Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy

SAP is evaluated at the end of every semester to determine financial aid eligibility for the upcoming semester. You must meet the following three SAP criteria to be eligible to receive federal financial aid:

1. Grade Point Average (GPA) - Based on the number of units the student attempted, they must maintain a minimum GPA as shown in the chart below:

2. Completion Rate of 67% – All students, regardless of units attempted, must maintain a cumulative 67% rate of completion. To calculate completion rate, you will use total units earned and divide by total units attempted.

Example: 12 units earned divided by 15 units attempted equals 0.8 (or 80% completion ratio). 

 

3. Maximum Time Frame – Students must complete their degree within a 150% time frame.

Example: An associate degree that takes 60 units to complete must be completed within 90 units, while a bachelor’s degree that takes 120 units to complete must be completed within 180 units. Transfer units are considered completed coursework, both attempted and earned, for purposes of this policy.

Students who fails to meet SAP for the first time will be placed on financial aid warning. Students in financial aid warning status are eligible to receive financial aid for only one additional semester.

Students who fail again to meet SAP standards will not be eligible to receive federal financial aid and will be placed on financial aid suspension. A SAP appeal questionnaire will automatically be sent to their Workday inbox.

Students who have lost their financial aid eligibility due to mitigating/extenuating circumstances may submit the SAP appeal questionnaire.

Students that are not financial aid recipients, or students that are financial aid recipients but elect not to submit an appeal, may disregard the SAP appeal questionnaire request.

To submit a SAP appeal, students must complete the questionnaire sent to their Workday inbox. In the questionnaire, students are required to provide a statement detailing the mitigating/extenuating circumstances that led to not meeting SAP requirements, along with supporting documentation for these events. (See examples below.) The appeal must also explain how the mitigating/extenuating circumstances have been resolved and will no longer hinder academic performance moving forward.

Mitigating/extenuating circumstances are essentially unanticipated and unavoidable circumstances beyond a student's control, which directly affected their ability to be academically successful, and which have been resolved so they are now able to be academically successful.

Examples of mitigating/extenuating circumstances are:

• serious injury/illness or an acute mental health condition, or
• death of an immediate family member, or
• other special circumstances deemed by PBSC to be sufficiently mitigating.

 

If you are a student planning to submit a SAP appeal, you are strongly encouraged meet with a financial aid advisor beforehand. The advisor can provide guidance and suggest appropriate documentation to include with the appeal.

All appeals must be submitted through Workday. Students will be notified of the SAP appeal decision through Workday. Please allow at least 4 weeks for a determination to be made on your SAP appeal. Additionally, appeal approvals are not guaranteed. Students who submit appeals are strongly encouraged to arrange alternative payment methods until a determination is made or in case the appeal is denied.

An appeal determination is not guaranteed by payment due date.