There are requirements and limits to your aid that are important for you to be aware of to ensure you continue to receive financial aid. The following pages will help you learn and understand more about how to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), how to check your current status, what steps to take if you get a warning, and how to submit an appeal if you ever need one. You鈥檒l also find information on managing your Pell Grant, Cal Grant, and other eligibility requirements that can affect your aid.
Make sure to read through each section so you can stay on track and keep your financial aid while you work toward your educational goals.
Workshops: Support with your SAP Appeal
Join us for a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal Workshop where you will have the opportunity to receive support from start to end of the appeal process.
Event Details
- Learn about the financial aid academic requirements and how to maintaining eligibility.
- Receive support completing your SAP Appeal and submitting appropriate documents. Please only select one session:
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The U.S. Department of Education has minimum academic requirements in order for you to continue to receive financial aid. These requirements are called Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Our financial aid team checks your academic standing (SAP) after each semester ends. You will receive an email letting you know if you have not met the requirements typically two-three weeks after each semester.
To meet SAP, you must:
- Keep a cumulative 2.0 GPA or higher
- Students who are meeting all academic requirements need to maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA which means all of your semesters combined and not necessarily each semester.
- Students who are on an academic appeal, will be required to maintain a 2.0 GPA each semester
- Pass at least 66.7% of all your classes cumulatively (this is referred to as 鈥淧ACE鈥�)
- Grades like A, B, C, D, CR, or P count as passed
- Grades like F, W, EW, NC, NP, RD, or I do not count as passed
- Stay within the unit limit for your program.
There is a limit to the number of units students can take at a community college. The unit limit is based on your Goal and Major listed in your Surf Account. For each program, students are required to complete their program within 150% of the required units.
- Most Associate Degree programs have a limit of 90 units
- Example: If your program requires 60 units to complete, 90 is the max (150% of the program)
| Program | Typical Program Units | Maximum Limit (150%) |
|---|---|---|
| Associate Degree (AA/AS) | 60 units | 90 units |
| Associate Degree for Transfer(ADT-AA-T/AS-T) | 60 units | 90 units |
| Certificate Programs | Varies by certificate | |
| Bachelor鈥檚 Degree | 120 units | 180 units |
What happens if I don鈥檛 meet the academic requirements?
Warning Period
The first semester you don鈥檛 meet the requirement is called a warning period. This gives you time to improve your grades and pass more classes. None of your financial aid will be impacted during your warning period.
A warning semester only applies to falling below the GPA and Pace requirement. You will not receive a warning period if you exceed the unit limit for your program.
If you receive a warning, you will receive an email notifying you that you are currently on warning about 2-3 weeks after the semester ends.
After your Warning Period
Not meeting SAP Requirements
If after the warning semester your overall GPA or Pace are still not meeting the SAP requirements, you may lose your financial aid for the next semester.
Example
Your GPA falls below a 2.0 during the fall semester and after all of your fall classes
finish, you still have not increased your overall GPA to a 2.0 or above, then for
the Spring semester, you will be disqualified from receiving certain types of financial
aid. Please see below to see which types of aid are impacted when you are disqualified.
If you do become disqualified, you can submit an appeal to request to receive your financial aid while you work on getting your overall academic progress to meet the requirement.
See below for more information on how to appeal.
Meeting SAP Requirements
If you do raise your overall GPA or completion rate to the requirements then you will resume your academic status of 鈥渕eeting the SAP requirements鈥� and there will be no impact to your financial aid.
What if I get disqualified?
If you do become disqualified, you can submit an appeal explaining the circumstances that made it difficult to meet the academic requirements. If approved, the appeal will allow you to request to receive your financial aid while you work on getting your overall academic progress to meet the requirements.
Submitting an Appeal
Step 1: You may request a SAP appeal directly from the Student Forms web page or contact the Welcome Center at 760. 795.6620.
- Click 鈥� Manage Request鈥�
- Find "SAP Appeal", click the 鈥�+鈥� under the correct Academic Year
- Click Submit
- Write a brief, max 1 sentence, reason for requesting appeal.
- Review tasks listed on dashboard
Step 2: Complete Request
Step 3: Wait 2 weeks for outcome
SAP Appeal Requirements
- A statement explaining your circumstances that made it difficult for you to meet the academic requirements.
- Documentation that supports what you write in your statement
- A recently updated Comprehensive Educational Plan
Processing timeline
SAP Appeals typically take about 10-15 business days to be reviewed after all items have been submitted. For second appeals, typically take about 10-15 business days to be reviewed.
Deadlines to Consider
SAP outcome and eligibility redetermination needs to be completed prior to the end of the term appealing for. Appeals submitted less than 2 weeks prior to the end of the semester may not be reviewed.
What if I get Denied?
The Financial Aid Office will work with you to give you the best chances of getting approved and will not deny your appeal without working with you first.
Reach out to the Welcome Center for support if you get notified that you are denied to see if anything else can be submitted with your appeal.
If you are denied, you may appeal the following semester for your aid.
Aid that is impacted by being SAP disqualified
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)
- Federal Work-Study
- Federal Direct Loans (Subsidized & Unsubsidized)
- Cal Grant (A, B, C)
- Chafee Grant
- Student Success Completion Grant (SSCG)
- Dream Service Incentive Grant (DSIG)
How to find out if you are not meeting SAP
You will receive an email from the Financial Aid Office typically two to three weeks after the semester ends notifying you that you are not meeting the minimum requirements.
Example
If the summer semester ends August 1, and you did not meet the requirements, you may
not get notified until approximately August 22.
Once email notifications have been sent out, you can also check your SURF account under the 鈥淭o-Do鈥� list.
