Maximum timeframe

The institution establishes the published length of each program and calculates 150 percent of that length. Each term the aid office compares cumulative attempted credits (or clock hours) with the maximum. If the student will exceed the maximum before completing the program, the student is deemed not to be making SAP. Appeals are possible but become harder as the student nears the limit.

Example: a bachelor’s program requires 120 credits. The maximum timeframe is 180 credits. A student has already attempted 160 credits and still needs 30 more. Because 160 + 30 = 190 exceeds 180, the student cannot receive further Title IV aid unless an appeal is approved with a plan that somehow resolves the excess, which is rarely possible.

Graduation rate measures the percentage of a cohort that finishes within 150 percent of normal time; maximum timeframe is an individual eligibility limit. Pace is the percentage of attempted credits that are completed; a student can have an acceptable pace yet still hit the maximum timeframe because of earlier excess attempts. Academic dismissal is an institutional status that may occur before or after the aid maximum is reached.

Excluding transfer or withdrawn credits from the attempted total. Applying a 150 percent limit based on years attended rather than credits attempted. Assuming the maximum timeframe resets after a change of major without institutional policy support.