Satisfactory Academic Progress Resources For Academic Advisors

Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Resources 

Federal financial aid regulations require that students maintain three specific elements of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible for financial aid. Those elements are:

• Degree Progression
  • Must complete degree in a specific number of credit hours (Associate degree = 90 credits; Bachelor degree = 180 credits; or Graduate degree = 60 credits).
• Minimum Cumulative GPA requirements
  • Minimum 2.0 for undergrad students, 3.0 for graduate level students.
• Course Completion Requirements
  • Student’s must complete a minimum of 67% of the credit hours that they attempt.

If a student is not meeting one or more of the requirements above, the Financial Aid office must terminate their eligibility for financial aid for the next semester that they attend. Students are notified of the aid termination and encouraged to file an appeal to regain their financial aid eligibility.

Link to the Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy 

APPEALS

To submit a SAP appeal, the student obtains a SAP Appeal Form from the Financial Aid Office Forms webpage. The student is required to submit a written statement, indicating the reason(s) they were not meeting the terms of financial aid progression, along with supporting documentation if applicable. Examples of supporting documentation are included on the SAP Appeal form.

Tips For Writing A Successful Appeal Video Link 

PROGRAM EVALUATION AND PROGRAM AUDIT FORMS

Regulations require that the Financial Aid office obtain input from the student’s college (academic advisor or Dean’s office designee) for consideration of appeals. The purpose of an appeal is to make a determination that the student is making forward progress toward earning a degree.

In addition to their appeal, the student must provide the following forms, completed by either their academic advisor or a designee of their Dean’s office, (it is not necessary that the person completing the appeal be the assigned advisor for the student),  depending on the reason(s) they are not meeting SAP:

• For GPA or Completion Rate issues, the student must submit a Program Evaluation Form
• For Degree Progression issues, the student must submit a Program Audit Form

These forms are located in the Advising Tools section of Ferris 360.

Instructions For Completing A Program Evaluation Form

Instructions for Completing a Program Audit Form