Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) is a process that is required by federal regulations in which institutions develop academic progress standards and review student records to assure that they are complying with the standards and making good progress toward their academic objective. Students who do not meet the standards are ineligible for further financial aid.
Academic progress is reviewed annually for every student and per semester for those students on SAP warning. We review all previous semesters (including any semesters in which you completely withdrew), all attempted course work, and transfer hours regardless of whether or not you received financial aid for those enrollment periods.
Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards
Students are required to maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0.
Students are required to complete at least 75 percent of attempted course work. Grades of W, F, FX, and I are not considered a successful completion of a course. (See Grades on the Registrar’s site for more information about these grades.)
Students are required to attend classes regularly. A failure of a course due to non-attendance may result in the student being required to refund all or part of the financial aid that was received, as well as the termination of any future financial aid.
For monitoring completion within the 150% standard, students are
selected as not meeting SAP if they have reached or exceeded the number
of hours listed below:
Type of
Degree |
Maximum
Credit Hours |
| Certificate |
45 |
| Associate |
80 |
| Baccalaureate |
150 |
| Master's |
60 |
|
All transfer hours that appear on a student's academic transcript(s) will be counted toward the maximum credit hours.
Stages of SAP
SAP Satisfaction: Student has not violated the criteria for SAP.
SAP Warning: Student has violated one or more of the SAP criteria.
SAP Termination: Student again violated SAP criteria. Financial aid is terminated.
* Transfer students with a cumulative GPA of less than a 2.0 or a completion rate of less than 75 percent can be denied financial aid.
Student's Right to Appeal
Students who have been terminated from receiving financial aid have the right to appeal the decision. The appeal must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the notification of SAP termination. The letter of appeal should explain why the student is requesting special consideration and include supporting documentation (letters from physicians, instructors, advisor, etc.). Appeals will be reviewed within 15 working days, and no deferments will be granted during the review. You can check your appeal status on OneStart.
Reinstatement Policy
Students whose appeals are denied or who do not appeal will become eligible again when they meet SAP standards. Progress will be re-evaluated upon request or when a student applies for aid again the next year. An appeal may be submitted at any time. Students who take courses without the benefit of aid who show improvement are encouraged to appeal for reinstatement.
