Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Federal regulations require that colleges and universities establish and maintain Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards, and that students must comply with the established standards to maintain financial aid eligibility.

San Juan College Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards

To maintain financial aid eligibility students must:

Be enrolled in, and making Satisfactory Academic Progress toward completion of a SJC financial aid eligible degree or certificate program of study.
Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0.
Maintain a cumulative course completion rate of at least 67% of all attempted credits.
Complete their program of study within 150% of the credits required for program completion.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards Defined:

Pursuing an Eligible Program of Study – To receive financial aid entitlements students must be eligible for financial aid and must declare and be making progress toward completion of a San Juan College program of study that is financial aid eligible. Making progress toward completion of a program of study is defined as enrollment in courses, or required pre-requisite courses, that apply toward completion of a student’s declared program at San Juan College.
Qualitative standard – To keep financial aid eligibility students must maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average. All courses listed on a student’s SJC academic transcript are used in calculating a student’s cumulative grade point average.
Quantitative standards – To keep financial aid eligibility students must maintain at least a 67% cumulative course completion rate for all attempted credits, and must complete their approved program of study before exceeding 150% (maximum time frame) of the attempted credits required for completion of their San Juan College program of study. All courses listed on a student’s academic transcript are used in calculating a student’s cumulative course completion rate and status of their maximum time frame to complete his or her program of study.

San Juan College Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Program

The San Juan College Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress policy and the San Juan College Academic Renewal policy are separate policies. Satisfactory academic progress for financial aid eligibility is governed by federal financial aid regulations and requires that any course listed on a student’s academic transcript be factored into calculating the student’s financial aid eligibility.

San Juan College’s Academic Renewal program may grant a student academic forgiveness or administrative withdrawal from classes. However, the classes will still appear on a student’s academic transcript and are used when calculating the student’s financial aid eligibility. Therefore, even though students may be approved for Academic Renewal at San Juan College, they may not meet the financial aid academic progress standards and may not be eligible for receipt of student financial aid.

Reinstatement of Financial Aid Eligibility

Students not meeting financial aid satisfactory academic progress standards may appeal for reinstatement of financial aid eligibility by completing the San Juan College Financial Aid SAP Appeal process, including:

Completing and submitting a formal SAP appeal form for reinstatement of financial aid,
A signed written statement that addresses extenuating or unforeseen circumstances that may have hindered satisfactory academic progress at San Juan College,
Supporting documentation that verifies the unforeseen extenuating circumstances that hindered academic progress, and
A signed written statement of how extenuating circumstances that prevented academic success have been resolved and will not further hinder the student’s academic progress.

All required elements on the SAP appeal form must be completed and the completed appeal form and required documents that support a student’s appeal for financial aid reinstatement must be submitted to the financial aid office as one package no later than five business days after the start of the semester for which the student is seeking reinstatement of financial aid eligibility.

Satisfactory academic progress appeals may not be considered for approval if they are:

Received after the fifth business day of a new semester,
Incomplete or missing information/documentation,
Missing support documents for extenuating circumstances, or
Appeals for which supporting documentation is provided separately and at a later date from the original appeal submittal date

The appeal process may take up to three weeks and all appeal decisions are final. Students submitting an appeal for financial aid reinstatement cannot assume that their appeal will be approved and need to make other payment arrangements for any courses in which they are enrolled pending a decision on their appeal. Failure to make other payment arrangements may result in students being dropped from classes for non-payment, or billed for tuition and fees associated with the classes in which they enrolled.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Statuses

Financial Aid Eligible – The student meets all SAP standards and is eligible to receive financial aid.

Financial Aid Warning – Students entering a semester with an OK SAP status, but ending the semester by not meeting the cumulative course completion rate or grade point average academic progress standards are placed in a Financial Aid Warning status. Students in a Warning status must meet ALL cumulative SAP standards by the end of their next semester of enrollment. Failure to meet all SAP standards will result in their financial aid eligibility being suspended.

Financial Aid Suspension – Students not meeting the required cumulative completion rate or grade point average standard by the end of the semester in which they were placed on a financial aid Warning will be placed in a Financial Aid Suspension status. Students that do not complete their program of study within 150% of the attempted credits required for completion of their program will automatically be placed on Financial Aid Suspension. Students that have exceeded the maximum time frame (150% of the attempted credits required for program completion) will be placed on a financial aid suspension without prior warning.

Extenuating Circumstances – Extenuating circumstances are unforeseen situations beyond a student’s control that create an undue hardship and may hinder a student’s ability to meet satisfactory academic progress standards. Examples of extenuating circumstances include but are not limited to death of an immediate family member, divorce, injury, or illness, involuntary loss of job, unexpected change of work-schedule, documented transportation issues. In all instances Documentation must be provided.

The following reasons may NOT qualify as extenuating circumstances: the difficulty of a course; the teaching method or dislike of an instructor; promises to perform better in the future; immaturity or “didn’t know better;” the length of time since last attended school; incarceration; changing majors; dropping a course to avoid a bad grade.

Appeal Decisions

All Appeal Decisions are final and written notification of the decision will be delivered to the student through the student’s San Juan College e-mail address. Appeals will be one of the following:

Approved Appeal – An approved appeal awards a student Financial Aid Eligibility for one semester only. At the end of the approved semester the student MUST meet ALL financial aid SAP standards to maintain financial aid eligibility. Failure to meet requirements may result in immediate cancellation/suspension of financial aid eligibility and future appeals may be denied.
Approved Academic Plan– This probation is an approved appeal that requires students to not only meet SAP standards but they must adhere to an approved academic plan that is outlined in their approval notification. Typically an Approved Academic Plan will be applied to students who will require more than one academic term to meet SAP standards, or to those students that have exceeded the Maximum Time Frame for program completion, are near the conclusion of their program requirements, and require an extension of their Maximum Time Frame to complete their program of study.
Denied. Denial of the appeal will mean the student is not eligible for financial aid benefits.

Financial Aid Reinstatement

There are various ways that a student may reinstate his or her financial aid eligibility.

Appeal for financial aid reinstatement and have the appeal approved.
A student that is on a financial aid suspension may enroll in subsequent semesters at his/her own expense (or an alternate funding source), and financial aid eligibility may be reinstated once all satisfactory academic progress standards are met. Students must notify the financial aid office in writing that they meet all financial aid satisfactory academic standards and would like to have their financial aid reinstated.
If a student’s appeal for financial aid reinstatement is denied and the student still does not meet SAP standards, but desires reinstatement of his or her financial aid, the student may reinstate his or her financial aid eligibility by successfully completing the equivalent of one semester of full-time (12 credits) enrollment at his or her own expense (completion of the equivalent of one semester of full time enrollment may take multiple semesters), and submitting an appeal for reinstatement of financial aid. Successful course completion requires a passing grade in all courses attempted during the period in which the student is trying reinstate his or her financial aid eligibility. All courses taken to reinstate financial aid eligibility must apply toward graduation from the student’s declared SJC degree objective. Successful course completion will not result in automatic reinstatement of financial aid eligibility as the student’s entire academic history will be taken into account before reinstatement of financial aid is granted.