Requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress
In order to maintain satisfactory academic progress for financial aid eligibility, students must meet three standards: a gpa requirement, a PACE requirement and a maximum time-frame requirement.
Remember that these requirements are separate from academic requirements that may be set by individual departments or schools.
- Grade Point Average (GPA) requirement: Undergraduates must have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least a 2.0 at the conclusion of the Spring term of each academic year. Teacher Credential Program (TCP) students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 at the conclusion of the Spring term of each academic year.
- PACE requirement: All undergraduate and Teacher Credential Program (TCP) students must complete at least 66.6% of the units attempted each year to keep PACE toward graduation.
- Maximum Time Frame Requirement: All undergraduate and Teacher Credential Program (TCP) financial aid applicants exceeding term limits will be ineligible for financial aid consideration. Students will not be granted additional terms of eligibility solely by reason of changing their field of study (major) or pursuing more than one major or a minor. Refer to the SAP Disclosure form for more information.
Additionally, the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships recommends that undergraduate financial aid applicants complete at least 27 units during their first year of enrollment. The minimum cumulative unit recommendation changes for every year you’re enrolled and for each type of undergraduate student, so it’s important to review the SAP Disclosure form for detailed information.
Appeal Process for Satisfactory Academic Progress
If a student fails to maintain satisfactory academic progress, that student will be notified that they are ineligible for financial aid beginning with the term immediately following the term the SAP requirements were not met.
Since SAP is monitored annually at the end of the spring term, the first term of ineligibility will typically be the following Summer or Fall term. Eligibility for continued financial aid will only be re-established if a) the student subsequently meets the Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements; or b) the student successfully appeals and their aid is reinstated.
Review of Academic Plans for Satisfactory Academic Progress
A student whose appeal is approved will have their financial aid eligibility reinstated and become subject to the terms of the academic plan. At this time, the student is considered to be on academic probation.
Financial aid probation is a status assigned to a student who fails to make satisfactory academic progress and has appealed and has had eligibility for aid reinstated. At the conclusion of the next term for which the student enrolls (likely Summer or Fall), OFAS will evaluate whether the student is meeting the conditions of the plan. If so, but the student has not made up all of the deficiencies (i.e., their plan is longer than one term), they will remain on probation and may continue to receive aid for the subsequent term.
The determination of whether the student will be eligible for aid in a subsequent term will only be determined after the student's adherence to the plan has been verified. The student remains eligible for Title IV aid as long as they continue to meet the conditions of that plan (note: GPA deficiencies must be cleared at a University of California campus).
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