Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards (SAP)

Standard Academic Progress Standards

Qualitative Standard

Grade Point Average:

To meet this standard, a student must maintain a level of academic performance required to remain at the University as a matriculated student. The minimum level of academic performance parallels the grade point average required to remain in good academic standing and is as follows:

For students currently enrolled in developmental courses, all developmental classes are calculated into the GPA to determine probation/suspension.

Quantitative Standards

Completion Rate:

Students must successfully complete a minimum number of credit hours attempted by the end of each term of enrollment. These are as follows:

First term of enrollment – 50% of the hours attempted

Second term of enrollment – 60% of the hours attempted

Third and subsequent terms of enrollment – 67% of the hours attempted

Successful completion means receiving a final grade of A+/-, B+/-, C+/-, D+, or P. Grades of F, W (withdrawn), WP (withdrawn passing), WF (withdrawn failing), I (incomplete), and AU (audit) do not earn credit hours, but do count as hours attempted towards the quantitative standards of completion rate and maximum time frame for completion of the degree. Hours transferred from other institutions also count as hours attempted and earned. Students who fall below the above completion rates are not making Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Grades earned in developmental courses count in determining the completion rate and cannot exceed 30 hours; this limit cannot be appealed.

Classes dropped prior to the end of the add period at the beginning of each term will not count toward hours attempted. Credits earned through CLEP testing, AP examinations, etc. are not counted as hours attempted for calculation of completion rate.

Repeated courses affect SAP as follows:

GPA – Only the most recent grade counts in the calculation of the GPA.

Completion Rate – Each time a course is repeated, it is counted as hours attempted.

Maximum Time Frame – Each time a course is repeated, it is counted as hours attempted and is counted towards the maximum credit limit.

Courses in which a passing grade has been received may be repeated only once in an effort to increase one’s GPA. If repeated more than once, costs must be at the student’s own expense.

Maximum Time Frame

To remain eligible for financial aid, students must complete their degree requirements within 150% of the published length of their academic program. This means that a student’s attempted and transferred credit hours cannot exceed 150% of the credit hours necessary for completion of their primary degree or certificate. The maximum time frame is not increased for dual-degree or combined degree candidates, but is based on the program length associated with the student’s primary academic program.

Full-time students should attempt to earn at least 30-31 credit hours per academic year in order to graduate in four years. “Full-time” is defined as 12 credit hours per semester. Those who take no more than 12-14 hours per semester may choose summer courses as a way to reach 30 credits per year.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Review

At the end of each semester (Fall, Spring, and Summer), an SAP review is completed. Students who fail to make SAP at the end of a term will be placed on SAP warning and will be given one term to achieve SAP. If at the end of the warning period, they have not met minimum SAP requirements, they will be ineligible to receive further financial aid unless they successfully appeal their financial aid suspension. Those not successful in their appeal become ineligible for further financial aid until all deficiencies are remediated at the student’s expense. If the student has already been awarded federal/state aid for the following semester, that aid will be removed.

Regaining Eligibility for Financial Aid

Students who fail to attain the qualitative and/or quantitative standards for SAP should consult with a financial aid counselor to determine appropriate steps to take to regain financial aid eligibility. Actions to consider for regaining financial aid eligibility include:

• Taking courses during the summer at the student’s expense;

• Repeating failed courses immediately (the quickest way to raise a GPA);

• Removing incomplete (I) grades;

• Reviewing repeated courses to insure that the highest grade has been computed.

A student’s cumulative GPA can be improved only by coursework at The University of Tennessee Southern though credit hour deficiencies can be made up by attendance at UT Southern or at another institution. If enrolling elsewhere, the student must complete a Transfer Credit Request form with the appropriate signatures prior to enrolling at the other institution. Following completion of work elsewhere, the student is responsible for having an academic transcript sent to The University of Tennessee Southern's Registrar’s Office.

Once deficiencies have been remediated, the student must notify the Financial Aid Office and request reinstatement of eligibility. However, once the maximum length of study standard has been exceeded (150% of credit hours needed for graduation), financial aid eligibility ends, even if the student is in compliance with the other two standards.

Appeals Process

Students who fail to meet the minimum requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress and who lose all financial aid eligibility have the right to appeal this action to the Admissions and Financial Aid Appeals Committee by submitting a Student Appeal Form. An appeal must be based on significant mitigating circumstances that seriously affected academic performance. Examples of such circumstances might be serious illness, severe injury, death of an immediate family member, or other similar situations accompanied by appropriate documentation for the circumstance involved. Contact the Financial Aid Office to obtain a Student Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress Financial Aid Appeal Form. This form is also on the UT Southern website under Financial Aid.

Course Program of Study

The U.S. Department of Education requires students to be enrolled in an eligible program of study in order to receive federal financial aid. Furthermore, a student's official enrollment classification can only include courses that are required in their degree program.

Starting with the Fall 2023 semester, UT Southern implemented a process called Course Program of Study (CPoS) to ensure compliance with these regulations.

This means, students can only receive financial aid for classes that are required for their current program of study (major). Students cannot receive financial aid payments for classes that are not specifically listed in their major (this includes minors). This means that a student may not qualify for some or all of Pell Grant, Hope Scholarship, Loans, and most other types of financial aid.

If a student enrolls in a class that is not required in the current major, even if the student thinks this class is required for a future major to begin next semester, the student will not receive financial aid for that course.

This rule applies to federal aid and state aid, so it is important that you verify with your advisor that all classes are required for the current program of study.
Common Reasons for Courses to be Excluded from Enrollment Classification:

• The student registered for a course that is not required for their degree.
• The course is a substitution, but the official substitution process has not yet been completed.
• A course is not required in the program of study for that student’s catalog year.
• The course was previously repeated and no longer qualifies for aid. If a student has previously completed the same course on two prior occasions and at least one of those attempts resulted in a passing grade, that course cannot be used in the determination of the student's enrollment classification for federal financial aid.

• The course is an elective, and the student already fulfilled all elective requirements.
• Minors must be required for the degree or fulfill an elective in order to be included as eligible coursework for federal financial aid.
• Internships, Honors courses, and prerequisite courses are only counted in a student's enrollment classification for federal financial aid if they are required in the student’s program of study or can fulfill a slot in a quota of elective hours specified in the program of study.

Example: If you register for 12 credit hours but 3 credits are in a course that is required for a degree at a university you want to transfer to in the future, you will only qualify for 75% of your financial aid. You will only receive aid for 9 credit hours and you will be responsible for paying a balance if there is one.