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Important Policies and Information

Your education at the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies is governed by a variety of policies and procedures related to financial assistance, academic progress and other matters. Be sure to familiarize yourself with this important information.

Drug Law Violation
Conviction of any drug offense during a period of enrollment during which the student received federal financial aid will result in the loss of aid eligibility.

Loan Entrance Counseling
Entrance counseling is required for all new students to Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. Loan funds will not be disbursed until you have completed loan entrance counseling.

Loan Exit Counseling
Exit counseling is required of all borrowers of federal Direct Unsubsidized and Direct Plus loans. Federal regulations require that you participate in loan exit counseling when you complete your degree, withdraw, or drop below half-time (5 credits) enrollment status. Exit counseling helps you understand your rights and responsibilities as a borrower and provides tips and information on how to manage your student loans.

Loan Servicers
When you borrow a federal loan, the Department of Education, your lender, assigns a federal "servicer" of your loan. Your servicer is not determined on the basis of where you live or go to school. To identify your loan servicer, go to the National Student Loan Data Service (NSLDS).

Loan Terminology
To fully understand your rights and responsibilities related to federal financial aid, it is important to know the federal loan terminology you will encounter. Knowing and understanding these terms ensures that you are an informed borrower. For a complete list of loan terms, visit Loan Glossary. 

Withdrawal from Semester-Return of Title IV Funds
Students who receive federal financial aid and then withdraw from all classes prior to completing 60% of the semester are considered to have received unearned financial aid. Our financial aid office is required by federal law to calculate a Return of Title IV Funds to determine the portion of financial aid that was earned and the portion to be repaid. If you are considering withdrawing from all of your classes and would like to know how this will impact your financial aid, please contact the graduate school's financial aid office. Withdrawing during the semester, even taking a leave of absence, is reported as a withdrawal to the Department of Education, triggering your six-month grace period before loan repayment begins.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

(Revised 03/2017)

In accordance with federal regulations the following policies and procedures governing standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) are in effect for all students receiving federal financial aid while attending Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies. Students who fail to meet both the qualitative and maximum timeframe requirements of SAP standards will be considered ineligible for federal financial aid.

SAP is measured by:

  • Grade Point Average (GPA) – Qualitative measurement
  • Maximum timeframe – Pace requirement – Progress to ensure completion within the maximum time frame

Students enrolled in a Master's program who receive federal financial aid must :

  • maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 at the end of each semester
  • complete a minimum of 50% cumulative credits they attempt
  • stay on pace to complete the program within 84 months

Incompletes, withdrawals, repeated courses, and transfer credits

  • A grade of "I", incomplete, is assigned as a temporary mark for pending course completion and counts against the completion rate
  • Withdrawals do not impact the student’s GPA
  • A student may receive federal financial aid for the same course a maximum of 2 times
  • Transfer credits will count as both attempted and completed in the calculation for maximum timeframe. Grades associated with transfer credits will not be used in calculating cumulative GPA.

Students not on pace to complete the program within the maximum timeframe allowed will be ineligible to receive federal financial aid.

SAP Evaluation and Warning Status

At the end of each semester the GPA will be calculated for each student. Satisfactory Academic Progress will be evaluated for each student at this time to determine if the SAP requirements of GPA and timeframe have been met. Students who receive federal financial aid and have not achieved the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements will be placed on financial aid warning for the upcoming semester. The student will continue to receive aid during the warning period. If at the end of the warning period semester the student fails to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements, both GPA and timeframe, the student will be ineligible for federal financial aid the following semester unless criteria for an appeal are met. See Appeal Process. A student can be on SAP warning for only one semester. 

SAP Notification

The Financial Aid office will notify students in writing, via their Hazelden Betty Ford e-mail account, if they have failed to achieve Satisfactory Academic Progress and are put on warning status for the upcoming semester. If the student was already on SAP warning and did not meet the SAP requirements at the end of the SAP warning semester the student becomes ineligible for future federal financial aid disbursements. The Financial Aid office will notify the student via their Hazelden Betty Ford email account that they are no longer eligible for federal financial aid. Included in that e-mail notification will be information on what is required to again become eligible for federal financial aid.  

Re-establishing eligibility to receive federal financial aid

Once the student's cumulative GPA is at a minimum of 3.0 and the student is progressing at a pace to complete the program within the maximum timeframe, the student will again become eligible to receive federal financial aid. Neither paying for your own classes nor sitting out for a period of time is acceptable to reinstate federal financial aid eligibility.

Appeal Process

If at the end of the warning semester the student has not met the SAP requirement the student has the right to appeal his/her eligibility based on the following circumstances:  the death of a relative, student’s injury or illness, or other special circumstance. A written appeal must be submitted to the financial aid administrator for review by the Appeal’s Committee.  The student’s appeal must include:

  • an explanation of the circumstance that affected the student’s progress from meeting SAP requirements
  • appropriate supporting documents
  • specific explanation of what has changed with the student's situation that will allow them to reach satisfactory academic progress at the end of the next semester

The student will receive a written decision in response to their appeal in approximately 15 business days. If the appeal is approved the student will be placed on financial aid SAP probation and federal financial aid eligibility will be reinstated for one semester.

If the appeal is denied and the student feels there are factors that were not considered, a second appeal including any additional supporting documentation must be submitted to the provost to be reviewed by the provost with the Appeals committee. A response will be sent to the student by the provost in approximately 20 business days.

If at the end of the probation period the student has not yet met the SAP requirements he/she will become ineligible for federal financial aid. However if there are new circumstances since the prior appeal the student can again present an appeal following the same requirements as the first appeal with one addition. The student must also include, with the assistance of his/her advisor, a plan that ensures that the student is able to meet the school's SAP policy by a specific timeframe. This plan will clearly indicate specific course grades in the upcoming term that are required to raise the accumulative GPA to 3.0 or above, as well as the potential outcomes (e.g. inability to graduate, suspension, dismissal) if those grades are not obtained. The financial aid administrator will be given a copy of the student's signed plan. If the appeal is not approved the student will not be eligible for federal financial aid. The same process for notification to the student will be followed as for the initial appeal.


Questions? Contact our financial aid office for more information or assistance.

Dixie Christensen, Financial Aid Administrator
DChristensen@HazeldenBettyFord.org
1-651-213-4014

Connie Kastens, Assistant Financial Aid Administrator
CKastens@HazeldenBettyFord.org
1-651-213-4001

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The Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies educates future leaders in addiction counseling who provide evidence-based integrated care for substance use and co-occurring disorders. Learn more about our mission, vision and goals.