Graduate Academic Progress Review Process
Every graduate student at the Río Piedras Campus must comply with the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards established by the Academic Senate in Certification 95, 2019-2020.
- Have regular admission to a graduate program
- Have a GPA of 3.00 or higher
- Pass 50% of the enrolled courses
- Be studying within the established time to degree
When, for some reason, students do not comply with these requisites and wish to participate in financial aid programs managed by the campus’s Financial Aid Office, they can undergo a review process if they possess compelling evidence that justifies the period without academic progress. This academic progress review process is covered by Board of Governors’ Certification 55, 2016-2017. Meanwhile for students without academic progress due to an Incomplete grade in courses that are not proposals, theses or dissertations, this indicator changes when the student removes the Incomplete, and it is not necessary to undergo the review process.
Thus, Certification 55 establishes the process for requesting an academic progress review when the student does not comply with the requirements and wishes to participate in financial aid through the Dean of Students’ Financial Aid Office. It is important to point out to the students who undergo this process and whose request is favorably recommended; this does not change the regulations on the academic progress required for graduate studies, nor the regulations for participating in assistantships under PEAF (Formative Academic Experiences Program, for its Spanish abbreviation) and scholarships granted by the Dean’s Office for Graduate Studies and Research (DEGI, for its Spanish abbreviation). Furthermore, policy states that the deadline to request the academic progress review is ten calendar days after the first day of class.
Therefore, this determination of eligibility for academic progress is limited to:
- Economic necessity
- Funds availability
- Federal Department of Education standards
The students who fail to comply with academic progress requisites will be notified in writing of unsatisfactory academic progress for financial aid purposes from the Dean of Students’ Financial Aid Office. According to federal regulations, the affected student may file for review on the basis of one or more of the following mitigating or extenuating circumstances:
- Severe or prolonged illness
- Student accident
- Death of a family member
- Severe illness or injury of a family member
- Significant changes in the economic situation or legal circumstances
- Compulsory military service
In order for the process to be successful, the student who has suffered one of the aforementioned circumstances must submit the following evidence with the request, as applicable:
- Original medical certificate
- Death certificate
- Divorce decree
- Decree of bankruptcy
- Foreclosure judgement
- Termination, severance, or resignation letter
- Statement of Service
Academic Progress Review Process
Institutional policy states that the deadline to request an academic progress review is ten calendar days after the first day of class. The process is detailed below:
- The student will be notified if not complying with academic progress standards.
- The student requests a review of their academic progress through the Dean of Students’ Financial Aid Office.
- The Financial Aid Office creates a record with the documentation provided by the student. This record is forwarded to DEGI’s student area, who in turn forwards it to the student’s graduate program.
- The graduate program will schedule the student for an academic evaluation and the elaboration of a Plan of Study that will allow the student to achieve the required academic progress.
- The academic unit forwards the record to DEGI’s student area, where the Institutional Academic Progress and Graduate Eligibility Review Committee meets to discuss the case. From that discussion the request is either favorably recommended or denied. The Committee will notify the student in writing of their decision. A copy of the decision goes on the student’s record.
- In cases of favorable recommendation, the indicator will be changed in SIE (Spanish abbreviation for Student Information System) and the student may apply for loans.