Applying for Financial Aid

In order to receive Federal Student Aid, the U.S. Department of Education requires that students maintain satisfactory academic progress. The U.S. Department of Education also requires the University to establish and implement a policy to measure if a student is making satisfactory academic progress towards the completion of their degree program. Federal Student Aid includes Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized, Parent PLUS, and Grad PLUS Loans. Other federal, state, and private agencies may require students to maintain satisfactory academic progress for their aid programs as well. An evaluation for Federal Student Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for all students will be completed once per year at the end of the spring semester to ensure compliance with the requirements specified below. The academic record of those who have not received Federal Student Aid in the past may impact future eligibility.  Failure to meet the following standards will result in suspension of eligibility for all types of Federal Student Aid.

1. Minimum cumulative grade point average (Qualitative measure)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: Federal regulations require a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher for undergraduate students. The cumulative GPA is calculated based on all South Dakota Mines and transfer undergraduate credit hours, excluding remedial and audited credit hours.

GRADUATE STUDENTS: Graduate students must maintain at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA to remain eligible for Federal Student Aid.

2. Pace of progression for cumulative credits attempted and completed (Quantitative measures)

In order to maintain satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degree, all students must successfully complete at least 67% of cumulative attempted credit hours. Attempted credit hours include all credit hours that appear on a student’s academic transcript, including withdrawals, incompletes, all instances of repeated courses, remedial coursework, transfer credits and credits attempted when not receiving Federal Student Aid. Credit hours that may have been part of a successful academic amnesty appeal are included in the evaluation. Audited coursework is not included. Successfully completed credit hours include grades of A, B, C, D and S. A grade of EX for undergraduate students is also considered successful completion. All other grades are not considered successful completion. Graduate students may receive a grade of NP (Normal Progress) which will not be changed to their final grade until program completion. Transcripts for graduate students with NP grades are evaluated manually and their system-calculated SAP status may be updated as appropriate. For Satisfactory Academic Progress purposes, all completed credit hours, even if subsequently repeated, are evaluated in the pace of progression calculation. Transcripts for students with previously completed and subsequently repeated credits are evaluated manually and their system-calculated SAP status may be updated as appropriate.

3. Maximum credits to complete a degree program (Maximum attempted credit hours)

The U.S. Department of Education has established a limit on the number of credit hours a student can attempt and remain eligible for Federal Student Aid. This limit is 150% of the credit hours needed to complete the degree for which the student is pursuing. The maximum attempted credit hours at South Dakota Mines are as follows:

Degree Program	Maximum Credit Hours Attempted
Associate's	90 based on 60 credit hour degree program
Bachelor's	180 based on 120 credit hour degree program (non-engineering)
Bachelor's	195 based on 130 credit hour degree program (engineering)
Master's	49, 48 or 45 based on 33, 32 or 30 credit hour program respectively
PhD	108 or 120 based on 72 or 80 credit hour degree program
Appealing a Financial Aid Suspension Students who have been determined to be ineligible for Federal Student Aid may submit a Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Form to explain circumstances beyond their control that adversely affected their ability to be academically successful at South Dakota Mines. Examples of extenuating circumstances include the student’s serious illness or injury, death of a family member which resulted in the student being gone from school for an extended period of time, or other circumstances beyond the student’s control. An academic plan must be included and contain the student’s strategies to be academically successful and meet the requirements in the future. Additionally, the student must meet with their academic advisor and obtain approval for the courses the student will enroll in for the next 12 months that are reasonable and attainable in order to progress toward degree completion. If the academic advisor is not available, the student should arrange to meet with another faculty member from the department. Failure to abide by the academic plan that is submitted to the Financial Aid Appeal Committee will be grounds for denial of Federal Student Aid for subsequent semesters. Each appeal will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis; therefore, no appeal is guaranteed to be approved. To ensure a timely review, appeals should be submitted prior to the start date of the semester for which a student is appealing for Federal Student Aid reinstatement. Appeals received after the semester start date will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The Financial Aid Suspension Appeal and all supporting documentation must be submitted online. If a student appeal is approved, the Financial Aid Appeal Committee will place conditions which the student must meet to in order to be considered for financial aid on a probationary basis for current and subsequent terms. Students receiving financial aid on a probationary basis will be evaluated at the end of each term.  Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility Students who have lost Federal Student Aid eligibility but have subsequently met the qualitative and/or quantitative standards as stated above, will have their aid eligibility reinstated at the next evaluation period. Reinstatement will be effective with the next academic year.

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