Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy is based on federal guidelines that require each college and university to ensure that student aid applicants are progressing through their academic programs at an acceptable pace while maintaining an acceptable cumulative grade point average. The policy is separate from other academic policies at the university. As such, it is entirely possible that a student may be in good academic standing with the university but may not be making SAP for financial aid eligibility.
The first semester in which a student fails to meet one of the SAP standards, a SAP "Warning" notification will be sent to the student via e-mail. The student will remain eligible for aid in the next term and if at the end of that term they are meeting the minimum SAP requirements the "Warning" status will be lifted.
The second consecutive semester in which a student fails to meet the minimum SAP standards, after the "Warning" semester, the student will be notified via e-mail of their ineligibility to receive financial aid at SCSU. Students can submit an appeal to request reinstatement of financial aid. For information on how to submit an appeal, please visit our Satisfactory Academic Progress webpage.
Students must meet the SAP standards below in order to receive financial aid from all federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs managed by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE
Graduate students are expected to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.00 at SCSU. When calculating the requirements for SAP, GPA will be truncated to the nearest 100th.
CREDIT COMPLETION RATE
Graduate students are expected to successfully complete at least 67% of the cumulative credits attempted, including transfer credit. When calculating the requirements for SAP, the pace percentage will be rounded to the nearest whole number. In addition to standard courses and grades, the following are included when calculating the credit completion rate:
- Passed courses (P/S)
- Failed courses (F)
- Incompletes (I) and Incomplete extensions (I+)
- Withdrawals (W, WF, and WP)
- Repeated courses
- Credit awarded via waiver exam (EP)
- Non-credit remedial courses (SCSU does not offer remedial coursework at this time.)
- Grades not reported by a professor (R) will be included in this assessment.
- Fresh Start Grades
MAXIMUM CREDIT HOURS
A student may receive financial aid for attempted credits in their program of study; however, the number of attempted credits, including transfer credits, cannot exceed 150% of the university's published credit hours for the educational program in which the student is enrolled.
Students must meet the required SAP standards in order to receive financial aid from all federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs managed by the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.