College for a subsequent semester.

Transfer Credits

All credits obtained at another institution and transferred to Oswego that apply to the student’s current academic program are included in the total attempted and earned credit hours calculations.

Program Change

Only credits attempted and earned toward the current program are used in the maximum time-frame calculation. While the College does not limit the number of times a student can change their academic program, these change requests are reviewed. If it appears the change may be requested only to avoid termination of Title IV funds, further review and possible denial of the change request may occur.

Withdrawn Courses

Withdrawn course hours are included as attempted hours in both the qualitative and quantitative standard calculations.

Incomplete Courses

Incomplete credit hours are included as attempted hours in both the qualitative and quantitative standard calculations.

Repeated Courses

All credits attempted, including all occurrences of repeated courses, are included as attempted hours in the quantitative calculations. See below for discussion of their treatment in qualitative calculations.

Title IV Funding of Repeated Courses

For Title IV purposes, students are allowed one repeat of a course previously taken with a passing grade. Students are allowed to retake previously failed courses (E grade) until passed. Each repeat is counted in the quantitative measures and the student is subject to the maximum time-frame provisions noted above.

Repeating D or E Grade Courses

Students may elect to repeat a course in which a grade of D (D+, D, D-) was earned. In certain majors, however, D grades are not acceptable. For specific information concerning each major, consult the program requirements for that major in this Catalog.

Courses in which a D grade was earned may be repeated. However, credit hours are earned only once for the same course. Courses for which an E grade was received must be repeated if they are required for the student's degree program, minor program or if they must be repeated as part of a student’s mandatory re-advisement or condition of reinstatement following disqualification. Other E grade courses may be repeated at the option of the student.

Transcript notations for repeated D and E grades are as follows. When the course is repeated at Oswego by a student who is in good standing, credit hours, letter grade and quality points earned will be used in computing a new cumulative average. The previous D or E grade will remain on the transcript; however, the transcript will be annotated to indicate that the course has been repeated. When the course is repeated at any other college or university only credit hours are transferred. The student's GPA will not reflect the repeated course grade, although the student’s transcript is annotated to indicate that the course has been repeated and the effect of the earlier D or E grade is removed from the GPA.

Repeating C Grade Courses

Courses in which grades of C (C+, C, C-) or better were earned cannot be repeated. Should a student repeat such a course in violation of this policy, then (1) the original grade will not be altered in any form, (2) the new grade will not be used to re-compute the semester or cumulative GPA, and (3) no additional credit hours will be added to the student’s total hours.

Fund Returns

SUNY Oswego adheres to all Title IV policies related to the Return of Title IV funds as described in Volume 5, Chapter 2 of the FSA Handbook.

The Financial Aid Office recalculates Title IV aid eligibility for a student who withdraws, is dismissed or who fails to attends at least 60% of a payment period (semester at Oswego).

If a student officially or unofficially leaves SUNY Oswego prior to completing 60% of a given semester, the Financial Aid Office recalculates eligibility for Title IV funds in accordance with federal regulations and guidelines. Recalculation of aid is based on the percentage of earned aid using the federal Return of Title IV funds formula. This process uses a pro-rata formula based on last date of attendance.  If a student attends class beyond the 60% point in the semester, the student is considered to have earned 100% of the aid they are eligible to receive for the semester.

Software Used to Determine Return of Title IV funds

Oswego uses the SCT Banner student information system which includes a fully functional module to complete all necessary calculations and make all Return of Title IV Funds determinations.

Consumer Information

All information, requirements, and policies and procedures related to withdrawing from the College and the Return of Title IV Funds are available to all students. 

Last Date of Attendance

Official withdrawal
The last date of attendance for an official withdrawal is the date the student signs the withdrawal form to initiate the withdrawal process unless the student notes an earlier last date of attendance on the withdrawal form.

Unofficial withdrawal
If a student does not officially withdraw from all classes but fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course, the College assumes the student has unofficially withdrawn unless it can be documented the student completed the enrollment period. The last date of attendance for a student who does not complete the semester and does not complete the formal withdrawal process is the last date the student can document class attendance.  If no documentation is available, the last date of attendance is the midpoint (50%) of the semester. 

Timing of determination of Title IV Refund

Oswego identifies officially withdrawn students weekly and makes all required calculations.  The College returns all necessary funds within 45 days of the withdrawal.  For students who unofficially withdraw from the College, they are identified within 30 days of the end of the term and all required calculations and returns are completed within 45 days of the end of the semester. 

Determination of Percent of Semester Attended

As defined in statute, the percent attended equals the number of days completed up to the withdrawal date divided by the total days in the payment period or term.  Note, any break of five days or more is not counted as part of the days in the term.  This percentage is also used as the percentage of aid earned if the student leaves the College prior to completing 60% of the term. 

Unofficial Withdrawals

If a student does not officially withdraw from all classes but fails to earn a passing grade in at least one course, the College assumes the student has unofficially withdrawn unless it can be documented the student completed the enrollment period.  If a last date of attendance can't be determined, Oswego uses the mid-point of the semester to determine the percentage of Title IV aid earned.

Title IV Refund Process

Unearned aid is returned to the appropriate Title IV program based on the percentage of aid earned by the student.  The formula for Title IV aid to be returned = (100% of the aid that could be disbursed minus the % of aid earned) multiplied by the total amount of aid that could have been disbursed during the semester. 

Post Withdrawal Disbursement

If it is determined that the student is eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement, the student is notified of the potential for a post-withdrawal disbursement within 30 days of the determination of withdrawal.  The disbursement is made within 180 days of the determination.

Order of Return of Title IV Funds

The College returns the unearned Title IV funds to the appropriate fund in the following order:

  • Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loans
  • Subsidized Direct Stafford Loans
  • Federal Perkins Loans
  • Direct PLUS Loans
  • Federal Pell Grants
  • ACG Grants
  • SMART Grants
  • Federal SEOG Grant
  • Federal TEACH Grant

Title IV Overpayments

If it is determined an overpayment exists due to student's unearned Title IV aid, Oswego returns the overpayment that would otherwise be the responsibility of the student. The student then owes the overpayment to Oswego and no reporting to NSLDS is required.

Written Notice

The student is notified in writing the results of the Title IV Refund process. This notification includes a description of all unearned Title IV funds returned to the appropriate fund, including notification of any unearned funds returned to the Direct Loan program. 

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