The Distance Education Demonstration Program has received new regulations for
the distribution and allocation of federal financial aid funds.
To be eligible for Independent Study federal financial aid, students must
fulfill the following:
- Be formally admitted into the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program (that is, they
must have successfully completed ST DEV 100) before they are eligible to
receive federal financial aid for Independent Study courses.
- Register and pay for Independent Study courses on or after the first day of
regular fall, on-campus classes. Courses purchased before this date cannot be covered
by federal financial aid. There are no exceptions.
- Students are strongly encouraged to purchase all courses for which they are
requesting federal financial aid by mid March.
- Notify the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office via
VIP or by calling (801)
422-4104 after completing 25% and 75% of each course.
Note also the following restrictions:
- Students cannot be paid for more than 12 credit hours of Independent Study
courses per academic year.
- All courses for which federal financial aid is received must be completed by
August 31. Otherwise, a failing grade will be attached to the
student's academic transcript.1
- PAYMENT DISBURSEMENT SCHEDULE
- Students submit 25% of the lessons of each course for the first 1/2 of federal
financial aid to be disbursed
- Students submit 75% of the lessons of each course for the second 1/2 of the federal
financial aid to be disbursed
- It may take from a few days to a few weeks (or more) for federal financial aid
reimbursements to be made.
- Students must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress toward their BGS degree and
must have successfully completed at least 70% of the credit hours on previous Distance
Education Enrollment Agreements (DEEAs).2
- Note: Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) students enrolled in on-site courses through
Evening School or at the Salt Lake Center also need to personally register and pay for their
courses by each semester or term Add
Deadline. Federal financial aid reimbursements will be
processed after the Add
Deadline, for up to half-time enrollment (6 credit hours), but such
on-site courses will not be under the 25% and 75% limitations. If BGS students combine on-site
and Independent Study courses, the 25% and 75% limitations still apply to all Independent Study courses.
BGS students wishing to receive federal financial aid must contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships
Office via VIP or telephone at (801) 422-4104.
1 In unusual circumstances, students may be able to petition to receive an Incomplete
grade rather than a failing grade (under guidelines established by the Records and Registration Petitions Office).
2 Students who don't meet one or both of these requirements may petition for an override of
their status if there are unusual circumstances which prevented successful completion of their courses.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Students must be meeting
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) criteria in order to receive federal
financial aid. The federal government requires the following three measures of
SAP: GPA, rate of progress and non-progress, and total hours:
GPA
Students on
academic probation at the end of an enrollment period will not be eligible for
federal financial aid for the following semester or term. Academic probation
normally occurs when a student has two consecutive enrollments with a GPA below
2.0 or when a student's cumulative BYU GPA falls below 2.0.
Rate of Progress and Non-progress
Students who fail
to successfully complete 70% of their attempted credit hours during their
university enrollment will not be eligible for federal financial aid for the
following academic year. For federal financial aid purposes, the following are considered
to be non-progress grades: E, I, IE, NS, UW, W, and WE. Once a student
accumulates 40 hours or more of non-progress credits, the Financial
Aid and Scholarships Office may ask that he or she meet with a financial aid
counselor to evaluate the student’s rate of progress.
Note that repeated courses are counted as
non-progress courses. Students should consult a financial aid counselor before
attempting to retake a large number of classes if they are going to apply for
federal financial aid now or in the future.
Total Hours
A student must
complete graduation requirements within 150% of the required credit
hours. Generally, undergraduate students who exceed 180 total attempted credit
hours are ineligible for federal financial aid. Total attempted credit hours
are evaluated at the end of each enrollment. Total hours include all attempted
hours at BYU, including non-progress hours: E, I, IE, NS, UW, W, and WE.
SAP status is monitored for each
enrollment period. Although a student may be awarded federal financial aid,
such aid may be subsequently withdrawn because of failure to maintain SAP. The
Financial Aid and Scholarships Office will attempt to notify students of their
status and provide warning notices. A complete explanation of BYU’s SAP policy can
be found at BYU's Financial Aid Website.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
[PDF - Things You Need to Know about Federal Financial Aid for Distance Educational]
[PDF - Letter to Previous BGS Students]
