Continued receipt of federal financial aid depends on your meeting the following academic progress standards. Some of Wheaton’s satisfactory academic progress standards are the same as the academic standing standards that the college applies to all students; others may be more stringent in order to comply with federal regulations governing student eligibility for funding. The Office of Student Financial Services reviews student records for satisfactory academic progress at the end of each academic year. Students must meet the qualitative and quantitative standards for progress to be met.
On this page
- Quantitative Standard: Time to Completion
- Qualitative Standard: Grade-Point Average Requirement
- Unofficial Withdrawals
- Course Withdrawals
- Repeated Courses
- Course Incompletes
- Remedial Coursework
- Grade/Pass/Fail Coursework
- Transfer and Consortium Coursework
- Student Notification
Quantitative Standard: Time to Completion
Wheaton does not have an explicit maximum time frame in which all students must complete their degree program. The college does monitor earned credits, and reclassifies students who fall more than two courses behind their grade level to the next class year. Students who fall more than two courses behind may also be subject to other institutional actions, such as suspension or dismissal. Course deficiencies are reviewed by the Committee on Academic Standing after grades are posted each term.
The Office of Student Financial Services utilizes the federal maximum time frame of 150% of program length as the enrollment maximum for students to maintain eligibility for federal funding. For the four year bachelor’s degree this is equal to six years of full time enrollment. The maximum time frame for part time students is also equivalent to 150% of the time to completion based on their enrollment level. See the table below:
| Enrollment Status | Normal Completion | Maximum Time to Completion |
|---|---|---|
| Full Time | 4 Academic Years | 6 Academic Years |
| Three-Quarter Time | 5.5 Academic Years | 8 Academic Years |
| Half- Time | 8 Academic Years | 12 Academic Years |
First year students who do not earn at least 67% of attempted credits are placed on probation for federal aid. Students who have not earned 67% of attempted credits by the end of their second year are ineligible for further federal financial aid until they have earned enough credits to bring them up to the 67% requirement.
Please note that enrollment at less than full-time status requires the approval of the Committee on Academic Standing.
Qualitative Standard: Grade-Point Average Requirement
Wheaton’s satisfactory academic progress policy requires that students must meet the 2.0 cumulative GPA required for graduation by the end of their second year. Until that time, a minimum GPA of 1.67 must be maintained. If the student’s GPA does not meet these standards, s/he will lose eligibility for federal financial aid funding.
Unofficial Withdrawals
Although Wheaton’s official withdrawal policy requires a student to notify the Registrar’s office in writing of their intent to withdraw, the Office of Student Financial Services also reviews the records of all aided students who fail to complete any coursework in a given term. Failure to complete coursework is defined as receiving grades of WD, NG, or F in all courses for which the student was registered. In order to determine if such a student completed any single course, the student’s faculty members are contacted to determine a last date of attendance based upon faculty records of attendance (if taken), exams or papers completed, or other positive participation factors. If it can not be demonstrated that the student remained enrolled in at least one course for the entire period of enrollment, the Office of Student Financial Services will use the last documented date of attendance as the student’s “unofficial withdrawal” date. This date will be used in determining the Title IV refund due back to the programs. If a last date can not be documented, the college will use the 50% point of the term as the last date of enrollment.
Course Withdrawals
Students must petition the Committee on Academic Standing in order to withdraw from any course after the add/drop period. If the committee approves the course withdrawal, the student’s record will be updated to show a “WD”, and the student’s earned credits will reflect that the course/credit was attempted, not earned. Course withdrawals will impact whether a student is making sufficient progress toward the degree to meet the quantitative satisfactory academic progress standard.
Repeated Courses
Students may elect to re-take a course in order to improve a previously earned grade. These courses may not be taken for credit, and will not be included when determining enrollment status for the enrollment period. If a repeated course is taken to earn credit after an earned “F” or “WD”, the course will be included in attempted and, if passed, earned credit.
Course Incompletes
Course grades of Incomplete (I) will not be included in earned credits. When evaluating students for progress, the Office of Student Financial Services will consider any course with an “I” grade to be a credit attempted, but not earned. If this places the student on probation, or if the student is not longer making satisfactory progress based on the incomplete(s), s/he may regain eligibility once the coursework is completed and the GPA recalculated. If the Incomplete is changed to a passing grade during the next academic year, the student will regain eligibility for the entire academic year for Federal Stafford and Perkins Loans, and as of the term of completion for Federal Pell, SEOG and Federal Work-Study funding.
Remedial Coursework
Wheaton College does not offer any remedial coursework, nor does the college accept any remedial coursework for credit toward the degree.
Grade/Pass/Fail
Grade/Pass/Fail is intended to encourage students to enroll in courses they might not otherwise take with minimal risk to their academic standing. Students exercising this option can set their own minimum grade for a class. If they meet or exceed that grade, they receive the grade that they earned. If they fall below the set grade (but still pass the class), they receive a “P”. Instructors are not informed that students have selected this option and will submit normal letter grades, which are then converted to “P” by the Office of the Registrar as appropriate. This grade is not computed in the GPA. Should the student fail the course, the “F” grade is recorded and calculated in the GPA.
Students may use the G/P/F option once per semester for as many semesters as they wish until they have accumulated a total of three “P” grades on their transcript. Students may select this option up to two weeks after final registration by properly informing the Office of the Registrar. Students should not expect to be able to use this option after that deadline in order to deal with academic difficulties in a course.
Please note that “P” grades may not be used to fulfill the Foundations requirements (FYS (First Year Seminar), Writing (English 101 or equivalent), Foreign Languages, Quantitative Analysis, and Beyond the West), of the Wheaton Connections curriculum. It may, however be used for Connections or Divisional requirements (Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences). Academic Departments may choose to allow the “P” grade to meet requirements for majors and minors. Please consult the current College Catalog to determine if “P” grades may be used to meet specific major or minor requirements.
Once a “P” grade is recorded on the academic transcript, it can only be changed with an approved petition by the Committee on Academic Standing. Such petitions will be granted only under extraordinary circumstances.
Transfer and Consortium Coursework
Consortium coursework is posted to the student’s academic record as attempted credits; grades are posted as earned and factored into the GPA. Therefore, for satisfactory academic progress purposes, consortium courses count toward both the qualitative and quantitative standards.
Transfer courses are posted as earned credits, as they are recorded only upon approval by the Registrar’s office or Department Chair. The grade earned is not reflected in the student’s Wheaton transcript and is not included in the GPA. Transfer credits impact the quantitative SAP standard only.
Student Notification
At the end of the academic year, after spring grades are posted, the Office of Student Financial Services will perform a satisfactory academic progress review on all students and notify those who do not meet the standards of their probationary or ineligible status.
Students may regain eligibility by raising their cumulative GPA to the minimum required, or making up a credit deficiency. No federal financial aid is available for the coursework taken to earn reinstatement.
Students may appeal their ineligible satisfactory academic progress status in writing to the Office of Student Financial Services. The appeal must include an explanation of your current standing, along with any special circumstances that might bear on your continued eligibility. An academic plan must also be submitted documenting the way you plan on improving your grade point average and/or catching up on credits.. The Director of Financial Aid or the Asst. VP for Enrollment and SFS may consult with academic administrators and faculty at Wheaton if they are considered involved parties who may be able to knowledgeably remark on the student’s appeal grounds. Reinstatement of eligibility based on an approved appeal will be limited to one semester, during which time the student must achieve the required GPA to continue to receive federal funding. All appeal decisions are made in writing and are considered final.