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Financial Aid & Scholarships
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Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)

Quick SAP Facts

To receive financial aid, you must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). SAP requirements are checked each year at the end of spring semester. Any student who fails to meet one of the requirements will lose all financial aid eligibility.

Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements

Required cumulative GPA at the time of the annual SAP review -

  • 1.75 GPA for freshmen at the end of the first year of attendance
  • 2.00 GPA for any other undergraduate
  • 3.00 GPA for all graduate students

Successful completion of 67% of the courses that a student attempts -

  • The following course grades count as completed: A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, CR, P, PR, PS, S, T, TP and/or TD
  • All other grades count negatively toward a student's completion percentage.

Degree must be completed within specified maximum timeframe -

  • 90 semester hours – associate degree
  • 111 semester hours – associate degree in nursing
  • 180 semester hours – bachelor's degree
  • 90 semester hours – master's degree

SAP Appeals

Students who do not meet SAP requirements may appeal. Successful appeals include:

A description of extenuating circumstances, such as a serious illness of the student or the student's immediate family member, or the death or an immediate family member.

Documents proving that the circumstance occurred during the term in which the student performed unsatisfactorily.

Student and advisor must sign the SAP Appeal Form (PDF) and the academic plan.

  • Major changes and double majors are not acceptable reasons to appeal.
  • Students are only allowed to appeal one time per academic career (undergraduate and graduate).
  • The decisions of the SAP committee are final. There is no second appeal.
  • Appeals must be received within the first 13 weeks of the semester to be considered for aid reinstatement for that semester.

Financial Aid Reinstatement

Students who have an approved appeal will have their financial aid eligibility reinstated for a period of time that should allow the student to resolve all deficiencies.

At the end of this financial aid extension, the student must be meeting all SAP requirements and must not exceed the maximum time frame listed.

In lieu of an approved appeal, financial aid eligibility can only be regained when a student resolves all deficiencies at his or her own expense. To resolve a GPA deficiency, the student must raise the GPA to 2.00 (for undergraduates) or 3.0 (for graduates). Course completion percentage must be raised to 67%.

Withdraw and Repeat Courses

Students who withdraw from a course after the end of the add/drop period will negatively impact their completion percentage. The end of the add/drop period for a regular semester course is the 2nd Friday of the semester. Courses with different lengths have varying add/drop dates.

Repeated courses are counted each time they are taken when calculating completion percentage. For example, if a student takes Math 1000 twice and it is a five credit hour course, 10 credit hours will be counted as attempted. If the student fails the course the first time and receives a C the second time, five credit hours are counted as earned.

Transfer Hours

Transfer hours count as hours both attempted and earned. Transfer hours will benefit a student's completion percentage. These hours may negatively impact a student's maximum timeframe.

For additional information contact the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships or review Ohio University's Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy (PDF).