US Dept of Education

Satisfactory Academic Progress for Financial Aid Recipients

All students applying for or receiving US Federal Aid (subsidized, unsubsidized and PLUS) at Murdoch University must progress satisfactorily towards completion of a chosen academic program.

Murdoch University is required by US Federal law (34CFR 668.16) to define and enforce standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). The guidelines have been established to encourage students to complete successfully academic programs for which aid is received.

Students are entitled to modify their enrolment within the first two weeks of each semester and retain eligibility for aid, provided they maintain a full-time enrolment whilst on-shore and do not drop below half-time whilst they are off-shore. This requirement is linked to Immigration regulation, as international student studying onshore must study in the full-time mode.

Students receiving financial aid will be evaluated at the end of each semester. This evaluation process will consider the students progress under the following categories:

1. Academic Standing
2. Maximum Timeframe

In order to receive US Federal funds, students must meet minimum standards for both the above mentioned components, whilst simultaneously adhering to University academic progress rules and to Australian Immigration / visa legislation.

Undergraduates

Academic Standing

Students with course duration of 4 years or less:

(i) Students must have a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.1 or greater at the end of each semester

Students with a course duration of 5 years:

(i) Students must have a cumulative GPA of 1.8 or greater at the end of the first year
(ii) Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.1 or greater at the end of each semester after they have completed their first year.

Murdoch University shows its grades in a fail to high distinction level. The following table has been provided to allow you to manually calculate your grades.

For the purposes of US Federal Aid

1. UP (a cross institutional assessment) will be viewed in terms of the alphanumerical grade awarded by the institution that undertook the assessment.
    
2. UP (practicum based assessment) will be viewed as a (C) grade
    
3. W Will be assessed individually to ascertain whether there are any exceptional issues behind the withdrawal, and will include the timing of the withdrawal (including drop periods, university protocols) and whether the student is attempting to maintain the required GPA by withdrawal from courses,

Maximum Timeframe

An undergraduate student is entitled to receive aid for 150% of the allocated course time frame

(i) 3 year degree – eligibility for aid 4.5 years
(ii) 4 year degree – eligibility for aid 6 years
(iii) 5 year degree – eligibility for aid 7.5 year.

Students should be advised that whilst federal eligibility may allow them to continue – individual academic progress rules and student visa restrictions may impact on the students’ ability to continue within the program.

REMEDIAL, NON-CREDIT COURSES AND INCOMPLETES

Non-credit courses will not be countered in assessing full-time hours. A student is required to achieve a grade on any deferred or supplementary assessment within 6 months of completing a class

Notification

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be assessed for each student at the end of each academic term period, to determine your eligibility for continued awards of aid. You will be notified in writing if your Financial Aid is suspended. An appeal procedure for verifiable extenuating or unforeseen circumstances is available, if you believe that you meet those criteria. Murdoch University cannot waive the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirement for any student to receive financial aid.

Financial Aid Probation and Suspension

The policy for Financial Aid Probation and/or Suspension is as follows:

1. Students who fail to achieve the required GPA level commensurate with the longevity of their degree program, and their academic level within that degree structure, will be placed on Financial Aid probation for six months.
2. Students who have been placed on probation and subsequently meet the GPA requirements in the next semester will be placed back into good Financial Aid (SAP) standing.
3. Student who have been placed on probation and do not meet the requirements applicable to degree and level will be suspended and ineligible to receive aid until such time as they achieve the required GPA.
4. Students may appeal their suspension of aid, via written appeal to the WAFAA Appeals Committee. Students who appeal will be informed of the committee’s decision, which is final.

Appeals

Students who have their eligibility for US Federal Aid suspended may appeal the suspension if one or more of the following circumstances exist:

1. Death of a family member (parent, spouse, sibling, dependant child etc)
2. The extended illness of the student – extended illness as defined as a documented chronic or recurring medical or emotional illness that causes the student to be absent from class at least 15 days or more
3. The extended illness of a family member that places hardship on the student. Immediate family member includes parent, spouse, sibling, dependant
4. Mitigating circumstances as determined by the Financial Aid Appeals committee.

All appeals must be received within ten days of receipt of the Notice of Suspension.

Students should submit an appeal to

Financial Aid Office
Attn: WAFAA Appeals Committee
Murdoch University
South Street
Murdoch WA 6150

Students must indicate in writing to the chairperson the reason (s) for failure to meet the necessary Financial Aid SAP requirements and why financial aid should not be suspended. All documentation to support the appeal is required at time of appeal submission.

Financial Aid and the Murdoch University Refund Policy

Murdoch University has a clear refund policy for international students attending this institution. The following is an addendum for students who are utilising US Federal student aid funds.

If a student who receives financial aid withdraws from the University and is due a refund of fees paid for that period of enrolment, a determination must be made as to whether any of the refund money must be returned to the US Federal aid program. If it is determined that refund money must be returned to the aid program, the distribution of Stafford money will be as follows

1. Federal Stafford Unsubsidized
2. Federal Stafford Subsidized
3. Federal PLUS

Pro-rate refund calculations apply for any international student who is attending Murdoch and who withdraws within 60% off the payment period. If you withdraw from the University whilst in receipt of aid, you may also be required to pay back money to the US Federal government.