Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards

Students are encouraged to consult with the CSN Office Financial Aid to determine the best academic strategy to regain eligibility.

The following may be considered for regaining eligibility for Financial Aid:

• Enrolling in courses during the summer semester(s)
• Retaking failed courses
• Completing Incomplete Grade
• Completing courses at another institution

Cumulative GPA can only be improved by taking coursework at CSN. Deficiencies of earned credits may be remedied by attendance at CSN or another institution. However, if enrolling elsewhere, students must complete the appropriate transfer credit evaluation request and have coursework preapproved prior to enrolling at the other institution. After completing external coursework, the student must request that an academic transcript be sent to the Registrar’s Office and follow the appropriate policy to have transfer credits evaluated. This request should be made after all grades have been officially recorded by the appropriate academic office(s).

Neither paying for courses nor sitting out for one or more semesters affects a student’s SAP standing, so neither is sufficient to reestablish Financial Aid eligibility.

Students submitting a SAP Appeal must do so by the stated deadlines indicated in our Important Financial Aid Dates.

Appeal Process

Students who fail to meet the qualitative and/or quantitative requirements after one semester in Warning will be placed on Suspension. For Maximum Timeframe, students will be automatically Suspended after reaching or exceeding the 150% measurement.

All SAP Appeals must include the following:

A typewritten Personal Statement addressing:

Any extenuating circumstance that caused you to be placed on SAP Suspension.

How the extenuating circumstance caused your academic underperformance; and

What you have done to overcome the extenuating circumstance.

Provide Official Documentation that supports your extenuating circumstance.

An Academic Rehabilitation Plan completed with your Academic Counselor or Health Science Advisor.

Important Information

Financial Aid funds are limited, and programs have statutory annual limits per student. In many cases, even if an appeal is approved, it may not result in a Financial Aid award.

CSN limits Financial Aid eligibility to two degrees earned. An external degree will count as an earned degree.

If a second appeal is received for the same recurring circumstance in a sequential year, it will be thoroughly scrutinized.

Students will not be held in their course(s) during the review and adjudication process. Additionally, students will be responsible for any charges on their student account if the SAP Appeal decision is not approved.

SAP Appeals Committee and Decision

The review and adjudication of SAP Appeals are made by a committee of Financial Aid professionals and are final. Decisions may not be appealed to the Office Financial Aid or the U.S. Department of Education.

Students must meet the criteria for extenuating circumstances, which are defined as occurrences that were beyond the student’s control. Official Documentation must support the extenuating circumstance(s) and correlate to the grade(s) that resulted in the Suspension.

When the committee has completed their review and adjudication process, students will be sent official notification of the decision by student email.

Approved SAP Appeals

If approved, students will be placed on Probation. At the conclusion of each semester, an evaluation will be performed to determine if students have met the stated conditions of their approval. If the conditions have been met, students will be allowed to continue their Probation. If not, students will be returned to Suspension.

Denied SAP Appeals

If denied, students may officially enroll in and attend courses but will not be eligible for Financial Aid. Please see Effective Summer 2023 section to learn more about the submission policy.

SAP Appeal Deadlines

Students must submit SAP Appeals or Requests for Reinstatement by the 30th day after the semester begins. Please visit the Financial Aid Important Dates page for specific dates.

Students must be Suspended prior to submitting a SAP Appeal, as anticipatory submissions will be cancelled.

Effective Summer 2023

Students are eligible to submit one Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Appeal per Suspension period. For example, if a student is Suspended on two separate occasions throughout their CSN academic career, they may submit one SAP Appeal after each new suspension period. Note: A suspension period is defined as the time in which a student is not meeting one or more SAP standards (GPA, PACE, and Maximum Time Frame). Additionally, if a student is returned to Suspension for not following the conditions of their approved SAP Appeal, it shall be considered a new Suspension period, thus allowing for the submission of a new SAP Appeal.
 

At the conclusion of each semester, the Office Financial Aid evaluates Satisfactory Academic Progress and notifies students of their status through MyCSN Communication Center and CSN email. The following provides an overview of the various statuses that are applied, accordingly.

Good Standing

A Good Standing status is assigned to students who meet the minimum GPA, PACE and Maximum Timeframe standards.\

Warning

A Warning status is assigned to students who fail to meet the minimum requirements for GPA and/or PACE. Students may be eligible to receive Financial Aid for one additional semester but will be Suspended if they do not improve their SAP standing by meeting the minimum standards by the end of the following semester.

Suspension

A Suspension status is assigned to students who fail to meet SAP standards or fail to meet the conditions of an approved SAP Appeal.

Probation

A Probation status is assigned to students who have met the criteria for SAP Appeal approval. Students on Probation must meet the stated conditions each semester, as specified in the approval notification.

At the conclusion of Summer 2022, the PACE progression standard changed from 67% to 66.67%. Students Suspended at the end of Spring 2022 or before, based upon the previous standard of 67%, will remain Suspended until they have reinstated their eligibility through the SAP Appeal process or complete courses at their own expense until standards have been met.

Some courses are graded with the use of Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grades. In some cases, instructors can give students the option to receive Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grades in lieu of a letter grade.

A Satisfactory grade will not impact the GPA calculation but will positively impact the student’s PACE progression standard and count towards attempted credits.

An Unsatisfactory grade is not a passing grade. While an Unsatisfactory grade does not impact the GPA calculation, it will negatively impact the student’s PACE progression standard.

Remedial and developmental courses do not count toward degree requirements; however, they are counted as attempted and earned credits and are used to determine academic grade level or classification. Thus, these courses are calculated in the qualitative, quantitative and Maximum Timeframe measurements and are evaluated in accordance with the Financial Aid SAP policy.

Financial Aid may be awarded to cover up to 30 remedial and developmental course credits. Remedial course credits in excess of 30 will not be calculated as enrolled credits for Financial Aid purposes. This rule is not related to SAP but is a general Financial Aid eligibility requirement.

Prerequisite courses do not count toward degree requirements; however, they are counted as attempted and earned credits and are used to determine academic grade level or classification. Thus, these courses are calculated in the qualitative, quantitative and Maximum Timeframe measurements and are evaluated in accordance with the Financial Aid SAP policy.

In cases of withdrawals, course credits are included in the count of attempted credits. Thus, these courses are calculated in the quantitative and Maximum Timeframe measurements and are evaluated in accordance with the Financial Aid SAP policy. 

Credits for an Incomplete Grade Contract are counted as credits attempted for quantitative and Maximum Timeframe measures but only included in the credits completed when the Incomplete grade is replaced with a final grade. The Incomplete grade is treated as an ‘F’ in the qualitative measure until the Incomplete grade has been replaced with a final grade.

If a student changes majors, the credits the student earns at CSN and accepted transfer credits under all majors will be included in the calculation of qualitative, quantitative, and Maximum Timeframe measurements.

Federal Financial Aid regulations limit the number of times a student may repeat a course and receive federal Financial Aid.

How do Repeated Courses affect SAP Measurements?

If the student repeats a course, those credits and grades are used when measuring the qualitative standard. When a student repeats a course, the total attempted hours will increase with each repeat, but the student may only earn hours for a successfully completed course once. Therefore, repeating courses negatively affects the student’s ability to satisfy the quantitative and Maximum Timeframe measurements.

How do Repeated Courses affect Financial Aid Eligibility?

When students repeat courses, resulting in grades of ‘W’ and/or an ‘F’, students are allowed to repeat the same course and receive federal Financial Aid (assuming SAP standards are met) until a ‘D-‘ grade or better is earned for the course. Once a “D-“ grade or better is achieved, students can repeat the same course once more and still receive federal Financial Aid.

What if a Student Elects to Repeat the Same Course a Third Time?

Once a ‘D-‘ grade or better has been earned, the class cannot be factored into federal Financial Aid enrollment eligibility.
This rule applies whether or not a student received federal Financial Aid in previous enrollments in the course.

When Repeated Courses can no longer be Counted Within a Student’s Enrollment for Federal Financial Aid Purposes

It is irrelevant for Financial Aid purposes if a student is required to retake a course to meet major/program GPA requirements.
It is irrelevant if a student has a personal desire to receive an improved grade.
This rule is governed by federal law. There is no appeal process and the rule cannot be overridden by CSN.

Please see below examples of repeat rules:

Transfer Credits

Students transferring credits from other institutions may find themselves on SAP Suspension due to Maximum Timeframe. Students should be aware that the Office of the Registrar may not have reviewed the transfer credits prior to the Office of Financial Aid determining their initial SAP status. This could result in the student earning one semester of aid eligibility, then getting Suspended after the addition of transfer credits. Students Suspended as a result of evaluated transfer credits may submit a SAP Appeal.

Military Credits

A student may request all transferred military credits not transferring towards their CSN declared major to be excluded from counting towards their Maximum Timeframe. To do so, a Request for SAP Reinstatement and an Academic Rehabilitation Plan signed by an Academic Counselor or Health Science Advisor should be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid. If approved, the student will only be granted Financial Aid for the total credits needed to graduate from their declared major at CSN as indicated on their Academic Rehabilitation Plan. For consideration of eligibility, the student must also comply with all other Financial Aid requirements. CSN limits Financial Aid eligibility to two degrees. A degree received at another institution will count as one degree.
 

Students who are Suspended due to not meeting one or more of the SAP standards and meet any of the following criteria may submit a Request for SAP Reinstatement to have their SAP status evaluated for Financial Aid eligibility:

• Earned a degree at CSN or another institution
• Did not receive a Warning semester
• Have a change in their GPA and/or PACE standards due to updates in their academic records.

Additional CSN Degrees

Students successfully completing a degree and pursuing a subsequent degree at CSN may request to have all credits from the previous degree not transferring towards their current degree be excluded from counting towards their Maximum Timeframe. To do so, a Request for Reinstatement and an Academic Rehabilitation Plan signed by an Academic Counselor or Health Science Advisor should be submitted to the Office Financial Aid. If approved, the student will only be granted the total number of credits needed to graduate from their second degree as indicated on the Academic Rehabilitation Plan. For consideration of a Request for Reinstatement, the student must be meeting the qualitative and quantitative measurements. CSN limits Financial Aid eligibility to two degrees. A degree received at another institution will count as one degree. 

Additional Degrees from Other Institutions

If a student successfully completes a degree at another institution and enrolls in a different degree program at CSN, a student can request all credits from the previous degree not transferring towards their current degree to be excluded from counting towards their Maximum Timeframe. To do so, a Request for SAP Reinstatement and an Academic Rehabilitation Plan signed by a Counselor/Health Science Advisor should be submitted to the Office Financial Aid. If approved, the student will be granted the total number of credits needed to graduate from their second degree as indicated on the Academic Rehabilitation Plan. For consideration, the student must also meet all other Financial Aid requirements. CSN limits Financial Aid eligibility to two degrees. A degree received at another institution will count as one degree.