What is SAP?
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) are a set of standards students must maintain to remain eligible for federal aid, state aid, certain types of institutional aid and some private educational loans.
What are the SAP Standards?
At Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) students must meet the following requirements to continue receiving federal aid, state aid, or certain types of institutional aid:
- 2.00 overall grade point average (GPA),
- Successful completion of at least two-thirds of all attempted coursework, and
- Take no more than 150% of the credits required for degree completion (for example, an associate’s degree of 60 credit hours must be completed within 90 credit hours).
The Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy is located in the FSW Catalog.
When are SAP Standards measured?
The SAP process runs after grades post at the end of every semester. If a student is not meeting SAP standards but have met these standards in the past, the student will be placed in a “financial aid warning” semester. The warning semester allows the student to maintain eligibility for one semester. If the minimum SAP requirements are not met after the warning period, the student is ineligible and will no longer receive financial aid.
What if I don’t meet the minimum requirements after the “financial aid warning” period?
If a student does not meet SAP standards during the financial aid warning period, the student will be placed on “financial aid suspension” and is ineligible for financial aid. The student will NOT receive financial aid for the next semester without an approved SAP appeal. Without an approved appeal, the student will remain on financial aid suspension until SAP standards are met.
How can I submit a SAP Appeal?
Students not meeting SAP standards due to extenuating circumstances that prevented successful completion of a semester have the opportunity to submit an appeal. The online appeal application can be found at https://fsw.studentforms.com and selecting the “Manage Requests” icon. Appeals must be accompanied by supporting documentation. Appeals are reviewed within two weeks of submission. A successful appeal allows a student to continue receiving aid on financial aid probation while they adhere to an approved academic plan.
Priority Submission Deadlines:
- Fall 2025 07/31/2025
- Spring 2026 12/15/2025
- Summer 2026 04/27/2026
If appeals are submitted after these deadlines, the appeal will be accepted through the end of the semester’s add/drop period. However, there is no guarantee that the review will be completed in time to secure the student’s classes. All appeals submitted after the add/drop deadline will be applied to the following semester.
