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Satisfactory Academic Progress

To be eligible for financial aid, students must maintain satisfactory academic progress (SAP). SAP is reviewed annually at the end of the summer term. These policies apply equally to full-time and part-time students. All periods of enrollment are included in the calculation of SAP, even those in which a student might not have received financial aid. The standards for recipients of financial aid will always be at least as strict as standards for all students. Please note that these expectations apply even in those cases where you change your major or area of study. If you finish one degree and begin another, these measures begin anew with the start of the new degree program.

University Aid Eligibility

For entering first-year students, financial aid is renewable for up to 4 years of enrollment. All years of enrollment are a part of this limit regardless of whether aid is received in all of those years. Students can enroll in summer quarters without impact to the 4 year limit. The 4 years are inclusive and can include the summer. Students will have 4 calendar years of financial aid eligibility beginning with the first fall quarter of their enrollment. If a student does not enroll in a given quarter or year, that timeframe will be subtracted and not included in the limit.

Students admitted into the BA/BMus or BS in Engineering/BMus which require more than 4 years for completion will receive funding for the duration of their program length.

If you must extend your enrollment beyond 4 years, please review this page of our site: Request for Aid Beyond 4 Years

Federal Aid Eligibility

SAP requirements: 

  1. GRADE POINT AVERAGE
    A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (equivalent to a “C” average) is required.
  2. COMPLETION RATE
    Students must successfully complete at least 2/3 of all classes attempted.
    Completed Hours / Attempted Hours = Completion Rate
  3. MAXIMUM TIMEFRAME
    Students must complete their degree requirements within 150% of the length of their academic program. Undergraduate degrees, generally, require 45 units (classes of 4 hours each). Therefore, the maximum timeframe is 67.5 (45 units X 1.5) attempted units. If a program is longer, multiply the required units by 1.5 to arrive at the maximum length. Once it becomes mathematically impossible to graduate within 150% of the program length, students are ineligible for financial aid. If the difference between the maximum timeframe is smaller than what is required to complete the program, the student is then not eligible.

ATTEMPTED HOURS: In keeping with the Registrar’s policy, attempted hours include all those in which a student is enrolled at the end of the drop period.

WITHDRAWALS do not impact the GPA. Withdrawals will adversely affect the Completion Rate and are NOT considered a successful completion.

REPEATED COURSES affect both the GPA and Completion Rate.

TRANSFER HOURS do not affect the GPA. Transfer hours are added to both completed hours and attempted hours in the Completion Rate calculation.

STUDY ABROAD classes in programs through other schools will not impact the GPA. These hours are treated the same as transfer hours and added to both completed and attempted hours.

DISTANCE EDUCATION classes are treated no differently from on-campus classes.

INCOMPLETE COURSES will not affect the GPA. Once they are completed, SAP will be recalculated to ensure that GPA remains above 2.00. Incomplete courses will adversely affect the Completion Rate, counting as attempted hours but not completed hours.

 FAILED COURSES will impact the GPA. A failed course will also adversely affect the completion rate, counting as attempted hours but not completed hours.  

Financial Aid Suspension

At the time of review, if a student fails to meet one or more of the standards, a notification of suspension will be sent to the university email account. SAP Reviews are conducted after summer term grades are posted. Students on suspension are immediately not eligible for financial aid.

Reestablishing Eligibility Following Suspension

After receiving a financial aid suspension, students can reestablish eligibility by completing additional coursework without aid funding. Once on suspension, a student who improves their GPA and/or completion rate to reestablish satisfactory academic progress, should notify the financial aid office and request a review of SAP. Students can request a SAP review at the close of any term, once grades are posted.  

SAP Appeals

Students may appeal a SAP suspension through the Financial Aid Office. Information on how to submit an appeal will be provided with the notification of suspension that will be sent via university email. The Appeal should be submitted to the Financial Aid Office within two weeks of notification of SAP failure. The appeal should explain the reason for the SAP failure, a description of what has changed since the failure, and the plan for the resolution of the issues that caused the failure. Examples of approved appeals might include the unfortunate death of a parent, injury or illness of the student, or other unusual circumstances. 

Financial Aid Probation

If an appeal is approved, students can receive aid for one term and are expected to be back up to standard by the end of that term. For those students where it is not possible to rebound after one term, an academic plan will be established with their academic advisor. The academic plan will extend the probationary period beyond the one term.

For those denied an appeal or who choose not to appeal, eligibility can be reestablished by enrolling without financial aid and rising above the minimum standards. At the point that a student is again above the minimum standards, financial aid can be provided for the following eligible term.

The University reserves the right to make adjustments to these policies.