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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.

Important Policy Details

  • 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.

  • Summer Enrollment: Students can enroll in summer quarters without impact to the 4 year limit. The 4 years are inclusive and can include the summer.
  • Timeline: 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.
  • Dual Degrees: 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 additional terms of aid.

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. Read more about the Maximum Timeframe details.

How Performance and Enrollment Impact SAP

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.

Important Note: Students on suspension are immediately not eligible for financial aid.

Other Undergraduate Programs

Outside of the larger undergraduate population, the university has a handful of students in other programs. These programs share the general enrollment and registration characteristics of the larger population. However, there are slight differences in the process and criteria for SAP.

School of Professional Studies (SPS)

The SAP criteria for these students is the same as the larger undergraduate population. But, the review for eligibility is conducted at the end of each payment period rather than on an annual basis. Since the review occurs after each payment period, the first failure of SAP results in a financial aid warning status for the next payment period. If a student fails again for their warning period, they are put on suspension and notified by university email of their ability to appeal. If a student meets all SAP criteria after their warning period, they are put back into a satisfactory status.

Certificate and Short Term Prerequisite Programs

The university has a handful of certificate programs that are eligible for Title IV aid. These programs are not 4-year programs so must be reviewed more frequently. The review of SAP for these programs occurs at the end of each payment period. Also, these students are required to maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Certificate programs include:

  • Premedicine Professional Health Students
  • Prephysical Therapy Professional Health students
  • Prenursing Professional Health Students
  • Prephysician Assistant Professional Health Students
  • Preclinical Psychology Professional Health Students

Prerequisite (eligible for no more than one year of enrollment):

  • Prespeech pathology students
  • Premed completion students