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Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

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Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to receive Federal Student Aid. According to Federal Regulations, students who fail to make satisfactory progress towards their degree or certificate may lose their ability to receive Federal Student Aid. Students who lose their aid may appeal the loss provided there are ‘mitigating circumstances’ that inhibited their academic progress.

There are three criteria used to measure SAP:

• Cumulative grade point average (qualitative)
• Credit hour completion (quantitative)
• Program deadline

Our university system evaluates SAP at the beginning of each semester, defined as a 16-week period of academic study, and prior to the student receiving FSA for the first time at our university. The requirements of each criterion must be met and are described in detail below:

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)
Cumulative GPA is the qualitative measure of SAP, meaning that it looks at the quality of the grades that each student earns in their courses. CGPA is calculated after 12 undergraduate credits or 9 graduate credits are earned at one of our universities. Evaluation thereafter occurs in the segments listed in the table below. Only credits completed at one of our universities with a final grade of A through F count towards the CGPA calculation.

To meet SAP requirements students must maintain a CGPA that meets or exceeds our minimum as shown in the chart below. Students who fail to meet CGPA requirements also fail to meet SAP requirements, and will be denied Federal Student Aid.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Criteria Based on CGPA & Credits Completed

*Credits transferred in from another college or university via an official Transfer Credit Evaluation is factored into the calculation of how many credits a student has completed for determining where on the chart the minimum cumulative GPA threshold will be determined.  For example, an undergraduate student with no transfer credits must have a minimum CGPA of 1.00 once they have completed their first 12 credits.  However, a student who transferred in 15 credits and then earned his/her first 12 credits must have a minimum CGPA of 1.50 (15 transfer credits plus 12 credits completed equals 27 completed credits which falls into the 25-36 total credits completed range in the chart above).

Credit Hour Completion
Credit hour completion is the quantitative measure of SAP, meaning that you must complete a certain percentage of your courses to maintain eligibility for Federal Student Aid.  Each academic program within our university system has a defined number of credit hours required for completion.  A student must complete his/her program within 150% of the published credits.  (For example, if your program requirements are 120 credits, you must satisfy all requirements of your program without having to attempt more than 180 credits.)

• Courses with a final undergraduate grade of A through D- or a final graduate grade of A through C will be counted towards credits completed
• Final grades that fall below the minimums (D- for undergraduates, C for graduates) are not counted as credits completed but will be used to determine credits attempted
• Students who withdraw from a course are considered as having attempted the course.  Students who drop a course are considered as having not dropped the course.
• Courses with grades of incomplete (“I”) will not be counted as attempted until a final grade is earned by the student or the Registrar or Instructor converts the “I” grade to an “F”
• Courses that are dropped prior to the course start date or during the add/drop period in Week One will not count towards attempted credits. Please note:  All students are required to log into each of their courses during Week One to confirm their attendance. Students who do not log into their classrooms during Week One will be dropped from any courses which have not been attended. Detailed information on classroom attendance can be viewed inside the online Student Handbook.
• Remedial courses do not count towards attempted credits
• Any course in which the student remains beyond Week One will count towards attempted courses regardless of the grade received
• Repeated courses will count as attempted courses
• To maintain SAP, students must achieve a minimum percentage of credits earned versus credits attempted

    
SAP Criteria Based on Credits Attempted versus Credits Completed

Credits transferred in from another college or university is not used in determining the percentage of credits completed.  Only those courses attempted and completed at APUS are used to determine the percentage of credits completed for the quantitative measure.  However, after the percentage is calculated, any transfer credits that a student has from another college or university will be added to their credits attempted at APUS to determine where they fall on the chart above.

Example 1
Student registers for 12 credits as an undergraduate student at APUS.  Student also has 12 transfer credits from College A.  At the end of the semester, here are the grades for the student:

This student has attempted 12 credits at APUS, but has only successfully completed 6 of those credits (Course 3 and Course 4).  So their percentage of credits completed would be 50%.

The next step is to look at the chart above and determine what percentage is needed to make SAP.  To determine this, you must add ALL attempted credits, which would give you 24 credits (12 attempted at APUS + 12 transfer from College A = 24).  You then find where 24 credits falls on the chart above, and you will see that the student needs to have completed 60% of their APUS courses to make SAP.  So this student is not making SAP, and will no longer be eligible for their Federal Student Aid.

Example 2
Student registers for 15 credits as a graduate student at APU.  Student has no transfer credits.  The student drops 3 credits during add/drop week of the semester.  Here are the grades for the student at the end of the semester:

This student has only attempted 12 credits at APUS, because dropped courses do not count toward attempted courses.  The student has successfully completed 3 credits (Course 3).  So the percentage of credits completed would be 25% (3 completed / 12 attempted = 25%).  This student would not be making SAP.

Program Deadline
Program deadline start dates are determined when the student completes Week One of their initial course(s). Students must complete their program within the timeframe allowed as follows:

Associate Degree - 7 years
Bachelor’s Degree - 10 years
Master’s Degree - 7 years
Undergraduate Certificate Program - 3 years