Financial Aid Satisfactory Progress Policy Statement

Federal financial aid regulations require students to make satisfactory progress to remain eligible for financial aid. Financial aid programs affected by this policy include:

This policy defines the minimum academic requirements for financial aid eligibility at Michigan Technological University. Note that other types of financial aid (e.g., scholarships) may have more stringent requirements.

Students who do not meet the GPA requirements after any semester are not considered to be making satisfactory progress, and the affected financial aid for subsequent semesters will be canceled with the following exception: students who do not meet the GPA requirement after their first semester at Michigan Tech will be placed on financial aid probation and will remain eligible for financial aid for one additional semester. Students not meeting the schedule of credits passed after spring semester are not considered to be making satisfactory progress. Both GPA and credits passed requirements must be met for aid to be reinstated.

Requirement 1: Minimum Grade Point Average

At the end of each semester, every student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least:

Requirement 2: Minimum credits passed

Every student must adhere to the following schedule of credits passed, even if the academic major is changed. Audits (U or V) do not count toward credits passed. To reference credits passed, access your Unofficial Transcript at the Registrar's Office website. Transfer students: Please see important information below.

Important Information 

Eligibility Defined

All students, regardless of whether they are receiving aid, have a limited number of semesters for which they are eligible for such aid. For example, undergraduates who have attended Michigan Tech for eight full-time semesters may be eligible for another four semesters of aid, regardless of whether or not they have received aid in the past. The record of full-time semesters increases by one for every semester an undergraduate student is enrolled for 12 or more credits at the end of the official add period. If an undergraduate student is enrolled for 6 through 11 credits, the full-time semesters increase by one-half. Full-time semesters will not increase during the semesters undergraduate students carry fewer than 6 credits.

MS and PhD students’ records of full-time semesters increase by one each semester in which they are enrolled for 9 or more credits at the end of the official add period. If an MS or PhD student is enrolled for 5 through 8 credits, the full-time semesters increase by one-half. In all other cases, full-time semesters are not increased.

Associate Degree Students

The undergraduate schedule of credits passed applies to students in associate degree programs. If the full-time semesters exceed 6, the student is not considered to be making satisfactory progress. Appeals based on the fact that some credits passed at Michigan Tech were used for a previous degree should be presented to the Financial Aid Office.

Students with Transfer Credit

The appropriate schedule of credits passed applies to students with transfer credit, with one additional step. The total number of credits transferred to Michigan Tech is divided by 15 to calculate full-time transfer semesters. That number is then subtracted from the total number of full-time semesters of eligibility at Tech to determine the number of semesters of eligibility remaining. If the combination of full-time semesters at Michigan Tech plus the full-time semesters calculated from transfer credit exceed the maximum allowed (12), the student is not considered to be meeting satisfactory progress requirements for financial aid. Example: A student who is transferring 60 semester credits to Michigan Tech would have four full-time transfer semesters (60 credits ÷ 15 = 4 semesters). The student in this example would have eight full-time semesters of eligibility remaining (12 semesters maximum – 4 calculated transfer semesters = 8 semesters of remaining eligibility).

Postgraduate Students

Undergraduate students who have received their first bachelor’s degree from another institution are considered to be making unsatisfactory progress when their full-time semesters at Michigan Tech exceed six. Michigan Tech undergraduates seeking a second bachelor’s degree must follow the schedule of credits passed for undergraduate students.

Graduate Students

Credits passed include progress grades (P). GPA is calculated using all courses, which appear on the graduate transcript.

Appeals and Reinstatements

Because financial aid dollars are applied to the first billing each semester, and the progress status is not determined until semester-end grades are processed, necessary adjustments will appear on the bill of the semester following a change of progress status.

If completion of temporary grades (I or X) or other transcript changes (e.g., grade changes) warrant reinstatement, the student should notify the Financial Aid Office before the end of the semester following unsatisfactory progress.

Students not meeting the satisfactory progress requirements because of mitigating or extenuating circumstances may request reinstatement of financial aid by submitting a Satisfactory Progress Appeal Request Form along with the specified documentation. Appeals should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office no later than Tuesday of the first week of the semester following unsatisfactory progress. If a student’s appeal is approved, when appropriate, the full-time semesters will be adjusted allowing continued eligibility.