Standards of Academic Progress (SAP)

In order to receive financial aid, you must make Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes all students that have completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and wish to receive aid, regardless of whether or not they have or not completed one in the past.

These requirements apply to all credits attempted, for part-time and full-time students, for all semesters of enrollment within an academic year (Fall, Spring, and Summer), including those semesters for which no financial aid was received.

Students who drop course(s) during the university add/drop period, the dropped courses are not included in the SAP evaluation. Student who withdraw from their course(s) must know that these withdrawn course(s) are included in the SAP evaluation at the end of every semester.

Review of SAP is conducted at the conclusion of each semester by the Financial Aid Office once grades are posted. This review looks at grades received, courses attempted, grade point average, and pace towards graduation.  Transfer credit hours are included in the maximum time frame and pace towards graduation measurement. Transfer Credit is not included in the grade point calculation done at the end of each enrollment semester.

The U.S. Department of Education measures SAP based on the following:

1.  Grade Point Average (GPA):

• Undergraduate Students: must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, and earn a term GPA of not less than 1.0.
• Graduate Students: must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average both in their term and cumulative GPA.
• Law Students: must maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average both in their term and cumulative GPA.
• Grades of "W", "U", and "I" are not used in the calculation of GPA.  Once the "I" grade becomes an official grade it is used in the term and cumulative GPA calculation.
• Grades of "F" are used in calculation of GPA.

2.  Minimum Credit Hour Completion Percentage:

• All students must complete at least 67% of their courses each semester.
• Grades of "W", "X", "F" and "I" will be counted as hours attempted but will not be counted as hours successfully passed.
• Students may receive financial aid for developmental classes as defined in the university catalog.  Developmental courses are taken as no credit because they do not count toward graduation credits, but they do count in determining the percentage of credit hours attempted for SAP.
• Students who remain in course(s) after the add/drop period, these courses count in the completion percentage calculation.

3.  Maximum Time to Complete a Degree/Program (MTF):

• When an undergraduate student's attempted hours reach 150% of the required hours for the degree (192 hours), the aid will be suspended unless the time frame is extended. This can be done by speaking with your advisor about a max time frame (MTF) plan.
• A student is ineligible via the maximum time element when it becomes mathematically impossible for the student to the complete the program within 150 percent of the required hours for the degree.  In other words, it is possible for a student to be ineligible via the maximum timeframe prior to actually attempting 150 percent of the normal credits required for a degree.
• All transfer credits count towards the MTF.  The act of adding majors or minors is not a plausible circumvention.
• Graduate degrees must be completed by the length of time standards established and monitored by Graduate Studies.

This policy governs the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work Study (FWS), Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate/Professional Students, Federal TEACH Grant, Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG), and various CSU Scholarships/Grants.

Repeat Courses and how it Affects SAP

Federal regulations limit the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive financial aid for that course. The following regulations apply to all students (regardless of grade-level):

See https://www.csuohio.edu/financial-aid/repeated-course-policy for financial aid policy.

Repeating "D" or "F" graded courses while earning your undergraduate degree:

1. Courses may be repeated when any grade equivalent to a D or below which affects the grade-point average has been earned. For the purpose of grade-point average (GPA) calculation, transfer and/or test credit may not be used to supersede an earned grade at CSU.
2. The letter grade earned in the most recent attempt will be included in cumulative credit totals and grade-point average, even if that grade is lower than the previous grade. This does not include coursework that is transferred in, or test credit. The credits will count in the transferred attempt or the test credit, but the grade earned at CSU will still be counted in the GPA.
3. Prior to Spring 2007, repeated courses and grades were recorded on the transcript and noted with a "#" indicating that the course has been repeated. Effective Spring 2007, repeated courses are designated with the comment "Course Repeated, Attempt Forgiven."
4. All courses designated with a "#" or the "Course Repeated, Attempt Forgiven" comment will not be included in cumulative credit totals and grade-point averages and are not applicable toward graduation requirements.
5. Course Repeat Policy does not apply to courses graded S/U. Only courses for which a letter grade can be earned are covered by Course Repeat Policy.
6. Course Repeat Policy does not apply to graduate level courses (500- and above).

Repeating Courses graded "C" or Higher while earning your undergraduate degree:

Students may choose to repeat courses in which a grade of a C or higher is earned a maximum of two (2) times (depending on whether there are any restrictions specific to that course - see course descriptions in the Undergraduate Catalogue to determine if restrictions apply). However, courses repeated under these circumstances will have all earned grades calculated into the cumulative GPA and overall credits earned and Course Repeat Policy will not apply. Students will not receive test credit or transfer credit for any transferred courses in which a grade of C or higher has been earned at CSU. 

Please Note: The Course Repeat Option is not retroactive to courses already repeated under prior policies. Students repeating courses originally taken on quarters or that do not have the same title, course abbreviation, or catalog number as the original course must submit a Course Repeat Form to All-in-1 in BH 116.

Financial Aid Suspension, Appeal and Reinstatement Procedures:

If you fail to meet the SAP minimum standards, you will be placed on Financial Aid Warning (Probation) for one semester. If you fail to attain the minimum standards of progress by the end of the warning period, you will be placed on Financial Aid Suspension and deemed ineligible for financial aid. Students in violation of the SAP Policy may submit an appeal to the Financial Aid Office. 

Please Note:  All notices (financial aid warning, financial aid suspension) are provided in writing and sent to your CSU issued email account.  Petitions must be received 10 days prior to the end of the semester for which aid is requested.  Delays may result in the reduction or cancellation of Federal Aid eligibility.

The SAP Appeals Process