appeal that determination, the student loses their aid eligibility beginning with their fourth quarter of attendance. Likewise, if the student appeals and the appeal is not approved, the student loses their eligibility for aid in the first quarter following the period of monitoring. The school will notify the student if the outcome of the review of the appeal affects the student's aid eligibility.
A student who appeals their SAP standing may regain their financial aid eligibility only after the appeal has been reviewed and approved by FIDM Staff. In some cases, adherence to an academic plan may be required for the student to regain their aid eligibility. An academic plan is specific to the individual student, and may require the student to successfully follow a schedule of specific coursework, unit loads, etc. If a student's SAP appeal is approved, they are considered to be on "SAP Probation" status, and are eligible for one additional quarter of financial aid eligibility. If the student's SAP appeal is approved and requires adherence to an academic plan, the student will retain financial aid eligibility as long as the student meets the terms of the plan.
If a student who is on SAP Probation subject to the terms of an academic plan meets the minimum SAP requirements at a monitoring period, the SAP probation status can be removed at the discretion of FIDM financial aid staff. Should a student meet the terms of their financial aid academic plan but nonetheless be placed on FIDM academic disqualification or academic dismissal, the student would also be considered to be disqualified for financial aid purposes. If the student is allowed to return to school after academic dismissal or academic disqualification, a new SAP appeal and academic plan would be required.
APPEAL PROCEDURES
Students who have not met SAP standards at the point of monitoring (and are not entitled to "Financial Aid Warning" status) will lose their eligibility for financial aid. The student will receive a communication from the Financial Aid Office with instructions on how to appeal. The student must follow all the instructions, including the time frame for return of the appeal form. The appeal form must be returned to the Student Advisement Department unless otherwise directed. FIDM Staff will review and respond to the appeal. The response will inform the student if:
- The appeal has been accepted and aid has been reinstated
- The appeal has been accepted and aid has been reinstated subject to the student's successful adherence to the terms of an academic plan, OR
- The appeal has been denied and the student has been disqualified from receiving further aid.
SUBSEQUENT APPEAL
FIDM Staff may accept a subsequent SAP appeal from a student who has failed to meet the terms of an Academic Plan. A subsequent appeal will only be approved if the student has encountered challenges in addition to those on which a previous appeal was approved. A revised Academic Plan may be created. To maintain financial aid eligibility, the student would then need to meet the terms of that new Plan.
COURSE INCOMPLETES
For purposes of pace, units for a class with a grade of "I" are counted as units attempted but not completed. If the grade is changed prior to the final SAP monitoring for the previous quarter, appropriate action will be taken, depending on the changed grade (SAP status will be changed to warning, disqualification, "OK", or no action if the SAP status is not affected). If the grade is changed after the final SAP monitoring for the previous quarter, the student's SAP will be monitored as usual at the next monitoring marker.
COURSE WITHDRAWALS
Grades for classes with a grade of "W" are not included in the calculation of GPA. Units for classes with a grade of "W" are counted as attempted but not successfully completed for purposes of pace.
QUARTERS OF NON-ATTENDANCE
Quarters of non-attendance are not included in SAP monitoring. Students are required to meet standards of attendance in addition to standards of SAP. FIDM's policies that limit the number of quarters of non-attendance can be found in FIDM's Student Consumer Handbook.
COURSE REPETITIONS
If a student repeats a class, only the higher grade will be included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA. For purposes of pace in undergraduate programs, repeated classes with grades of "A", "B", "C", "D" or "P" are considered as successfully completed; repeated classes with grades of "F" or "W" are considered as not successfully completed. For master's degree programs, only classes with grades of "A", "B", or "C" are considered to have been successfully completed. However, a student who repeats a class for which they received a passing grade ("D-" or better) may only receive federal financial aid for one repeat of that class.
CHANGES OF MAJOR
A change of major within a program (for example, a student in a two-year AA program changes major from Fashion Design to Product Development) will often result in an increase in the length of time required for completion of the program. The student must continue to meet existing pace and GPA requirements.