PA State Grant Academic Progress for Undergraduate Students

A review of a student's academic progress for the PA State Grant will be made once a year after the spring semester. To be eligible for subsequent state grant awards, a student who was enrolled full-time (12+ credits per term) must earn at least 24 new credits each year. Students who were enrolled part-time (6 to 11 credits per term) must earn 12 new credits each year.

If you previously took a course and earned a 'D' or better grade, and decide to retake the class again, the second time you take the class will not count as new credits. If you are retaking a course which you failed previously or received a "W" for withdrawing from the class, these credits will be counted as new credits for the PA state grant progress requirement.

Students can earn credits in the summer, after the Fall and Spring semesters, to meet the credit requirement needed for the next academic year. When you have successfully completed coursework that resolves your credit deficiency, please notify the Financial Aid Office. You may complete and return the SAP Deficiency Form or email finaid@ship.edu.

Please review the following examples:

• A fulltime student attempts 12 credits in the fall semester but only passes 9 credits. The student then attempts and passes 15 credits during the spring term. The student is still maintaining academic progress for the PA State Grant (9 + 15 = 24).
• A fulltime student earns 9 credits in the fall, 9 credits in the spring and attempts and earns 6 credits in the summer. The student is eligible for the PA State Grant the following year (9 + 9 + 6 = 24).
• A part-time student earns 6 credits in the fall but 3 of those credits are for a course the student previously passed by earning a “D” grade. The student earns 6 credits in the spring for a total of 12 credits. The student is NOT making academic progress under PA State Grant guidelines since 3 of the 12 credits are for a course that was already passed once.

Students are only eligible to receive a PA State Grant for a maximum of 8 full-time semesters.

Please contact the financial aid office at (717) 477-1131 or finaid@ship.edu if you have any questions about the PA State Grant academic progress requirement.