I. Purpose

The establishment of a Satisfactory Academic Progress policy at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is mandated by the Department of Education in order to be eligible for Federal Title IV aid.  All schools that receive these funds must have a reasonable policy for monitoring that progress.  The Department considers a satisfactory academic progress policy to be reasonable if it meets both the qualitative and quantitative criteria established by the school.

II. Definitions

• Regular semester denotes fall term or spring term
• A full-time student is enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester
• Completed semester hours are hours successfully completed with a passing grade
• Attempted semester hours are hours attempted and successfully completed or not successfully completed. Attempted semester hours include incompletes, official withdrawals, unofficial withdrawals, unsatisfactory grades, failing grades, repeated and audited courses.
• Title IV funds include Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized. Parent PLUS Loans, and Veterans Administration Benefits.
• Academic year reflects fall semester, spring semester and summer I, summer II and Summer Transition Program for first-year students. 

III. Requirements

The eligible Title IV applicant at VMI must meet all of these minimum requirements:  qualitative, quantitative and maximum timeframe as defined below.  More detailed information is provided in the Academic Standards as published by the Registrar’s Office and approved by the Deputy Superintendent for Academics.

• Qualitative Requirement. Minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) per established academic standards.  See Academic Standards.
• Quantitative Requirement. Cadets must, at a minimum, receive satisfactory grades in 67% of cumulative credits attempted. This calculation is performed by dividing the cumulative total number of successfully completed credits by the cumulative total number of credits attempted. All transfer credits accepted count as both attempted and completed. See Academic Standards.
• Maximum Timeframe. All cadets must complete program requirements within 10 regular semesters.

Notification. VMI measures Satisfactory Academic Progress at the end of each spring semester. The Financial Aid Office suspends Federal Title IV aid, to include VA Educational Benefits, and notifies each cadet who fails to meet all three measures of academic progress (qualitative, quantitative, and maximum timeframe).

Appeal. A cadet has the right to appeal the decision to suspend Title IV eligibility based on failure to meet minimum standards of academic progress. The Financial Aid Office provides the appeal form and reviews each appeal promptly and notifies the cadet of its decision.  Cadets are limited to one financial aid appeal per cadetship. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Form

Categories for appeal consideration include: 

• Medical (Injury/Illness of cadet)
• Death of a relative (immediate family member)
• Military service/mobilization
• Other special circumstances 

Reinstatement. A cadet who is not making satisfactory academic progress and loses Title IV eligibility may attend VMI without the benefit of Title IV aid if the cadet is otherwise eligible to enroll. If the cadet’s academic progress improves and meets the standards of satisfactory academic progress, eligibility for Title IV aid will be reinstated for the following regular term. Cadets are encouraged to take advantage of the VMI Summer Sessions I /II in order to improve their academic standing. They may also attend summer school in their local area and have these courses used to improve their eligibility for meeting SAP. All transfer courses must be submitted and approved through the VMI Registrar’s course evaluation process before enrolling in any transfer course.

IV. Applicability

This policy shall apply to all enrolled cadets.