The following Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress go into effect for all enrollments periods beginning with the Fall Semester of the 2011-2012 academic year.
In addition to all Christian Theological Seminary academic requirements, recipients of Federal Stafford Loans and Federal Work-Study funds must meet the following standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to establish and maintain eligibility for assistance from these programs:
- Successful pace by completion of at least 75% of all coursework attempted. Pace is measured by dividing the cumulative number of hours successfully completed by the cumulative number of hours attempted.
- Attempted coursework is defined as any course in which a student is enrolled at the end of the 100% refund period
- Successful completion of coursework is defined as receipt of a grade of A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C,C-, D+, D, D-, or P if a course is taken as pass/fail
- Unsuccessful completion of coursework is defined as receipt of a grade of F, I, W, or NG.
- Repeated coursework is counted only once toward completion of academic progress requirements.
- Credit hours officially accepted in transfer and specifically applied toward a student's degree program are counted as both attempted and completed hours.
The limit of attempted credit hours and minimum cumulative GPA requirements are as follows:
Degree Program Attempted Hour Maximum GPA
Master of Divinity (90 hour program) 135 2.50
Master of Divinity (84 hour program) 126 2.50
Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy 113 2.70
Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling 113 2.70
Master of Theological Studies 72 2.70
Master of Arts in Educational and Arts Ministry 72 2.50
Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Family Therapy 185 2.70
Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling 185 2.70
Master of Sacred Theology 45 2.50
Doctor of Ministry in Pastoral Care and Counseling
Licensure Track 81 3.00
Non-licensure Track 63 3.00
Repeated coursework is counted as many times as the course is repeated in the computation of total hours attempted.
Courses that are assigned an incomplete grade are included in the cumulative hours attempted but cannot be used as credits earned toward progress standards until a successful grade is assigned.
Satisfactory Academic Progress will be reviewed after each enrollment period (Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer Session). Financial aid already offered for the following enrollment period(s) may be canceled if academic progress is found to be unsuccessful during this review.
If progress is determined to be insufficient during the review procss, students will be placed on Financial Aid Warning status. Students will receive written notification when placed on Financial Aid Warning status.
Students on Financial Aid Warning status will be eligible to continue to receive federal financial aid.
If satisfactory progress is not made during the semester while on Financial Aid Warning status, eligibility for all future aid will be terminated. Students will receive written notification of termination of financial aid eligibility.
Financial Aid Eligibility Termination Appeal Process
A student who wishes to appeal the termination of financial aid eligibility will be required to submit a written appeal to the Student Services Manager. The written appeal must state why the student failed to make Satisfactory Academic Progress and what has changed in the student's situation that will allow the student to demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress at the next evaluation.
Appeals may be based on the following circumstances:
Personal medical condition impeded progress; written statement from student’s health care professional or other documentation required.
Death or life-threatening medical condition of immediate family member; written statement from health care professional or other documentation required.
Student experienced extraordinary situation or problem which necessitated professional intervention to overcome; statement from health care professional or other documentation required.
Other extenuating circumstances prevented achievement of academic progress; documentation required.
The Student Services Manager will review all appeals and provide a written statement as to the disposition of the appeal.
Students whose appeals are accepted will be placed on Financial Aid Probation status. If Satisfactory Progress is not maintained while on Financial Aid Probation status financial aid eligibility will be terminated.
A student may file one appeal of financial aid termination status.