Academic Standing Policy and Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

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The Academic Standing and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policies are guidelines defining how student academic performances are evaluated at different points during their programs. These policies apply to all enrolled students, including those utilizing Title IV and veterans education benefits, and dictate a student’s ability to remain enrolled.

Academic Standing Policy

Two consecutive failures will result in academic probation for the two courses that follow. Financial aid eligibility will not be affected during the probation period. Students who fail a course while on academic probation will be suspended from school, resulting in withdrawal from school and discontinuation of financial aid eligibility. Exceptions to the academic standing policy may be made at the discretion of the Student Services Director or designee.

Students should carefully review the Course Retakes section of this catalog for information on related transcript and GPA impact as well as applicable fees. Those who wish to re‑enroll after suspension should refer to the Re‑enrollment section of this catalog.

In accordance with Texas standards, students attending a Texas campus must maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.0 at the end of every evaluation period. An evaluation of a student’s CGPA occurs every six (6) weeks or two (2) courses. Any student who is not meeting CGPA standards at the end of an evaluation period will be placed on academic probation for six weeks during which the students must comply with all academic standards. Failure to meet those requirements will result in the consequences defined in the section covering those policies. If one or both courses are not successfully completed during the initial probation period and the student is still below a 2.0 CGPA, the student will be terminated from school. If at the end of the evaluation period a student has completed their courses but has not achieved a 2.0 CGPA, the student will be placed on an additional probation period of six weeks. A student who is eligible for a second probation period but fails to achieve CGPA standards at the conclusion of two successive evaluation periods will be terminated.

Grade Points

Each course within a program is assigned semester credit hours based on the quantity of instructor‑led training hours, interactive online learning (where applicable) and lab hours contained.

Course credit hours are used in conjunction with grade points earned in a course to determine the cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The relationship of course’s numeric grade, performance level and grade points is as follows:

Numeric Grade	Performance Level	Grade Points
90-100	A	4
80-89	B	3
70-79	C	2
69 or lower	F	0

Calculating the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

Cumulative grade point average is computed in two steps: (a) Multiply the grade points earned in the course by the number of credit hours for that course, and (b) take the sum of these products and divide by the sum of the credit hours. Failed courses will be included in the CGPA until they are successfully repeated. In the case of multiple successful attempts of the same course, the course with the highest overall grade will be included in the CGPA calculation. Each course will be used only once in the CGPA calculation (see Course Retakes section). The following example shows a CGPA calculation involving three course attempts:

Course	Numeric Course Grade	Letter Grade	Grade Points	Credit Hours	Grade Points × Credit Hours
Course 1	85	B	3 .0	4 .0	12 .0
Course 2	72	C	2 .0	4 .0	8 .0
Course 3	93	A	4 .0	4 .0	16 .0
Total				12	36.0

CGPA = 36 ÷ 12 = 3 .0

In the event of a discrepancy or disagreement, grade change requests/appeals must be submitted within 30 days of the course end date to be considered.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

General Information

The school’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy is based on federal regulation and applies to all enrolled students, including those utilizing Title IV and veterans’ education benefits. Included in this policy are the measurement components, relevant definitions, and details of the appeals process. A student’s academic progress is evaluated each financial aid payment period, which is student and program specific. Failed courses remain in the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) until they are successfully repeated. Such courses include those within the same department group not retaken due to a program change and legacy courses not taken when students transfer into the blended learning program. In the event a student does not retake the failed course, these failures will remain in these calculations permanently. In addition, all failed courses remain in the Maximum Timeframe (MTF) and Pace of Progression (POP) calculations regardless of later completion.

SAP Measurement Components

The following standards determine a student’s satisfactory academic progress:

Qualitative standard – Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 2.0. CGPA calculations include any successfully completed courses and any failed courses until they are repeated. Courses that are dropped, taken as refreshers, audited, tested out, or transfer credits are NOT included in the calculation.
Quantitative standard – Students must successfully complete at least 66.67% of the credit hours attempted. However, depending on the length of the program, earlier checkpoints may have lower incremental requirements.

Pace of Progression (POP) calculations include all successfully completed courses, transfer credit courses, failed courses, repeats and dropped courses unless the course was dropped-LOA, dropped-incomplete, or dropped-cancelled status. Calculations exclude courses in tested-out status.

3. Maximum Time Frame (MTF) - Students must complete their program in 150% of the normal duration of the program (measured in credit hours). Example: If a student is in a 63 credit hour program, he or she must not attempt more than 94.5 credits (150% of 63). At each payment period, the Institution will assess whether a student can still meet these terms by graduation.

Courses with the status of “tested out” are excluded from CGPA, POP, and MTF calculations.

UTI/NASCAR Tech/MMI generally does not accept transfer credits from other Institutions unless formalized through an articulation agreement with a participating institution. Courses are reflected as Transfer Credit on transcripts in these scenarios and are included in POP and MTF calculations. In addition, students transferring from one school in the UTI network to another due to a campus closure are eligible to have all prior courses reviewed to determine applicable transfer credit. Transcripts will be reviewed by the Education Department to ensure courses are of similar content, contain comparable learning objectives and hours, and have been completed with a C or better. Transcripts will reflect any courses where credit is granted as Transfer Credit for the course status. Please see the Challenge Course Credit, Campus Transfer Credit, and Transfer of Other Institution Credits to UTI policies in this catalog for more information. CGPA, POP and MTF calculations are cumulative. If a student withdraws from school and re-enrolls into the same department group, the courses from the previous and current enrollment sequences are included in these measurements. The calculations do not start over. This includes courses taken at another UTI/NASCAR Tech/MMI campus as long as they are in the same department group. Internal transfer credits will be included in the calculations for all three components.

Status Definitions

SAP‑related Statuses	Definitions
Good Standing	Students who are meeting CGPA, POP and MTF requirements at a checkpoint are determined to be in good standing.
Financial Aid Warning	Students in good standing who do not meet one or more of the measurements listed above at a payment period checkpoint are automatically placed on financial aid warning status for the next payment period. Students in FA warning status will maintain Title IV eligibility for the duration of the status. To maintain eligibility beyond one payment period and return to good standing, students must meet all three SAP components by the end of the FA warning period. If students fail to meet the SAP components by the end of the warning period, they will lose Title IV fund eligibility but have the option to appeal and re‑establish eligibility and remain in school.
Financial Aid Probation	Students who successfully appeal will re‑establish Title IV eligibility and are placed on financial aid probation status for the subsequent payment period. At the end of the payment period, students must meet all three SAP components (or the terms of an academic plan) to continue to receive Title IV funds and be placed in good standing.
Terminated	Students will be terminated (withdrawn) from school under one of the following circumstances: failure to meet SAP requirements (or the terms of his or her academic plan) after a FA probation period or does not have a successful appeal following a FA warning period. This will result in a loss of Title IV eligibility. Students have the right to appeal to re‑enroll. Students who successfully appeal must find an alternative way to fund their education until they successfully meet all three SAP components.

Students who are not meeting SAP at any given checkpoint will be advised by a Student Affairs Advisor, Academic and Career Advisor, or designee. The advisement will include notification of any SAP‑related status changes, the effect on FA eligibility, a review of the appeals process and options available to the student.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible for graduation, a student must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements. Students must meet qualitive standards by having a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.0 or better, (after rounding) and meet quantitative standards by having a Pace of Progression (POP) of at least 66.67% in addition to completing the program in a time frame not to exceed 150% of the original length of the program. Upon successfully completing all the requirements for graduation, the school will award the student the appropriate credential for the student’s program of study.

Appeals for Financial Aid Probation and Re-enrollment

Responsible Party	Steps Required/Timing
Student	The student must submit a written appeal to the Student Services Director or designee. The appeal must include: An explanation of the circumstances that prevented the student from meeting SAP along with any relevant supporting documentation.* An explanation of what has changed that will allow the student to meet SAP going forward. The student’s plan to ensure he or she will be successful if the appeal is accepted. *Appeals for FA probation will be considered only if there are mitigating circumstances that prevented a student from meeting SAP expectations. Mitigating circumstances include, but are not limited to, death in the family, serious illness, transportation issues, family emergencies and work‑related scheduling issues. Appeals to establish FA probation status must be submitted within one week of the student being notified he or she has failed to meet the terms of FA warning status. To allow adequate time for student submission of an appeal for FA probation and the Appeals Board to adjudicate, a student has two options: (a) take a leave of absence from the course following the FA warning payment period if one is available, or (b) begin attending the next course with the understanding that should the appeal be denied, he or she would not receive Title IV funds and is responsible for any tuition and fees incurred for that course. Appeals to re‑enroll can be submitted at any time. However, the student will not be eligible to re‑enroll until at least six weeks after termination.
Appeals Board	The board reviews the appeal and the student’s record to ensure he or she can meet CGPA, POP and MTF requirements by graduation then makes a determination to accept or deny the appeal. Appeals for FA probation will be reviewed by the end of week 2 of the subsequent course. Appeals to re‑enroll will be reviewed within 7 days of receipt of the appeal.
Student Services Director or Designee	The Director or designee informs the student of the decision by the Appeals Board within 24 hours. For approved appeals of FA probation: If it is not possible for the student to meet SAP by the next checkpoint, the Student Services Director or designee will partner with the student to develop an academic plan. The plan outlines expectations of the student, specific benchmark goals the student must meet at the subsequent checkpoint and the deadline for the student to meet CGPA, POP and MTF expectations. The plan must be developed and implemented within 48 hours of appeal approval. The student will be placed on FA probation status and have Title IV eligibility reinstated for one payment period or the length of his or her academic plan. The student must meet SAP standards by the end of the payment period or the terms and benchmark goals set in the academic plan to maintain eligibility.

Responsible Party

Steps Required/Timing

Student

The student must submit a written appeal to the Student Services Director or designee. The appeal must include:

An explanation of the circumstances that prevented the student from meeting SAP along with any relevant supporting documentation.*
An explanation of what has changed that will allow the student to meet SAP going forward.
The student’s plan to ensure he or she will be successful if the appeal is accepted.

*Appeals for FA probation will be considered only if there are mitigating circumstances that prevented a student from meeting SAP expectations. Mitigating circumstances include, but are not limited to, death in the family, serious illness, transportation issues, family emergencies and work‑related scheduling issues.

Appeals to establish FA probation status must be submitted within one week of the student being notified he or she has failed to meet the terms of FA warning status. To allow adequate time for student submission of an appeal for FA probation and the Appeals Board to adjudicate, a student has two options: (a) take a leave of absence from the course following the FA warning payment period if one is available, or (b) begin attending the next course with the understanding that should the appeal be denied, he or she would not receive Title IV funds and is responsible for any tuition and fees incurred for that course.

Appeals to re‑enroll can be submitted at any time. However, the student will not be eligible to re‑enroll until at least six weeks after termination.

Appeals Board

The board reviews the appeal and the student’s record to ensure he or she can meet CGPA, POP and MTF requirements by graduation then makes a determination to accept or deny the appeal.

Appeals for FA probation will be reviewed by the end of week 2 of the subsequent course. Appeals to re‑enroll will be reviewed within 7 days of receipt of the appeal.

Student Services Director or Designee

The Director or designee informs the student of the decision by the Appeals Board within 24 hours.

For approved appeals of FA probation: If it is not possible for the student to meet SAP by the next checkpoint, the Student Services Director or designee will partner with the student to develop an academic plan. The plan outlines expectations of the student, specific benchmark goals the student must meet at the subsequent checkpoint and the deadline for the student to meet CGPA, POP and MTF expectations. The plan must be developed and implemented within 48 hours of appeal approval. The student will be placed on FA probation status and have Title IV eligibility reinstated for one payment period or the length of his or her academic plan. The student must meet SAP standards by the end of the payment period or the terms and benchmark goals set in the academic plan to maintain eligibility.

Academic Standing Policy vs. Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Policy Topics and FAQs

Academic Standing

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Evaluation Points and Measurements

Evaluates students at the end of each course.

Measures the results of the course (pass/fail) and identifies consecutive course failures.

Evaluates students at the end of each payment period. Measures three things:

Cumulative grade point average (CGPA) must be 2.0 at all checkpoints.
Pace of progression (POP) varies based on checkpoint, but generally must be 66.67% by the next to last payment period. See next section for details.
Maximum time frame (MTF) requires a student to complete their program without exceeding 150% of the program’s original duration.

Evaluation Checkpoint Details – POP

N/A

If the student’s program is less than 15 courses, all checkpoints must have a pace of progression of no less than 66.67%.

Note: These values are not rounded up.

Program is 15 to 19 courses:
Payment Period	Minimum POP
First	60.00%
Second	66.67%
Third+	66.67%
Program is 20 to 24 courses:
First	50.00%
Second	60.00%
Third	66.67%
Fourth+	66.67%
Program is 25 or more courses:
First	50.00%
Second	55.00%
Third	60.00%
Fourth	66.67%
Fifth+	66.67%

Policy Topics and FAQs	Academic Standing	Satisfactory Academic Progress
What is included in measurements?	All attempted courses, including voluntary repeats. Refresher (audit) courses are not included in academic standing considerations.	CGPA: All successfully completed courses and any failed courses until they are repeated and successfully completed. POP and MTF: All successfully completed courses including transfer credits, failed courses, repeats and dropped courses unless the course was dropped‑LOA, dropped‑incomplete, or dropped‑cancelled status.
What happens if a student does not meet the measurement criteria?	A student who fails a course is notified via email and is granted one free repeat. For any failure that follows, the student will be charged a fee. A student who fails two consecutive courses is placed on academic probation for the following two courses. If a student fails either course while on probation, he or she is suspended from school. A student who has been suspended loses Title IV eligibility while out of school and cannot request to re‑enroll for two course lengths (this may be shortened to one course length at the discretion of the Student Services Director or designee). If the re‑enroll request is approved, the student will return on academic probation for the first two courses and re‑establish Title IV eligibility. If the student fails either course, he or she will be terminated from school and ineligible to re‑enroll without an appeal.	A student who fails to meet SAP requirements at the evaluation point following a payment period is advised by the Student Affairs Advisor or designee and placed on financial aid warning (FW) for the subsequent payment period. The student will retain eligibility for Title IV funding while on FW status. Students on FW who fail to meet SAP requirements at the end of the payment period are terminated from school and lose eligibility for additional Title IV funding.
Can a student appeal the suspension/ termination status?	There are two types of appeals: Appeal to have the suspension/termination waived – The student must provide a written request, as well as documentation of a mitigating circumstance by the end of the day. The student may be allowed to remain in class pending the appeals at the discretion of the Student Services Director or designee. Appeal to re‑enroll – A terminated student may appeal to re‑enroll. They must submit a written appeal detailing the circumstances and what has changed that will allow them to be successful upon re‑enrollment. The Appeals Board will review the appeal. If accepted, the student may contact the Student Affairs Advisor or designee to request re‑enrollment.	A student who fails to meet the CGPA, MTF or POP requirements at the evaluation point can apply for an appeal if he or she has mitigating circumstances. See SAP policy for examples of mitigating circumstances. The student must submit a written appeal and include the following: An explanation of the mitigating circumstance as to why the student did not meet SAP. Documentation may be required at the discretion of the Appeals Board. What has changed in the student’s life that will allow them to be successful going forward? Student’s action plan should he or she be allowed to continue enrollment and re‑establish Title IV eligibility. If the appeal is granted, the student will be put on financial aid probation (FP) status and Title IV eligibility will be reinstated for the subsequent payment period. If the Student Affairs Advisor determines a student needs more than one payment period to make SAP, the Advisor may require an academic plan that details expectations and benchmark goals for the student.

Policy Topics and FAQs

Academic Standing

Satisfactory Academic Progress

What is included in measurements?

All attempted courses, including voluntary repeats. Refresher (audit) courses are not included in academic standing considerations.

CGPA: All successfully completed courses and any failed courses until they are repeated and successfully completed.

POP and MTF: All successfully completed courses including transfer credits, failed courses, repeats and dropped courses unless the course was dropped‑LOA, dropped‑incomplete, or dropped‑cancelled status.

What happens if a student does not meet the measurement criteria?

A student who fails a course is notified via email and is granted one free repeat. For any failure that follows, the student will be charged a fee.

A student who fails two consecutive courses is placed on academic probation for the following two courses. If a student fails either course while on probation, he or she is suspended from school.

A student who has been suspended loses Title IV eligibility while out of school and cannot request to re‑enroll for two course lengths (this may be shortened to one course length at the discretion of the Student Services Director or designee). If the re‑enroll request is approved, the student will return on academic probation for the first two courses and re‑establish Title IV eligibility. If the student fails either course, he or she will be terminated from school and ineligible to re‑enroll without an appeal.

A student who fails to meet SAP requirements at the evaluation point following a payment period is advised by the Student Affairs Advisor or designee and placed on financial aid warning (FW) for the subsequent payment period. The student will retain eligibility for Title IV funding while on FW status.

Students on FW who fail to meet SAP requirements at the end of the payment period are terminated from school and lose eligibility for additional Title IV funding.

Can a student appeal the suspension/ termination status?

There are two types of appeals:

Appeal to have the suspension/termination waived – The student must provide a written request, as well as documentation of a mitigating circumstance by the end of the day. The student may be allowed to remain in class pending the appeals at the discretion of the Student Services Director or designee.
Appeal to re‑enroll – A terminated student may appeal to re‑enroll. They must submit a written appeal detailing the circumstances and what has changed that will allow them to be successful upon re‑enrollment. The Appeals Board will review the appeal. If accepted, the student may contact the Student Affairs Advisor or designee to request re‑enrollment.

A student who fails to meet the CGPA, MTF or POP requirements at the evaluation point can apply for an appeal if he or she has mitigating circumstances. See SAP policy for examples of mitigating circumstances. The student must submit a written appeal and include the following:

An explanation of the mitigating circumstance as to why the student did not meet SAP. Documentation may be required at the discretion of the Appeals Board.
What has changed in the student’s life that will allow them to be successful going forward?
Student’s action plan should he or she be allowed to continue enrollment and re‑establish Title IV eligibility.

If the appeal is granted, the student will be put on financial aid probation (FP) status and Title IV eligibility will be reinstated for the subsequent payment period. If the Student Affairs Advisor determines a student needs more than one payment period to make SAP, the Advisor may require an academic plan that details expectations and benchmark goals for the student.

Note: An academic probation status may run concurrently with a financial aid warning or financial aid probation status. If a student does not meet expectations while on financial aid probation or has an appeal denied after a financial aid warning status, the termination overrides the suspension for the academic probation.

Academic Standing Example

This is a general example. Each program has specific course names. The table demonstrates academic standing requirements only.

Course	Academic Status	Academic Standing
Course 1	Fail	Good standing
Course 2	Pass	Good standing
Course 3	Fail	Good standing
Course 4	Fail	Academic probation (begins with next course)
Course 5	Pass	Academic probation
Course 1	Fail	Suspended/terminated for not meeting academic probation standards

Texas CGPA Academic Probation Example

Course	Academic Status	CGPA	Academic Standing
Course 1	Fail	0	First course
Course 2	Pass with a B	1 .38	CGPA reviewed, placed on probation for next 2 courses
Course 3	Fail	0 .95	Probation
Course 1	Pass with an A	1 .77	Probation

Note: Student did not pass both courses while on Texas CGPA academic probation and student did not achieve 2.0 at the end of the evaluation period. As a result, student’s enrollment is terminated.

Example of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

This is an example of a CGPA calculation. Each program has specific course names and credit hour assignments.

Course	Numeric Grade	Letter Grade	Grade Points	Credit Hours	Grade Points x Credit Hours
Course 1	65	F	0	N/A	0
Course 1	88	B	3	3	9
Course 2	90	A	4	3	12
Course 3	56	F	0	N/A	0
Course 4	62	F	0	N/A	0
Course 3	98	A	4	3	12
Course 4	74	C	2	3 .5	7
Course 5	82	B	3	3 .5	10 .5
Total				16	50 .5

CGPA: 50.5 / 16 = 3.16 (student is currently meeting CGPA requirements of 2.0 or better)

Example of Pace of Progression

This is an example of a POP calculation. Each program has specific course names and credit hour assignments.

Course	Course Status	Credits Completed	Credits Attempted
Course 1	Pass	3	3
Course 2	Pass	3	3
Course 3	Fail	0	3
Course 4	Fail	0	3
Course 3	Pass	3	3
Course 4	Pass	3 .5	3 .5
Course 5	Pass	3 .5	3 .5
Total		16	22

POP 16 / 22 = 72.7% (student meeting POP requirements)

Example of Maximum Time Frame (MTF)

This is an example of an MTF calculation. Each program has specific overall program credits and credit hour assignments per course.

Program with 63 credits Credits attempted to date: 28
Credits in remaining required courses: 42 Total: 70
70/63 = 111% (student is on pace to meet MTF requirements at graduation)