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Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeals

Appeal Guidelines

If extenuating circumstances have led to your lack of academic progress, you have the opportunity to appeal your FA SAP disqualification. Extenuating circumstances may include but are not limited to:

  • A death in your immediate family that has adversely impacted your academic performance
  • Personal illness or the illness of a family member that has adversely impacted your academic performance.

Appeals due to GPA or Pace of Completion

You may appeal FA SAP disqualifications based on GPA or insufficient units completed by proving that mitigating circumstances prohibited you from making Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress and that those circumstances have been resolved to a degree that allows you to be academically successful in the future. You must submit a written appeal with supporting documentation that includes:

  • An explanation of why you have failed to meet the minimum GPA/unit completion.
  • An explanation of how you have resolved or plan to avoid the mitigating circumstance in the future.
  • A concise plan for successful GPA and/or unit completion in the future.
  • Any supporting documentation that may be relevant to your situation (e.g. medical/doctor notes, etc.).

Appeals due to Maximum Term Timeframe

If you have or will exceed the 150% max timeframe to complete your program, you may submit a written appeal for continued aid consideration. Appeals must include all of the following:

  • An explanation of why you have exceeded the time limit. Include reasons for changing majors if that contributed to your exceeding the maximum terms allowable.
  • A concrete plan detailing the remaining courses you need to graduate, when you will take them, and the date the degree will be completed. This plan must be reflected on your Poly Profile Planned Courses. If your appeal is approved, future aid will be contingent on the successful completion of the plan you submitted.
  • A letter from your academic advisor verifying that your proposed graduation plan will satisfy all degree requirements. Any changes to your graduation plan must be approved by your academic advisor and submitted to the Financial Aid Office. Unapproved deviation from the approved plan will result in loss of financial aid for any upcoming quarters.

Special Circumstances

Completing Senior Project/Thesis

If you are working on your senior project or a thesis, your grades while the project is in progress will reflect as RP. An RP does not count as a satisfactory completion of units for financial aid purposes, so you will likely be disqualified once the SAP review is complete. To appeal your disqualification, you will need to request that your senior project or thesis advisor email your financial aid counselor and provide confirmation that your progress is satisfactory. They will also need to provide an academic plan and an anticipated project or thesis completion date.

Studying Abroad

If you are participating in as Study Abroad program for the entire academic year, you may not have grades posted in time for us to accurately calculate your academic progress. If this happens, you will have a grace period through the end of fall quarter to have your grades posted in the system.

If your grades are not reflected by the end of the grace period, you will face SAP disqualification. You may submit a written appeal with supporting documentation which must include:

  • An explanation of your study abroad unit completion, GPA and transcript status.
  • A letter from your academic advisor verifying that you have met with them and verifying the successful completion of your study abroad terms.

If you choose not to appeal and maintain satisfactory academic progress for the year, you will automatically be reconsidered for financial aid eligibility the following year.

How to Appeal

In order to file an appeal, you must submit an appeal form and any required documentation to the Financial Aid Office. The form is available after spring grades are posted. The deadline to appeal for a term is the Friday of the 3rd week of the term.

Appeal Review and Outcome

Appeals are reviewed by Financial Aid counseling staff, and you will be notified of the outcome by email. Additional documentation, such as a letter from your academic advisor, may be requested during the review process, so be sure to regularly check your email. If an appeal is approved, your aid will be reinstated, and you will be placed on FA SAP probation. If you are placed on FA SAP probation, you will have to meet the FA SAP standards each quarter in order to maintain eligibility for the following quarter. Failure to meet FA SAP standards for a quarter will result in FA SAP disqualification for the remainder of the year. A second appeal will be considered only if there are new mitigating circumstances that affected your ability to be successful.