At Acupuncture and Massage College in Miami, FL, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is checked after each semester in all programs. To maintain SAP, students must complete 67% of the credits/hours attempted and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students who do not meet SAP will be placed on SAP Warning. If a student fails to meet SAP in 2 consecutive semesters, he/she may be dismissed from AMC.
In the Massage Therapy program, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 by the 50% completion point (360 hours) at a minimum of 90% attendance. In the Associate of Arts in Health Science program, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 and 80% attendance. In the Oriental Medicine program,students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 by the end of each semester in their first 6 semesters of the program and a GPA of 3.0 in their master’s level courses in order to have their degree conferred.
The College’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards measure each student’s qualitative (cumulative grade point average) progress and quantitative (minimum pace of completion) needed to ensure the completion of the student’s program of study within the maximum time frame allowed. The SAP standards are used primarily to determine a student’s eligibility to receive federal financial aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (Title IV).
The College’s SAP standards are measured at the end of each payment period. For Massage Therapy, this corresponds with the completion of 50% of the program, or 360 clock hours. For the Associate of Arts in Health Science this corresponds with the completion of 2 modules (20 weeks) of the program. For the Master of Oriental Medicine program, the SAP standards are measured at the end of each 15-week semester.
To ensure that a student is able to complete their program of study within the maximum time frame noted above, students must successfully complete 67% of the credit hours or modules attempted. For a course to be considered successfully completed, a student must have received a letter grade of C or higher or Pass grade for pass/fail courses. All courses for which a student receives a grade, whether passing or failing, are counted in determining credits/modules attempted. Transfer credits/hours accepted toward a student’s program of study will be treated as both credits/hours attempted and credits/hours completed for purposes of all SAP evaluations. The calculation is:
The College measures qualitative progress by means of Cumulative GPA measured on the basis of a 4.0 scale. Students in all programs must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students in the Master of Oriental Medicine Program must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 for the first 6 semesters of the program and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 for the last 3 semesters of the program in order to have their degree conferred.
All courses for which a student receives a grade will be included when calculating the student’s CGPA, with the exception of a withdrawal (W), withdrawal no attendance (WNA), and incomplete (I). If a student repeats a course, only the highest grade for that course will be included when calculating the student’s GPA.
If the results of SAP evaluation indicate that a student is not in compliance with either the Pace of Completion or the Cumulative GPA standards, the student will be placed on SAP Warning for the payment period. If after the SAP Warning period, the student is still not in compliance with the SAP requirements, the student will no longer be eligible for any form of federal student assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act and may be dismissed from the College, unless the student submits an appeal (see description below) and is granted a probationary period by the SAP Appeals Committee, which is comprised of the Campus President, the Director of Financial Aid, the Academic Dean and the Registrar (or their designees). The student will be notified in writing of any actions taken.
A student who does not correct the SAP deficiency (ies) by the end of the SAP Warning period is permitted to appeal the termination of their federal financial aid eligibility if applicable and dismissal from the College. The student must be able to demonstrate in a written appeal that mitigating circumstances were the contributing factors to the student’s failure to meet SAP. Below are the required items and steps needed:
If a student has successfully appealed, the student will be placed on SAP Probation and may have one or more semesters to meet the minimum SAP standards based on the following:
If a student’s appeal is denied by the College, the student will be dismissed.
If the student is not successful in the probationary period, the student will be dismissed from the program. If a student wishes to re-enter after being dismissed due to their failure to meet the terms outlined during their probationary period, they may be eligible for re-entry, however, will not regain Title IV eligibility until SAP standards are met.
The maximum time frame in which a student must complete his or her program of study is based on whether the program of study is measured in credit hours or clock hours.
©2023 Acupuncture and Massage College • 10506 North Kendall Drive, Miami, FL 33176 • 305-595-9500