Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Federal regulations require that students receiving federal financial aid maintain SAP, which involves completing coursework towards an eligible degree within a set timeframe.

SAP Requirements

SAP applies to all undergraduate and graduate students' academic records, regardless of whether financial aid was received previously.

  1. Grade-Point Average (GPA)

    • Undergraduates: Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 after two academic years (or 4 semesters).
    • Graduate students: Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
    • Pharmacy students: Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 during P1 and P2 years, and 2.5 during P3 and P4 years.

  2. PACE (Completion Rate)

    • Must earn at least 67% of all attempted credits.
    • Incomplete courses do not count toward attempted credits until completed.

    • Example of PACE Calculation:
      Let's say a student has attempted 60 credits so far in their program and has successfully completed 42 credits.

      PACE Calculation:
      PACE = (Completed Credits 梅 Attempted Credits) 脳 100
      PACE = (42 梅 60) 脳 100 = 70%
      Since this student鈥檚 PACE is 70%, which is above the required 67%, they are making satisfactory progress and remain eligible for federal financial aid.

      If a student鈥檚 PACE falls below 67%, they may lose their aid eligibility unless they successfully appeal and demonstrate an ability to regain SAP.

  3. Maximum Time Frame

    • Undergraduates: Must complete degree within 150% of the required credits.
      • CCPA: 186 credits
      • Decker & Watson: 192 credits
      • Harpur & SOM: 189 credits
    • Graduate Students: Must complete the degree within 5 years. Doctoral students have 5 years to reach candidacy and 5 years post-candidacy to complete all degree requirements.
    • PharmD Students: Must complete within 5 years.

Note: "W" grades, repeat courses, and transfer credits count toward attempted credits when determining federal aid eligibility.

SAP Eligibility Review

  • SAP is reviewed at the end of each semester (including summer) for all students.
  • Federal Warning: Students failing to meet GPA or PACE standards will receive a Federal Warning and can retain aid for one additional semester without action. Students should use this semester to get back on track academically.
  • Maximum Time Frame: Federal Warning does not apply. Once the maximum time frame is reached, federal aid is no longer available.

Loss of Financial Aid Eligibility

If a student fails to meet SAP standards after one semester of receiving aid on Federal Warning, federal aid will be canceled.

Re-Establishing Eligibility

Students can regain aid eligibility by:

  1. Filing an SAP appeal.
  2. Improving GPA or PACE through summer/winter courses to meet SAP standards.

For more resources for academic success, visit the SAP resources page.