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Financial Aid Facts For ISU Faculty

Listed below are a few financial aid facts for ISU faculty.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Returning students may be flagged for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) each year, essentially suspending financial aid eligibility based on failure to meet academic standards. Students will be suspended for the following:

  • Less than 1.70 GPA for freshmen (0-29 attempted credit hours); less than 2.0 for sophomores (30-59), juniors (60-89), and seniors (90+); and less than 3.0 for graduate students
  • Less than 67% completion rate (Withdrawal's, drops that occur after classes start, or F's count against course completion)
  • Greater than 150% attempted hours. For most bachelor's degree students, this occurs around 180 attempted credit hours.
  • Visit our SAP Policy page for detailed metrics.

Students may appeal to have aid reinstated. Meeting with an advisor is strongly encouraged to strengthen an appeal.  If an appeal is granted, the student will be given an academic plan.  This plan consists of required GPA and completion rate of either 75% or 100% for a set number of terms.  If the student achieves the required GPA and completion rate another appeal is not required during the terms that span the academic plan.

Helpful Resource: SAP Appeal tips for students can be found at SAP Tips.

Enrollment

  • Most financial aid programs require full-time enrollment for undergraduate students (half-time enrollment for graduate/professional students). Most enrollment reporting is based on registration as of the 7th day of the semester.
  • Loans require a minimum of half-time enrollment.
  • Repeating a course more than once has implications for financial aid eligibility. For details, visit Enrollment and Its Effects on Financial Aid.
  • Most types of financial aid disburse approximately 10 days before the start of classes. ISU offers two types of courses - a 16 week term, and two 8-week mini terms. If a student doesn't begin classes until the 2nd 8 weeks, financial aid may be delayed until the beginning of the second term. In addition, depending on weeks of the term, the amount of total aid may be prorated. Students must earn aid based on attending all classes.

Attendance

  • Students have to actually attend their classes to be eligible to keep their aid. So, the three-week attendance report identifies "stop-outs" and causes aid to be canceled or reduced for students who are not attending.
  • The "last date of attendance" that you provide at the end of the term determines the amount of aid a student keeps—and it is reported to the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges are responsible for substantiating their records in case of an audit.
  • Be careful with distance classes. Simply logging into a class does not mean a student is actively attending. He or she has to "interact" by participating in an academically related activity according to the Federal definition.

Questions

Each college has its own financial aid liaison: