Satisfactory Academic Progress FAQ

SAP appeals are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  For each appeal, SFAO looks for each appeal to include a signed appeal form; a personal statement outlining the hardship and resolution; a Max Time Frame worksheet if applicable; and supporting documentation.  Appeals are never guaranteed to be approved, even if including all requirements.  All appeals submitted with no documentation will be denied, no exceptions

The following types of financial aid require a student to meet SAP for continued eligibility:

Aid NOT affected by SAP include scholarship aid (institutional and outside) and third party authorized aid.  If you are receiving any kind of scholarship or third party aid you should contact the organization about requirements for meeting SAP to continue to receiving payments.

Annual SAP evaluations will be completed at the conclusion of each academic year, at the end of the spring semester.  Students cannot be evaluated until they are fully graded, meaning that the student cannot have any blank grades for terms of UofL enrollment after fall 1999.

Furthermore, students who are on financial aid probation are also reviewed at the end of the probation term to determine if he or she is meeting the standard SAP requirements or requirements outlined in the appeal approval.

Per federal regulations we must evaluate students for SAP based on cumulative academic history, regardless of whether the student is a first time applicant or no financial aid was used for those previous terms.

Please be assured that the SFAO understands that a student’s reason for not meeting academic progress can be very personal and private.  However, the office has very strict guidelines and regulations to follow in order to insure that students provide sufficient explanation and documentation when submitting an appeal to regain eligibility when not meeting the standards of the SAP policy.

Information and documentation included in a SAP appeal is kept secure in the office until reviewed.  Review is only conducted by select members of the SFAO.  After review the documents are scanned for electronic access and originals are shredded.  Only members of SFAO management and the SAP coordinator have access to SAP appeal information once it is scanned.

You should feel comfortable providing any information and details to explain your reasons for not meeting SAP knowing that limited access is made to your information once reviewed; your personal information is kept secured electronically.  You are welcome to submit your appeal documents in a sealed envelope clearly marked with your name, student ID, and labeled confidential.

Regarding the submission of medical information; SFAO does not require, and in most cases does not want, your medical records.  For most appeals that include reasons of a medical nature a signed statement on letterhead from your medical professional that verifies your date(s) of treatment, recovery time, time required to miss school and/or release to return to school is sufficient.  In most cases we do not require the medical professional to verify a diagnosis, medical treatment or prescription list.  Sometimes we may need the medical professional to verify a change in patient treatment, especially if the student has explained that a change in prescription medication or treatment was a reason for not meeting SAP.

The cancellation of aid after the probation term is likely due to the student not meeting the requirements outlined in the approval of the appeal.  When students are approved for a SAP appeal he or she receives a detailed list of any requirements set forth for the appeal approval.  If the student does not meet the outlined requirements he or she will not meet SAP and future aid will be cancelled.  The student does have the right to submit a new appeal that explains and documents the new hardship that prevented the student from meeting the requirements outlined.

The summer is divided into different terms, but all the terms are still part of one summer semester.  The SAP policy states that a student cannot self-correct a SAP issue during a semester and regain eligibility for that same semester.

Appeals are reviewed in the order that they are received.  Priority dates are listed for each term.  Appeals that are submitted by the priority date are guaranteed a decision before the 100% drop date for each term.  If the appeal is submitted after the priority there is no guarantee that you will know the decision on your appeal prior to the 100% drop date.  It can take up to 15 business days for an appeal to be reviewed and a decision posted.

You should check your To Do List on ULINK to ensure that your financial aid is complete.  If your file is complete and you still have not been awarded there may just be a timing issue.  Awarding of financial aid does not happen every day.  Generally, awarding takes place at the end of the week and often on a biweekly basis.  You should continue to monitor your student email and ULINK account for updates.

Pace is a calculation of comparing all cumulative earned hours to cumulative attempted hours.  In the fall you attempted 12 hours and earned 3.  You had 3 hours of C, 3 hours of F and 6 hours of withdrawal.  In the spring you attempted 12 hours and earned 9.  You had 3 hours of B, 6 hours of C and 3 hours of withdrawal.  Your Pace is 12/24 or 50%.

Attempted hours include:

• All credits for courses in which a student is formally enrolled as of the census date for the term (this includes credits taken at the undergraduate, graduate or professional degree levels and credits taken during enrollment as a non-degree student).
• All credits that a student drops or adds at any point in the semester. (except during the 100% drop period at the beginning of each term)
• All credits for course in which the student enrolled, but subsequently withdrew or failed.
• Transfer credits from another school that are accepted by the University of Louisville.
• Credits earned through exam and credit by portfolio assessment.  

Earned hours include:

• All credits completed with grades of ‘D’ or better as well as Satisfactory or Pass grades.
• Transfer credits from another school that are accepted by the University of Louisville.
• Credits earned through exam and credit by portfolio assessment.

All cumulative attempted hours are included in the SAP calculation for Max Time Frame.  This will include all transfer hours accepted by UofL from another school.  So, all hours you earned at WKU that are now reflected on your UofL transcript, are included in your total cumulative attempted hour calculation.

When a student is held for Max Time Frame we ask him/her to meet with the advisor and complete the Max Time Frame worksheet in order to help guide the SFAO in the back end processing of the student’s account if the appeal is approved.

If a student’s Max Time Frame appeal is approved SFAO has to input a new maximum number of allowable hours for each of the student’s remaining semesters for program completion.

Susie submits an appeal with the Max Time Frame worksheet that outlines she needs 24 additional hours to complete her program and she is expected to graduate at the end of the Fall 2025 term.  If her hours exceed the additional allotted hours and/or she continues to enroll after the Fall 2025 term, she will no longer meet Satisfactory Academic Progress and will not have federal nor state need-based financial aid eligibility in any future semesters.

Students who have a deferred appeal are given a deadline of 30 days (sometimes fewer if the initial appeal is submitted closer to the end of the term).  If the additional information is not submitted by the deadline, the appeal is cancelled.  If the appeal deadline has not passed for the term, the student can submit a new appeal.

Federal regulations prohibit an automatic clearance; therefore, we cannot remove a SAP hold even for students who self-correct a SAP.  Students who would like their eligibility reviewed before the next annual SAP evaluation (end of the next spring semester) must submit an appeal.

SAP does not transfer from school to school.  So, if you have a SAP hold at UL, you will not necessarily have a SAP hold at another school.  You should be proactive in researching the policies of the other school’s Financial Aid Office.

It is not required that a student be eligible for federal or state need-based aid in order to remain enrolled in classes.  As long as you are academically eligible to continue enrollment you can do so.  You will have to settle your balance with the Bursar’s Office with funds other than federal or state need-based aid.  You can apply for a credit-based Alternative Loan or make cash payments to the Bursar’s Office. Feel free to review alternative loan options on the SFAO website.  Please be aware that even some alternative loan options require students to meet SAP. If you have a scholarship or third party authorized aid you may continue to receive those payments, but you should review the terms of the aid to ensure you met the specified requirements for eligibility.

Yes, SAP will not be evaluated for the current academic year until the FAFSA is submitted.

Priority dates are listed on the appeal form.  Completed appeals submitted by the posted priority date for each term are guaranteed a decision before the term census date. You are not guaranteed to be offered aid.

Deadline dates are the last day an appeal can be submitted to the Financial Aid Office for aid consideration in that semester.  Appeals should only be submitted for semesters you are enrolled, intend to enroll and have posted deadlines on appeal form.