Federal regulations require that the School of Medicine establish, publish, and apply standards of satisfactory academic progress for financial aid eligibility.  Effective immediately, the UCLA School of Medicine has established the following standards of satisfactory academic progress to apply to all students, both for purposes of enrollment and for financial aid eligibility.

The normal minimum period of enrollment at the UCLA School of Medicine is four years, or eight semesters and one summer period.  For normal academic progress, the students is expected to complete satisfactorily:

After two semesters	48 units* of required courses in the Freshman year curriculum
After four semesters	53 units* of required courses in the Sophomore year curriculum in addition to the first requirement (above).  The student is also required to take Part I of the National Board Examinations, administered in June at the end of the Sophomore year.
After six semesters plus one summer period	Approximately 100 units* of required clerkships in addition to the two requirements set out above.  Since the Junior-Senior years are considered as a clinical continuum (100 units of required clerkships and 56 units of electives), some latitude is permitted.  For the purpose of determining satisfactory academic progress, at least 76 units of the total 156 units will be completed in the third year, and these will include a minimum of 48 units of required clerkships in Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and OB/Gyn (Obstetrics and Gynecology).
After eight semesters plus one summer period	In addition to the 156 units* required in the Junior-Senior continuum, the student is required to take Part II of the National Board Examinations, administered in September of the Senior year.

A student may require additional time to complete the curriculum due to academic, administrative or personal difficulties.  The Promotion Committee may recommend and the Faculty Executive Committee may approve that an individual student repeats a portion or all of a school year as a consequence of incomplete or unsatisfactory work.  Medical students are eligible to receive need-based financial aid for the normative four-year period to complete the curriculum.  Up to one additional year of financial aid only may be granted to a student required to repeat course work, if a minimum of 2/3 of the normal academic load is carried.  Thus, the maximum time frame for financial aid eligibility is five years.  Further, the maximum time for enrollment shall be five years.  Under exceptional circumstances, however, a student may appeal to the Administration of the School of Medicine to spend more than five years to complete the curriculum.  Additional time for enrollment could be granted under mitigating circumstances.

A student may be granted a leave of absence for a variety of reasons, and is not eligible for financial aid during such a leave.  Thus, the period of time approved for a leave shall be excluded from the five-year maximum financial aid eligibility.

The Promotion Committees will monitor the progress of each student at the conclusion of each academic year to determine that the student is making sufficient progress to meet the time frames as specified.  At such meetings, the Committees will review the qualitative assessment of performance submitted by the faculty in all courses in which the student is enrolled.  Eligibility for need-based financial aid is contingent upon a student achieving the minimum standard of academic progress for which the School of Medicine will allow a student to continue to enroll.  The UCLA School of Medicine Policy Statement outlines the standards that guide the decision for continued enrollment.  The School of Medicine will have the final decision as to whether the student is allowed to continue to enroll.

For students who pursue the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees concurrently, the maximum time period will be the sum of the enrollment periods established by the School of Medicine, for the M.D. degree, and by the Graduate Division for the Ph.D. degree.  Similarly, for those who pursue the M.D.-M.P.H. degree, the maximum time frame for enrollment will be the sum of the enrollment periods established by the School of Medicine for the M.D. degree and for the School of Public Health M.P.H. degree.

The Student Affairs Deans will include the Director of the School of Medicine Financial Aid Office in decisions of the Deans, Promotion Committees, and the Faculty Executive Committee, which may affect Financial Aid eligibility as outlined in this Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.