Applicants for aid under Federal programs such as the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, and the Federal Direct Student Loan Program(s) must meet the following criteria:

To be eligible for financial aid, undergraduate and graduate students’ cumulative GPA must meet at least the minimum requirements indicated in the undergraduate and graduate catalog, respectively. Only coursework taken at Cumberland University is used to calculate satisfactory academic progress. Grades will be reviewed at the end of each semester.

The following standards of progress are used to determine good standing for Undergraduate students:

Students must, at a minimum, complete the requirement for cumulative credit hours for which they receive Federal student financial assistance payments as follows:

Students must earn an “overall combined” 67% of cumulative attempted credit hours, including withdrawals, incompletes, courses repeated, and courses receiving non-passing grades, i.e., “I,”  “FA,” “FC,” “W,” “WF, ”or “F.” Course work taken at Cumberland University and transfer hours from other universities/colleges attended are used to calculate overall completion rate, even if financial aid was not awarded for those courses. Completion rate will be reviewed at the end of each semester.

The maximum time for the completion of a first undergraduate degree is limited to 150% of the program’s published length, typically 180 credit hours. Maximum hours include all hours from Cumberland University and transfer hours from other universities/colleges attended, even if financial aid was not awarded for those courses.

The last date of attendance for a student who withdraws is the date indicated on the withdrawal form. If a student stops attending classes the last date of attendance will be the last date of attendance as placed on the student record in the CAMS system as the instructor assigns a grade of “F” or “FA”.

Students who are in “Financial Aid Good Standing” will be placed on “Financial Aid Warning” if their completion rate becomes less than the required 67%. During the semester that students are in a “Warning” status, they remain eligible for financial aid. Students will change from a “Warning” status to a “Financial Aid Suspension” status if a cumulative “overall combined” 67% is not earned by the end of the “Warning” semester.

Students who were previously placed on “Financial Aid Warning” and did not achieve 67% of their cumulative “overall combined” attempted credit hours will be suspended from eligibility for federal grants, loans, federal work-study employment, and Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarships and the Tennessee Student Assistance Award.

Students may appeal financial aid suspensions if sufficient documentation can be provided to justify why satisfactory progress was not made. Please refer to the Satisfactory Academic Progress section of our catalog for more details.

Students who have a suspension appeal approved will be placed on “Financial Aid Probation” and will be eligible for financial aid. To maintain eligibility, they are required to earn 75% of their attempted credit hours for each semester until regaining a “Good Standing” status (“overall combined” 67% or above).