Satisfactory Academic Progress

Federal regulations require students receiving financial aid to maintain SAP and be working toward a financial aid eligible program. All terms of attendance, including those in which financial aid was not received, are considered when determining a student’s satisfactory academic progress.

Financial Aid SAP consists of pace of completion, cumulative GPA, and maximum timeframe.

Generally, students begin in SAP Good Standing, but coursework attempted in a non-degree seeking program such as Running Start, Expanded Options, or Early College could impact a student’s SAP standing.

Students must maintain each of the following requirements to remain in good standing:

1. Maintain Successful Cumulative Pace of Completion: The required cumulative pace of completion is 66.67% of attempted credits, calculated by dividing the number of successfully earned credits by the number of attempted credits. Grades of A, B, C, D and P are successful unless otherwise noted. Grades of F, FA, W, I and NP are unsuccessful.
2. Grade Point Average: Cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
3. Maximum Timeframe: All students must complete their program of study within the SAP Maximum Timeframe with at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Per federal regulations, the maximum number of credits a student attempts cannot exceed 150% of the credits required to complete their program of study.

Determination of Financial Aid SAP Standing

SAP will be determined when a student first enrolls in a degree or certificate program at CGCC and at the end of each term based on cumulative grade point average and pace of progression as defined above. If cumulative credit completion drops below 66.67%, the student may not be able to complete a program within the maximum timeframe. This status may impact future financial aid funding. Pace of progression can be affected by course incompletes, withdrawals, repeated courses, and transfer credits from other schools (counted toward both attempted and completed hours). Credits taken as part of a dual enrollment program (College Now, Early College, Running Start, and Expanded Options) will count toward financial aid SAP when the student enrolls in a Title IV eligible degree or certificate program of study.

Effective February 2026, zero successful credits completed in a single term will result in SAP Warning. Students will no longer automatically be placed in SAP Suspension due to one bad term. However, unsuccessful grades will be counted toward the maximum timeframe and could affect a student’s cumulative pace and GPA in future terms. Following SAP Warning, if a student does not successfully complete their coursework with the required pace and GPA, they will be placed on SAP Suspension and not be eligible to receive financial aid for the next term.

Regaining Financial Aid Eligibility After SAP Suspension

To resolve SAP Suspension, a student must submit an appeal if there were extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control that resulted in their academic performance.

Guidelines for the SAP Appeal

Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal forms are available below. Appeal forms require all of the following: a statement about what happened that caused the student to be unsuccessful; a statement about what the student has changed so that they will be successful in the future; and supporting documentation that supports the student’s explanation of their circumstances. Appropriate supporting documentation must be submitted for all SAP appeals and may not include photographs or other images pertaining to the circumstances. Screenshots of conversations may be accepted if the complete email or text exchange is included.

Written, signed, and dated statements of support must be from a disinterested third party (a non-family member or friend) such as a clergy member, physician, counselor, or therapist and should be on official letterhead where possible.

SAP appeal applications may not be submitted prior to completion of the term in which the student is experiencing academic or personal challenges. Students will be notified of their SAP status after grades are posted each term and may appeal, if necessary, at that time.

The deadline for submitting the SAP appeal is no later than the last day of week 8 each term to allow sufficient time to consider the appeal and make appropriate adjustments to financial aid.

Examples of Circumstances That May Be Approved

• Major illness or injury of the student (doctor’s release may be required)
• Death in the immediate family that required extensive absence
• Other personal or family emergencies that prevented completion of coursework

When referencing a relative or friend whose passing or personal circumstances impacted a student’s academic performance, the name of that individual must be included in the SAP appeal.

After an appeal is approved, the student will be moved from SAP Suspension to SAP Probation or SAP Probation Academic Plan if it is not mathematically possible for them to meet the SAP standards in a subsequent enrollment. After completing one term successfully, the student is reinstated to SAP Good Standing. If the student fails to successfully meet all required conditions, they will be placed on SAP Suspension and ineligible to receive aid for the next term of enrollment.

If the student’s appeal is denied, CGCC will inform the student of the number of credits or minimum GPA they must successfully complete on their own for financial aid to be reinstated. These courses must be completed without financial aid and apply toward the student’s program of study.

SAP Probation Academic Plan for Financial Aid

SAP Probation Academic Plan is a contract between the student and the school. The student must follow all stipulations in the Academic Plan and may be required to fulfill specific terms and conditions such as meeting with an Academic Advisor to revise their educational plan, taking a reduced course load, enrolling in specific courses, or other requirements. The student must complete all requirements of the Academic Plan each term until they meet both eligibility requirements (66.67% pace and 2.0 cumulative GPA) to be reinstated to SAP Good Standing.

If while on SAP Probation Academic Plan, the student successfully completes all attempted credits but has a cumulative GPA that remains less than a 2.0 or a credit completion rate below 66.67%, CGCC reserves the right to keep the student on the Academic Plan for another term.

SAP Maximum Timeframe for Financial Aid

All students must complete their program of study within the SAP maximum timeframe with at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. Per federal regulations, the maximum number of credits a student attempts cannot exceed 150% of the credits required to complete their program of study. Some programs may be more limited. A student who is concerned that they may be close to meeting or exceeding their maximum allowed timeframe for completion should meet with a financial aid associate for clarification.

SAP Maximum Timeframe Appeal

In very limited circumstances and at the discretion of the Director of Financial Aid, students who have reached the maximum timeframe may be given an opportunity to appeal to receive an extension of their federal financial aid beyond the 150% timeframe. This evaluation is made on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the Registrar’s Office and Academic Advising. Approval is contingent on the student’s ability to complete their required coursework within a very short period of time.

Additional Financial Aid SAP Definitions and Information

Repeated Courses and Financial Aid

Financial aid can pay for a repeated course as long as it is not a result of more than one repetition of a previously passed course and is required by the student’s degree or certificate program. Repeated courses count toward the maximum timeframe.

Transfer Credits and Financial Aid

Credits taken at another institution that are officially accepted toward the student’s degree will count toward the maximum timeframe.

Consortium Agreements and Financial Aid

Students enrolled in more than one institution under consortium agreements are subject to the home institution’s SAP policy. When CGCC is the home institution, credits earned at the host institution will be included in calculation of SAP standing and toward the maximum timeframe.

For more information or clarification, please contact Student Services at studentservices@cgcc.edu or (541) 506-6011, option 2.

Academic SAP is based on successful completion and progress toward degree requirements.

Levels of Academic Standing

There are three levels: “SAP Good Standing,” “Academic Warning,” and “Academic SAP Probation.”

SAP Good Academic Standing

To be considered to be in SAP Good academic standing, a student must:

• Earn a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher each term, and
• Successfully complete 2/3 (66.67%) of completed credits each term.

Academic SAP Warning

When a certificate or degree seeking student falls below one or more of the requirements for “SAP Good standing” for one term, the student is placed on academic warning. At this stage, the student will be sent a letter that strongly encourages her/him to:

• Meet with an academic advisor in order to better plan term goals and course schedule
• Connect with appropriate campus resources

Academic SAP Probation

When a certificate or degree-seeking student fails to make Satisfactory Academic Progress for two consecutive terms, the student is placed on academic SAP Probation and a hold will be placed on the student’s ability to register. The student is sent a letter that outlines the following requirements that must be met in order for the registration hold to be lifted. The student must:

• Meet with an academic advisor by the first Thursday of the term
• Develop a collaborative success plan for the upcoming term

During this meeting the student’s ability to register is reestablished. However, in order for the student to be given approval to register for the following term the student must:

• Schedule and attend a mid-term advising appointment
• Submit a mid-term progress report form including each credit class the student is enrolled in
• Per the mid-term progress report(s), demonstrate Satisfactory Academic Progress

If the student is found to be making Satisfactory Academic Progress, the hold on the student’s ability to register for the following term will be lifted.

Academic SAP Suspension

When a certificate or degree-seeking student fails to make Satisfactory Academic Progress for three consecutive terms, the student will be notified of SAP Suspension from the institution for one term. Ability to register will be revoked for all credit classes for that term.

A notation of SAP Suspension will be placed on the student’s transcript. After one term passes, the student may re-enroll and start an academic record in SAP Good Standing, as if no academic warnings existed. The notation of SAP Suspension on the student’s transcript, however, will remain the same.

* See SAP Probation requirements below
** See SAP Suspension requirements below

Returning from Academic SAP Suspension

Prior to returning to CGCC after a term of SAP Suspension, students are required to:

• Meet with an academic advisor
• Create an academic plan that includes appropriate student success strategies

Standings and results of each term's completion and progress for Academic SAP

Financial Aid SAP Appeal Form