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Satisfactory Academic Progress For Financial Aid Recipients
CSUDH is required by federal law to establish, publish, and apply reasonable standards for measuring whether a student is maintaining satisfactory academic progress toward a degree objective, and to ensure progress toward the degree for all periods of enrollment, whether or not the student has received financial aid. These standards are applicable to all financial aid recipients at CSUDH and affect eligibility for all federal and state aid, including grants, student loans, and work-study.
The following policy is effective for Satisfactory Academic Progress evaluations as of January 1, 2024, inclusive of Fall 2023 semester grades.
CSUDH grade point average is monitored each semester based on a students' degree objective as listed below:
- Doctoral, Masters: 3.0
- Credential: 2.5
- Undergraduates:
Junior/Senior (60+ units): 2.0
Sophomore (30-59 units): 1.8
First-Year student (0-29 units): 1.5
- Students must complete at least 66.67% of the units attempted with a passing grade of A, B, C, D, I, CR, or RP (report in progress). For example, a student who enrolls in 12 units for a semester must complete at least 8 units (12 x .666 = 7.992 rounded up). Grades of F, IC, NC, W, WU, RD, and AU are considered non-passing grades and will lower a student's completion rate.
- Students must complete their program before attempting 150% of their program's required units. For example, a student in a 120-unit program must receive his/her degree within 180 units. All attempted coursework will be counted, including transfer units, repeats, and withdrawals. Up to 30 remedial units may be excluded from counting against the Maximum Timeframe - Attempted Unit Cap.
Students meeting all three SAP standards remain eligible for aid. At the conclusion of a semester, SAP will be re-evaluated using grades and grade points from the recently completed semester.
The first time a student does not meet either,
- Standard 1: Minimum GPA or
- Standard 2: Completion Percentage,
the student will be placed on Financial Aid Warning for their next semester of enrollment. This warning status allows a student to continue receiving aid for that next semester of enrollment, while attempting to bring their GPA and/or Completion Percentage in line with the CSUDH Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress minimum standards.
Students that meet both Standard 1: Minimum GPA and Standard 2: Minimum Completion Percentage after their semester of Financial Aid Warning, are once again meeting all SAP Standards and continue to be eligible for financial aid for the next semester.
Students that are not meeting both Standard 1: Minimum GPA and Standard 2: Minimum Completion Percentage at the end of their Financial Aid Warning semester will have their financial aid eligibility disqualified and must appeal for continued financial aid eligibility.
Students are disqualified from receiving financial aid if any of the following applies:
- For students on Financial Aid Warning status, if they fail to correct their deficiency after one semester of enrollment and are still not meeting both Standard 1: Minimum GPA, and Standard 2: Completion Percentage.
- Anytime a student reaches Standard 3: Maximum Timeframe - Attempted Unit Cap, meaning they have not completed their program and have attempted 150% of the units required for their degree program.
Students that have their financial aid disqualified are eligible to submit a Financial Aid Appeal for reconsideration.
Students who become disqualified from receiving financial aid are notified through their ToroMail account. Students that experienced extenuating circumstances that hindered their academic success, may complete and submit a SAP Appeal Form by the deadline provided in the email notification.
Appeals are evaluated based on the student's extenuating circumstances and statement indicating how the extenuating circumstances have been mitigated allowing the student to be successful in the upcoming semester.
Standard 1: Minimum GPA and/or Standard 2: Completion percentage Appeals: If a student’s appeal is approved, they will be placed on a Financial Aid Academic Plan. Students are notified, via their campus ToroMail account, of the conditions of their appeal approval and specific academic requirements they must achieve to meet the terms of your Financial Aid Academic Plan to continue receiving financial aid beyond the current semester.
At the end of the semester, the Financial Aid Office will review that the specific conditions for continued aid eligibility have been achieved. Students who do not meet the conditions of the SAP Financial Aid Academic plan will once again be disqualified from receiving financial aid. The student is notified via their campus email account how they can regain their aid eligibility.
Standard 3: Maximum Timeframe – Attempted Unit Cap Appeal: When a student fails the Maximum Timeframe – Attempted Unit Cap standard and wishes to appeal, students must also complete the “SAP Appeal Degree Completion Plan for Unit Cap” section of the SAP Appeal, which details all required coursework remaining to complete your degree.
If approved, a student will be allowed additional attempted units to complete any remaining outstanding major/program requirements. Students are notified, via your ToroMail account, of the conditions of your appeal approval and any monitoring requirements that will take place. Should a student not be able to complete their program before reaching the newly extended Maximum Timeframe, they will once again have their financial aid eligibility disqualified.
Appeal of Denial (2nd Level Appeal)
If a student’s appeal unable to be approved, student may wish to challenge the denial of their initial SAP appeal as follows:
- The challenge must be submitted in writing to the Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships
- Students must provide a clear written rationale for challenging the denied appeal.
- The challenge must be submitted within two weeks of when the student was notified of the appeal denial.
The Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships will review 2nd Level Appeals and consult other campus partners as appropriate in evaluating, and responding to, your challenge.
Students who are disqualified due not meeting Standard 1: Minimum GPA and/or Standard 2: Completion Percentage and do not submit an appeal, or have their appeal denied, may regain eligibility once they are once again meeting both of these standards, provided they have no exceeded Standard 3: Maximum Timeframe -Attempted Unit Cap.
If you have any questions about financial aid, just contact us. We're here to help.
The link below takes you to our Financial Aid Basics video page, where you can find answers to lots of common questions regarding SAP and Financial Aid.
