Policies
Satisfactory Academic Progress
Federal regulations require all institutions to establish a Satisfactory Academic Progress policy for students receiving Federal financial assistance. The policy must comply with the minimum standards established in Federal regulations and include both qualitative and quantitative measurements for Good Academic Standing.
The Middlebury Institute of International Studies policy on Satisfactory Academic Progress exceeds the Federal minimum standards and defines Good Academic Standing as:
When the student’s cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) is on track to reach the required GPA of 3.00 to graduate and all of the following conditions are met:
- No grade of “C” has been received in any course taken that semester.
- An overall GPA of not less than 3.00 (“B” average) has been earned for institute courses taken that semester.
- No more than two Incomplete Grades appear on the student’s record.
Credit Hour Definition
A credit hour is an amount of work, represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement, that is an institutionally established equivalency reasonably approximating not less than—
(1) One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out of class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks in one semester, or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time; or
(2) At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution including laboratory work, internships, practica, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. We do not award credit hours solely for doing an internship. Internships for which credit is awarded must be an integral part of a more extended academic activity for which credit hours have been assigned based on the definition above.
Return of Title IV Funds
If you withdraw from the academic program, you may no longer be eligible for all of the federal financial aid funds you originally received. We will communicate with you throughout the withdrawal process to determine how much of this aid, if any, must be repaid. Please consult these Return of Title IV Funds guidelines for more details.
Verification Policy
We verify all files selected by the Central Processing System (CPS) as indicated on the Initial Sample Inspection Report received directly from the Department of Education. We reserve the right to verify student information before issuing a financial aid award letter if we have reason to believe the reported information is inconsistent or incorrect. Please read our Verification Policy for more details.