Satisfactory Academic Progress -- Graduate Programs

To be in good academic standing with the college and to be eligible to receive Title IV financial aid, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress.

At the end of each semester, each student is evaluated on three components to determine if s/he is maintaining satisfactory academic progress:

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

Students enrolled in graduate-level programs must maintain a minimum CGPA of 3.0.

Incremental Completion Rate (ICR)

Students enrolled in graduate-level programs must complete a minimum of 66.67% of the cumulative credits attempted at the end of each semester to be making satisfactory academic progress.

Maximum Time Frame

A student may not attempt more than 150 percent of the credits in his/her program. The requirements for Incremental Completion Rate are to assure that students are progressing at a rate to complete their program within the Maximum Time Frame. Students in graduate programs are only permitted to repeat one failed course (see Repeated Courses).

The minimum number of credit hours required for a graduate degree at ECPI varies; therefore the maximum number of credit hours that a student may attempt will vary.

Example 1: In a graduate program consisting of 36 semester credit hours, the student must complete the

program within a maximum of 54 attempted semester credit hours.

Example 2: In a graduate program consisting of 49 semester credit hours, the student must complete the

program within a maximum of 73.5 semester credit hours.

The maximum timeframe always applies to the program of study in which the student is enrolled.

Graduate students who exceed 150% of the program credits will be dismissed from the University.

Appealing an Academic Dismissal

A student must appeal an academic dismissal by requesting an Academic Review Board (ARB). The written appeal must state the mitigating circumstances that contributed to the academic determination or dismissal. The written appeal may be supported with appropriate documentation of the mitigating circumstances with explanation on how the circumstances have been remedied or changed. Mitigating circumstances are events that are outside the students control and are unavoidable.
Examples of events that may be considered a mitigating circumstance and which has negatively impacted academic progress include but are not limited to: death of an immediate family member, student illness requiring hospitalization, divorce proceedings, previously undocumented disability, work-related transfer or change in work schedule during the term, natural disaster, financial hardship such as foreclosure or eviction, and others.
The student may be asked to appear in person during the review process when deemed necessary by the Campus Director of Academic Affairs or request an ARB. The appeal process ends with the Campus President on each campus. Appeals may result in any one of the following actions:

• Reinstatement on SAP Probation with an academic plan where the student will be held to specific requirements which must be met by the end of the next semester. Reinstatement after dismissal will be granted only if mitigating circumstances exist.
• Denial of reinstatement
• A student may appeal an academic determination or dismissal one time
• A student who is granted an appeal may be reinstated and, if otherwise eligible, receive financial aid. The student must meet with the Financial Aid Advisor on campus to determine any changes to the student’s financial aid. The above minimum standards for satisfactory academic progress will continue to be applied to assess the student’s academic performance