Satisfactory Academic Progress

Statement of Standards

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) ensures students are able to complete their academic program in a timely manner while achieving and maintaining compliance with minimum academic standards. Federal regulations mandate that all students are required to meet SAP standards as they work towards a degree in order for them to qualify to receive financial assistance. SAP is evaluated on a payment period basis (generally this will be at the end of fall, spring, and summer semesters) and will affect eligibility for the upcoming payment period. Federal regulations require Moody's Standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to include the following.

Quantitative Measure (Pace of Progress)

Qualitative Measure (Cumulative GPA)

Students are required to meet SAP standards in order to remain in good academic standing and retain eligibility for financial aid. The qualitative measurement requires a certain cumulative GPA based on the number of credits earned according to the charts below.

Associate's Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Master of Arts Degrees, and Master of Theological Studies Degree

Master of Divinity Degree

Maximum Time Frame

The maximum time frame for receipt of financial aid must be no longer than 150% of the published length of an academic program. For example, at Moody, many Bachelor of Arts degrees require students to earn 126 credits; therefore, students enrolled in a 126 credit Bachelor degree are allowed up to 189 attempted credits (including all transfer credits accepted toward completion of a student's program) to be considered for financial aid. As another example, the M.Div program at Moody requires students to earn 87 credits; therefore, students enrolled in an 87 credit degree program are allowed up to 130 attempted credits (including all transfer credits accepted toward completion of a student's program) to be considered for financial aid. The maximum time limits include all credits attempted regardless of whether or not financial aid was received.

Grades

The following grades are not considered satisfactory completion of a course and, therefore, are not earned credits. They will, however, count as attempted credits against the quantitative measure and maximum time frame. Moody does not offer remedial or developmental courses and transfer credit is not awarded for any courses that are designated as such.

I (Incomplete)
F (Failed)
FN (Unofficial withdrawal)
X (Failed course that was successfully repeated)
XN (Unofficial withdrawal course that was successfully repeated)
WX (Withdrawal failing course that was successfully repeated)
W (Withdrawal)
WF (Withdrawal failing)
WP (Withdrawal passing)

Transfer Students

Transfer students are evaluated based on the number of hours accepted by Moody Bible Institute. Once transfer credit has been evaluated by the Office of Academic Records and the student has been awarded credits, then that student will fall under the same quantitative and qualitative requirements as previously mentioned based on that designated classification. Transfer grades are not factored into the student's cumulative GPA for SAP proposes. The maximum time frame for eligibility for financial aid is also applied to transfer students based on the number of credits accepted by Moody.

Changing Majors and Second Degrees

When students change their major, all of their previous coursework will count as part of the 150% attempted credits in their new major. Once a student completes all the requirements for their program, a student can no longer receive financial aid unless a student enters a new degree program. All courses in the completed program will count as part of the 150% attempted credits in the student’s second degree program. This does not apply to students graduating from an undergraduate degree and entering a graduate program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Procedures 

Satisfactory Academic Progress is reviewed at the end of each payment period. The cumulative academic record at Moody is considered when SAP is evaluated (not just the semesters when financial aid was received). Students who are not successfully completing courses at the pace and GPA outlined above are placed on financial aid warning for the following payment period and will be notified by the Office of Financial Aid. If SAP is still not being met after the warning period, then the student will receive notification from the Office of Financial Aid that he or she is no longer eligible to receive financial aid and will need to be meeting SAP before Financial Aid is offered again.

Financial Aid Warning

Students may receive financial aid during the semester they are on warning. However, they will need to follow any restrictions put in place by the Office of Academic Records, due to their probationary status. If the student fails to meet SAP at the end of their warning payment period, the student will be ineligible for financial aid.

1. Attend Moody Bible Institute using the student's own financial or institutional resources and without federal financial aid, until the minimum requirements of the Institute's Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress policy have been met.
2. Submit an appeal stating the reason(s) why he or she has not met the minimum standards along with any supporting documentation that verifies the circumstances that affected his or her ability to meet the minimum standards. Additional information on the appeal process is provided below.

Appeal Process

A student may submit a written statement of appeal for additional federal financial assistance if he or she feels that their special circumstances prevented him or her from meeting the minimum standards of Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress. Note that a student may only submit up to two SAP appeals during his/her academic career at Moody.

Reasons for appeal might include:

• Medical, family, or emotional difficulty
• Documented learning disability
• Other special significant or unusual circumstances (poor time management is not a significant or unusual circumstance)

Students must submit the following to the Office of Financial Aid:

• The Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal Request form
• A detailed statement of their reason for not meeting SAP standards
• What has changed that will enable them to meet SAP standards
• Third party documentation supporting their statement such as, but not limited to:
  • Letter from doctor, minister, counselor, or instructor
  • Hospital records
  • Death certificates

 The SAP Appeals Committee will review the request, the written statement, and any other submitted documentation to determine if the student can meet SAP standards by the end of the next semester in tandem with the Office of Academic Records. If the committee determines that the student cannot meet the required standards after completion of one semester, he or she will need to agree to an Academic Plan for Improvement as prepared by the Office of Academic Records. 

All students will be notified in writing of the Appeals Committee's decisions. Please note that if approved, only one semester of financial aid eligibility can be offered without the an approved Academic Plan for Improvement. The student must meet the minimum standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress by the end of the approved semester to retain eligibility. If the student does not improve the deficiencies within that approved semester(s), the student will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Students will continue to be ineligible for financial aid until the minimum requirements are met or an Academic Plan for Improvement is approved.

Academic Plan for Improvement

If the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals Committee determines that more than one semester is needed to meet SAP standards, then agreeing to an Academic Plan for Improvement is required. The student will be presented with an academic plan for meeting the minimum standards of SAP prepared by the Office of Academic Records. The academic plan is a contract that outlines a strategy towards the student's goal to "get back on track" and meet the standards of SAP while completing degree requirements. The plan will have strict conditions that the student must follow in order to retain eligibility for financial aid. Following the Academic Plan for Improvement provides additional semesters for the student to receive financial aid, provided the student is meeting all of the conditions of the plan.