To remain at Knox, all degree-seeking students are expected to make satisfactory academic progress. Satisfactory progress is defined in terms of both the accumulation of credits toward the degree and the maintenance of a grade point average consistent with graduation requirements.
Students who have earned 18 or more credits are considered to be making satisfactory academic progress if their earned credits versus attempted credits exceeds 67% and achieve a grade point average of at least 2.0. Students who have earned less than 18 credits, Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined using the following table:
Credits Earned
GPA Required
Credit/Term Required
0 - 2.9
1.4
50%
3 - 5.9
1.5
53%
6 - 8.9
1.6
56%
9 - 11.9
1.7
57%
12 - 14.9
1.8
61%
15 - 17.9
1.9
64%
18 or more
2.0
67%
The table above is consistent with the principle that Satisfactory Academic Progress at Knox requires that a student be able to complete the graduation requirements in no more than 6 years with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 2.00.
Courses graded S/U do not count toward the grade point average in satisfactory academic progress. Students enrolling in 2.5 credits or more in a term are considered to be full time. For those enrolling in fewer than three credits, each credit of enrollment is counted as 1/3 of a term toward satisfactory academic progress. Part-time students are expected to make satisfactory academic progress at the same rate that is expected of full-time students relative to the course load for which they are enrolling (i.e. making Satisfactory Academic Progress as defined by the above table).
For federal financial aid purposes, full-time enrollment is defined as enrollment in 12 semester hours per academic term or 24 semester hours per academic year. Since one Knox credit is equivalent to 3.33 semester hours, a Knox student enrolling in 2.5 credits each of the three Knox terms would earn 7.5 Knox credits or 25 semester hours per academic year.
Review of Satisfactory Academic Progress for financial aid purposes occurs at the end of the Spring term each academic year. Students who are not making progress will not be awarded federal and/or state financial aid unless they submit a successful appeal to the Office of Student Financial Services. The appeal must explain the circumstances that led to the unsatisfactory progress and present a plan for how they will overcome those circumstances to regain satisfactory progress. If the appeal is approved, the student can be awarded financial aid for the following term and is placed on Financial Aid Probation. If the Academic Standing Committee, while on Financial Aid Probation places the student on an academic plan, the student must meet the criteria of the academic plan to continue receiving financial aid. Knox College, in accordance with Federal Regulations, reviews all students’ academic records to determine if each student is making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) towards earning their degree. This review is conducted at the conclusion of the Spring term each academic year and includes both qualitative and quantitative requirements.
Incomplete grades (I), Failed (F) or Withdrawn (W) will be considered attempted credits but not successfully completed. Also, all transfer credits accepted towards degree requirements will be included in attempted and earned credits. Each multiple attempts at any given course will count towards attempted credits regardless of how they are treated in a student’s GPA. Students that change their major will have all courses taken into consideration for both the GPA requirement and the completion requirement.
