All matriculated students pursuing an approved program at Talmudical Seminary of Bobov are required to maintain satisfactory academic progress toward graduation, which in this institution is defined as being in good academic standing as detailed below. Satisfactory progress standards for Title IV federal financial aid recipients are the same as for all matriculated students at Talmudical Seminary of Bobov.
Satisfactory academic progress at Talmudical Seminary of Bobov has two principal components: a qualitative standard and a quantitative standard:
§ Qualitative Standard
In pursuit of graduation, the student must achieve a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 (the equivalent of a “C” average) or better. Students are evaluated at the end of each semester and are expected to maintain a minimum cumulate GPA of 2.0.
Semester grade point averages shall be calculated according to the following numerical equivalents:
| A | 4.0 |
| A- | 3.7 |
| B+ | 3.33 |
| B | 3.0 |
| B- | 2.7 |
| C+ | 2.3 |
| C | 2.0 |
| C- | 1.7 |
| D+ | 1.3 |
| D | 1.0 |
| W | Withdrawal |
| I | Incomplete |
| F | 0.0 |
§ Quantitative Standard
A student must make sufficient progress through the academic program to complete the 144 credits, five-year undergraduate program, within a time period of not more than 18 semesters, with a maximum attempted credits ceiling of 216 credits .
Full time students must successfully complete 67% of the normal attempted credits per semester and must make sufficient progress to complete the normal five-year program in six years. The chart below illustrates the maximum completion time with the number of credits students must earn by the end of each semester:
| Semester | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Credits Earned | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 | 48 | 56 | 64 | 72 | 80 | 88 | 96 | 104 | 112 | 120 | 128 | 136 | 144 |
| Max Credits Attempted | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 72 | 84 | 96 | 108 | 120 | 132 | 144 | 156 | 168 | 180 | 192 | 204 | 216 |
All credit-bearing courses are calculated into your “hours attempted” and are counted towards the maximum timeframe for financial aid purposes. This includes accepted transfer credit, regardless of whether you received aid for the courses, as well as courses from which you withdraw after the add/drop period. Note that credit earned through study abroad is treated as transfer credit.
As the chart shows, a student must successfully complete 144 credits in order to earn an undergraduate degree at Talmudical Seminary of Bobov. A student progresses to the next level by earning 30 credits per level. In order for the student to be considered making Satisfactory Progress, he needs to progress through the program at least at the pace specified above. That is, he needs to have earned 24 credits by the end of year one, 48 credits by the end of year two, etc. Of course, the student may complete the 5-year programat a faster pace. That is, he may complete the program in 4 years, which is expected to occur in most cases. Nevertheless, if the student will at least maintain the pace specified above, he will complete the program in 6 years and will be maintaining satisfactory progress, thus remaining eligible for Title IV aid.
At the end of each year, corresponding to the end of the payment period, students’ academic files are evaluated to determine if the students are making satisfactory academic progress. As part of the evaluation, the student’s earned credits are divided by the student’s attempted credits to determine if the student is progressing through the five-year academic program at a pace sufficient to complete the program within the maximum time frame. If the number of credits earned divided by the number of credits attempted is 67% or greater and the student has earned at least the number of credits that appears in the chart above that corresponds to his semester of attendance, he is determined to be making satisfactory progress.
Although formal attendance is not recorded, students are expected to attend all lectures and study sessions.
Students who are absent excessively may be denied credit for course work during the period when excessive absences occurred. Students consistently maintaining a 2.0 (or “C”) average, who drop below this average, will be placed on academic probation by their faculty advisor for one semester.
A student’s academic progress will be evaluated annually to correspond with the end of a payment period.
Probation
A student who is found, after evaluation, to not be maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress will no longer be eligible to receive assistance under the Title IV, HEA programs unless the student has successfully appealed and has been placed on Financial Aid Probation.
This period of Probation allows the student to receive Federal Financial Aid for one payment period. At the end of this probationary payment period, the student will again be evaluated for SAP and the student must be found, at that time, to meet the school’s SAP standards or meet the requirements of the study plan developed by the school (see below) to qualify for further Title IV, HEA program funds.
appeals
Any student who wishes to challenge a probationary or unsatisfactory status may appeal to the Dean in writing. A student may file an appeal on the basis of various special circumstances, including death of a relative, injury or illness of the student, financial or family obligations, psychological, physical or financial impediments to maintaining SAP, or other special circumstances, whose validity will be determined by the Dean who reviews the appeal.
The student must also describe what has changed in the student’s situation that will allow the student to demonstrate SAP at the next evaluation.
If warranted, the Dean will meet with the faculty and advisors involved to consider the student’s request. The student will be informed within thirty days of the decision. The Dean’s decision is final.
If the appeal is denied, the student will only be able to regain his Title IV eligibility by either satisfactorily completing the necessary credits in a subsequent semester, at his own expense, or by following an academic plan that will ensure that the student can meet the Seminary’s SAP guidelines by a specific point in time.
To re-establish good standing, students must consult with the Menahel, Rabbi Shulim Reichberg, who will design a study plan to assist the student in raising his grades. Rabbi Reichberg will inform the Financial Aid Office when he determines that the student is successfully implementing the study plan. Such notifications will allow the student to again participate in the aid programs until the completion of the semester. Students who do not take advantage of the Menahel’s program shall continue to have their financial aid eligibility suspended until the time they can establish satisfactory progress.
A student who is reinstated must maintain at least a 2.0 average.
INCOMPLETES AND WITHDRAWALS
Students who fail to complete all required coursework may be allowed up to six months to fulfill the requirements for the course, during which time the grade will be noted as Incomplete – non punitive. If the work is not completed satisfactorily by the required time, the grade will be recorded as F. Courses for which the student earns a grade of incomplete are counted in the students’ number of attempted credits.
Students who withdraw or fail to complete a course, and have the approval of the Dean for the withdrawal may have the course recorded as Withdrawn Without Penalty, and the GPA will not be adversely affected. However, the course(s) will be counted towards the students’ number of attempted credits.
Students may add/drop courses up until the last day of the add/drop period for any given session. Consult the academic calendar for specific dates.
Students should notify the Menahel, Rabbi Reichberg for approval and, once approved should make sure that the Registrar’s office has processed the add/drop.
Courses dropped during the add/drop period will not appear on the student’s transcript.
REPETITION
All repeated courses are counted in the number of student’s attempted credits, but cannot be counted towards full time enrollment status for the semester in which the repeated course is taken, unless the student is retaking a course in which he received a failing grade.
Repeated classes for a failed grade will not remove the failed grade from the GPA.