Academic progress is generally your biggest challenge when attending a college or university. Academic challenges are, after all, higher education's point. You shouldn't generally go to college or a university simply to have a good time. You instead pay tuition and spend untold hours studying in order to learn, grow, and qualify for rewarding jobs, careers, and other opportunities. Academic assignments must require you to push yourself to strive in order to accomplish your growth purpose.
But unfortunately, college and university students can face other circumstances that make their studies much harder than they should be. Illness, injury, separation or divorce, death of a close friend or family member, pregnancy and child-rearing, and even changes in work assignments or finances can all interfere with a student's academic progress. Case studies show the frequency and variety of academic progress issues for students at all levels of higher education and in all programs.
If these or other extenuating circumstances have led to your school probation, suspension, or dismissal, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team to help you address the issues. You may have a satisfactory academic progress (SAP) appeal or other special alternative relief available to you. Our skilled and experienced attorneys know your options. Call 888.535.3686 now to tell us about your case, or complete this contact form. Let us help you prove your extenuating circumstances.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policies
Despite your extenuating circumstances, colleges and universities must maintain academic policies requiring you to progress in an orderly and timely fashion through the school's program. Section 484 of the federal Higher Education Act requires students to demonstrate progress to be eligible for federal loans and grants: “In order to receive any grant, loan, or work assistance under this title, a student must … maintain[] satisfactory progress in the course of study the student is pursuing….” The federal regulation 34 CFR 668.34 carries out that congressional mandate, detailing the necessary satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements. You must generally prove your extenuating circumstances if you are to avoid the following requirements.
Minimum Grade Point Average Requirements
Under the federal SAP requirements, colleges and universities routinely impose minimum grade point averages for their educational programs. You must generally meet those minimum cumulative GPA requirements or face program dismissal. New York University's minimum 2.00 GPA requirement under its SAP policy is an example. Extenuating circumstances like an illness, injury, or pregnancy can interfere severely with studies, leading to low or failing grades for a semester or across semesters. Failing grades can certainly create GPA issues, just as very low grades can also contribute to a substandard GPA. Grade appeals can help improve low or failing grades. Don't ignore the grade-appeal option. Get our help with grade appeals to save your cumulative GPA from falling below the SAP minimum.
Minimum Credit Completion Requirements
Under the federal SAP requirements, colleges and universities must also maintain a requirement that students complete a minimum percentage of attempted credits. The University of Pennsylvania's SAP policy, for instance, requires that students complete at least two thirds of the credits they attempt. Two thirds is the common credit-completion requirement across institutions. Your extenuating circumstances may have caused you to fail courses, withdraw from courses, or leave courses incomplete. Failing a course repeatedly or failing several courses once can create credit-completion issues, even if you eventually pass the failed course or courses. Incomplete grades and frequent withdrawals from courses can also contribute to credit-completion issues. If you face SAP probation, suspension, and dismissal over the credit completion percentage, get our help to appeal course failures and remove course incompletes or withdrawals.
Maximum Graduation Time Requirements
Under the federal SAP requirements, colleges and universities must also maintain a requirement that students graduate within a reasonable time. Indiana University's SAP policy, for instance, requires that students graduate within 150% of the planned program time. That would mean graduating within six years for a four year bachelor's degree program or within three years for a two year master's degree program. Your extenuating circumstances may require you to take a semester off or several semesters off, delaying your expected graduation beyond the maximum time. Beware the SAP graduation time requirement. Get our help if you face SAP probation, suspension, and dismissal over time issues.
Extenuating Circumstances Causing Academic Progress Issues
As briefly indicated above, students face common extenuating circumstances interfering with, or even outright preventing, their college and university studies. These circumstances are generally unavoidable, not at all the fault of the student who suffers them. These circumstances are also generally serious, so serious as to make it understandable that they would interfere with or outright prevent effective studies. Any of these circumstances, and similar extenuating events, may cause or contribute to academic progress issues, depending on the particular case:
- motor vehicle accident injury, injury from a fall or from medical treatment, or other sudden, serious, traumatic injury;
- episodic serious illness such as viral, bacterial, or other infectious disease;
- chronic serious illness such as pulmonary, cardiac, circulatory, or neurological disease;
- progressive and degenerative conditions such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, and even back, neck, joint, or other orthopedic conditions;
- death of a parent, grandparent, sibling, child, or other close relative;
- illness, injury, or disability of a child, elderly parent, or other dependent for whose care the student is responsible;
- pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing;
- separation, divorce, domestic abuse, and other changes in family situation;
- loss of housing, transportation, medical care, or other critical resources and services;
- bankruptcy, loss of loans or other credit, or financial losses;
- flood, fire, or other real property loss;
- theft or other personal property loss or damage;
- job reassignment, overtime, or travel;
- changes in immigration status or other visa or immigration issues; and
- civil lawsuits or other legal issues.
Extenuating Circumstances as Relief from SAP Requirements
Because the student is typically not the cause of the above extenuating circumstances, or the circumstances are otherwise innocent or forgivable, colleges and universities have authority under the federal SAP regulations to offer relief from their strict SAP requirements. The federal SAP regulations list only “the death of a relative” or “an injury or illness of the student” as specific examples of extenuating circumstances that a college or university may accept. But the regulations also permit schools to recognize “other special circumstances.”
For example, the New York University, University of Pennsylvania, and Indiana University SAP policies referenced above excuse SAP non-compliance based on special or extenuating circumstances, although none list the specific circumstances, leaving it to a case-by-case determination. Your school will also very likely provide relief for qualifying circumstances. Thus, even if you are clearly out of compliance with your school's SAP policy, you may find relief available under your school's SAP policy forgiving extenuating circumstances. Get our help to determine whether you qualify for relief and how to qualify.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Procedures
Colleges and universities may offer several forms of appeal to give you a chance to explain and excuse your academic progress issues. The primary appeal is an SAP appeal. To get relief from your school's SAP requirements, you must generally take a formal SAP appeal. You should not ordinarily rely on a simple oral request or assurance. Instead, let us help you invoke your school's formal SAP appeal procedures to ensure that you have the best chance to qualify for extenuating circumstances relief from your academic progress issues. The University of Georgia's SAP policy provides an example, permitting students to take an SAP appeal by filing the proper forms with the appropriate arguments and documentation. Your school very likely has a similar SAP appeal procedure.
Help with Extenuating Circumstances Appeals
Let our skilled and experienced attorneys help you with your extenuating circumstances and appeal from your academic progress issues. Academic administrative appeals aren't as easy as they may sound. A simple letter won't ordinarily do. SAP appeal procedures generally require specific representations and documentation. Our attorneys will confirm your school's specific procedures and requirements for a successful appeal. They will then help you prepare and submit the appeal as follows.
Proving and Documenting Extenuating Circumstances
Your first challenge in proving a successful extenuating circumstances appeal is to prove the circumstances that interfered with your studies. You must articulate a sound excuse, generally in one of the above forms, such as a serious illness or injury, or death, disease, or dependency of a close family member. Articulating the excuse in a convincing fashion is your first challenge. And school officials don't have to take your word for it. Your school may require you to produce medical records, employment records, financial records, birth records, death certificate, memorial service bulletins, or other documentation. We can help you obtain the documentation satisfying school officials that you suffered the extenuating circumstances you claim.
Proving and Documenting Recovery from Extenuating Circumstances
Your next challenge in proving a successful extenuating circumstances appeal is to prove that you have recovered from those circumstances. School officials won't generally just permit you to prove you can't study because of your special circumstances. School officials will also want to see that your special circumstances have ended and that you are ready to address your academic deficiencies. You may need to articulate to school officials how you have gotten over the illness, injury, death, or other loss that initially caused your studies to suffer. You may also need to document your recovery. Documenting your recovery may involve acquiring, interpreting, and producing medical records and opinions, employment records or reports, counseling records, or other opinions, records, and reports. We can help you articulate and document your recovery.
Proving an Achievable Academic Recovery Plan
Your final challenge in proving a successful extenuating circumstances appeal is to show that you can get your studies back into compliance with the school's SAP policy. It's ordinarily not enough to prove you had an excuse and that the interfering condition has abated. You generally also need to prove that you have an achievable academic recovery plan. That plan may require you to show that you have changed and improved your study location, time, practices, and resources. You want to get back on track. And you need to get back on track. Catching up can be harder than staying abreast. Unless you have a clear and achievable academic recovery plan, your excuse won't matter. Our attorneys have the knowledge, skill, and experience to help you develop and present an achievable academic recovery plan.
Special Alternative Extenuating Circumstances Relief
Don't give up if you have already exhausted all of the grade appeals, SAP appeals, and other procedures you believe are available to you. Our attorneys have, in many cases, successfully negotiated alternative special relief outside of ordinary procedures. Colleges and universities maintain general counsel offices and ombuds offices. They also retain outside counsel. Those special oversight offices and officials advise the school on how to reduce litigation, liability, and regulatory risk. Our Student Defense Team has the record and reputation to reach and communicate with general counsel and outside counsel. We may be able to show your college or university's oversight officials that reinstating you and providing other academic relief is the better course over school dismissal. We may be able to pursue civil court litigation or regulatory relief, too.
Representation for Extenuating Circumstances Relief
You know what you've invested in your education and the substantial rewards you expect. You know to take academic progress issues as seriously as they warrant. You know you face school probation, suspension, and dismissal if you do not meet your program's academic standards. The Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team has helped hundreds of students nationwide address academic progress issues and related disciplinary actions with SAP appeals and other relief. Call 888.535.3686 now to tell us about your case, or complete this contact form.
