Federal regulations 34 CFR 668.34(a) require that all students receiving financial assistance from Federal Title IV funds maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) according to both qualitative and quantitative measures.
The academic requirements for the D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine) degree include the satisfactory completion of the curriculum designated by the institution and approved by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. The student’s entire academic history, all time enrolled counts toward the maximum timeframe regardless of whether or not the student receives federal financial aid. Attempted credits include: remedial, repeated, withdrawn, transfer and incomplete credits must be considered when determining SAP status.
The progress of each student working toward a D.O. degree is monitored carefully and evaluated by the Student Promotions Committee on an individual or yearly basis. Any deviation from the normal progression should be reported to the Financial Aid Office by the Registrar or the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean.
Although this policy must apply to all students whether or not they are receiving financial aid, the receipt of financial aid is a privilege that creates both rights and obligations for the students. The SAP policy has three components:
Students are expected to make continuous and successful progress toward the requirements for graduation (Institutional Policy DO-04) throughout the curriculum. Evaluation of course work is indicated by letter grade, numerical grade, and/or pass/fail. Students must maintain a grade point average of 70.0 or higher, after any required remediation, to maintain financial aid eligibility.
Students must complete the appropriate percentage of all courses attempted to maintain a good academic standing. The completion percentage is calculated by dividing total hours earned by the total hours attempted. (Institutional Policy DO-01).
The student shall maintain adequate performance to finish their degree within the designated number of years (6) or who are given a time frame extension by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean for those six (6) years are meeting the school’s standards for satisfactory academic progress as long as they are meeting the terms set forth by the Dean.
A student may be granted a leave of absence per Institutional Policy DO-10. The period of time which a student has been approved for a leave of absence may be excluded at the dean’s discretion from the maximum time frame in which they will be expected to complete the D.O. degree. The student will return from the leave of absence with the same progress status with which he/she left.
Students who are permitted by the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean to remediate or complete the COMLEX prep track within the initial assigned time frame (30-90 days). A student must not exceed 180 days in a prep track for any one test or this will result in a loss of federal financial aid for failure to progress.
A student may appeal the loss of eligibility of financial aid and seek to be placed on a Financial Aid Academic Action Plan for one term. These appeals must be based upon on either the death of a relative, a serious personal illness/injury or other extenuating circumstances. The student must be able to demonstrate that the illness/injury or extenuating circumstance had a direct impact of the student’s academic performance. To do this, the student must:
After the student’s SAP Appeal Form has been submitted to the Financial Aid SAP committee, the SAP committee will then review and notify the student of the approval or denial of the appeal within 5-7 days.
If the student’s appeal is approved, the student is granted Financial Aid Academic Progress Probation and the student will regain eligibility for financial aid for one term. At the end of the term, the student’s academic record will be reviewed. If the student is now meeting the terms of SAP, the student will regain eligibility for financial aid for subsequent terms. If the student has still not met the terms of SAP, but has fulfilled the terms of the Financial Aid Academic Action Plan, then the student’s Financial Aid Academic Progress Probation will be renewed for an additional term and the student will be awarded aid for that term. If the student has not fulfilled the terms of the Financial Aid Academic Action Plan, then the student will lose eligibility for federal and institutional financial aid. If a student’s aid is denied they may go on a payment plan and pay their balance out-of-pocket or apply for a private loan to a lender that does not require SAP.
Students who are dismissed or withdrawn from the school are not deemed to be making SAP and are not eligible to receive financial aid. The SAP policy will be disseminated to all newly matriculated students. All students will be notified yearly of the SAP policy which will be published on the WVSOM webpage.
The Director of Financial Aid and the Financial Aid Committee shall have the primary responsibility for enforcement of this policy. Any appeals to this policy should be made in writing to the Vice President for Finance within five (5) working days from the date of the occurrence. The Vice President for Finance will the follow the steps set forth in ST:16 Student Complaints.
Go to MSBS SAP policy