SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
If you’re requesting financial aid, you must meet satisfactory academic progress (SAP), according to federal and state regulations. Your entire academic record is reviewed if you’re receiving or being considered for financial aid from the following Title IV sources — regardless of if you received Title IV aid for each enrollment period:
- Federal Pell grant
- Federal Work-Study (FWS) program
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity grant
- Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP)
- Federal Direct PLUS loan for Parents
- Federal Direct Stafford Loan program (subsidized and unsubsidized)
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What are the satisfactory academic performance (SAP) evaluation timeframes & notifications?
- Your SAP status is calculated at the end of fall, spring and summer enrollment periods.
- Students enrolled in a one-semester program are evaluated at the midpoint of the program.
- If you’re below the requirements and have applied for financial aid, scholarships or other funding, you’ll be notified if you're not meeting the SAP requirements.
When is my status considered ‘satisfactory’?
Your status is considered ‘satisfactory’ when you:
- Maintain a cumulative 2.0 or higher grade-point average (GPA) at the end of each semester.
and - Complete, with a passing grade, at least 67% of all credit hours attempted.
and - Don’t exceed 150% of the maximum credits required for your program.
- You must complete your academic program in less than150% of the published length of the program. Take the number of credits required for your program (found in the catalog); multiply that number by 1.5 to determine the maximum number of credits you can attempt to receive financial aid. See examples below:
|
PROGRAM REQUIREMENT MAX |
ATTEMPTED CREDITS ALLOWED |
|
62 credit hours |
93 (62 x 1.5 = 93) |
|
68 credit hours |
102 (68 x 1.5 = 102) |
|
75 credit hours |
113 (75 x 1.5 = 113) |
Financial aid is denied when you’ve attempted more than 150% of the credit hours required for your program or it becomes statistically impossible to complete within the 150% limit.
Veterans’ satisfactory progress
To make VA satisfactory progress, you must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater after your first semester of attendance. See all the requirements.
How do course outcomes impact my GPA?
Here’s how your course outcomes impact your GPA and cumulative completion rate:
|
COUNTED TOWARD |
GRADES |
||||||||
|
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
F |
I |
N |
U |
W |
|
Hours attempted |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|
✓ |
✓ |
|
Hours completed |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
GPA |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|
|
|
|
- The change of an incomplete (I) grade to a final grade impacts the SAP calculation at the conclusion of the following semester.
- If you withdraw from all classes with a grade N, you’ll continue with the SAP status assigned from your prior evaluation.
|
CALCULATION |
SITUATION |
|
||
|
|
Transfer hours |
Developmental |
Enrollment for repeated courses |
|
|
Maximum timeframe |
✓ |
|
✓ |
|
|
Cumulative completion rate |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
|
|
GPA |
|
✓ |
* |
|
* Only the highest grade achieved in repeated classes counts towards the GPA.
You can receive financial aid when repeating a class you previously withdrew or failed, and you can receive aid one time for repeating a course passed with a grade of D or better.
Included in SAP status determination
- Hours enrolled in Sandburg study abroad or consortium courses
- Maximum timeframe courses in the student’s program with grades A, B, C, D, F, P, U or W
Not included in SAP status determination
- Audits
How is the maximum timeframe calculated?
The maximum timeframe limits the number of courses you can retake, fail or withdraw from in your program of study. To calculate the maximum timeframe, add all credits counted toward your degree, and compare this to the program of study credits, multiplied by 150%. Repeated courses count as attempted credits as many times as the course is repeated.
- Maximum timeframe includes courses counted toward your current program of study.
For example, let’s say you previously completed an agriculture certificate and return to get an accounting certificate. Since agriculture courses don’t count toward accounting, they’re excluded in the maximum timeframe calculation for accounting. If you pursue a second program, and the courses count toward both programs, the classes that count toward the new program are used in the maximum timeframe calculation.
- When you’re enrolled in more than one program, the one with the highest credit hours is used.
- Once it’s clear you can’t complete your degree within the 150% limit, all financial aid must be stopped — even if you haven’t reached the 150% credit hour limit.
For example, let’s say you’re enrolled in a program of 62 credits, and the 150% limit is 93 credits. You’ve enrolled in 94 credits that could count toward the program, which means you exceed the maximum timeframe and can no longer receive financial aid for this program.
- When it becomes statistically impossible to complete your degree within the maximum timeframe, you’ll no longer receive financial aid for that program without a successful appeal.
For example, let’s say you’re enrolled in a program of 62 credits, and the 150% limit is 93 credits. You’ve enrolled in 80 credits that could count toward the program, and you still need to complete 15 credits to meet graduation requirements, but you have only 13 available (the 93 limit minus the 80 that count). That means you can no longer receive any aid to complete that program without a successful appeal.
What do the SAP status terms mean?
Satisfactory
When you meet the completion rate and GPA requirement and are within the maximum timeframe, you’re considered satisfactory.
Warning
If you were previously considered eligible, and you fall below the 67% completion or 2.0 GPA requirement, you’ll be placed on warning. During the warning semester, you may receive grants and are expected to meet the cumulative SAP requirements by the end of the semester. Loans are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Dismissal
If you don’t pass any course successfully in your first semester of attendance, you’ll be placed on immediate dismissal. Additionally, if you’re on financial aid warning and fail to meet the cumulative GPA and completion rate requirements, or if you're not in compliance with the maximum timeframe policy, you'll be placed on financial aid dismissal. While on dismissal, you’re not eligible to receive financial aid without a successful appeal. If you don’t want to appeal, you must meet SAP requirements before aid eligibility can be re-established.
Academic improvement plan (AIP)
If you appeal, you may be offered an academic improvement plan (AIP) to continue receiving financial aid. If you're on an AIP, you must achieve higher academic performance than the standard SAP policy to regain your satisfactory standing. You must meet the stipulations below each semester until you attain cumulative satisfactory status.
- Term completion rate of 75% or greater
- Term GPA of 2.2 or greater
- Additional requirements may be imposed
If you fail to meet any of the above requirements while on the AIP, you’ll be placed on dismissal.
Probation
If you appeal, you may be placed on probation for one additional semester. During the probation semester, you may receive grants and are expected to meet the cumulative SAP requirements by the end of the probation semester. Loans are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
How do I re-establish eligibility?
Satisfactory progress appeal
If you lose financial aid, you can appeal by submitting an SAP appeal, which means you have to explain and document any extenuating circumstances and detail what changes you'll make to ensure successful grades and completion rates in future enrollments, so you can regain satisfactory status.
Appeals are reviewed by a committee, with representatives from Financial Aid, Counseling and Student Development.
You’ll be notified within 30 days of the appeal results. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to:
- Unexpected injury or illness of the student
- Work schedule change
- Daycare or transportation challenges
- Death of a close family member
- Academic or personal issues
Re-establishing eligibility without approved appeal
If your appeal is denied, you can appeal again the following semester. You can also successfully complete six credit hours at your own expense, and then re-appeal or show other actions that allows you to become compliant with the satisfactory progress requirements.
All information is subject to change based on changes to federal law, regulation, or college policy and procedure.