Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Students must maintain a 3.0 minimum cumulative grade point average for all courses applicable to the MIA or MPA degree. A student whose performance does not meet these standards may not be permitted to continue to enroll in the degree program, and the school will take appropriate action. If at the end of a semester, a graduate student fails to meet the GPA requirement, accumulates two or more INC (Incomplete) grades, or in other ways fails to meet the standards for progress, the student will receive a written warning concerning the lack of academic progress. The student must remedy the problem within one semester. The only exception to this is a part-time EMPA student who will be given two terms to meet SAP. Failure to re-establish satisfactory academic standing may result in dismissal from SIPA, subject to review by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. A dismissed student must wait at least one calendar year from the date of dismissal before applying for readmission to the graduate program.

Satisfactory academic progress for a full-time student is defined as a minimum GPA of 3.00 and completing a minimum of 9* credits per term toward the degree. Full-time students who do not earn this minimum number of credits will have a Dean's Hold placed on their registration.

A Dean's Hold prevents a student from registering for classes and from receiving the degree. Students with two or more IN or UW or one or more grades of F will have their registration placed on Dean's Hold. In serious cases of unsatisfactory performance, a Dean's Hold may lead to dismissal from the school upon recommendation by the Committee of Deans. Students placed on Dean's Hold must be granted permission to register by the Associate Dean.

• Students must complete all the MIA or MPA degree requirements within five years of the first semester of matriculation at SIPA. (Effective Fall 2011)

• The total number of attempted credits toward the degree should not exceed 90 credits.

• Advanced Standing/Transfer credits do not impact the cumulative GPA but count as both attempted and completed credits.

• Students enrolled in the part-time Executive MPA Program (EMPA) are required to complete an average of 6 credits per term instead of the 9 required for full-time students.

Uniform SAP Standards for All Students

• SIPA’s academic progress requirements are identical for all students, regardless of financial aid application or eligibility status.
• The Office of Student Affairs reviews progress for all students once per academic year after the spring semester (students in some programs that begin in the summer, as well as those who begin in January and do not enroll in the summer, are reviewed at the end of the fall, their second semester; students in the EMPA program are reviewed at the end of the summer term unless they are not enrolled for the summer, in which case they are reviewed at the end of the spring) and does not differentiate between aid applicants/recipients and non-applicants/recipients. All students not meeting SIPA’s SAP standards are reported to the Financial Aid Office, which then identifies those who have applied for aid or have applied for it in the past.

Consistent Application of Policy by Degree Program

• SAP standards are the same for all categories of graduate students within all SIPA programs. Below is a detailed breakdown by program.

Regular Evaluations

All SIPA programs

• Master of International Affairs (MIA)
• Master of Public Administration (MPA)
• MPA in Development Practice (MPA DP)
• Executive Master of Public Administration (EMPA)
• Master of Public Administration Global Leadership (MPA GL)
• Master of Public Administration in Economic Policy Management (MPA EPM)
• MPA in Environmental Science and Policy (MPA ESP)

The program's annual Period is defined below

• MIA, MPA, and MPA DP: Fall and Spring Terms*
• EMPA: Summer, Fall and Spring Terms
• MPA GL, MPA ESP, and MPA EPM: Summer and Fall Terms

The evaluation by the Offices of Student Affairs and Financial Aid to determine financial aid eligibility by SAP standards will be performed annually.

*NOTE: The Office of Student Affairs will conduct an additional academic progress review after the first semester to identify academic concerns. This review is not the standard SAP review.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements

Qualitative Standards (GPA)

• SIPA mandates a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the school’s qualitative measure of SAP. The Office of Student Affairs will notify the Financial Aid Office annually of any continuing students with a grade point average of less than 3.0. The Financial Aid Office will mark that student’s record as not meeting SAP standards and notify them of the implications to their application for financial aid. Students must maintain a 3.0 minimum cumulative grade point average for all courses applicable to the MIA or MPA degree. A student whose performance does not meet these standards may not be permitted to continue to enroll in the degree program, and the school will take appropriate action. For Grading scale information please visit https://bulletin.columbia.edu/sipa/academic-policies/satisfactory-academic- progress/.

Credit Completion and Timeframe Standards

Quantitative Standards

• Students must complete all the MIA or MPA degree requirements within five years of the first semester of matriculation at SIPA and by attempting no more than 150% of the total number of credits required to complete the SIPA portion of any degree, including dual degrees. Students are expected to complete 67% of registered applicable courses per term.

Addressing Non-Standard Courses

Impact of Incomplete Grades on SAP

• Two or more grades of Incomplete (INC) will automatically trigger academic action, and the student will be considered not to be making SAP.
• INC grades are not calculated in the cumulative GPA. However, the credits for courses with INC grades count toward the maximum number of attempted credits toward the degree.
• SAP will be re-evaluated depending on whether a passing or failing grade is awarded when a resolution of the INC grade is granted.

Impact of Course Withdrawals on SAP

• Students who withdraw from a course receive either a W (withdrawal) or UW (unofficial withdrawal) grade.
• Two or more UW grades will automatically trigger academic action, and the student will be considered not to be making SAP. UW grades are not calculated in the cumulative GPA. The credits for courses with UW grades count toward the maximum number of attempted credits toward the degree.
• W grades are not calculated in the cumulative GPA. The credits for courses with W grades count toward the maximum number of attempted credits toward the degree.

Impact of Repeating Courses on SAP

• If a student repeats a course, only the original grade counts toward the GPA, so typically, students are only advised to repeat a course if they fail it the first time so that they can fulfill the requirement; SIPA does not allow a student to repeat a course simply to improve their grade.
• Repeated grades count toward the maximum number of attempted credits toward the degree.

SAP Considerations for Dual Degree Students

• Students’ maximum time frame for completing the degree may vary depending on the specific dual-degree program. The cumulative GPA for dual degrees will be based on the semester(s) they are in residence at SIPA. A dual-degree student has a maximum of 30 additional credits (above the minimum required) to compete with the SIPA portion of the dual-degree program.

Impact of Advanced Standing and Transfer Credits

• Advanced Standing does not impact the cumulative GPA but counts as both attempted and completed credits.

• Transfer credits do not impact the cumulative GPA but count as both attempted and completed credits.
• Please note that not all SIPA programs accept transfer credits. The 2-year MIA/MPA programs allow up to 12 points (1 residency unit) of transfer credit (referred to as Advanced Standing).
• The Executive MPA also allows up to 6 transfer credits.
• PEPM Students who have previously completed a graduate degree in economics or a related discipline may apply to transfer up to nine credits from their previous graduate degree toward the PEPM MPA degree.
• The MPA in Environmental Science and Policy and the MPA in Development Practice do not accept transfer credits.
• Courses transferred must be applicable to the degree and have received an earned grade of B or better, and they are not factored into the SIPA GPA.

Impact of Changing Degree Programs

• Only students making SAP are allowed to change their program. Students who change programs are held to the same standards for quantitative and qualitative measures and maximum time frame as students who originally matriculated in the program.

Impact of Pass/Fail Grading 

• In the event of a university, school, or program decision to transition from the regular quality points-based grading system (A, B, etc., on a scale of 4.0) to a pass/fail grading system for a period of time, SIPA will refer to the student’s prior cumulative GPA and add a separate assessment of the pass/fail semester. SIPA assigns no quality points to a grade of “pass” but does, in such a system, treat a grade of “fail” the same way as it would an “F,” so that a passing grade has no impact on a GPA, but a failing grade does.
• If a student had a prior cumulative GPA of no less than 2.9 and then received all grades of “pass” in the affected semester, the student will be making satisfactory academic progress. Conversely, if a student’s first semester at SIPA is graded on a pass/fail basis and then returns to quality points if a student earned all grades of “pass” in the first semester and a GPA of at least 2.9 the following semester, they would be making SAP.
• If a student’s entire year used for SAP assessment falls within a pass/fail grading system, any student with a " pass " grade for all courses will meet SAP standards. Any student who has failed one course will not be making SAP.
• Students whose GPA was lower than 2.9 in the quality points graded semester will not be making SAP regardless of their performance during the pass/fail term. Students with a GPA of less than 3.0 and who fail at least one course during the pass/fail term will likewise not meet SAP standards. 

SAP Adjustments Due to Disasters or Emergencies

• In the event of a declared disaster or significant unanticipated circumstances that may disrupt students’ ability to complete their classes, whether as normally delivered or otherwise, SIPA may remove any credits attempted but not earned from the quantitative measure of pace of completion as permitted under sub-regulatory guidance by the US Department of Education. This may be applied to all students or groups of students who were all similarly impacted, but not individual students.

Manual SAP Adjustments for System Limitations

• In cases in which there are any other limitations or nuances of a student’s academic records in SIS or any other system in use for the storage of academic records, such that what is reflected in the system does not fully represent what SIPA is utilizing for the measuring of academic progress per its own academic policy, the Office of Financial Aid will accept the decision of advisors in the Office of Student Affairs as overriding the data in SIS.

SAP Definitions and Statuses

• SIPA does not use the Financial Aid Warning status, as SAP is not checked every semester unless a student is on Financial Aid Probation. SIPA does not offer any programs that last one academic year or less in duration. 

Financial Aid Probation and Appeals

• If, at the end of the academic year, during SIPA’s annual evaluation process, a student receiving federal aid is found not to be meeting SAP requirements, that student will be notified in writing and placed on Financial Aid Probation after a successful appeal. Financial aid probation can be granted only after the student has appealed and has had eligibility for aid reinstated based on the appeal. If students appeal successfully, this status then triggers a SAP review at the conclusion of the subsequent semester. At the conclusion of the probationary period, a student must meet all standards for SAP, or they will lose federal and institutional eligibility, and there are no further avenues for appeal.
• Students may appeal by following the steps described in the below SAP appeals section. A successful SAP appeal combined with an academic plan may restore federal aid eligibility. Both the SAP appeal and academic plan will need to be signed by the academic adviser and the student.

Conditions for Financial Aid Probation and Warnings

• SIPA evaluates SAP on an annual basis and per federal regulations therefore does not use the Financial Aid Warning status.

SAP Appeal

• If a student does not meet SIPA’s SAP standards and is determined to be ineligible for federal aid because of that status, they can appeal the decision to the Offices of Financial Aid and Student Affairs.
• Appeals must be submitted to the student’s advisor in the Office of Student Affairs. If the advisor has met with the student and is confident that the mutually agreed upon academic plan is sufficient to put the student on track to graduate within the program’s maximum timeframe, the appeal will be referred to the Director of Financial Aid for a final decision. If approved, the student’s financial aid records will be updated accordingly.
• Aid received following a successful appeal will be awarded on a probationary basis only, for the duration of one semester. After that semester, the student’s academic record will be reviewed for compliance with the academic plan submitted during the appeal process. If the student is then found to be satisfying the criteria established in the academic plan, their federal aid will continue for the following semester without interruption. If, after receiving federal aid on a probationary basis for one semester, the student is found not to be meeting the standards set in their academic plan, federal aid for the following semester is canceled.
• EMPA students registered part time are the exception. These students are allowed 2 probationary semesters if they are registered part-time status for those 2 probationary semesters.

Academic Plans

• An academic plan is completed by the student and is submitted to the academic advisor in OSA who will then notify the Director of Financial Aid if it is approved. This is required for all students who appeal the SAP decision. Students with a successful appeal must meet the terms set forth in their academic plan to maintain federal aid eligibility. The academic plan needs to outline the credits and classes that will be needed in the probationary semester to meet SAP. Both the student and adviser will need to sign the academic plan.

Appeal Process for SAP

Students who have lost their financial aid eligibility due to failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP) have the option to appeal. To begin the appeal process, students should:

1. Request the SAP Appeal Form from your advising dean. Complete and submit the SAP appeal form detailing the circumstances why they failed to make Satisfactory Academic Progress and what has changed in their situation that will allow them to demonstrate satisfactory academic progress at the next evaluation. Additionally, please submit any supporting documentation along with the appeal form. Examples of circumstances that could be appealed include (but is not limited to): serious physical or mental illness of the student or an immediate family member, death of an immediate family member, or other extenuating exceptional circumstances.
2. Request the Academic Plan Form from your advising dean and in consultation with an academic advisor, students must submit the Academic Plan form. The form will need to be signed by the student and academic advisor.
3. If the appeal is approved, students will have one semester to meet the requirements listed in the Academic Plan to remain eligible for financial aid in the subsequent semester.