Satisfactory Academic Progress for Federal Student Aid Programs
Federal financial aid recipients are reviewed for compliance with these standards at the end of each term in which they enroll. Students not meeting SAP standards for the first time are placed on a financial aid warning status during the next term in which they enroll. During this warning period, students remain eligible for federal student aid programs.
At the end of the financial aid warning period, students meeting SAP standards regain full aid eligibility (for most aid programs) in the upcoming term in which they enroll. Students not meeting SAP standards at this time become ineligible for aid in future terms until they are able to meet SAP standards.
Eligibility for nearly all financial aid programs requires students to be enrolled in degree programs and to have U.S. citizenship or eligible non-citizen status.
The following provisions apply to The University of Tampa’s standards of satisfactory academic progress for recipients of federal student aid:
- Credit hours attempted are defined as those credits for which the student is enrolled at the expiration of the tuition refund period.
- Courses may be repeated. GPA and credits are calculated in accordance with repeat course policies found under the Academic Policies and Procedures section of this catalog. A course for which a student earned credits may be counted toward her/his enrollment status, and the student may be awarded aid for the enrollment status based on inclusion of the class the first time it is repeated. If a student who earns credit for a class once and is repaid for retaking it and fails (earns no credit) the second time, that failure counts as the paid retake, and the student may not be paid for retaking the class a third time. If a student receiving federal funds for a repeated course withdraws before completing the course, then it is not counted as the allowed retake for the course. This federal regulation applies even if the school or program policy requires a higher grade for the student to "pass" the course.
- A grade of “I” (incomplete) is considered unsuccessful, and the attempted credit hours are attributed to the successful completion percentage criterion.
- Credit hours for course withdrawal (“W”) are attributable to the successful percentage completion criterion.
- Remedial coursework is counted towards both the GPA and completion percentage criteria.
- Changes in major do not affect the GPA and completion percentage criteria.
- Students who declare pursuit of a dual degree will have the requirements for both degrees considered in the maximum timeframe criterion.
At a minimum, students must meet the standards of Satisfactory Academic Progress to receive aid from federal, state and most institutional aid programs.