Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
"Is it possible for a college student with a 4.0 GPA to lose their financial aid eligibility?"
Do you know what the following three things all have in common?
Cumulative GPA
Maximum timeframe to degree
Remaining on pace to graduate (earned credits/attempted credits)
The criteria above make up the requirements established by the Department of Education around Satisfactory Academic Progress. And each criterion has federal rules as well as institutional rules in order to keep students on track towards graduation. Basically the Department of Education sets high level standards and allows schools to individualize their policies within each one. If a student falls short in any of the three criteria, they risk losing financial aid elibility. This means they could lose access to all federal aid including work-study, fedeal direct loans, Pell grants, and more.
Most students understand that if they fall short academically that they could be placed on academic probation, warning, or even dismissed from the school. Unfortunately, many students don’t know how pace affects their financial aid eligibility. In fact, a student can be academically eligible with a good GPA, even a 4.0, and yet lose their financial aid eligibility, thereby finding it difficult or nearly impossible to continue their schooling. This is possible due the third criterion above - pace.
How could this happen? Let’s dive in to learn more about this criterion and how it can have serious ramifications on students and families.
Specific rules for satisfactory academic performance and financial aid can vary depending on the institution. Here’s what the Department of Education has to say about SAP…
“Each school has a satisfactory academic progress policy for financial aid purposes; to see your school’s, you can check your school’s website or ask someone at the financial aid office.”
The pace requirement is a minimum standard that students must meet, which is usually 67% or two-thirds of the credit hours attempted. For example, if a student attempts 12 credit hours in a semester, they must successfully complete at least 8 credit hours to meet the pace requirement. If a student fails to meet the pace requirement, they may be placed on financial aid warning and given one additional semester to improve their pace. If the student fails to meet the pace requirement during the warning period, they may lose their financial aid eligibility.
SAP policies vary by institution; if a student does not meet the SAP requirements, they may lose their financial aid eligibility. This can make it difficult for them to pay for college and can even force them to withdraw from school. It is important for college students to understand their institution's SAP policy and to work towards meeting those requirements in order to maintain their financial aid eligibility and stay on track towards their degree.
Many schools will evaluate each student's academic progress at the end of each semester (some do this after each academic year), a requirement of the Department of Education in order to offer Title IV funding to students. If a student fails to meet any of the three criteria, they will be placed on financial aid warning. During the warning semester, the student will remain eligible for financial aid, but they must meet all SAP requirements by the end of the warning semester or they will lose their financial aid eligibility.
If a student loses their financial aid eligibility, they may appeal the decision if they have extenuating circumstances that affected their performance. The appeal must include documentation regarding the extentuating circumstance and detailed plan for how the student will meet SAP requirements in the future. This is a very important piece to understand about appealing. The student must be able to demonstrate a plan for improving in the future. It’s not enough to simply say “I had a tough semester. I was depressed. I promise I’ll be a better student next year.”
Students should always check with their college or university's financial aid office to understand the specific SAP policy for their school.
So how can this play out for a student? Let’s consider the following hypothetical situation about Sam.
It is fall semester of Sam’s second year at college. She has maintained a 3.8 GPA throughout her academic career. She takes her studies seriously and is always willing to put in the extra effort to succeed.
During her first semester in college, Sam attempted 16 credit hours but only completed 9 credit hours due to unforeseen circumstances that arose during the semester. This put her pace of progression at 56%, (9 completed credits divided by 16 attempted credits) which is below the required 67%. Sam was placed on financial aid warning and given one additional semester to improve her pace. She managed to complete all 12 credit hours she attempted during her second semester, which brought her pace up to 75% (21 completed credits divided by 28 attempted credits).
However, during her third semester, Samantha tried to play catch-up with her classes and decided to take 18 credits. Unfortunately, she encountered some personal and academic difficulties that prevented her from completing all 18 credit hours she attempted. She only completed 9 credit hours, which put her pace of progression at 65%. Because Sam failed to meet the pace requirement for a second time, she lost her financial aid eligibility.
Even though Sam had very good grades and was making progress towards completing her degree, she lost her financial aid eligibility because she failed to meet the pace requirement set by her college. This highlights the importance of understanding the pace requirement and taking steps to ensure that you are meeting it each semester, even if you are doing well academically.
So what happens to Sam now? Well, Sam is not technically kicked out of school (assuming she is meeting the academic requirements of the school). Her situation is that she is no longer eligible for federal financial aid. That may seem like semantics but it’s an important point. First, Sam can appeal to the financal aid office and provide a documented explanation of the situation along with a plan for improvement which highlights what is now changed so Sam can be successful. Or, if Sam can identify other ways to pay the college, then she can continue as a student and once she is back on pace she would be eligible for aid again.
So why is there a pace requirement?
The pace requirement for federal financial aid is in place to ensure that students are making progress towards completing their degree or credential in a timely manner. This is because the government wants to ensure that students are using the financial aid they receive to make progress towards completing their education and achieving their goals.
By setting a pace requirement, the Department of Education is also helping to prevent students from accumulating excessive amounts of student loan debt without making progress towards completing their program of study. This is important because high levels of student loan debt can have a significant impact on a student's financial future and their ability to achieve their long-term goals, especially if the debt is incurred without completing a degree.
In addition, the pace requirement helps to promote academic success and completion by encouraging students to stay on track with their studies and make steady progress towards their degree or credential. By ensuring that students are completing a certain percentage of their attempted credit hours each semester, colleges and universities can help to increase the likelihood that students will graduate and be successful in their chosen careers.
Overall, the pace requirement for federal financial aid is an important tool for promoting academic success, completion, and the responsible use of federal financial aid funds for the students and the American public.
Pro Tips
Students should always be aware of the academic and financial aid policies at the school they are attending. In fact, most schools will publish on their policy pages that it is the responsibility of the student to know all the policies that may impact their education.
Always ask the following questions: “Is there anything about my situation that I haven’t asked you about? If I drop this course (or include any other action you are thinking about taking) is there any possible consequence to my financial aid eligibility?”
Finally, do everything you can to create a relationship with the financial aid team. If they host a FAFSA workshop, attend it. Help them help you.
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