Application Procedures

Students who are applying for institutional need-based aid are required to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile (submit a separate CSS Profile for each parent if legal parents are not married and do not live together) and Federal tax forms (student, parent and business tax returns if applicable). For more detailed information such as deadlines and links to forms, please visit the financial aid website at www.lehigh.edu/financialaid.

International Candidates

International students may be eligible for university-funded financial aid. Opportunities are limited. International applicants who are applying for financial aid must submit the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile. International students who do not receive financial aid as a first year student are not eligible for aid in future semesters.

Renewal of Aid

Students must reapply for institutional need-based financial aid by submitting the FAFSA, CSS Profile and Federal tax forms annually. Financial need is reviewed annually to ensure aid eligibility as determined by the Office of Financial Aid, in conjunction with federal, state and university guidelines. Changes in circumstances such as sibling(s) enrollment in undergraduate college, changes in household size or changes in income may result in a change in financial aid eligibility. For more detailed information such as deadlines and links to forms, please visit the financial aid website at www.lehigh.edu/financialaid.

Satisfactoary Academic Progress

All students receiving financial aid must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). SAP policies exist for both federal financial aid as well as all institutional financial aid. For both federal and institutional aid purposes, academic progress will be checked annually at the end of each academic year, unless a student is on Financial Aid Probation, in which case SAP will be checked at the end of each semester. The Office of Financial Aid will send an email to the student’s Lehigh email address to notify students who failed to meet academic progress standards. A student’s SAP status is also displayed in the student’s Self-Service Banner portal.

Federal

SAP for Federal Financial Aid Eligibility differs from the academic progress policy for institutional aid. To maintain eligibility for Federal aid, students are expected to maintain satisfactory academic progress based on both qualitative (cumulative GPA) and quantitative standards (pace of progression).

Students who are placed on academic probation by the University (see the Guide to Academic Rules and Regulations for the University policy) will lose eligibility for Federal aid. The policy states:

All undergraduates are required to maintain a 2.00 cumulative average, the minimum average required for graduation, to remain in good academic standing. Students who do not meet this GPA requirement will be placed on scholastic probation.

Any undergraduate student who achieves a 1.69 or lower cumulative grade point average in a given term, or who fails more than eight hours of coursework, or is identified as failing to make academic progress by the student's college, is eligible to be reviewed by the Committee on the Standing of Students and may be placed on scholastic probation.

In addition, per Federal Guidelines, students have a maximum of 12 semesters of Federal Aid to complete their graduate requirements (aggregate loan limits apply as well). Students must successfully complete a minimum of 67% of their attempted coursework.

Institutional

To maintain eligibility for Institutional financial aid, students must make progress toward their degree by 1) enrolling and passing no fewer than 12 new credits each semester, 2) earning a minimum GPA of 2.0 for each semester, and 3) maintaining a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0. NOTE: Institutional aid is provided to assist students in obtaining a bachelor’s degree. Additional aid will not be available to students who choose to enhance their bachelor’s degree with additional credentials (i.e., second major/minors) and are unable to do so within the eight consecutive semesters.

Treatment of Grades and Courses

Transfer Credits: Accepted transfer credits are considered both attempted and completed. Transfer credits are not included in the cumulative GPA calculation.
Incomplete grades are not included in the GPA calculation and count as attempted but not completed credits until the coursework is graded with a permanent grade.
Repeated courses count as attempted and completed credits.
Withdrawal (W) grades received after the add/drop period are not included in the GPA calculation and count as attempted but not completed.

Re-establishing Financial Aid Eligibility

Students who fail SAP may re-establish eligibility for financial aid in one of the following ways:

The student takes classes and pays for tuition and other charges without the help of federal or institutional financial aid and satisfies SAP at the end of the subsequent semester(s).

The student submits a successful appeal (see below). Students who are beyond the maximum time frame to completion may regain financial aid eligibility on a semester-by-semester basis through the appeal process.

Appeal Process

Students who do not meet SAP standards may petition to the Academic Committee on Financial Aid. The petition is an opportunity for students to explain why they failed to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards and may result in continued financial aid support on a probationary status. The following must be submitted to be considered for review by the committee:

- The “Petition for Review of Financial Aid Eligibility” form.
- An expansive self-statement about what contributed toward the academic performance that failed to meet the minimum standards for financial aid renewal, as well as what has changed that will allow the student to make satisfactory academic progress.
- An approved academic plan, approved and signed by the student's academic adviser (a template is attached to the petition form)
- Two faculty endorsements. These should be statements concerning recent (within two semesters) classroom performance and potential for future success in the Lehigh classroom. While a note from the coach may be helpful, it is not necessary and would not count as one of the two faculty endorsements.
- A copy of the Degree Audit Report, which can be accessed via Banner Self-Service (instructions on how to get a copy of this report are available on the petition form).

- Unofficial Transcript from Banner Self-Service

The Academic Committee on Financial Aid will review appeals three times throughout the year: Twice over the summer and once between the Fall and Spring semesters. The due dates will be listed in the SAP emails sent to students. Students are notified of the appeal decision via email.

If the appeal is approved, the student will be placed on probation and will be eligible to receive financial aid for one semester. A student may re-establish eligibility by earning 12 new credits and earning a minimum of a GPA of a 2.0 for the semester.

If after the probationary semester, the student is meeting the minimum SAP requirements, the probationary status will be removed, and the student will continue to be eligible for financial aid.

If after the probationary semester the student is not meeting the minimum SAP requirements, they will be ineligible from receiving financial aid in subsequent semesters. If aid is suspended after probation, the student may submit another appeal.

If the SAP appeal is denied, the student may attend without financial aid to re-establish eligibility.