Satisfactory Academic Progress

To keep your federal financial aid, you must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards. These rules ensure you’re moving toward your degree or certificate in a timely and successful way.

SAP includes:

• Qualitative Standard: Your GPA
• Quantitative Standard: Pace of completion
• Maximum Timeframe: How long you have to finish your program

If you don’t meet these standards, you may lose federal financial aid. However, you can regain eligibility through an appeal or by improving your academic performance.

The federal SAP standards for federal financial aid are separate from, and may differ from, the SAP standards of your academic program. Meeting your program’s academic requirements does not automatically mean you meet federal SAP standards for financial aid.

Your GPA shows your academic quality.

• Undergraduate students: Minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA
• Graduate students: Minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA

Grades that count as passing for SAP:

A, B, C, D, P, M

Grades that do NOT count:

W (Withdrawal), I (Incomplete), NP (Not Passing), F (Failing)

Example

If you’re an undergraduate and your GPA drops to 1.9, you are no longer meeting SAP. You must either raise your GPA to 2.0 or submit an appeal.

You must successfully complete at least two-thirds (67%) of all program-applicable credits attempted. This ensures you’re moving toward graduation.

Example

• You enroll in 9 units, withdraw from 3, and complete 6.
• Calculation:
  • 6 / 9 = 67%

You meet the pace requirement.

Key Details

• Transfer credits accepted toward your program count as both attempted and completed units.
• Courses like challenge exams, audited classes, and non-credit enrichment are excluded.
• If you change majors, credits that don’t apply to your new major won’t count toward SAP.

You must finish your program within 150% of the published length.

Example

• Bachelor’s degree requires 120 units → Maximum timeframe = 180 attempted units (120 × 150%).
• Graduate programs follow the same 150% rule based on required units.

What counts toward this limit?

• All attempted units, including withdrawals and repeats.
• Transfer credits accepted toward your program.

If you exceed this limit, you lose federal financial aid eligibility unless you successfully appeal.

If You Lose Eligibility - How to Reinstate

You cannot receive federal financial aid if you fail SAP standards.

You can regain eligibility by:

1. Improving your academic record to meet SAP at the next scheduled evaluation (see the schedule below), OR
2. Submitting an appeal if you had extenuating circumstances

Evaluation Schedule

• Degree programs: End of spring trimester
• Teaching credential & certificate programs: End of each trimester
• Competency-based programs (MyPath): End of each payment period

Below are the steps for the two methods of reinstatement:

Students enrolled in degree programs who regain eligibility through academic improvement alone — without an approved appeal — will be eligible for federal financial aid beginning with the next payment period following the annual SAP evaluation.

Example

If a student does not meet SAP in Summer 2025 but meets all SAP standards at the next scheduled evaluation in Summer 2026, they will automatically regain federal financial aid eligibility starting in Summer Mod 1 of 2026.

Important

• Reinstatement of aid is not automatic during the academic year, even if the student raises their GPA or pace.
• Federal financial aid cannot be reinstated mid-year unless the student submits a successful NSP appeal.

In other words:

A student who fails SAP in Summer 2025 cannot regain aid in Fall 2025 or Spring 2026 based solely on academic improvement. It would be reinstated summer 2026. Therefore, if they want federal aid eligibility prior to summer 2026, they must submit and be approved through the appeal process. (NSP Appeal, below)

Students may submit an appeal if they had extenuating circumstances that prevented them from meeting SAP standards. This is called a Non-Satisfactory Academic Progress (NSP) Appeal.

Acceptable circumstances are generally extraordinary, nonrecurring events that directly impact the student’s ability to attend classes or complete coursework. All circumstances must be appropriately documented and must align with the term or session in which the student’s academic performance was affected.

• If the appeal is approved, federal financial aid eligibility is reinstated immediately during the same trimester in which the appeal is approved.
• Aid may be awarded for the current payment period as long as all other eligibility requirements are met and disbursement timelines allow

Students approved through appeal will be placed on Financial Aid Probation and must follow their academic plan. Failure to meet the plan’s terms will result in loss of eligibility.

NSP Appeal Process

You may appeal if you experienced extraordinary, non-recurring circumstances, such as (but not limited to):

• Illness or disability
• Death of an immediate family member
• Military reassignment
• Victim of crime or unexpected disaster

Your NSP Appeal must include:

• A written explanation of the situation and how the situation has been resolved
• Supporting documentation (e.g., medical letter, death certificate, military orders, police reports, etc.)
• An academic plan approved by your advisor

NSP Submission Process

Students are informed about the appeal process via an email notification to their student UMass Global email. It is also posted in their student portal.

The student appeal is submitted via the student portal. It is a written submission comprised of a written statement by student on the NSP Appeal form and supporting documentation.

NSP Deadlines

The deadlines by which an NSP appeal must be received are below:

• For students evaluated annually: three weeks prior to the end of the following spring trimester. For example, a student that does not make SAP in May of 2025 and is ineligible for Title IV aid for summer trimester of 2025 & 2025-2026, their deadline to submit the appeal is April 20, 2026. (Because spring mod 2 ends May 3, 2026.)
• For students evaluated after each trimester: three weeks before the end of each trimester for which the evaluation occurred.
  • Fall: December 1, 2025
  • Spring: April 20, 2026
  • Summer: August 10, 2026

Time frame by which a student may expect to receive a response to the appeal: one week.

What Happens After Your NSP Appeal Is Reviewed?

Once you submit your Non-Satisfactory Academic Progress (NSP) appeal, here’s what happens:

• The SAP Committee reviews your appeal and makes a decision.
• You may expect to receive a response to the appeal within one week of your submission.
• If your appeal is approved, your federal financial aid eligibility is reinstated, and you’ll receive:
  • A letter confirming approval
  • An updated award letter
  • Placement on Financial Aid Probation with an academic plan you must follow
• If your appeal is denied, your federal financial aid remains suspended. You’ll receive:
  • A denial letter explaining the decision
  • Instructions on what you can do next (such as continuing enrollment without aid and improving your academic record for the next evaluation)

Important:

If your appeal is denied, you cannot regain federal financial aid mid-year by improving your GPA or pace. Eligibility can only be restored at the next scheduled SAP evaluation or through a successful future appeal if circumstances change.

• You’ll be placed on Financial Aid Probation for one term (or one year for MyPath).
• You must follow your academic plan exactly.
  • I.e. registration into all planned courses & maintain goal GPA.
  • You may not increase or decrease credit hours.
  • You must meet the minimum GPA goal set for the classes.
• If you fail to meet the plan, you lose eligibility again.

In general, a student may submit an appeal more than once during the length of their program.

The number of times a student can submit an appeal during the same academic year:

• A student may submit more than one appeal during the same academic year if:
  • Their extenuating circumstances differ from the initial appeal
• A student may NOT submit more than one appeal if:
  • They deviate from the terms of their approved academic plan (i.e., don’t take a class listed on their academic plan/ don’t meet GPA requirements, etc.)