Students in the M.P.H. program must pass all core and departmental/track requirements. Any student who fails a required course must retake it and pass it. The Committee on Academic Progress will review the academic performance of a student whose record in any term shows significant decline, or if there is a reason for concern about the overall quality of a student’s work.

The Office of Student Affairs will evaluate SAP for the current student population one week after the grading deadline for the term in question. A student must obtain passing grades in 50 percent of courses toward the M.P.H. degree in order to maintain academic progress toward degree completion.

Students in the Advanced Professional M.P.H. program or the Executive M.P.H. program who fail a course in the summer term of the first year will be withdrawn from the M.P.H. program and will be required to reapply to the program if they wish to be considered for readmission.

For students who are pursuing more than one degree at Yale simultaneously (joint degrees), SAP calculations will be performed separately by each school and consider coursework on the respective school’s transcript.

Academic Probation

The Committee on Academic Progress will place students whose academic work is unsatisfactory on Academic Probation. The committee will take into account the personal situation of the student, but a failing grade in any course will normally result in Academic Probation. Students who receive failing grades in two or more courses during a term, or who receive a second failing grade after being placed on Academic Probation, will be withdrawn from the M.P.H. program and will be required to reapply to the program if they wish to be considered for readmission. Academic dismissal will be recorded on the student’s transcript.

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require institutions to monitor each student’s progress toward earning a degree within the maximum time frame permitted for the student’s degree or course of study. Failure to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) jeopardizes a student’s eligibility to receive university or federal financial aid.

To remain eligible for university or federal financial aid, a student must obtain passing grades in 67 percent of courses toward the MPH degree. Incomplete courses, course withdrawals and audited courses at the time of SAP evaluation will be removed for the calculation. Course withdrawals do not count towards a student’s quality points however they do count towards a student’s degree completion for financial aid SAP purposes.

All required course work for the M.P.H. program must be completed within five years of the date of matriculation, with the exception of the one-year Advanced Professional program. All required coursework for the one-year Advanced Professional program must be completed within three years of the date of matriculation. If the degree program has not been completed within the appropriate time frame, the student may request an extension from the Committee on Academic Progress. Extensions will be granted only in rare circumstances, and only for a period of one year for the two-year regular M.P.H. program and the Executive M.P.H. program, and only for a period of one term for the one-year Advanced Professional Program.

In addition, if a student withdraws from courses, resulting in the pursuit of fewer than 4 credits in a single term, the student’s total estimated costs and eligibility for financial aid will be recalculated. If a student withdraws from all courses, a Title IV Withdrawal Calculation will be completed for students who borrowed federal loans.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Notification and appeal

A student who fails to meet SAP at the end of a term will be notified in writing by the associate dean responsible for academic matters, and the Financial Aid Office will place the student on financial-aid warning until the end of the next term.

During the financial-aid warning term, the student may receive financial aid, despite the determination of not meeting SAP. Students on financial-aid warning who fail to return to SAP by the end of the term will lose their future financial aid eligibility unless they successfully appeal and are placed on financial-aid probation. 

A student who has not successfully met SAP by the end of the financial-aid warning term has the right to appeal the loss of financial aid eligibility. Appeals must be submitted to the associate dean’s office in writing within two weeks of receiving notice that the student did not meet SAP after a term on financial-aid warning. The appeal must include information about why the student failed to meet SAP, and what has changed, or is expected to change, that will allow the student to meet SAP in the future. The written appeal should be accompanied by documentation that verifies the extenuating circumstances (e.g., death of a relative, an injury or illness of the student, or other special circumstances).

The associate dean’s office shall notify the student of the outcome of the appeal within ten business days of receiving it. If the appeal is approved, the student is placed on financial-aid probation until the end of the next term and may receive financial aid during that term. Students on financial-aid probation are required to meet with the associate dean responsible for academic matters to establish an individual academic plan to enable the student to meet SAP at some point in the future, according to specific benchmarks established by the plan.

Students on financial-aid probation who fail to meet SAP by the end of the financial-aid probation term or fail to meet the benchmarks of their individual plans on time will not be eligible for financial aid for the subsequent academic term. Students who are ineligible for financial aid may reestablish eligibility in future terms by meeting SAP.