The Feds
Do you have bad SAP? Do you want to learn how to fix it? The Financial Aid Office is here to help! SAP stands for Satisfactory Academic Progress. This means that each student must successfully complete a specific number of credits per year, complete a certain percentage of all attempted credits, as well as maintain an appropriate cumulative GPA (cGPA) each year in order to be eligible for ANY type of financial aid.
SAP for a full time day student is defined as successful completion of 24 credits in a single academic year, September to May, while maintaining the correct cGPA and Pace. If you fail to earn the minimum of 12 credits during the fall term, you just have be sure that at the end of the year you have 24 total earned credits. You may need to take an additional intersession, spring, or summer course to make up the difference. Therefore, if you keep track of the amount of credits you complete, you will be able satisfy the credit portion of satisfactory academic progress. Keep in mind that courses you retake do not count twice as earned credits. If you received a D in the Fall in Calculus and retake the class to get a better grade and receive a B in the Spring, you will only see the 4 credits for Calculus that count during the Spring semester on your transcript. So if you only took 9 other credits in Fall you would want to be careful!
With regard to the cGPA requirements of SAP, students should be aware of where their grades stand throughout the semester. If you are concerned about a certain course, talk to your professor to see if there is anything you can do to improve your grade. Also, there are many resources on campus that can help you! We have the First Year Success Center, tutors for most subjects in the CLR, and Campus Access Services; so don’t be afraid to take advantage of them if you are struggling with a class.
In order to be making SAP you must also have completed at least 67% of the credits that you have attempted. You can calculate this yourself by adding up all of the credits for every course listed on your transcript- including transfer credits! This amount would be your total attempted credits. You can then review your transcript to determine your total earned credits. Divide your earned credits by your attempted credits and multiply by 100 to receive your Pace percentage. Keep in mind that not completing a course (W, INC, F, DNA, etc.) will bring your pace down because you are earning zero credits while attempting however many credits the course is worth. Retaking a course that you received no credit for (W, INC, F, DNA, etc.) will bring up your Pace but not as much as taking a brand new course and successfully completing it. Retaking a course that you did receive credit for (ie: if you received a D) will bring your Pace down even if it might bring your cGPA up to get a B instead.
At the end of the spring semester, the Financial Aid Office will review your academic transcript to make sure that you have achieved the required credit/pace/cGPA and confirm that you are not on academic probation. If you do not meet these specific requirements, you will not be making SAP and will not be eligible to receive financial aid until you reinstate your eligibility. A letter will be sent to your home address notifying you that you aren’t making SAP. This applies to all financial aid, including federal student loans, federal parent loans, grants, scholarships, and work study.
However, this ineligibility is not permanent. If you can get back into good SAP, AND NOTIFY THE FINANCIAL AID OFFICE, they will review your transcripts and reconsider you for financial aid. How can you fix your bad SAP? There are a few ways to do this. For example, if you have the right amount of credits, but not the necessary cGPA, or vice versa, then you can enroll in a summer course to bring your grades up or earn the credits you need to achieve good SAP. If you choose to do this, you must be sure that your academic transcript is updated by the Registrar’s Office. Once your grades are posted then you must inform the Financial Aid Office that you are back in good standing. They will recheck your SAP, and if you have corrected your problem, you will be reconsidered for financial aid. If you are interested in taking a course at another school you must first check with your academic advisor and the Registrar’s Office to make sure if the course(s) you want to take will transfer to your degree program at UNH.
Students should ALWAYS be aware of their academic progress. It is your responsibility to be sure that you are taking the necessary amount of credits each semester and that you are maintaining a good cGPA.
If Satisfactory Academic Progress is something you are concerned about, the first thing you should do is talk to a Financial Aid Counselor to see what options are available for you. It is not impossible to fix your bad SAP, so follow the advice above and you could be back in good standing before you know it!
