Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
Financial Aid Disbursement and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by Congress, mandates that institutions of higher education monitor the academic progress of students who receive federal financial aid. The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has established the following minimum standards to be eligible for and continue to receive federal financial aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) will be reviewed at the end of each payment period (fall, spring, and summer semesters) and will be based on the student achieving both a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and earning a minimum of 70% of credit hours attempted (also known as, “meeting SAP”).
Please note that some state and institutional programs may have higher academic requirements, and eligibility for those financial aid programs is subject to the conditions and terms of each program.
Satisfactory Academic Progress will be reviewed 3 times during the Financial Aid year at the end of fall semester, spring semester and summer semester.
CGPA requirements by classification
Minimum 2.00 CGPA: all Competency Based – CBE Students
Note: Students should note that the standards for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for Financial Aid purposes are different from the standards for academic purposes. See “Academic Probation” for the academic standards and how they apply to academic standing.
Pace
Satisfactory academic progress is determined by dividing the cumulative number of credit hours successfully completed by the cumulative number of credit hours attempted (including transfer credit hours that have been accepted). The percentage must be greater than or equal to 70% to meet SAP. The maximum time for program completion is 150% of the published program length.
Financial aid will not be disbursed until all prior academic year grades have been posted.
(SAP) Warning Period
In the first payment period (semester) after SAP has not been met, students will be sent a notification to inform them that they are not meeting SAP for purposes of financial aid. The notice will include SAP requirements, steps necessary to meet SAP in the upcoming payment period (semester), and the consequences for failing to meet SAP at the end of the warning period.
During the warning period, students may continue to receive financial aid. After the warning period, students who do not meet SAP are ineligible for financial aid. The Financial Aid Office will notify students at the end of the warning payment period (semester) if they fail to meet SAP. The notification will include information concerning the loss of financial aid for the upcoming payment period (semester) due to failure to meet CGPA and/or 70% completion rate, and the appeal process.
SAP Suspension
If a student was previously under a financial aid Warning or Probation SAP status and fails to meet SAP eligibility requirements during the next semester, the student’s status will be placed on Suspension, and the student is NOT eligible for federal, state, or institutional financial aid during the next semester he/she attends the university. A student who is placed on Suspension may appeal this decision through the appeal process.
(SAP) Probation Period
If a student is placed on suspension, he/she can appeal the suspension through the SAP appeal process. If the appeal is granted, the student will be placed on probation for the next semester. The student must bring his/her SAP eligibility to Good Standing status during the semester or be placed on suspension. While on probation, the student may continue to receive financial assistance if otherwise eligible.
SAP Appeal process
Step One: Students who choose to follow the appeal process must:
- Submit the appeal in writing to the Financial Aid Office
- State in the appeal why they failed to meet SAP requirements
- State in the appeal what has changed so that they will meet SAP at the following review (semester)
Step Two: The Financial Aid Office will:
- Review the appeal and notify the student of the decision.
- Approved appeals include:
- Approval and terms of reinstatement of financial aid eligibility
- Possibility of meeting SAP in the next payment period (semester)
- Possibility of an academic plan over a period of time
- Consequences for not meeting terms of approval
- Approved appeals will result in financial aid being awarded for the payment period
- Denied appeals include:
- Basis for denial
- What the student must do to meet SAP
- Denied appeals will not be awarded financial aid until SAP is met
Step Three: Students must continue to meet terms established until SAP is met to continue receiving financial aid on a probationary basis. Once SAP is met, the student will be removed from SAP probation status. Failure to maintain SAP after probation is removed will result in receiving an additional warning for the upcoming payment period (semester).
Transfer Credits
Accepted credit hours will be included in the SAP calculation for the next payment period (semester).
- Assumes all accepted credits will be at least 2.0 GPA for Undergraduate
- Counted in the next evaluation period following receipt and review of the transcript
- Incoming transfer students transfer in, meeting SAP
- Transfer credits accepted by The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor are included in the credit completion rate and maximum time frame calculations, but not the GPA.
Remedial/Developmental Coursework
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor does not accept remedial transfer credit hours.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor does not offer developmental coursework.
Incomplete Grades
Incomplete credit hours will be considered as attempted credit hours when meeting the pace component of SAP. Grades will be included in the CGPA component of SAP during the term in which they were assigned.
Repeating Classes
Passed classes may be retaken one time where allowed by the program to improve GPA and included in the SAP review (any grade higher than an "F" is considered passing)
Failed classes may be retaken as necessary where allowed by the program and included in the SAP review
Withdrawing from the University / Failure to Earn a Passing Grade
Withdrawing before the census date does not impact SAP as no credit hours have been attempted. However, some financial aid may be considered “earned” and be retained by UMHB to assist in covering costs associated with student attendance.
After census date, credit hours are considered attempted and included in the SAP review.
See Withdrawing from the university elsewhere in this catalog for more information.