To stay eligible for aid, you must make satisfactory academic progress every semester. SAP is measured three ways:

• GPA: your cumulative grade point average
• Completion rate: the pace at which you complete the courses you attempt
• Maximum timeframe: you must finish within 150% of your program’s published length

Warning, suspension & probation

• Each semester, your SAP status appears on your grade report and transcript in the MyAllen Portal.
• If you don’t meet SAP, you return the next semester on warning status.
• If you don’t meet SAP for two semesters in a row, you are suspended.
• You may appeal a suspension. If your appeal is approved, you return on probation with an academic plan.

What a strong appeal includes

Federal rules allow appeals based on circumstances such as the death of a relative, an injury or illness, or another special circumstance. Your appeal must explain:

1. What happened: why you didn’t meet SAP.
2. What has changed: what will now allow you to meet SAP, with supporting documentation.

How to appeal

1. Complete the SAP Appeal Form and gather your supporting documents.
2. Submit during an appeal window (below).
3. You’ll be notified of the decision by mail or email within 48 hours.

Send appeals to: Allen University, Dean of Enrollment Management, Attn: Admissions Committee, 1530 Harden Street, Columbia, SC 29204, or email admissioncommittee@allenuniversity.edu.

Graduate programs have their own SAP standards, listed in the Academic Catalog.

• Withdrawals (W) count as attempted hours for your completion rate. Only administrative withdrawals don’t count against your GPA.
• Incompletes (I) and grades not reported count as attempted hours.
• Failing grades (F) count as attempted hours and are included in your GPA.
• Transfer credits count toward your completion rate but not your GPA.
• Repeated courses count as attempted hours. Your highest grade counts in your GPA. Federal aid covers only one retake of a course you already passed.
• Changing majors: only courses in your current major count toward the maximum timeframe. You may change your major up to three times.

Students who register are financially responsible for the courses they register for. If you drop one or more courses or withdraw from the University completely, tuition is adjusted on this schedule:

• Students who withdraw or move off campus during the semester do not receive a refund for room, board, or insurance fees.
• Students asked to withdraw for disciplinary reasons, or who are dismissed, forfeit any refund of tuition and fees already paid.

Official vs. unofficial withdrawal

• Official, before the penalty date (see the academic calendar): courses are recorded as “W,” without grades or grade points.
• Official, after the penalty date: grades are recorded as “WP” or “WF.”
• Unofficial (leaving without notice): you receive grades according to the academic policy and each instructor’s syllabus, and the Registrar notifies Financial Aid of your separation date.
• Any hours you attempted while receiving aid still count toward SAP.
• Military withdrawal: students required to withdraw because of military obligation receive a “W” and are exempt from readmission policies.

Federal aid is awarded on the assumption that you’ll attend the whole semester. If you withdraw, federal law requires a Return of Title IV (R2T4) calculation.

• You “earn” federal aid in proportion to the share of the semester you complete. After 60% of the semester, you’ve earned all of it.
• Your withdrawal date is the date you began the official withdrawal process. If you leave without notice, it’s your last date of academically related activity, or the midpoint of the semester.
• Any unearned aid the school must return is sent back to the U.S. Department of Education within 45 days of the date the school determines you withdrew.
• You may have to repay part of the unearned aid. Loans are repaid under the loan’s terms.
• If you earned aid that hadn’t been paid yet, you may be eligible for a post-withdrawal disbursement. Grants are applied within 45 days. You’ll be offered any eligible loan funds within 30 days, and you choose whether to accept them.
• The R2T4 calculation is separate from Allen’s tuition adjustment schedule. Both can affect what you owe.

Allen’s process

1. The Business Office determines, based on the University’s refund policy, what you owe the University for services received.
2. The Office of Financial Aid determines how much must be returned to the U.S. Department of Education under the Return of Title IV regulations.
3. Funds are returned in this order: Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan, Subsidized Federal Direct Loan, Federal PLUS Loan, Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), then other federal aid programs.

Tuition and fees are due before or during registration. If you don’t complete your financial obligation, a financial hold is placed on your record. A hold prevents you from:

• Receiving your diploma
• Getting your semester grades or a transcript
• Registering for future courses

Unpaid balances may also be referred to a collection agency. If you’re worried about a balance, reach out early. We’d rather help you make a plan than see you stop out.

Students using veterans’ benefits are evaluated at the end of each semester:

• Falling below the minimum places you on academic probation for the next evaluation period, with one additional period to meet the requirements.
• Not meeting the requirements during the third probationary period results in academic suspension, and termination of veteran’s benefits, for one semester.
• Changes are reported to the VA within 30 calendar days.