Institutional
Financial Aid Policies

Fisk University has the following Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy for students who receive financial aid. These standards require that a student make progress toward an undergraduate or graduate degree during all periods of enrollment, including periods when a student did not receive financial aid. Fisk will be consistent in applying the SAP policies to full & part time, independent and dependent students.

Minimum Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards

Maintain required cumulative Grade Point Average(GPA) based on matrix below, or higher (a qualitative measure) and

Undergraduate Students:

Graduate Students:

• Must maintain a 3.0 GPA for all coursework completed at Fisk.
• Successfully complete at least 67% of the cumulative attempted credit hours(a quantitative measure) and
• Make positive progress toward a program of study within 150 percent of the average published program length.

Financial Aid Statuses

• Eligible – Student is meeting the minimum academic standards or has no academic history. Fully Eligible for financial aid.
• Warning – Student did not meet minimum standards for cumulative GPA and/or 67% completion rate in the previous evaluation period. Student is still Eligible for financial aid, but must reach all minimum standards by the end of the next evaluation period to maintain eligibility.
• Ineligible – Student has failed to meet minimum standards for cumulative GPA and/or 67% completion rate SAP at the end of the evaluation period. Student is Ineligible for financial aid.
• Timeframe – Student has attempted at least 180 credit hours toward a Bachelor’s Degree. Graduate students must earn their degree within the timelines set by the Graduate School per their graduate program. If a student exceeds these credit hour limits, they are not making progress toward a degree within the 150% federal requirement. Student is Ineligible for financial aid.

When is Academic Progress Evaluated?

A student’s satisfactory academic progress will be evaluated at the end of each semester (Fall, Spring and Summer). Students will not be eligible for federal funding during this time if in an ineligible SAP status.

Successful completion of a class

is defined as earning a grade of A, B, C, D, or Pass (plus and minus grades may be attached to letter grades) and will be used to determine cumulative GPA, Completion Rate and Timeframe.

New Financial Aid Students with prior academic history:

Fisk students with prior academic history will be evaluated at the time they apply for financial aid. They will receive one of three financial aid statuses.

• Eligible – Student is meeting the minimum academic standards or has no academic history. Fully Eligible for financial aid.
• Warning – Student is below minimum standards in his/her previous academic history. Student is still Eligible for financial aid, but must reach the minimum standards at the end of the next evaluation period to maintain eligibility.
• Timeframe – Student has attempted at least 180 credit hours for toward a Bachelor’s Degree. Graduate students must earn their degree within the timelines set by the Graduate School per their graduate program. If a student exceeds these credit hour limits, they are not making progress toward a degree within the 150% federal requirement. Student is Ineligible for financial aid.

Transfer Students and Transfer credit hours:

Students transferring to Fisk are required to have all prior college transcripts evaluated for transfer credits. All credit hours accepted by Fisk will be used to determine 67% completion rate and maximum timeframe of 150%.

Academic Reset:

A student is allowed one academic resets. This means that a student can change their Major once after they have attempted 30 credit hours toward any Major. If the student changes a Major after the first reset, all credit hours that have been attempted in the 1 reset, plus any taken toward the second Major change will be used toward determining their maximum timeframe.

Non-Passing Grades:

Unsuccessful grades of E, F, W, WD, WF, WP, NG or I will be used in determining completion rate and timeframe. Letter grades of E and F are used toward the completion rate and cumulative GPA.

Repeat Courses:

Students repeating courses, for the first time only, can receive aid for that repeated course. All repeat courses will be used in determining completion rate and timeframe. Actual letter grades are included in the cumulative GPA.

Audited Credit Hours:

Courses taken on an audit basis are not counted when determining the completion percentage or for purposes of determining your cumulative GPA.

How to Re-establish Eligibility?

• A student must bring his/her GPA and completion rate up to the minimum standards of the required cumulative GPA, per matrix, and 67% completion rate. A student will be Ineligible for financial aid and cannot be reimbursed during this time.
• Mitigating Circumstances: If a student has experienced mitigating circumstances (illness, family illness, change of major) during the most recent evaluation period, they may submit an Appeal to reinstate financial aid eligibility. The student must explain, in the appeal, what has changed that will now allow them to meet the SAP requirements. The student must also submit supporting documentation with the appeal. If the request is granted, the student will be placed on one of two Financial Aid Eligibility Statuses:
• Probation – The student is expected to improve to minimum standards by the end of the next evaluation period. The student is Eligible for financial aid, but must meet minimum standards by the next evaluation period. A student cannot be on probation for two consecutive semesters.
• Academic Success Plan – The student cannot be expected to improve to minimum standards by the next evaluation period. The student and Fisk have agreed to a success plan to allow the student to meet minimum standards within a fixed number of evaluation periods. The student is fully Eligible for financial aid as long as they are strictly following the success plan. If at any time the student stops following the success plan and they are not meeting minimum standards they will become Ineligible for financial aid. If a student meets minimum standards at any time while on a success plan their Financial Aid Eligibility Status will be updated to Eligible.

If the request is not granted, the student will remain Ineligible for financial aid until they meet all minimum standards.

• Timeframe Mitigating Circumstances: If a student has not completed their program of study within the 150% timeframe and there are mitigating circumstances (illness, job related, family illness, change of major), they may submit an Appeal to reinstate financial aid eligibility. If this application is granted, the student will be placed on the following Academic Eligibility Status:
• Timeframe Academic Success Plan – The student and FISK have agreed to a success plan. The student is fully Eligible for financial aid, as long as they are strictly following the success plan. If at any time the student stops following the success plan, they will become Permanently Ineligible for financial aid.

If the request is not granted, the student will be Ineligible for financial aid. All students are limited to one Timeframe Academic Success Plan.

STUDENTS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL, OF THEIR SAP STATUS, AT THE END OF EACH SEMESTER

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS
Student Financial Assistance Programs Disclosure of Social Security Account Number

_{Section 7(a) of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5U.S.C.552a) requires that when any federal, state, or local government agency requests an individual to disclose his or her Social Security Account Number, that individual must also be advised whether that disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, by what statutory or other authority the number is solicited, and what use will be made of it. Accordingly, applicants are advised that disclosure of the applicant’s Social Security Account Number (SSAN) is required as a condition for participation in student financial assistance programs sponsored by the federal government, state, or the local government, in view of the practical administrative difficulties that would be encountered in maintaining adequate program records without the continued use of the SSAN. The SSAN will be used to verify the identity of the applicant and as an account number (identifier) throughout the life of the loan or other type of assistance in order to report necessary data accurately. As an identifier, the SSAN is used in such program activities as determining program eligibility, certifying school attendance and student status, determining eligibility for deferment or repayment of student loans, and for tracing and collecting in cases of defaulted loans. Authority for requiring the disclosure of an applicant’s SSAN is grounded on Section 7(a)(2) of the Privacy Act, which provides that an agency may continue to require disclosure of an individual’s SSAN as a condition for the granting of a right, benefit, or privilege provided by law where the agency required this disclosure under statute or regulation prior to Jan. 1, 1975, in order to verify the identity of an individual.}

Complaints

• All complaints should first be routed through the appropriate complaint/appeals process as outlined by the university.
• Depending on the nature of the complaint, the matter should be brought to the attention of the office directly responsible for that area of the university.
• Complaints and appeals should be well-documented and move through the appropriate campus supervisory structure prior to appealing to any off-campus authority.

Off-Campus Authorities

• Complaints relating to the quality of education or accreditation requirements shall be referred to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), (http://www.sacscoc.org/pdf/081705/complaintpolicy.pdf);
• Complaints related to the application of state laws or rules related to approval to operate or licensure of a particular professional program within a postsecondary institution shall be referred to the appropriate  State Board (i.e., State Boards of Health, State Board of Education, and so on) within the Tennessee State Government and shall be reviewed and handled by that licensing board (http://www.tn.gov, and then search for the appropriate division);
• For students attending programs in Tennessee, complaints related to state consumer protection laws (e.g., laws related to fraud or false advertising) shall be referred to the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs and shall be reviewed and handled by that unit (http://www.tn.gov/consumer/     TN Attorney General Letter on Campus Complaints June 2017).

For out-of-state students using distance learning programs, complaints related to consumer protection laws shall be filed using the Tennessee NC-SARA Portal form:  http://tn.gov/assets/entities/thec/attachments/ComplaintForm.pdf

Policy Purpose 

As a part of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, Congress passed provisions governing what must happen to federal assistance if a student completely withdraws from school in any term.   A student begins earning Title IV funds on his or her first day of attendance. Therefore, even if a student withdraws before a school’s census date, the school must perform a Return calculation using the number of days the student attended the institution, minus any scheduled breaks greater than five days.  This process is known as an R2T4 Calculation. 

Applies To 

All federal grant and loan programs including the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, and the Federal PLUS Loans, Federal TEACH Grant programs and Iraq and Afghanistan Services Grant. 

Policy Statement 

The official withdrawal date is the date the student signed the Official University Withdrawal Form.  The Financial Aid Office will use this date for all students that officially withdraw from Fisk, in determining the percentage of the pay period the student completed.  For Unofficial withdrawals, the Financial Aid Office will use the 50% mark, or the last date of attendance at an academically related event (whichever is later).  The R2T4 calculation will be completed within 30 days of the official withdrawal date, or 30 days from the notification of the unofficial withdrawal.  The Office of Financial Aid uses the Department of Education’s Return of Title IV worksheet on COD to determine the required repayment from the institution and/or student.  Any unearned funds will be returned to the Department of Education within 45 days of notification of official or unofficial withdrawals. 

No Shows 

• Instructors will confirm the accuracy of their class roster. 

• Instructors will let the Registrar’s Office know if there are students on the roster that have never attended a class.  This is done by placing an “A” for absent on the electronic class roster for three class days. The Registrar’s Office will run a report, by census that will show any students that fit into this category. 

• The Registrar will cancel the student’s registration from the class.  The Registrar will then code them with a NA (Never Attended) status. 

• The Financial Aid Office will then run a report that they will use to reverse any funds that the student received for any NA statuses. 

Official Withdrawals 

• The student picks up the Official University Withdrawal Form from the Registrar’s Office which instructs the student to complete Exit Counseling online. 

• The students make their rounds to the required offices for signatures. 

• The Financial Aid Office reminds the students to complete Exit Counseling online.  Once completed, the FA office signs off on the form. 

• R2T4 calculation is performed on COD. 

• The Financial Aid Office makes the award adjustments in Colleague based on the completed R2T4 worksheet. 

• The Financial Aid Office then runs the FATR report and sends it to the Business Office to pull back funds. 

• The Business Office then returns the required funds back to G5. 

• A copy of the R2T4 worksheet is saved in the student’s file. 

Unofficial Withdrawals 

• At the end of the semester, the Financial Aid Office will request a report of all students that earned a 0.00.  If they earned this GPA because they have a combination of W, I, or E (Failed) grades, they will show up on this report. 

• The Financial Aid Office will complete the R2T4 calculation on COD at 50% or the LDA whichever is later. 

• The Financial Aid Office makes the award adjustments in Colleague based on the R2T4 worksheet. 

• The Financial Aid Office then runs the FATR report and sends it to the Business Office to pull back funds. 

• The Business Office then returns the required funds back to G5. 

• A copy of the R2T4 worksheet is saved in the student’s file. 

Unearned Aid 

Students who have withdrawn and have aid that “Could have been disbursed” will be notified and asked to reply if there are loans that can be disbursed. This disbursement will be made as a Post withdrawal disbursement.